With Texas riding high after an impressive come-from-behind win against Ohio State, head coach Steve Sarkisian may have stepped in it amid ongoing questions about the Longhorns and Notre Dame football.
After the 24-23 victory over the Buckeyes, Sarkisian decided it was the perfect time to chide every coach who didn’t play a Power 4 opponent on Saturday: “We could be like other teams and play Jones Junior High tonight and win 66–0. I don’t know what that does for us. What I think it does for us, is we found out we can (win big games).”
You don’t say, Steve? Then hurry up and get on the phone with the Texas AD and tell him the school needs to do whatever it can to honor its commitment to play Notre Dame in future seasons. Right up until Saturday, every hint from the Longhorns suggested the home-and-home would be canceled.
It wasn’t that long ago that Sarkisian was singing a different tune. During his time on the mic during SEC Media Days this summer, he hemmed and hawed about whether he believed Texas should keep Notre Dame on the future schedule.
#Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian says
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) September 13, 2026
“We could be like other teams and play Jones Junior High tonight and win 66–0. I don’t know what that does for us. What I think it does for us, is we found out we can (win big games).”@ontexasfootball pic.twitter.com/xl7BtQMBYf
Notre Dame football gives Texas obvious answer after Steve Sarkisian blasts weak schedules
“I don’t know yet about Notre Dame,” Sarkisian said then. “We’ll see, because I think the (CFP selection) committee has to show us what happens now and what’s the value that they’re placing on strength of schedule, and are we going to let a 9-3 team in as an at-large? We’ll find out, and I think this year will be a great test of what that looks like.”
Sarkisian has even done a 180 on playing Ohio State. To hear him tell it, he didn’t make the playoffs last year with a 9-3 record because of an early-season non-conference loss to the Buckeyes. In reality, the games that kept him out were more likely his blowout loss to Georgia and an ugly loss to a Florida Gators squad that finished 4-8 in 2025.
If Sarkisian really believes what he said on Saturday night and isn’t just blowing smoke because he won, then it’s a no-brainer to keep Notre Dame on the schedule.
As the old saying goes, iron sharpens iron. The top-ranked Longhorns sharpened theirs this weekend, jumped four spots in the ranking, and are in the driver’s seat for a College Football Playoff bid.
By keeping Notre Dame on the schedule, Sarkisian can keep sharpening his iron for years to come. He also avoids any accusations that he played Jones Junior High to pad his resume.
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