Texas has opportunity to make a statement, prove it’s a contender

On3’s J.D PicKell recently revealed his list of college football teams looking to make a statement in 2023. And surprise, surprise, at the top of his list was none other than the Texas Longhorns.

“I think the statement you’d like to make if you’re a Texas Longhorn fan or maybe internally at Texas is that you have to deal with us,” said PicKell. “When it comes to talking about the College Football Playoff and the conference championship race and the Big 12 and the SEC; there’s so much about Texas that has been brewing now for a couple of years. It’s year three for Sark. We say it all the time on here, ‘there’s no more excuses’ that you’re making.

“This is the year where you say our window is here. We got an experienced quarterback; we got a year three culture; we got a bunch of weapons on the outside, Xavier Worthy, Isaiah Neyor, (and) AD Mitchell. They got a lot of pieces there. This is the year for them to really show what they’re gonna be under Steve Sarkisian.”

This upcoming season will be the Longhorns’ final year in the Big 12 conference. And with all the talent they have on their roster, it is very likely that they could end 2023 as the Big 12 champs. But is that what would constitute the signal that Texas is back? PicKell put out a poll to gauge the pulse of college football fans, and the answer was a firm no.

“I put a poll out and I asked, would a Big 12 title mean Texas is back? And a lot of y’all, to my surprise, we’re like, no. And I think a lot of Texas fans even chimed in and agreed on that. And I say that to make sure that I’m clear in the sense that this is a big building block year. This is the start of the new foundation. So much of what Steve Sarkisian has done at Texas has been working to get Texas out of the hole that they were in. And now, getting them to a place where they can compete for what they want to compete for, and this is that year where you take the first step, taking back what you believe is yours at Texas.

“So a Big 12 title, I think, is attainable. I’m not here to say Texas is back, but I do think they’re somewhere in the middle. And you’d like to believe they’re somewhere past the midway point after the results of this coming season. So, Texas absolutely a statement team in 2023.”

Whether Texas is back or not will remain to be seen, and judgment can be passed following the 2023 season. But what is known heading into this year is that the Longhorns will definitely be looking to make a statement, letting the college football world know that they will be a force for years to come.