Texas' Steve Sarkisian targets Big 12 title, 'great send-off' - ESPN

ARLINGTON, Texas — Not since 2009 have expectations been so high for the Texas Longhorns.

The Longhorns are an overwhelming preseason favorite to win the Big 12, and coach Steve Sarkisian said he hopes a league title will be «a great send-off» in Texas' final season before heading to the SEC in 2024.

«I'd be lying if I wasn't saying that I want to win a championship,» Sarkisian told ESPN when asked if this could be a career-defining season for him. «There's no question, and I feel like I've had good teams in the past. I haven't been able to do it. When you get into coaching, I'm a highly competitive guy. I would love to win a championship. I would love to win a championship our last year in the Big 12.»

Texas hasn't won a Big 12 title since 2009, and the 13-year drought is the longest in school history dating to when it joined a conference in 1915. This year, regardless of model — computers, betting markets or media polls — Texas is the favorite.

For the first time since the Big 12 conference went to a division-less format, the media chose the Longhorns to win the title. First-place votes were spread among six teams with Texas receiving 41 and a total of 886 points. Reigning Big 12 champion Kansas State placed second with 14 and 858 points.

ESPN's Football Power Index gives the Longhorns a 54% chance to win the Big 12. The only FBS team with a higher chance to win its respective conference entering this season is Ohio State in the Big Ten (71%).

Sarkisian, who is entering his third season leading the Longhorns, finished 8-5 last year with all five losses coming by seven points or fewer. It was only the second time in the past nine years that Texas reached eight wins in the regular season. In 2021, Sarkisian went 5-7 in