247Sports writer has a very bold prediction for Texas football in 2023

Expectations are already high for head coach Steve Sarkisian and Texas football in 2023. It looks as if multiple media outlets have predicted Texas to play for the Big 12 Championship in 2023, if not win the conference outright.

There is even one media outlet that has very high expectations of Sark and the Longhorns for the 2023 season already.

In his “way-too-early bold predictions” for the 2023 season, Brad Crawford of 247Sports mentioned that Texas will be playing for its shot at making it to the College Football Playoff in the Big 12 Championship Game. He mentions this with the caveat that the Longhorns must beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in Week 2 of the regular season.

If Texas were to fall short of Alabama in Week 2, that would put Sark in a tough spot to be able to stay alive in the race to get a spot in the College Football Playoff next fall.

Either way, though, Texas would have to make it to the Big 12 Championship Game with no more than one loss for me to confidently say that this team will have a clear shot at the Playoff in early December.

247Sports writer boldly predicts Texas football and Steve Sarkisian playing for their Playoff lives in the Big 12 title game

Moreover, I do like what Crawford mentions in regard to how Texas’ fortunes could play out on the field in 2023. He notes that if rising redshirt sophomore quarterback Quinn Ewers has the most special season of his collegiate career in 2023, then it would be hard to see Texas missing out on at least playing in the Big 12 title game.

Ewers will obviously be one of the major x-factors as it pertains to Texas’ title hopes in the Big 12 and their shot at contending for a spot in the Playoff.

All in all, though, I do believe it is still too early to be setting these types of expectations for the Longhorns ahead of the 2023 season. There is still way too much time to pass for this offseason for me to say that I feel good about predicting anything close to Texas making the Playoff for the 2023-24 campaign.

We’ll see once spring ball has passed and the last major portal window of the offseason closes up before I make any educated guesses as to what Texas’ realistic expectations will be for the 2023 season.

One interesting point on this topic is that Sark will be entering his third year as Texas’ head coach. Most Texas coaches in the last few decades found a lot of success in their third year on the job. Mack Brown finished up with nine wins and a top-15 finish in the AP Poll in his third year on campus. And Tom Herman even played for the only Big 12 title game he would ever lead Texas to during his third year as the Longhorns’ bench boss.

If there was any time for Sark to lead the Longhorns to a prominent finish in the Big 12, the 2023 season looks to be it.

Texas finished up the 2022 season with a record of 8-5 (6-3 Big 12) following a loss to the No. 12 Washington Huskies in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29. The annual Orange-White spring football game is set to take place on April 15 and the Longhorns will open up the 2023 regular season at home at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Sep. 2 against the Rice Owls.