CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 Texas

12–⁠2 (8–⁠1 Big 12), coached by Steve Sarkisian, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Texas in 2023, game by game: won vs. Rice 37–10; won at No. 3 Alabama 34–24; won vs. Wyoming 31–10; won at Baylor 38–6; won vs. No. 24 Kansas 40–14; lost vs. No. 12 Oklahoma 30–34; won at Houston 31–24; won vs. BYU 35–6; won vs. No. 25 Kansas State 33–30; won at TCU 29–26; won at Iowa State 26–16; won vs. Texas Tech 57–7; won vs. No. 19 Oklahoma State 49–21; lost vs. No. 2 Washington 31–37+50−6Won 37–10 vs. Rice+27RiceWon 34–24 at No. 3 Alabama+10No. 3 AlabamaWon 31–10 vs. Wyoming+21WyomingWon 38–6 at Baylor+32BaylorWon 40–14 vs. No. 24 Kansas+26No. 24 KansasLost 30–34 vs. No. 12 Oklahoma-4No. 12 OklahomaWon 31–24 at Houston+7HoustonWon 35–6 vs. BYU+29BYUWon 33–30 vs. No. 25 Kansas State+3No. 25 Kansas StateWon 29–26 at TCU+3TCUWon 26–16 at Iowa State+10Iowa StateWon 57–7 vs. Texas Tech+50Texas TechWon 49–21 vs. No. 19 Oklahoma State+28No. 19 Oklahoma StateLost 31–37 vs. No. 2 Washington-6No. 2 Washington
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsRiceW 37–⁠1081%
Sep 9at3AlabamaW 34–⁠2426%
Sep 16vsWyomingW 31–⁠1076%
Sep 23atBaylorW 38–⁠665%
Sep 30vs24KansasW 40–⁠1476%
Oct 7vs12OklahomaAllstate Red River RivalryL 30–⁠3454%
Oct 21atHoustonW 31–⁠2464%
Oct 28vsBYUW 35–⁠672%
Nov 4vs25Kansas StateW 33–⁠3060%
Nov 11atTCUW 29–⁠2662%
Nov 18atIowa StateW 26–⁠1661%
Nov 24vsTexas TechW 57–⁠779%
Dec 2vs19Oklahoma StateDr Pepper Big 12 ChampionshipW 49–⁠2172%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs2WashingtonSugar Bowl, CFP SemifinalL 31–⁠3750%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Washington 37–⁠31 in the Sugar Bowl, CFP Semifinal; No. 3 in the final AP poll; Big 12 champions.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 126 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 11
  2. Wk 2: 11
  3. Wk 3: 4
  4. Wk 4: 3
  5. Wk 5: 3
  6. Wk 6: 3
  7. Wk 7: 9
  8. Wk 8: 8
  9. Wk 9: 7
  10. Wk 10: 7
  11. Wk 11: 7
  12. Wk 12: 7
  13. Wk 13: 7
  14. Wk 14: 7
  15. Wk 15: 3
  16. Final: 3

Big 12 champions8–⁠1 in the conference

Led the nationXavier Worthy: punt return yards (371 yds)

Outland TrophyT’Vondre Sweat, DT

Consensus All-AmericanT’Vondre Sweat, DT

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠1 first in Big 12
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 3
Points
501–⁠265
Coach
Steve Sarkisian
Elo
1765 +168 this season
SP+ rating
23.2 No. 6 of 133; offense No. 6, defense No. 12, special teams No. 15
SRS
21.8 No. 5 of 133 in FBS
Returning
61% of last season’s EPA, No. 52 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 3 roster talent No. 6 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Kyle Flood and A.J. Milwee
Defensive coordinators
Pete Kwiatkowski and Jeff Choate
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense22nd of 133
  • Defense20th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted18th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted12th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2046%1.2622nd of 133
Defense0.0138%1.3220th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
-0.00 def		47% off
36% def		—18th off
12th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.9own 3115% allowed
Defense3.5own 2618% caused

CORE rating 21.8, 8th of 133 (offense 8.1, defense -13.7).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsQuinn Ewers QB3,479 yds
Passing touchdownsQuinn Ewers QB22 TD
Rushing yardsJonathon Brooks RB1,139 yds
Rushing touchdownsJonathon Brooks RB10 TD
Receiving yardsXavier Worthy WR1,014 yds
Receiving touchdownsAdonai Mitchell WR11 TD
TacklesJaylan Ford LB96 tkl
SacksAnthony Hill Jr. LB5 sacks
InterceptionsJerrin Thompson S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Arch Manning QB★★★★★No. 1
Anthony Hill Jr. LB★★★★★No. 18
C.J. Baxter RB★★★★★No. 23
Johntay Cook WR★★★★★No. 30
Malik Muhammad CB★★★★No. 46
Derek Williams Jr. S★★★★No. 49
Ryan Niblett WR★★★★No. 65
Jelani McDonald ATH★★★★No. 70

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks15.01.000
Running backs24.00.938
Receivers53.80.929
Offensive line53.40.890
Defensive line43.80.926
Linebackers54.00.906
Defensive backs34.00.956
Athletes and specialists14.00.967
Whole class263.80.925

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2024

The 2024 draft
Rd 1Byron Murphy II DTSeattle Seahawks
Rd 1Xavier Worthy WRKansas City Chiefs
Rd 2T’Vondre Sweat DTTennessee Titans
Rd 2Jonathon Brooks RBCarolina Panthers
Rd 2Adonai Mitchell WRIndianapolis Colts
Rd 4Ja’Tavion Sanders TECarolina Panthers
Rd 5Christian Jones OTArizona Cardinals
Rd 5Keilan Robinson RBJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 5Jaylan Ford LBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 6Ryan Watts CBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 6Jordan Whittington WRLos Angeles Rams

Roster 119

The 2023 roster

119 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 5

The 2023 portal
Adonai Mitchell WR★★★★★from Georgia
Gavin Holmes CB★★★★from Wake Forest
Jalen Catalon S★★★★from Arkansas
Deangelo Carter DL★★★from Minnesota
Ryan Sanborn P★★★from Stanford

Transfers out 20

Hudson Card QB★★★★to Purdue
Brenen Thompson WR★★★★to Oklahoma
Junior Angilau OL★★★★to Oregon
Andrej Karic OT★★★to Tennessee
Ovie Oghoufo DE★★★to LSU
Derrick Brown LB★★★to Texas State
Jamier Johnson CB★★★to Indiana
Logan Parr OL★★★to SMU
Troy Omeire WR★★★to Arizona State
Jaden Alexis WR★★★to South Florida
Jaylen Garth OT★★★to Houston
Prince Dorbah DE★★★to Arizona State

And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big 12

7 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2023 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2023 Big 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas8–⁠112–⁠23
Oklahoma7–⁠210–⁠315
Oklahoma State7–⁠210–⁠416
West Virginia6–⁠39–⁠4
Kansas State6–⁠39–⁠418
Iowa State6–⁠37–⁠6
Kansas5–⁠49–⁠423
Texas Tech5–⁠47–⁠6
UCF3–⁠66–⁠7
TCU3–⁠65–⁠7
BYU2–⁠75–⁠7
Houston2–⁠74–⁠8
Baylor2–⁠73–⁠9
Cincinnati1–⁠83–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.