Big 12 preview: With SEC waiting, can early favorite Texas win first title since 2009?

Editor's note: This is part of a series previewing each of the opponents on BYU's inaugural Big 12 schedule, beginning with the Cougars' Sept. 23 road opener at Kansas and leading up to defending champion Kansas State before fall camp opens in August.

SALT LAKE CITY — BYU and Texas will only overlap in the Big 12 Conference by one season before the Longhorns and Oklahoma head off to the Southeastern Conference in 2024.

But the man in charge of the Big 12 preseason favorites could not be happier to see the Cougars — and their current head coach — on his schedule one last time as conference colleagues.

Former BYU quarterback Steve Sarkisian has the Longhorns back with lofty expectations, picked No. 1 in the Big 12 preseason media poll. But none of that mattered when he saw former BYU fullback Kalani Fifita, now eighth-year head coach Kalani Sitake. To Sarkisian, of course, Sitake was just the player who hosted his recruiting visit from El Camino College before leading BYU to one of its best finishes of the modern era in the 1996 Cotton Bowl.

"I think Kalani and I have a great relationship. I'm really proud of him," Sarkisian said. "He's always been a great coach, a guy that I've had a chance to compete against in his days when he was a coordinator before becoming a head coach. He's earned a great opportunity. He's done a great job leading BYU to this point, and we do stay connected and stay close that way."

On the field, the Cougars and Longhorns will meet for the first time since BYU swept a home-and-home series in 2013 and 2014 with Taysom Hill under center. Cougar fans haven't forgotten that series; Hook 'Em Nation couldn't wait to move on from it.

But any thoughts of reunions with the current squads lasted for only 24 hours when both Texas and BYU overlapped at the Big 12 football media days at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It's not that they didn't want to glad-hand and reminisce; Sarkisian and Sitake both have a lot of work to do.

For BYU, the work includes jumping up to the Power Five level for the first time in school history.

For Sarkisian, that work involves keeping the Longhorns focused on the 2024 season — and not what awaits when they join a league with defending national champion Georgia, Alabama and LSU, among others.

There are plenty of reasons to like Texas' league title shot a year after finishing 8-5 with a third-place finish of 6-3 in the Big 12. The Longhorns return nine of their 16 starters on offense, including quarterback Quinn Ewers, who threw for 2,177 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions in his first year in Austin.

Behind him sits the nation's top-rated QB recruit in Arch Manning, as well as a host of offensive weapons like Xavier Worthy, Ja'Tavion Sanders and Georgia transfer AD Mitchell.

Barryn Sorrell is one of the defensive stars emerging for Texas a year after the defensive end totaled 44 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, seven quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.

"I really love our football team. I love their mindset," Sarkisian said. "I love where they're at. I know there's been so much talk about the SEC and what's happening in 2024, but I think one thing that I love about this team that we have this year is their focus on 2023 and this opportunity we have here in the Big 12. It's going to be a heck of a season, great competition."

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