Steve Sarkisian Reveals When He Knew Things Turned Around for Texas
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has consecutive trips to the College Football Playoff under his belt, but it did not start that way.
His first season with Texas in 2021 ended with a 5-7 record, and the following year he went 8-5.
In a recent episode of "Always College Football," he highlighted the moment when the momentum shifted for the program. Sarkisian said that for him, it was losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide 20-19 in 2022 on a go-ahead field goal.
He went back to the locker room and realized the players were not happy with losing that close of a game to Alabama.
"In year two, when we played Bama here, and that was a really good Bama team that went on to play for a national championship," Sarkisian said. "...We kick a field goal with about a minute and 30 seconds to go in the game. Bryce leads them down, and they kick the field goal to beat us at home. I think maybe the previous year or so, people would have been content with playing Alabama that close, and when I got in the locker room, I could get a sense and a feel that that wasn't good enough."
In 2023, Texas and Alabama played again with a much different result. The Longhorns beat the Crimson Tide 34-24 in Tuscaloosa for a monumental win.
The program has come a long way under Sarkisian, and he reminds his staff of that. He revealed that the feeling of the 5-7 season in 2021 was something he emphasized in the offseason.
Not everyone is a believer in the Longhorns in 2025, including ESPN's Joe Fortenbaugh. He predicted Texas' first loss would be in the season opener versus the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Texas and Ohio State face off on August 30 with a Noon ET kickoff on Fox.This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
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