UT to host BYU, travel to Houston in ’23
AUSTIN — After weeks of vexing buildup exacerbated by a few delays, the Big 12 finally released its 2023 conference schedules for all 14 teams Tuesday afternoon.
“I would like to thank our fans for their patience awaiting this historic schedule,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement. “Given its importance, the complexities of weaving in four new schools, adding a third time zone and ensuring alignment with key stakeholders we were very deliberate with its development. I look forward to another highly competitive season of Big 12 football, and to welcoming our new members and their fans into the league.”
Texas, which will join the SEC with Oklahoma either in 2024 or 2025, will face two of the league's four new members during the upcoming season. And with the Big 12's expansion now making its traditional round-robin schedule untenable, the Longhorns will see two longstanding series come to a halt.
The Longhorns travel to Houston to face the Cougars on Oct. 21. It will mark the first meeting between the programs since Sept. 21, 2002, when UH was still a part of Conference USA. The Longhorns won that game 41-11 and lead the all-time series 16-7-2.
Texas will host another new member, BYU, the following weekend at Royal-memorial Stadium. Texas last played BYU in 2014 and is 1-4 all-time against the Cougars, who had spent the past dozen seasons as an FBS independent following their departure from the Mountain West Conference.
Texas will not face the league's two other new members, Cincinnati and Central Florida, unless they meet in the Big 12 championship game at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 2.
The Longhorns also won't meet West Virginia or Oklahoma State unless they collide in Arlington. This will mark the first year Texas isn't scheduled to play WVU since the Mountaineers joined the conference in 2012. The Longhorns had faced the Cowboys every season since the league began play in 1996.
After Texas finishes off its three-game nonconference slate, it opens Big 12 play on Sept. 23 at Baylor. It meets Kansas at Royal-memorial Stadium on Sept. 30 then ventures up to Dallas for the annual showdown with Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl on Oct. 7 before heading into an off week.
After facing Houston and BYU in consecutive weeks, Texas resumes its series with Kansas State at home before hitting the road for games against TCU (Nov. 11) and Iowa State (Nov. 18). It will wrap up the 2023 regular season at home against Texas Tech on Nov. 24.
Texas went 8-5 and finished 25th in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings in coach Steve Sarkisian's second season, a modest improvement from his 5-7 debut. The Longhorns ended their campaign with a 27-20 loss to Washington in the Alamo Bowl.
Expectations are sky-high for the Longhorns heading into Sarkisian's third year. The program has signed two straight top-five recruiting classes and has seen a number of its 2021 signees blossom into key contributors.
With the program's move to the SEC right around the bend and a Week 2 trip to Alabama on the docket this year, Sarkisian knows Texas needs to rise above mediocrity in 2023.
“I'm proud of our team and what they've done from year one to year two,” Sarkisian said following the Alamo Bowl. “I think we're making really good progress, and the key for us now is to take the next step going into year three.”