As the University of Texas enters its senior year in the big 12 conference Before heading to the SEC, the Longhorns hope to bring home the program’s first conference championship since 2009.
The media seems to like the Longhorns’ chances.
A member of the Texas Longhorn band carries the Texas flag before the start of a game between the UTSA Roadrunners and the Texas Longhorns on September 17, 2022, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (John Rivera/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Texas finished on top of the Big 12 Preseason Poll, voted on by media representatives, for the first time since the conference moved to a non-split format in 2011.
GEORGIA OFFENSIVE LINE RANKS TENNESSEE’S NEYLAND STADIUM BEST IN SEC
The Longhorns received 41 of 67 first-place votes, with the 2022 champion kansas state receiving 14 votes.
Oklahoma, which will join Texas in the SEC starting in 2024, received four first-place votes along with Texas Tech. TCU and oklahoma state got the remaining first-place votes.
Texas is coming off an 8-5 season during which the Longhorns nearly defeated No. 1 Alabama in Week 2.
Quinn Ewers of the Texas Longhorns throws a pass before a game against the Iowa State Cyclones at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 15, 2022 in Austin, Texas. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Longhorns return starting quarterback Quinn Ewers and welcome prized recruit arc manning to campus
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Head coach Steve Sarkisian praised Ewers after the Longhorns’ spring game in April.
«I thought Quinn was really efficient today,» Sarkisian said after the game, according to ESPN. «I think it’s pretty clear to say that Quinn is our starting quarterback, and we feel really good about that.»
A stadium facade before a game between the UTSA Roadrunners and the Texas Longhorns on September 17, 2022, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (John Rivera/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The offense returns with nine starters from 2022, but loses running back Bijan Robinson, last season’s Doak Walker Award winner.
Texas opens the 2023 season against Rice before heading to Tuscaloosa to take on Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide in Week 2.
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The Big 12 officially welcomed four new schools on July 1 as UCF, BYU, Cincinnati, and Houston joined the conference.
Of the four newcomers, UCF was chosen to finish highest, ranking eighth in the preseason poll.