Talented Texas Projected to Beat Alabama - But Lose 2 Big 12 Shockers?

Are the Longhorns the most talented team in the Big 12 Conference going into 2023? Texas fans have heard that before. And now hear this ...

There are but a handful of teams in American sports that - whether due to pedigree or publicity - are simply expected to win … and win big.

The Dallas Cowboys are in that group. The New York Yankees are in that group. And from “The Something’s Gotta Give” Department, both the Texas Longhorns and the Alabama Crimson Tide are in that group.

And why does something gotta give? Because Texas, maybe boasting the most talented roster in the Big 12 Conference (again, something we've said often) in the 2023 college football season plays 'Bama, maybe boasting the most storied program in the game.

The good news from one observer? The Longhorns, according to a projection from CBS Sports, are loaded for bear and will roll into Tuscaloosa and beat Alabama in Week 2.

That would be quite an accomplishment, as CBS notes; it would mean Texas coach Steve Sarkisian would best mentor Nick Saban, among many other things.

Really, if the Longhorns topple the Tide in an early-season high-profile game, Austin will rightfully start buzzing about national-title hopes.

But ... in CBS' projections ... there's a "but.'' The outlet projects the Longhorns - again, viewed by many as the Big 12 title favorite as Sark enters Year 3 - to lose a pair of conference games, which could essentially scuttle those top-of-the-mountain NCAA hopes.

And who does CBS think the Longhorns will lose to? Both will be away games. And the defeats will come at the hands of the University of Houston and TCU.

TCU has some recent skins on the wall, of course. But again, talent-wise, Longhorns fans don't view the Horned Frogs as being on UT's level. And Houston? As Texas preps to make its exit from the Big 12 to the SEC, a goodbye loss to the Cougars would represent a painful history-maker.

Would 10 regular-season wins register as an accomplishment? Of course, as UT hasn't done that since 2009. Is more - a Big 12 title, for starters - expected for Texas in 2023? Yup. That's the way it works around here.

You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan

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