There has always been pressure on the Texas Longhorns to succeed in football, but the success aspect has been eluding them for the most part.
While there have been bright moments like winning the Sugar Bowl over Georgia, the Longhorns have performed far below their blue blood status. In fact, the program has become somewhat of a laughing stock around college football with fan bases and other programs constantly poking fun at the “Is Texas Back?” narrative.
Regardless of the past struggles, 2023 truly seems to be the year that Texas can put together a special season unless something goes extremely wrong. The overall sentiment surrounding the Big 12 is that the rest of the conference is down, while the Longhorns are trending in the right direction.
This mindset has become so common that On3‘s Andy Staples declared to JD PicKell that the 2023 season would be a failure for Texas if they don’t win the Big 12.
“Well I was listening to you misconceptions show from earlier in the week, J.D., and I’ve gotta take issue with one of the things you said. You said if Texas doesn’t have a great, double-digit win season, then it’s still OK. It is not OK. They’re going to be favored in 11 of 12 games. Like they should be dominant this season. They should be very good. They should win the Big 12 this season. If they don’t, you’ve got a problem. If they lose to Oklahoma, you’ve got a problem. Because right now, they’re in a better talent-wise, relative to Oklahoma, than they’ve been in years. It’s a failure if they don’t win the Big 12. They’re the best team on paper. They should win the league. If you don’t do that, you didn’t reach your potential,” Staples said.
Expectations have long been the biggest enemy of Texas. With a budding star at quarterback, an elite receiver room, and adding a slew of experienced players, if Texas doesn’t in fact succeed there would surely be a sense of disappointment in Austin.