Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is a confident guy and exudes confidence in his team every chance he gets. But, as his team prepares to face Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, Sark is really singing the praises of the opponent.
Is he just being realistic? Is he playing coy or possum? Is he hoping his comments about Ohio State will make them over confident?
In his weekly press Zoom call, Sark told Longhorns fans they’ll be needed against the Buckeyes. Texas is after-all an underdog in its home state.
“I need Longhorn Nation to show out in Arlington. We’re going to need everything we’ve got to try to win this game. Clearly, we’re massive underdogs. Nobody’s going to give us a shot. So we’re going to need all that we can to try to win this game.” – Steve Sarkisian
Sarkisian is feeding into the underdog mentality, hoping it will rally Texas fans to show up and give the Longhorns a home-field advantage. He also acknowledged that Ohio State fans “travel really, really well” and that it’s not a true home game since both schools get the same allotment of tickets.
But Sark didn’t stop there.
“It’s a heck of an opponent in Ohio State. The job that Coach Day has done with that team, their staff, they’re playing really good football right now. We know it’s going to be a heck of a challenge, but looking forward to the opportunity.” – Steve Sarkisian
Sarkisian went onto talk about how confident the Buckeyes are right now, pointing out Ohio State’s aggressive play calling but also “a really high level” of execution.
Since the disastrous Michigan game, where Ohio State could only muster 10 points, the Buckeyes offense has looked like a machine. In the 41-21 Rose Bowl win over Oregon, Ohio State star WR Jeremiah Smith had an epic game with 187 yards and two touchdowns. And his fellow Buckeyes receiver Emeka Egbuka added five catches for 72 yards and a touchdown.
Against Tennessee, in the first round of the College Football Playoff, the duo combined to catch 11 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-17 win.
“They’re both big, physical players They have length. They have speed. They have playmaking ability on the ball. They have big catch radiuses. They’ve got the scheme to go with it, with coach (Chip) Kelly and coach (Ryan) Day, and they’ve got a quarterback who delivers you the ball. You add all that up, these guys are impactful players that are real issues, and we’re going to have a hard time guarding.” – Steve Sarkisian
Sark then turned to Ohio State QB Will Howard, who Texas saw when the redshirt senior was at Kansas State. In 2021, Howard ran for a 71-yard touchdown against the Longhorns. Sarkisian also praised the Ohio State QB’s passing ability, saying “he throws passes where they need to be thrown, and guys make plays for him.”
“He’s a much better athlete than people probably give him credit for … He has good speed. He’s got great poise and composure in the pocket. You can tell he’s very bright.” – Steve Sarkisian
Finally, Sark turned to the Buckeyes’s defense, who recorded eight sacks against the Ducks. Sarkisian said that’s why UT needs to be more balanced on offense because Ohio State’s pass rush will be able to tee off if it knows the Longhorns are going to pass.
“They’re ferocious up front. They’ve got a great pass rush. Big on the inside, big edge players that are very talented.” – Steve Sarkisian
Obviously, Ohio State is a good, maybe great, team. But by seeming to go overboard in his praise for his opponent, Sark is either trying to get in the heads of the Buckeyes or warn Longhorns fans of what’s coming on Jan. 10.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Is Steve Sarkisian playing mind games by heaping praise on Ohio State ahead of Cotton Bowl?
