Steve Sarkisian’s night on the sideline took a strange turn after Texas finished off its wild comeback against Ohio State.
The Longhorns looked finished early, staring at a 23-3 deficit before ripping off one of the biggest reversals the program has seen in years. Arch Manning helped spark it with three fourth-quarter touchdown drives, Ohio State suddenly looked ordinary, and a crucial missed field goal from the Buckeyes helped Texas hang on for a stunning 24-23 win.
Once the final whistle sounded, the scene turned chaotic. Manning was everywhere, the ESPN/ABC crew was trying to keep up with the moment, and Holly Rowe caught up with Sarkisian for what should have been a clean postgame interview. Instead, Sarkisian walked away as soon as the camera was on him.
Steve Sarkisian bailed on the postgame interview with Holly Rowe 😬 pic.twitter.com/pCM0m15yrX
- Underdog CFB (@UnderdogCFB) September 13, 2026
It’s fair to give the coach the benefit of the doubt here. The emotion of a comeback like that was clearly through the roof, and there’s no obvious reason to think he meant it as a shot at Rowe. Still, the moment drew attention online because it looked so abrupt.
And it wasn’t even the first time Sarkisian passed on a broadcast interview during the game. At halftime, he also declined to speak with Laura Rutledge after waiting through technical issues.
Laura Rutledge: "I do want to make sure we clear something up. [Steve Sarkisian] did decline the interview at the half.
He had waited a long time, been very patient with some technical issues that we had. He apologized to us.
We should be apologizing to him, which we did." https://t.co/y9o6lXgNhx pic.twitter.com/yE08r5BNpL
- Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 13, 2026
The comeback will be the lasting headline from Austin, but Sarkisian’s postgame behavior was odd enough to invite some explaining.
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