I hope everyone enjoyed this bye week and got some rest, because our road trip is just getting started, and it isn’t set to end anytime soon. I mean this in both a literal and a metaphorical sense, as I’m currently preparing for a 15-hour drive to Gainesville.

We’re hitting The Swamp, the Cotton Bowl, Commonwealth and more in October alone. So pack your favorite road trip snacks, hop in the car and strap yourselves in securely — because, like me, Texas football is a bit of an unpredictable driver.

We saw that when the Longhorns hit some potholes head on in The Shoe against Ohio State and drove through quite a bit of road construction in the following games against San José State and UTEP. 

Let’s just hope that they pulled over on the side of the road to check the tires and suspension before deciding to keep calm and road trip on. Take it from someone who recently drove on a flat tire for two weeks straight — pay attention to the alerts on your dash.

That “check tire pressure” light never popped up for the Longhorns, however, because the next week, it was smooth sailing! I was even able to fall asleep in the backseat as Texas hit the cruise control and flew through every green light against Sam Houston. No engine lights and no speeding tickets for sophomore quarterback Arch Manning’s two rushing touchdowns — perhaps the Longhorns were able to right the ship before stopping for gas this bye week.

Now, we’re all looking at a lengthy stretch down the interstate as conference play begins. The Southeastern Conference is all congested in the same area, with Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma as the exceptions. With home base smack-dab in the middle of the Lone Star State, we’ve got a long way to drive if we even want to make it to our neighbors in Louisiana.

And the Longhorns have got an even longer trip ahead in the journey to prove that the ship is indeed on course — that last game’s flow state wasn’t a lucky detour that turned into a convenient and confidence-raising shortcut.

More potholes and road construction might be up ahead. We may get pulled over, catch a flat or end up taking the wrong exit before we get to our destination, adding a few more hours to our estimated time of arrival.

But no matter how wild of a driver Texas football is, there are two things we know for certain.

One — being a backseat driver has never, ever worked for this team. Be open with your criticism. Don’t be shy with your opinions. Go ahead and shout at your TV hundreds of miles away from The Swamp, but don’t expect head coach Steve Sarkisian or Manning to hear you.

Two — the Longhorns (and I) may be unpredictable drivers, but they (and I) have always reached the end goal. They (and I) have always gotten to the final destination — no matter how many hit pot holes, run-over curbs, speeding tickets or blown out tires they (and I) have incurred in the miles driven across the country, the car still runs. We still arrive at the destination, even if we’re late.

And the promise of another road trip, at the very least, is always still ahead.