Contrary to popular belief, it was not a landslide election among the Texas brain trust to move on from Tom Herman a couple of years ago and pluck Steve Sarkisian off of Nick Saban's Alabama staff to steer the Longhorns into a new era, which would soon include a move into the SEC. Indeed, it would have been nip-and-tuck in the Electoral College of Longhorns backers, many of whom thought Herman should have been brought back for another go in 2021 after the vagaries of the 2020 pandemic season, rather than making a switch. Two years later, the jury still remains out on the move, with Sarkisian yet to prove much, if any, of an upgrade, though the signals do seem to be pointing in the right direction at Austin. A 49-0 win over Oklahoma last October sure didn't hurt. 

It was a welcome sign after the letdown of the first Sarkisian campaign, which saw the Longhorns miss out on the bowl mix altogether before forging something of a recovery last fall and a return to the postseason. That ended with some disappointment in San Antonio with a loss to the Washington Huskies in the Alamo Bowl.  (It might be worth noting that in Herman's second season, Texas beat Kyler Murray and Oklahoma and would go on to beat Kirby Smart's Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.) The better news among the Texas crowd is that Sarkisian, for the moment, at least, seems to have the Longhorns in a better spot than the Sooners on the eve of the teams' big conference switch in 2024. Though, with only a 13-12 record through the first two seasons, patience is starting to be tested among a notoriously fickle fan base, and if the Longhorns can't soon begin look at least a little bit more like Saban's Crimson Tide or Pete Carroll's USC, staffs on which Sarkisian played integral roles as the offensive coordinator, who knows what could happen?...

Bruce Marshall's full breakdown of Texas' 2023 outlook, which includes how he's playing their win total, can be found below as part of SportsLine's preview of the Big 12 season.

Big 12 preview: Conference winner | Baylor | BYU | Cincinnati | Houston | Iowa State | Kansas | Kansas State | Oklahoma | Oklahoma State | Texas | TCU | Texas Tech | UCF | West Virginia

2023 Texas at a glance

• Last Year: 8-5 SU, 8-5 ATS, 6-7 O/U
• Returning starters: Offense 9; Defense 6
• Win total: 9.5 (Over -150, Under +115)

What do you need to know about Texas before locking in your Big 12 futures bets? And which side of their win total makes for the best play? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Big 12 futures betting strategy from a veteran college football expert!