© Scott Wachter, USA TODAY
Longhorns To Take Part In Pair of College Football's 'Best' 2023 Matchups
The Texas Longhorns will enter the 2023 football season with big expectations.
Following an 8-5 campaign and an Alamo Bowl berth, the Longhorns have reloaded the roster with some immense talent at some key positions.
And while stars like Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson and DeMarvion Overshown will all be gone, the Horns are still expected to have a big third season under Steve Sarkisian.
With that in mind, the Longhorns will also have two of the sport's biggest matchups of the year.
At least according to 247Sports, who rated the Longhorns' matchups with Alabama and Oklahoma as two of the year's 'best' games - beginning with the trip to Tuscaloosa on September 9.
Texas holds a 7-2-1 lead over Alabama in the all-time series, but the Crimson Tide clinched the last two matchups, including a nail-biting 20-19 victory in Austin last season. Alabama will choose between Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson as its starting quarterback this fall, while, on paper, Texas has a more desirable decision to make between Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning. The Crimson Tide's secondary, which lost defensive backs Brian Branch, DeMarcco Hellams and Eli Ricks, will be tested by arguably the nation's deepest corp of pass catchers.
However, should the Longhorns manage to escape Tuscaloosa with an upset win, things will only get more interesting from there.
Just one month later, the Horns will travel to Dallas for their annual rivalry tilt with the Sooners.
But even after coming off of a 49-0 blowout in 2022, the series' last Big 12 version of the matchup is set to be a big one.
Texas and Oklahoma face off in their final Red River Showdown as members go the Big 12 on Oct. 7. The Longhorns had lost four straight in the series before handing the Sooners a 49-0 beatdown in Dallas last season. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers was the star of that game, completing 21 of 31 passes for 289 yards and four touchdowns against one interception. This time, Oklahoma has a five-star quarterback of its own in top-10 recruit Jackson (Arnold), who is the third-highest-ranked quarterback to commit to the Sooners since 2000, trailing Rhett Bomar and Caleb Williams. He is battling Dillon Gabriel for the starting job.
One way or another, the Longhorns are in for a challenging 2023 football season.
But if they can navigate these two matchups successfully, the sky is the limit for Sarkisian and company.
You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Longhorns? Click Here to Subscribe to the Longhorns Country Newsletter
Want even more Texas Longhorns? Check out the SI.com team page here
Follow Longhorns Country on Twitter and Facebook.
Make sure to subscribe to the Longhorns Country Podcast today! Click here To Listen.
