Big 12 Football Preseason Poll 2023: Texas, Oklahoma Predicted To Finish In Top 3

The Big 12 released its predicted order of finish ahead of the 2023 season as voted on by the media, and there is a high level of confidence that Texas will ride off into the sunset with on last Big 12 title.

The Longhorns garnered 41 first-place votes and 886 overall points to take home the honors by a wide margin over defending Big 12 champion Kansas State, which earned 14 first-place votes and 858 overall votes. 

It is the first time since 2009, and the first time since the Big 12 dropped divisions in 2011, that the Longhorns have been tabbed as the preseason Big 12 favorite. 

Oklahoma, which will join Texas in the SEC in 2024, was picked third by the voting members of the media with four first-place votes and 758 overall points. Texas Tech and TCU -- fresh off a trip to the College Football Playoff National Championship last season -- rounded out the top five. 

The conference will welcome UCF, BYU, Houston and Cincinnati in 2023. There isn't much faith in those teams contending for the conference title. UCF was picked eighth in the poll, highest among the four newcomers. BYU was slated at 11th ahead of Houston and Cincinnati. The media didn't show much faith in Neal Brown or West Virginia, slating the Mountaineers to finish last. 

Here is how the voting broke down (first-place votes in parenthesis): 

The Big 12 Championship Game will take place on Dec. 2 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and will feature the top two teams according to conference records.

Last year Kansas State upset previously-unbeaten TCU 31-28 to capture its first outright conference title since 2003. The Horned Frogs still went on to earn a College Football Playoff berth, beating Michigan in the CFP semifinals before falling to Georgia in the national title game.