DALLAS, TX – Steve Sarkisian’s record against Top 10 teams as the head coach of the University of Texas was beginning to raise eyebrows. He entered the Week 7 matchup against No. 6 Oklahoma with a 2-8 record against such teams since arriving in Austin ahead of the 2021 season. The two wins were at Alabama in 2023 and at Michigan in 2024. That Wolverines team finished 7-5 in the regular season. 

Sarkisian and former players such as Jordan Whittington credit that road win over an Alabama team that went on to win the SEC in 2023 as the turning point for the Longhorn program. They ended up in the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2023 and 2024 after slaying the dragon and beating Nick Saban, one of Sarkisian’s mentors. It proved to the Longhorns that they could play with anyone in the country and it helped shed the label of perennial underachievers. 

But since that win at Alabama, signature victories were hard to find. Texas lost to Washington in the semifinals in 2023 by six points. It lost in the 2024 semifinals to Ohio State by 14. The 2024 season also included a pair of Top 10 losses to Georgia, one at home by 15 and one in overtime in the SEC Championship game. The 2025 campaign began with a seven-point road loss to Ohio State. 

Sarkisian & Co. entered the Cotton Bowl in a must-win situation after falling to Florida last week in The Swamp. A loss to Oklahoma would’ve dropped Texas to 3-3 on the season and out of the SEC championship race and the College Football Playoff discussion by the midway point of the season. A fall that would’ve been exaggerated by the preseason No. 1 ranking and Arch Manning’s oversized microscope. 

Instead, the Longhorns outscored Oklahoma 20-0 in the second half to win for the third time in the last four against the Sooners and propel themselves back into the mix. Now 4-2 with upcoming games against Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt and a chance to build some real momentum leading into the next potential Top 10 matchup – a road trip to face a Georgia squad that knocked off the Horns twice in 2024. 

“It’s easy to succumb to the outside noise and there was a lot of shit getting talked about our team,” Sarkisian said after the game. “I think they responded,”

If Texas does go on a run and reenter the national championship conversation, the third quarter against Oklahoma will be the fulcrum point. The Longhorns gained 114 yards and scored three points on 25 plays in the first half, leaving the second quarter trailing 6-3. They received the ball to start the second half and went on a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took 7:11 off the clock. Manning was 4-for-4 on third down during the drive, including the touchdown pass to DeAndre Moore Jr. that gave Texas a lead it would never surrender. 

The Longhorns forced a three-and-out on defense and then went on a 13-play, 65-yard drive that began in the shadows of their own end zone and ended with a field goal. In the third quarter, Texas ran 26 plays to Oklahoma’s four. The Longhorns outgained the Sooners 140-26 and held the ball for 13:26 of 15 minutes. They were 7-of-8 on third down and Manning was 10-of-12 overall. 

“If we can play the way that we played tonight, we’re plenty good enough to compete against any team in the conference,” Sarkisian said. “But we gotta play that way.” 

Sarkisian has helped the Texas football program remove a few monkeys from its back. He led the Longhorns to its first conference championship since Colt McCoy a couple of years ago. He’s led the Horns to the CFP twice. He’s won at Alabama and at Michigan and is now 3-1 against the Sooners since Brent Venables arrived in Norman. His teams rarely lose as the favorite, but they also weren’t winning any as underdogs. He’s now helped remove that anchor, as well. 

The job at Texas is measured in championships and Sarkisian will be the first to tell you that his ultimate goal is to win a national championship for the Longhorns, something that hasn’t happened in 20 years and has only happened once in over 50. Wins like the 23-6 victory over Oklahoma reinforce that he was the right hire and that those titles will eventually come if the Longhorns keep knocking on the door. 

Texas might not win the national championship in 2025. The Horns might not even make it to the SEC Championship game or the CFP. But this is no longer the program that shrinks in big moments or scurries away when the lights get bright. There is a fight and a defiance to this program that didn’t exist before. 

That’s all Sarkisian.