ESPN Names Texas vs. Alabama as Longhorns 'Season-Defining' 2023 Game

The Texas Longhorns football team has a tough schedule in 2023, but one game stands out above the rest according to ESPN

Matt Galatzan | Mar 20, 2023

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Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns might have one of the toughest schedules in the Big 12 next season, including matchups in Dallas against Oklahoma, and at home against BYU, Kansas State, and Texas Tech.

Not to mention trips to Alabama, Houston, Baylor, TCU and Iowa State.

However, according to ESPN, it is (unsurprisingly) the matchup with the Crimson Tide that will be the most critical test for the Horns all season.

Says ESPN's Dave Wilson:

Steve Sarkisian has recruited enough talent to make a push to return Texas to the national conversation, and taking on his old boss in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 9 will be a quick way to rip the Band-Aid off and find out if the Horns are for real. Quinn Ewers and Texas had Bama on their heels last season in Austin until Ewers departed with an injury at the end of the first quarter after completing 9 of 12 passes for 134 yards. That'll give him confidence going into a hostile environment, one Texas will see on a more frequent basis with the move to the SEC next year. Last year, Texas jumped from unranked to No. 21 after the loss to Alabama, because Texas put a legitimate scare into the Tide. That's how much this matchup impacts national perception.

It will undoubtedly be a tall task for the Horns heading into Tuscaloosa to take on Nick Saban and the Tide.

However, given their performance in Austin this past season, as well as the new additions to the offensive firepower, and the Tide being in flux at the quarterback position heading into 2023, anything is possible.

However, many said the same thing about the Tide ahead of Bryce Young's first game as a starter under center.

And all he ended up doing was win a Heisman Trophy, and Alabama to the national title game.

That said, if Jalen Milroe hopes to do the same, he will have to contend with Quinn Ewers and the Horns on September 9.

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Published Mar 20, 2023

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.