Steve Sarkisian isn’t backing away from what he said about Florida, and he’s not pretending Texas’ latest road grind changed his mind.
The Longhorns came away with a 20-17 win in their SEC opener, but Sarkisian made it clear afterward that the performance still left room for more, especially on offense. Even so, he knows the road is rarely kind, and he’s seen enough to understand how deceptive those wins and losses can look from the outside.
Last season gave him a vivid example. Texas went to Gainesville as the preseason No. 1 team, still carrying national championship expectations despite an opening-week loss to Ohio State. Then the Longhorns walked into The Swamp in Week 6 and dropped a 29-21 decision to a Florida team that finished 4-8.
Sarkisian’s view then was simple: the record didn’t tell the full story. And Florida’s 4-0 start this season, including wins over Auburn and Ole Miss under new head coach Jon Sumrall, is giving that argument more weight.
“I tried to tell you guys about Florida last year. No one wanted to believe me,” Sarkisian said.
“They’ve got real players in Gainesville, and they’re a good football team. They’ve kind of figured it out.
We’ll worry about that when that one comes.”
He had made the same point last fall, right after Texas left Gainesville empty-handed.
"I mean, take the other -- how many teams are there in college football? One hundred and thirty-six,” Sarkisian said following the loss last season.
“Take the other 135 and have them go play at Ohio State and at The Swamp. See how they do."
Florida is back on Texas’ schedule, and the rematch lands in Austin on October 17th, coming just a week after the Longhorns face Oklahoma in Dallas.
Mississippi State could present an even bigger problem. The Bulldogs are 4-0 and ranked No. 16 nationally, and they already pushed Texas to the edge last year in Starkville before the Longhorns escaped with a 45-38 overtime comeback win.
Sarkisian said he had a feel for one of Mississippi State’s players well before that matchup.
“With Mississippi State, I knew about Kamario Taylor a year ago. They just didn’t play him a lot,” Sarkisian said.
“They put him in our game, and he threw a touchdown pass. They’ve got real players.
This league is no joke. It’s a real league.”
Texas and Mississippi State will square off in Austin on October 31st, and as it stands, that game will be the third of five straight contests against ranked opponents for the Longhorns.
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