The Texas Longhorns enter their final season in the Big 12 with a lot to prove. Some think Texas moving to the SEC is a bad move for them long term. However, if Steve Sarkisian gets this team to finish this season as a Big 12 champion, it’ll give Texas fans all the confidence in the world. They have a lot of talent returning and people believe it is their conference to lose this season. Can they live up to the hype and win their first Big 12 title since 2009? Here is the preview for the 2023 Texas Longhorns.
Offense
The hype around this offense coming into the spring was if Archie Manning was going to lead this team in 2023. However, after a rough spring game outing it looks like Quinn Ewers will get the chance at being the starter again in 2023. Ewers had a rough season last year with health, but when he was healthy looked really good for the Longhorns. Texas brings back nine starters, but has to replace one vital one in running back Bijan Robinson.
The Doak Walker award winner went to the NFL and the Longhorns need to fill his workload. The guy that’ll look to replace his workload is Keilan Robinson, who had 254 rushing yards at Alabama last year. Texas also added true freshman and the number one running back in the 2023 recruiting class CJ Baxter and Jonathon Brooks. One of them will have to step up to fill what Bijan did for this team last year.
At receiver, the Longhorns bring back their top two receivers from last year in Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington. However, they weren’t done there as they went in the transfer portal and brought in Adonai Mitchell from Georgia. Texas also brought in a trio of talented freshman receivers in Johntay Cook II, DeAndre Moore Jr, and Ryan Niblett. This gives Ewers a ton of targets to have in the passing game in 2023. For the offensive line, the Longhorns bring back all five starters from last year including Freshman All-American left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. Texas’ offense is reloaded and if they fill Bijan’s workload, this will be a good offense in 2023.
Defense
Texas is bringing back a ton of talent on the defensive side of the football. Last season they were best in the nation at pressuring the quarterback. At the defensive line, they are led by defensive tackles T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II. This talented defensive line group will look to continue to be the best at pressuring the quarterback in 2023. If this group can continue to do that, then everybody else on the defense will continue to succeed like they did last year.
The linebacker group is strong again in 2023. They bring back leading tackler Jaylan Ford who had 119 tackles and 10 tackles for a loss for the Longhorns. Ford also had four interceptions and three forced fumbles in a true breakout season for the Longhorns. In the secondary, they bring back their leader in tackles for loss in nickelback Jahdae Barron. Barron had 11.5 tackles for a loss last season and was a huge impact in the secondary. Texas also brought in safety Jalen Catalon from Arkansas to be a starter. They also bring in Gavin Holmes from Wake Forest to start and give more depth at the cornerback position. This defense is poised for another good season in the Big 12.
Win Total Bet
The win total bet is set at 9.5 on the FanDuel Sportsbook, with the over odds set at -134 and the under odds set at +110. The Longhorns in their last season in the Big 12 will live up to the hype. They’ll win ten games and we’ll see them in the Big 12 title game. I think they’ll lose in the Big 12 title game, but they’ll get there for sure. They go over the 9.5 win total, but the odds are a little too high for myself to place a wager on them. If you really like Texas this season, take them to win the Big 12 (+105). I won’t do it because I think they’ll lose the title game, but it’s better odds and better value than betting their win total over.
Schedule Predictions
Win vs Rice (1-0)
Loss at Alabama (1-1)
Blowout Win vs Wyoming (2-1)
Win at Baylor (3-1)
Win vs Kansas (4-1)
Rivalry Win vs Oklahoma (5-1)
Win at Houston (6-1)
Blowout Win vs BYU (7-1)
Win vs Kansas State (8-1)
Loss at TCU (8-2)
Win at Iowa State (9-2)
Win vs Texas Tech (10-2)