College Football

Are Texas, TCU primed to rule the Big 12 in 2023?

Updated May. 5, 2023 6:00 p.m. ET

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A pair of teams from Texas headline the 2023 Big 12 college football offseason.

Of course, the TCU Horned Frogs are coming off appearing in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, though they were thoroughly dominated by the Georgia Bulldogs, 65-7. 

Can TCU bounce back from that defeat and build on its 13-win season?

Roughly three hours south of TCU reside the Texas Longhorns, who lost star running back Bijan Robinson to the NFL Draft and have what could potentially be a loaded quarterback room, with the incumbent Quinn Ewers and 5-star recruit Arch Manning. Can the Longhorns gain ground in the Big 12 after an eight-win 2022 campaign?

FOX Sports college football analyst Laken Litman appeared on the latest edition of "The Number One College Football Show" with RJ Young to discuss the pair of teams from the Lone Star state.

Spring football takeaways for Texas and TCU, with FOX Sports writer Laken Litman

Quinn Ewers being named Texas' 2023 starting quarterback

What Litman said: "This really was not going to be a quarterback battle. After the spring game, [coach Steve] Sarkisian I guess technically for the first time said in as many words that Quinn Ewers is his starting quarterback, but I don't think that Arch Manning was going to come in as a true freshman and just take the job from a guy who's been here for a little while longer. 

"And speaking of the spring game, we all know it's a glorified scrimmage, but Quinn Ewers really looked more impressive than he had last year. He changed his mindset, he changed his body, he looked leaner, specifically like in his face, in his core. He looked confident. He had some really good long passes." 

Can Maalik Murphy be the Longhorns' backup quarterback?

What Litman said: "He [Murphy] made some big-time throws in the spring game. A lot of people in the press box were really surprised to see him play that well. He looked confident; he was poised in the pocket; he made some really zippy passes, he had a few perfectly thrown deep balls, one was dropped by DeAndre Moore and another was a 79-yard touchdown bomb to Johntay Cook, and Sarkisian said afterward ‘the sky is the limit for him’ … I think that if something were to happen to Ewers he would come in and would have things rolling pretty seamlessly."

Is Texas equipped to replace Bijan Robinson?

What Litman said: "We got a glimpse of Jaydon Blue and CJ Baxter. Both of them were top prospects. Baxter, he was a 5-star coming out of Florida. He was the No. 1 overall running back in his class. Both of them got touches in the spring game. Keilan Robinson comes back from last year. Jonathon Brooks, he returns, and Brooks had a big 70-yard touchdown run against Kansas last year in a UT win. There's also Savion Red, former wide receiver-turned-running back.

"Point is there's a lot of skill, a lot of guys who could end up being playmakers, but we just don't really know, all we know is that Texas has a lot of good options."

How will TCU replace quarterback Max Duggan?

What Litman said: "Chandler Morris, of course we know what happened last year. He earned the starting job, was injured, and then Max Duggan took over. He's projected to be the 2023 starter, but Sonny [Dykes] did just add another quarterback from the portal in Oregon State transfer Chance Nolan. He started 20 games over the last three seasons. He was injured last year, so he didn't play a ton in 2022 … 

"Chandler Morris and redshirt freshman Josh Hoover, they have one start between them, so at least now they have a guy who can come in, he has experience and can push the quarterback room."

Can TCU bounce back from College Football Playoff drubbing?

What Litman said: "I think you can expect them to maybe not contend for a National Championship again, but they're gonna make a run at the Big 12. The Big 12 is wide open. We just talked about Texas and how many weapons they have. TCU's offense, of course, had a ton of turnover, but they returned seven starters on defense. They might not make another incredibly surprising, shock-the-world kind of run again this fall, but I think they're here to stay."

Colorado-TCU Week 1 expectations?

What Litman said: "Who's not excited to see Coach Prime make his D-1, Power 5 debut, and he's doing it against a team in TCU that really needs to win that home opener after the National Championship disaster. And I think, of course, Deion will have a ton of people from the Dallas-Fort Worth area at that game. It's probably going to be the biggest hyped up game of Week 1, and I'm just excited to see the Coach Prime era in Colorado begin?

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