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    2023 Oklahoma Schedule Preview: Texas

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    Oklahoma Sooners
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    Texas Longhorns
    Texas Longhorns

    There are a lot of expectations on Texas this year.

    There should be. It’s Texas.

    And yet, the Longhorns are a prohibitive favorite to win the Big 12 this year despite the fact they haven’t won a conference title in 13 years, despite the fact that last year’s middling 8-5 season was their second-best year in nearly a decade, and despite the fact their coach has a career .556 winning percentage.

    Texas is back? Wash, rinse, repeat?

    “I chose to be the head coach of the University of Texas, and our players chose to come to the University of Texas,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “With that comes the responsibility and the expectations that come with that.”

    The Longhorns have the Big 12’s most talented roster — on paper, that is, which is where they’ve lived most of the last 13 seasons.

    Maybe this year is different.

    “I really love our football team,” Sarkisian said. “I love their mindset. I love where they're at.”

    Start at quarterback, where Quinn Ewers is already in his third season of college football, his second as a Longhorn. Last year, in his first as a starting quarterback, he played in 10 games, completed 58 percent of his throws for 2,177 yards with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions.

    To lead Texas to a championship, Ewers’ numbers will have to be better. Sarkisian said the more intrinsic parts of his game certainly have improved.

    Oklahoma's 2023 Schedule:

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    “We’ve seen his body composition change,” Sarkisian said. “We've seen a level of maturity change. We've seen him really dialing in and understanding schematically what we're trying to do offensively change. We've seen him from a morale standpoint speaking up in team meetings, speaking up on the field, from a work ethic standpoint. I think he's earned the respect of his teammates throughout this time and throughout this process.”

    The backups are redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy, who looked athletic and confident throughout spring, and true freshman Arch Manning, the 5-star recruit who struggled in the spring game.

    Ewers is one of 10 starters back on offense. With the supporting cast he has around him, if Ewers doesn’t show massive improvement over last year, something’s wrong.

    The Longhorns return all five starters on the offensive line, led by sophomore left tackle Kelvin Banks, sophomore right guard Cole Hutson and senior right tackle Christian Jones.

    In addition to all that security, Ewers has the luxury of returning one of the Big 12’s best receivers in Xavier Worthy (60 receptions, 760 yards, nine touchdowns last year) as well as senior Jordan Whittington (50 for 652, one TD) and Georgia transfer A.D. Mitchell (38 career catches for 560 yards and seven TDs in Athens) as well as All-Big 12 tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders (54 catches, 613 yards, five TDs). Isaiah Neyor caught 12 touchdown passes at Wyoming in 2021 but missed last year with an ACL after transferring to Texas.

    Bijan Robinson (1,894 yards from scrimmage, 20 TDs) was a first-round NFL Draft pick and was extremely productive in his time on the Forty Acres, and Roschon Johnson (682, six TDs) also is off to the NFL. But the Longhorns return versatile Jonathon Brooks (234 yards rushing, six TDs) and Keilan Robinson (305 total yards, three TDs), who must now step out of a supporting role.

    The Longhorns’ defense is also stacked with returning talent, led by Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Jaylan Ford at middle linebacker. He collected a team-high 119 total tackles last year, 10 tackles for loss, four interceptions, three fumbles forced, two fumbles recovered, two sacks and two passes defensed.

    Get to Know Texas

    Oct. 7, Time TBD, Dallas

    • Series: OU lead 79-7-2
    • Last meeting: 2022 (Texas won 49-0)
    • Head coach: Steve Sarkisian 13-12 (third season), 59-47 overall
    • 2022 record: 8-5 (6-3 Big 12)
    • 2022 offense: 34th overall (36th rushing, 55th passing, 24th scoring)
    • 2022 defense: 53rd overall (32nd rushing, 90th passing, 27th scoring)

    Texas led the nation in quarterback hurries in 2022 thanks to the push up front from guys like T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy inside and Barryn Sorrell on the edge.

    Nickel back Jahdae Barron led the Horns with 11.5 tackles for loss among his 78 total stops and also had two interceptions. Jerrin Thompson was third on the squad with 83 tackles, and senior cornerback Ryan Watts is back to lead a secondary that showed improvement last year but still has a long way to go.

    “Something that, in my opinion, we've got now going into year three is, I think we've got really quality competitive depth on our roster across the board,” Sarkisian said.

    “We've got a roster full of players who quite frankly came to the University of Texas to try to win a Big 12 Championship, and we've got one more opportunity to do

    that, and I think our guys are focused on that.

    “They've bought into this thing, and more than they've bought into it, they've elevated it. There's high expectations within our organization, and we're looking forward to September and putting it all on the field.”

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