After Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian took a thinly veiled shot at the Texas Tech Red Raiders’ 2026 schedule, Texas Tech didn’t hold back. Their billionaire booster and Board of Regents chairman, Cody Campbell, called the Longhorns’ bluff, offering to foot the entire bill to buy out both programs’ Week 1 opponents just to settle things on the gridiron.
Why Steve Sarkisian Was Handed a Blunt Reality Check Over Cody Campbell’s Challenge
Reacting to the explosive back-and-forth, prominent college football voice Cousin Shane delivered a raw, unfiltered reality check on the situation on the latest episode of “That SEC Podcast.” For him, Texas Tech’s aggressive counter-punch exposes a deeper truth about Texas.
“Now you get called out. They just punch the bully in the mouth and take them. Take them. I feel like you can’t back down from this. I don’t think so,” Shane said. “I mean, if you’re going to play teams like Ohio State, you know, why not? Why not put Texas Tech on the schedule?”
Sarkisian’s critiques centered around the narrative that Texas faces a grueling SEC gauntlet while Texas Tech cruises through an easier path. However, looking at the data, the Longhorns’ elite status has occasionally come with a safety net.
In 2025, Texas finished the regular season with a 9-3 record but missed the College Football Playoff entirely, largely due to a lack of elite, resume-defining wins outside of their standard SEC slate. Sarkisian’s frustration with the CFP committee’s evaluation of strength of schedule is what prompted his public dig at Texas Tech. But by crying foul over scheduling while scheduling Week 1 games against lower-tier programs, Texas laid the groundwork for Campbell to expose them.
Shane points out the hypocrisy in Texas wanting credit for a tough schedule while refusing an immediate, high-stakes upgrade.
“If anything, it’s going to boost your opportunity after you beat the sh*t out of them. You know, at the end of the year when we’re looking at a one-loss Texas Tech, we’re like, they should get in. It would just help Texas. So yeah, I’m all for setting this one up. Gotta set this one up. This would be good,” Shane said.
Texas Tech has flipped the script. Sarkisian wanted to paint the Red Raiders as soft. Instead, he has been backed into a corner.
Now, the ball is in his court. Currently, PFSN’s CFB Playoff Meter gives the Longhorns a 66.9% chance to make the College Football Playoff.
Read More: ‘Just DEMOLISHED Sark’: CFB World Reacts As Cody Campbell Exposes Steve Sarkisian, Texas
