Feeling Texas must win Big 12 is among biggest misconceptions in college football

Many believe Texas has to win the Big 12 for 2023 to be considered a success, but On3’s JD PicKell isn’t willing to go that far.

Evidently, PicKell believes that to be one of the biggest misconceptions in all of college football. In the latest edition of The Hard Count, PicKell explained his reasoning for why Texas can be successful without a Big 12 title.

“Another misconception right now, a lot of pressure on the good folks in Austin, Texas. A lot of pressure on the Longhorns. And the misconception that we need to address is that Texas needs to win a Big 12 title,” stated PicKell. “Notice the verbiage there. They need to win a Big 12 title. That’s kind of the phrase you’re going to hear people talk about. I don’t know if that’s necessarily the case. I guess with it being a part of this segment, I don’t believe that’s the case.

“I think Texas probably needs to make the Big 12 title game, but this is a team that won eight games a season ago. Do you want to win a Big 12 title? Of course. Do you need to or it’s a failed season? No. No, you don’t need to.”

However, PicKell believes the Longhorns still must make a statement in 2023, and that could mean achieving double-digit wins, and at least making the Big 12 title game under Sarkisian’s watch.

“I think you need to make a statement, and I think making the Big 12 title game would do that, but this is a team that I think is still developing, and still — I say developing, I think with how they’ve recruited, it would be foolish to assume that not winning a Big 12 title in 2023 is a failure,” added PicKell. “If you make the Big 12 title game, and you’ve got a top three class from 2023 just hanging out on that roster, you’ve got Arch Manning for the future, like you don’t need to win a Big 12 title. Now good people in Austin, don’t be upset with me when I say that to you. I’m telling you that not to put your expectations on a lower level, I’m just saying I don’t think it’s a failure if you don’t win the Big 12.

“I think Steve Sarkisian has given you positive feedback so far, in terms of what he’s done on the field and how he’s built this thing, especially on the recruiting trail. Like, it’s trending in the right direction. Double-digit win season for Texas is what I would want to see, and I think that would come right along with a Big 12 title game appearance. So Texas would like to win a Big 12 title for sure, do they need to, or we’re saying the Steve Sarkisian experiment is over? No. Don’t think that’s the case for us, when it comes to talking about the Longhorns.”

Time will tell what the Longhorns do in 2023, but JD PicKell likes the way Texas is trending moving forward under Steve Sarkisian.

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