3 recent Texas football teams that lived up to the preseason hype

2023 (12-2, 8-1 Big 12)

Preseason ranking: 11

AP Final: 3

The 2023 campaign saw the Longhorns restore the image of a national contender, as Sarkisian's squad finally lived up to the preseason hype in his third year as the head coach of the football program.

Texas finally had a roster on both sides of the ball deep enough and talented enough on the two-deep to make an all out effective push for the Big 12 Championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff. The hype train really got rolling last fall when the Longhorns upset No. 2 Alabama in Tuscaloosa by double digits in Week 2 of the season.

Beating head coach Nick Saban and the Tide by double-digits in Tuscaloosa was a statement Texas added to its resume that ensured other teams around the college football landscape would take them seriously as a contender. And the Longhorns really didn't slow down after beating Alabama by double digits on the road early last season.

Sarkisian's squad only suffered one setback in Big 12 play, which was a close last-minute loss to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry game. Texas otherwise completed the revenge tour, knocking off every other Big 12 team it lost to the year before en route to winning the conference title in convincing fashion over Oklahoma State by multiple scores.

Texas finally reached the program landmark milestone of getting a spot in the CFP before it expanded from four to 12 teams after the 2023-24 postseason. The Longhorns were one play away from making it to the CFP National Championship Game and taking on Michigan where it fell just short on a late-fourth quarter rally drive in the final minute on Washington's goal line.

The 2023 season was proof for the Longhorns that the program is in great shape during its leaving the Big 12 for the inaugural year in the SEC in 2024 as a team that can make the Playoff and contend for a conference title this fall.

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