On June 27, 1999, legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk did something many thought was impossible: He landed the world’s first 900. 

The backdrop was the 1999 X Games in San Francisco. Late that evening, after 10 failed attempts and long past his allotted time, ESPN kept the cameras rolling. Viewers across the country waited with bated breath. Onlookers and fellow skaters cheered him on in unison. It was a now-or-never moment for the world’s most prolific skater.

On the 11th attempt, Hawk appeared physically gassed. He dropped in from the left side, rose high above the right side of the half-pipe, followed suit on the left, and with every ounce of determination in his body, contorted himself two-and-a-half times in the air before landing squatted atop his skateboard. 

The crowd went ballistic. Skaters mobbed him in celebration. When later recalling the gravity of the moment, he said, “Trying it so many times, I felt like it would be the ultimate disappointment if I couldn’t do it.” 

In the lead-up to the 2026 college football season, there are parallels between what Hawk must’ve been feeling that evening and what’s at stake for Steve Sarkisian this fall. 

Sarkisian and Texas are running out of excuses not to compete for a national title. Quarterback Arch Manning is back for Year 2 as the full-time starter. Sarkisian brought back one of the sport’s best coordinators in Will Muschamp to lead the defense. Sprinkle in the top-tier talent the Longhorns acquired via the transfer portal, and 2026 is shaping up for a career-defining season for Sarkisian. 

Texas has the sixth-best returning production in college football, according to ESPN’s Bill Connelly. In addition to Manning, the offense brings back last year’s WR1 in Ryan Wingo and three starters on the offensive line. On defense, star edge rusher Colin Simmons is back after leading the team in sacks (12) and tackles for loss (15.5) in 2025. The linebacking corps will look notably different after losing numerous players to the transfer portal and the NFL Draft. In the secondary, safety hybrid Jelani McDonald headlines a group that includes three other safeties who played more than 100 snaps last season. Texas also brings back a pair of experienced corners in Graceson Littleton and Kade Phillips.

But for all the talk about returning production, it starts and ends with Manning. Early last season, Manning looked like a quarterback who was pressing. He struggled to hit short passes and make easy reads. Over the course of the season, however, he looked like an excellent dual-threat playmaker, throwing for over 3,100 yards and 26 touchdowns, and chipping in nearly 400 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. The Longhorns closed out last season, winning five of six to finish with nine regular-season wins and just missing out on the College Football Playoff. 

Texas needs Manning to take another step in his development in 2026. One reason to be bullish is the acquisition of former Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman. In two seasons at Auburn, Coleman tallied over 1,300 yards and 13 touchdowns, despite not having consistent play at the quarterback position. There’s reason for optimism that Coleman’s deep-threat abilities will not only unlock another part of Manning’s game, but also help the Texas offense hit a totally different gear.

In that same vein, Texas went all out in the transfer portal on offense. The Longhorns beefed up the offensive line with Melvin Siani and Laurence Seymore. They also acquired two productive running backs in former NC State tailback Hollywood Smothers and former Arizona State running back Raleek Brown. The pair should make for one of the most electric one-two punches in all of college football. 

Texas fans have plenty of reasons to be excited this fall, but there’s no getting around the difficulty of the schedule. As listeners of The Solid Verbal know, the SEC slate is an absolute gauntlet. Couple that with a heavyweight non-conference matchup against Ohio State, and you’ve got yourself a doozy of a schedule. Though the Longhorns have the good fortune of hosting the Buckeyes at Darrell K. Royal Stadium, they also have the misfortune of playing at Tennessee, LSU, and in-state rival Texas A&M. 

The season will pivot on a run of games between late September and mid-October. After a tricky game in Neyland Stadium against Tennessee, the Longhorns get a bye week before a neutral-site game against arch-rival Oklahoma and home games against Florida and Ole Miss. If Texas can get through that stretch unscathed, the Longhorns should be in good shape to finish 10-2 or better and reach the College Football Playoff.

Breakthroughs are invisible until the moment they aren’t. It took Tony Hawk a lifetime of sweat equity and 11 tries on the grand stage to do what many thought was impossible. 

Sarkisian is entering his sixth season in Austin and his 13th season as a college head coach. He’s won 10 or more games in three straight seasons and gotten Texas as close to “back” as possible without winning a title.

But now with Manning returning, a haul in the transfer portal, and Muschamp controlling the defense, Sarkisian and Texas are entering the 11th-hour moment. They’ve spent plenty of time spinning through the air. Now, it’s time for Sarkisian and Texas to finally stick the landing. 

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We started our three-part Big 12 preview by taking a conference-wide look at the contenders, challengers and mystery teams shaping the 2026 Big 12 season. Texas Tech enters as the defending champion and the clear center of gravity, but does the conference’s best roster still have enough at quarterback and on defense to remain on top? We also took a look at why BYU feels like the safest alternative and whether Houston is ready to turn last year’s breakthrough into something even bigger.

We continued our 2026 Big 12 preview with conversations about eight conference teams. Texas Tech enters as the reigning conference champion and apparent favorite, but the strange offseason surrounding Brendan Sorsby and Will Hammond has made its path back to the College Football Playoff more complicated than it first appeared. We examine whether the Red Raiders can turn one dominant season into a repeatable model, and whether BYU has enough offensive growth and defensive muscle to finally close the gap.

From there, we move into the conference’s crowded and unpredictable middle. What will Kansas State look like with Collin Klein returning to lead the program? Can Dave Aranda and new defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman bring order to the chaos at Baylor before time runs out? We also consider whether Andy Kotelnicki can revive the Kansas offense, whether Brennan Marion’s Go-Go system is the answer for Colorado, and how quickly new regimes at West Virginia and Iowa State can start showing meaningful progress.

We finished our three-part preview, starting with Utah’s transition from Kyle Whittingham to Morgan Scalley and asking how much of the program’s familiar identity can survive a major staff and roster reset. From there, we dig into Houston’s contender case, TCU’s new quarterback and offensive coordinator, Arizona’s attempt to build on last year’s rebound, and Arizona State’s high-variance setup around a talented but unsettled offense.

Then, Ty makes the full-throated case for an Oklahoma State revival under Eric Morris and Drew Mestemaker, while Dan tries to keep expectations somewhere near Earth. We also break down whether UCF can make the Year 2 jump under Scott Frost and whether Cincinnati can survive massive turnover by leaning on one of the Big 12’s best offensive lines.

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