Texas aims higher after big road win
AUSTIN, Texas – Steve Sarkisian is always thinking big picture, but publicly he’s taking them one at a time.
If you told the Texas football coach that the 18th-ranked Longhorns (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) would be in position to control their conference destiny with three games remaining, he would have gladly signed up with a brand-new Montblanc.
After holding off Kansas State for the first signature road win of their coach’s tenure – finally – the Horns will advance to the Big 12 championship game for only the third time since the 2009 national runner-up season if they can write a 3-0 finish to the regular season.
The league-leading TCU Horned Frogs won’t be submitting an early document of forfeiture Saturday since they just entered the sexy No. 4 position in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Even more motivating is the opportunity to move up in the pecking order with a win over the Horns.
With ESPN’s “College GameDay” adding to the pomp and circumstance of it all, the Horns will get a second chance to give their home fans a win in front of the biggest audience the World Wide Leader can provide. At 4-2 in conference, they’ll arrive at their home stadium as the controllers of their own destiny, surely a huge confidence builder with three games remaining.
When I asked Sark on Monday how the team meetings went after such a big weekend, the message was clear: The Horns aren’t finished.
“I think one of the things that naturally can happen is this giant sigh of relief, like, ‘Hey, we overcame that and now we can relax,’ ” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got more work to do, and I think our guys recognize that. They’re hungry. It’s always good when you get a win like that and then here comes a top-five team coming in to your own stadium on a Saturday night who’s in first place in your league to get your attention quickly.”
Sark added that it didn’t take long for the team to flip the switch from K-State to TCU. It’s actually a good thing to have a major opponent show up at your place right after a big win so a team doesn’t spend so much time patting itself on the back.
Alabama was an eyelash away from being the biggest win this place has witnessed in years, but the Horns came up short in September.
TCU isn’t a college football blue blood, but a win would be the program’s first over a top-five team since 2018 when the Horns upset Oklahoma 48-45 in the precursor of a rematch in the conference title game. The Sooners got their revenge at Jerry World that December.
The Horns haven’t beaten a top-five team in Austin since a 24-20 win over Nebraska in 1999.
History could repeat itself if they figure it out Saturday. They’re 0-4 against top-four teams dating back to their loss to Alabama in the 2009 national championship game.