Or will it be? 'Horns the preseason favorite to win Big 12
In its final season as a league member, Texas is picked to win the Big 12 Conference football championship.
The Longhorns were voted the favorites in the 2023 preseason poll by media representatives who cover the league, the Big 12 announced on Thursday.
First-place votes were spread among six teams with Texas receiving 41 and a total of 886 points. The reigning Big 12 Champion, Kansas State, placed second with 14 and 858 points.
Oklahoma, also in its final season in the Big 12, and Texas Tech each received four first-place votes with 758 and 729 points, respectively.
TCU, coming off appearances in the Big 12 Championship Game and College Football Playoff National Championship Game, rounded out the top five with three first-place votes and 727 points.
Baylor garnered 575 points to place sixth while Oklahoma State secured the final first-place vote with 470 points for seventh place.
The remaining positions were: 8, Central Florida (463 points); 9, Kansas (461); 10, Iowa State (334); 11, Brigham Young (318); 12, Houston (215); 13, Cincinnati (202); and 14, West Virginia (129).
BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF officially joined the conference on July 1 to give the Big 12 a total of 14 members for the school year.
UT and OU are competing in their final season in the league they helped form. The Longhorns and Sooners will join the Southeastern Conference on July 1, 2024.
Big 12 Football Media Days, Presented by Old Trapper will be conducted Wednesday (beginning at noon) and Thursday (beginning at 8:30 a.m.), July 12-13 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Coverage from both days will be provided on ESPNU and Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Baylor, BYU, Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas will be present July 12 while UCF, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and West Virginia will take the stage July 13.
The Big 12 football season gets underway on Thursday, Aug. 31 as Central Florida plays host to Kent State (6 p.m., TV: FS1) at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
Other first week games include:
Friday, Sept. 1: Missouri State at Kansas, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, Sept. 2: Colorado at TCU, 11 a.m. (FOX); Arkansas State at Oklahoma, 11 a.m. (ESPN); Northern Iowa at Iowa State, 1 p.m. (ESPN+); Eastern Kentucky at Cincinnati, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+); Rice at Texas, 2:30 p.m. (FOX); Southeast Missouri at Kansas State, 6 p.m. (ESPN+); Central Arkansas at Oklahoma State, 6 p.m. (ESPN+); UTSA at Houston, 6 p.m. (FS1); Texas State at Baylor, 6 p.m. (ESPN+); Texas Tech at Wyoming, 6:30 p.m. (CBS); West Virginia at Penn State, 6:30 p.m. (NBC); and Sam Houston at BYU, 9:15 p.m. (FS1).
Phil Hicks is the sports editor of the Tyler Morning Telegraph, a member of M. Roberts Media, along with the Kilgore News Herald and other media outlets.
