ARLINGTON, Texas -- The last time Texas was the Big 12 frontrunner coming into the season, Colt McCoy was the quarterback, Mack Brown was the coach and the Obama Administration had just began.
In 2023, that changes. Texas was selected as the top team in the preseason Big 12 poll. In fact, the Longhorns are the overwhelming favorites -- listed at even money to win the Big 12, per Caesars SportsBook. That trails only Georgia among all Power Five teams in conference title odds.
"This team is different," Sarkisian said. "They have a different look in their eye. They look different on the hoof. They interact with one another differently. I've used the adage, I feel like this team is on a mission because that's the approach they have every day that they show up in the facility."
The Longhorns have not won the conference since Colt McCoy's shoulder injury in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game. A 2018 Big 12 title game loss to Oklahoma is as close as Texas has come to sniffing the league crown.
Seven Big 12 teams have been to the conference title game more recently than the 'Horns. Five other teams – more than half of the returning Big 12 – have won conference championships more recently than the University of Texas.
The 2023 season ranks as one final chance before moving onto the SEC in 2024. It paints a unique bullseye on the Longhorns, especially as in-state foes like Baylor, Texas Tech and Houston play Texas for the final time.
"I mean I think there's always a target on our back," Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers said. "But we also put a target on our opponents. It's kind of like John Wick. He's being hunted, but at the same time, he's hunting them as well."
For incoming players, it's nearly a lifetime ago. Many players in the Class of 2023 were not even school aged when the Longhorns last won the Big 12 Championship Game against Nebraska, a team that has called the Big Ten home for more than a decade.
Star linebacker Jaylan Ford was a young child when Vince Young ran to the corner of the end zone. The Longhorns have been members of the Big 12 for his entire life. While some have their eyes on the SEC, finishing out the Big 12 tenure strong is the only thing on the mind for the senior Ford.
"We've got banners just like these around," Ford said, motioning to the Big 12 logos around AT&T Stadium. "[It's] kind of a motivator. The opportunity we have to go win the Big 12 and how much that will affect not only us as players, but all the alumni, players before us and players after us."
Ford of many that enter their final season with the Longhorns, and a third year under Sarkisian. Many appeared on the preseason All-Big 12 team, as the Longhorns led the way with five selections. Texas ranks No. 3 nationally in returning offensive production, including a second-year quarterback and a pair of third-year playcallers.
"I think at the University of Texas, you start to understand that there'll always be some level of expectations," Ford said. "This season is obviously higher than usual. We know it. The biggest thing is to just try and ignore it and not let us affect how we're going to practice and work out. We've just got to know people are coming for us."
