Steve Sarkisian reveals he might be ‘a little sick’ to enjoy watching Longhorns’ feisty practice habits ahead of Wildcats
Third-ranked Longhorns control their own destiny and know the stakes only get bigger from here
It’s almost Thanksgiving. Players are tired of the grind, tired of coaches yelling and just plain worn out physically. Not the Longhorns, it seems.
Tuesday and Wednesday’s practices were physical and fast, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “They were feisty, which I kind of enjoyed that it got a little feisty at Wednesday's practice.”
Players fighting in practice leading up a game against 4-6 Kentucky might normally be a bad omen. For No. 3 Texas, it’s a huge positive sign, at least to the coach. The Horns are amped up, and they know the stakes only get bigger from here.
“I, in a weird way, I kind of enjoyed it,” Sarkisian said of the practice scrums. “I don't know if that's a little sick of me to think that, but I kind of enjoyed that because, to your point that they're still very hungry.”
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Sarkisian even admitted he “let this go for a minute.”
Going into senior day festivities Saturday, Texas (9-1, 5-1 SEC) controls its own championship destiny.
If Texas beats Kentucky on Saturday and Texas A&M next week, the Longhorns advance to the SEC championship game in their first year in the league. A win in Atlanta would propel Texas into a first-round bye in the College Football Playoffs.
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What happens if there’s a loss somewhere along the way? Well, it’s complicated. That’s why Sarkisian is hellbent on making sure the Horns keep their eyes on the prize and leaving nothing to chance.
“When we lost the Georgia game, we put ourselves back in the same scenario that we were in a year ago,” Sarkisian said. “If you recall a year ago, senior night, we were playing (Texas) Tech. We had to win that game to get into the Big 12 championship game the way the tiebreaker was going to fall. And so we’ve been in this scenario before.
“Two years ago, senior night, we played Baylor and beat them, and then we had to sit on the couch and watch Kansas play Kansas State and cheer for the Jayhawks,” he said. “Because if they would have won, we could have got into the Big 12 championship game.”
K-State won the Sunflower Showdown in 2022, and Texas was sent packing to the Alamo Bowl.
“So we just don’t want to put ourselves in a position where we’re relying on anybody else to help us, that we can control our own destiny,” Sarkisian said. “And the best way to do that is to focus on it one game at a time.
“You know, be present today. Be where your feet are. Focus on the task at hand and not get caught up looking too far down the road. This. Just focus on what’s right in front of us.”
