Non-conference schedule construction remains a vital part of FBS programs. As teams craft their schedule, they aim to build a slate that improves their program. The University of Texas, under head coach Steve Sarkisian, is no exception. The head coach shared his opinion on the process.
Why Steve Sarkisian Values a Tough Non-Conference Schedule for Texas
The College Football Playoff committee seemingly changed the face of the sport and how teams schedule. Instead of the unbeaten path, the group apparently prefers the concept of a quality loss.
Those are the losses to better teams. Sarkisian sat down with former Pro Bowlers Michael Robinson and Marshawn Lynch to discuss Texas’ decision to choose tough opponents and whether he regrets it.
“I’m going to hold out on my judgment for that. Like, we’re going to play Ohio State again this year. This year is in Austin, so I got you. So, we did the home and home and then next year after that in ’27 Michigan comes here.”
Last season, the Longhorns opened up in Columbus, playing the then-defending national champion Ohio State. Texas held the Buckeyes to 203 total yards but lost 14-7.
The close loss kept Texas, ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason poll, in the hunt for a playoff spot. For the first five weeks of the season, Sarkisian’s program stayed in the top 10.
It was only after an upset loss to Florida that the Longhorns saw their ranking plummet. The next four weeks saw Texas win four consecutive games, including two against No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 9 Vanderbilt. Losing to No. 5 Georgia gave them their third loss and hurt their CFP chances, even after winning out to close the season.
If Texas had beaten Ohio State, it would have been in a better position to make the postseason. However, the nature of the loss kept them in the conversation. Losing to Florida, which finished 4-8, hurt the Longhorns.
Last year, it was the defense that carried the team, landing at the No. 17 spot in the PFSN CFB Defense Impact Rankings.
This was not the first time that Sarkisian’s program chose a tough out-of-conference opponent, and it will not be the last, as he explained.
“Michigan comes here. We did kind of a 4-year deal where you got to remember before that when we were in the Big 12, we felt like we needed that out of conference game. So, we played Alabama here. We went to Bama and we reaped the benefit of that.”
In 2024, the Longhorns traveled to Ann Arbor to begin a home-and-away series with Michigan. Next year, they will wrap up the contract. Before, while in the Big 12, Sarkisian chose tougher games to improve his team’s resume.
Now that the SEC went to a nine-game conference schedule, a move that drew the ire of a few coaches, Texas finds itself playing in more competitive games all season long. Arkansas is the only opponent on this year’s slate that did not appear in either a bowl game or the CFP.
While there is risk attached to those games, he continues to play them. This season, the Ohio State game does not start Texas’ season. Instead, games against Texas State and UT-San Antonio bookend the matchup.
