Upset Alert: Looking at football teams who could upset Texas in 2023
Texas has often fallen prey to lesser teams in recent seasons. The Longhorns failed to play up to standard every season since losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2009 national title game.
There are a handful of teams capable of pulling upsets over the team given recent trends for the program. Since joining the Big 12 Conference, West Virginia and TCU have combined to go 13-9 against Texas despite each team having a handful of its own lean years.
Oklahoma State has gone a staggering 9-4 in its last 13 games against Texas. The minefield of potential upsets is why we’re not predicting a college football playoff semifinal appearance.
Texas should be favored in all but the Alabama game this season. And frankly, if it were in Austin or on a neutral site the line could shift toward the Longhorns. Texas-friendly betting lines don’t always mean much for the program as it endured several upsets in recent seasons.
Here’s a look at games Texas could lose and why it could lose those games.
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TCU is 8-3 against Texas since joining the Big 12 conference. This year’s game is in Fort Worth in front of what will likely be a raucous crowd. Given how tough I expect the season to be for the Horned Frogs, they’re going to need a win over the Longhorns.
at Iowa State Cyclones
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Throw out the talent disparity. It hasn’t mattered in the last four matchups. Traveling to Ames is almost always a difficult trip. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian snapped the program’s three-game losing streak in the series with a 24-21 victory last year. A season earlier the Cyclones won 30-7 at home against the Longhorns. For whatever reason, Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell always brings a great game plan against Texas. And if he only lost by three points to Texas in Austin with that roster, this matchup could be exceptionally difficult.
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I have Texas winning the game. Even so, Oklahoma should be an improved team in 2023 and should put up a better fight against its out-of-state rival this season. The Sooners will be a more athletic team. They’ll also be hungry after last year’s humiliation in the Cotton Bowl. If Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables doesn’t have a strong showing in the game this year, his hot seat reaches higher temperatures.
at Baylor Bears
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We’ve discussed how difficult a place Waco is to play. Baylor has a long way to go until we consider the team within striking distance of an upset, but the Bears have been known to emerge when you least expect. Not long ago, Baylor won a Big 12 championship. Could the team surprise yet again?
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The Cougars are usually among the more unpredictable teams in college football on a regular basis. The addition of Pitt transfer quarterback Kedon Slovis only adds to the variety of outcomes they could produce. Texas should win, but letting BYU hang around would be tantamount to playing with fire.
