FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Steve Sarkisian strolled off the sector as Razorback Stadium emptied, his standard police escort flanking him Saturday as Texas gamers trickled via a tunnel and into the guests’ locker room.
Sarkisian flashed a “Horns Up” hand sign to Texas followers. There have been no boos, no trash-talking from Arkansas followers. Reality be advised, the Longhorns coach may have run laps across the area and never have been bothered after a 20-10 victory in opposition to Arkansas.
Three years in the past, that wasn’t the case. Sarkisian wanted all of the safety he may get as he navigated his method to the locker room. Arkansas followers stormed the sector to have a good time a 19-point trouncing of their hated rivals in a efficiency that confirmed the Horns, who allowed an unsightly 333 yards dashing, weren’t prepared for his or her impending transfer to the SEC, primarily as a result of they had been an absolute mess within the trenches.
“That was an eye-opening expertise,” stated Texas senior defensive deal with Alfred Collins.
Not Saturday, even when it did get a bit shut late within the third quarter because the Hogs pulled inside a area objective after 35 minutes of malaise.
“It is fairly evident we’re (higher),” Sarkisian stated. “There is a stage of physicality it’s a must to play with on this convention.”
No. 3 Texas returned to Fayetteville trying the a part of an SEC juggernaut, a crew constructed on the foundational facets that made Nick Saban’s groups seemingly invincible within the 2010s — a blueprint Sarkisian, a former Alabama assistant, has efficiently tweaked and made his personal in Austin. It wasn’t all the time fairly Saturday, significantly on offense because the Longhorns had been held to solely 315 yards, however the protection was elite with two turnovers and 6 sacks (4 within the first half). The Hogs completed with solely 231 yards and did not eclipse 70 yards till a powerful 12-play landing drive pulled them inside 13-7 with 3:39 remaining within the third quarter.Â
It was then the naysayers briefly returned. Texas’ offense went three-and-out, and the Hogs marched down the sector once more to kick a 44-yard area objective. The stadium was buzzing. Quarterback Quinn Ewers was flushing his ideas, and he delivered on the following possession, delivering the game-defining landing on an eight-play drive.
“What I like about that drive is the ball touched numerous completely different individuals’s fingers on that drive, and that is after we’re at our greatest,” Sarkisian stated.
The query is whether or not Texas appears to be like the a part of a championship crew. Their finest win of the season is a one-possession sport at Vanderbilt. The schedule hasn’t essentially been daunting as many had anticipated earlier than the season, however the Horns simply win — and achieve this comfortably. They entered Saturday tied with Oregon for essentially the most wins by 19-plus factors this season (7). The double-digit loss to Georgia in October in Austin, nevertheless, serves as a black mark on the playoff résumé.
“It kinda was somewhat wake-up name for us and myself, for certain,” stated Ewers, who hasn’t turned the ball over in two straight begins for the primary time this 12 months. “We perceive what we have to do. That is what good groups do.”
For the Horns, type factors do not essentially matter, even in opposition to this schedule (56th nationally). So long as Ewers does not flip the ball over and the defensive position continues to eat up quarterbacks within the backfield, they will go far — all the way in which to an SEC title and, maybe, a nationwide championship.
Saturday’s nip-tuck sport that the Longhorns by no means trailed served as a reminder. Wins are treasured within the SEC, particularly in 2024. Each crew within the 16-team convention has at the least one loss.Â
“We take a look at Alabama, pondering all these years with coach Saban, they only went and blew everyone out,” stated Sarkisian, who served as Saban’s offensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020. “You must discover a method to win the powerful video games, proper? If not, that is the distinction between an 11-1 crew and 8-4, proper? … For us to discover a method to win this one was good.”
The factor about Texas is its roster is healthier than most, and within the 12-team playoff period that is ok. “We’re gentle years completely different from the place we had been (in opposition to Arkansas in 2021),” Sarkisian stated. “However the fantastic thing about it’s I do not assume anyone in that locker room is content material.”
The Longhorns are loaded with playmakers. They’re frustratingly good. They’ll play with their meals or devour it, and oftentimes they alternate between these choices, offering groups simply sufficient hope to consider they will compete. Ewers may not be a candidate for nationwide awards, however he is strong, even when he appears to surrender too early on performs when the pocket collapses (he was sacked twice on Saturday).
The truth is that his largest downside is on the sidelines, the place the specter of backup Arch Manning, who was glorious instead of Ewers throughout his two-game absence with an stomach harm, lingers because the stronger, extra correct downfield passer.
That does not imply Ewers is someway holding the Longhorns again from assembly championship expectations. When he wanted to ship in opposition to the Hogs, he did simply that. As followers brazenly mentioned playoff seeding and whether or not Texas can win the SEC, the Longhorns had been as an alternative fueled by the embarrassment of a street journey three years in the past, which seniors on the crew frequently reminded youthful teammates this week.
Moments earlier than the Longhorns walked on the sector for kickoff Saturday, defensive again Jahdae Barron turned to fellow senior Barryn Sorrell.Â
“2021,” he stated, “simply keep in mind it.”
Barron actually remembered. He picked off a move — his fourth of the season — and had two tackles for a loss and one sack, cementing himself as a contender for the Jim Thorpe Award.
Sarkisian remembered. So did high assistant Jeff Banks. The 2 had been downright giddy on the sideline when Ewers carried the ball on a uncommon zone learn, decreasing his shoulder to ship a success on a linebacker to select up a primary down and seal the win on fourth-and-2.
As an alternative of juking the defender, Ewers needed to ship some punishment and launch “all of the frustrations” he had earlier within the sport.Â
“Attempt to put somewhat assertion into it,” Ewers stated. “That is all.”
The second was actually not memorable for the informal viewers watching at house on their couches, but it surely was vital for Texas. One staffer on the sideline turned to Texas dignitaries and declared Ewers’ run as his “favourite play of the season.”
It might need been Sarkisian’s favourite play, too, due to what it meant. The season continues to be alive, all objectives are inside attain, and exacting revenge in a rivalry sport is all the time candy.
“Do not let these moments go by with out taking it in, as a result of these are the recollections which are going to final a lifetime, and they are going to keep in mind being in that locker room immediately, particularly the fellows that had been right here a number of years in the past, and what that felt like,” Sarkisian stated. “So had been we as coaches. We’re the identical means. We needed to stroll off that area a number of years in the past, too, with hundreds of individuals on the sector working round us.”
So, for now, let the followers and playoff committee debate whether or not the Longhorns deserve their No. 3 spot within the rankings. Time will inform. It all the time does. In some situations, it takes three years to reply.
“I am not one to shrink back from that sort of stuff. Everyone knows what our objectives are for the season,” Sarkisian stated. “We need to be in Atlanta in December, compete for an SEC championship, and we need to be enjoying Jan. 20. However I haven’t got to belabor the purpose. I haven’t got to speak about it on a regular basis with our guys. They know.”
