The University of Texas football team was chosen as the overwhelming favorite in the Big 12 Conference this season in the league’s annual preseason poll.
Texas was picked to finish first on 41 of the 67 ballots in the poll of media who cover the conference. Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and TCU rounded out the top five.
The Longhorns, who last won the title in 2010, will play their final season in Big 12 before moving to the SEC in 2024. The Sooners also will be moving to the SEC.
That’s an early-season inspiration for the Longhorns, Coach Steve Sarkisian said during Big 12 Media Days this week in Arlington.
“There’s been so much talk about the SEC and what’s happening in 2024, but I think one thing that I love about this team that we have this year is their focus on 2023 and this opportunity we have here in the Big 12,” Sarkisian said.
“I expect our team to play aggressive, tough, fast, physical, and smart football every Saturday,” Sarkisian added. “If we do that, we’ll put ourselves in a position to compete for a championship. But that’s the challenge we have week in and week out.”
The Longhorns have not been in the national title picture for more than a decade. Expectations have grown under Sarkisian.
“I mean, I think there’s always a target on our back,” Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers said, according to CBSsports.com. “But we also put a target on our opponents. It’s kind of like John Wick. He’s being hunted, but at the same time, he’s hunting them as well.”
New Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said the final season for the Longhorns and Sooners will not be awkward.
“We’re going to celebrate the impact Oklahoma and Texas have had on the Big 12 from Day One,” Yormark said, according to SI.com.
Yormark added that the Big 12 has grown beyond the two school’s dominance.
“I don’t think they’ve carried the conference in recruiting,” he told SI.com. “They haven’t been in our championship game the last few years. This conference is bigger than any two schools.”
