Texas has put itself in a position where one loss in the final stretch won’t necessarily wreck its College Football Playoff hopes, but that doesn’t mean Steve Sarkisian should treat the trip to LSU like a dress rehearsal.
The Longhorns are sitting on a résumé that already includes four wins over ranked opponents, which has them trending toward another CFP run despite two losses to unranked teams. With three games left - LSU on the road, Arkansas at home and then Texas A&M down the road - Texas has room to breathe. But breathing room is not the same thing as permission to coast.
LSU is the last ranked opponent left on the schedule, and that alone makes Saturday in Death Valley a chance for Texas to strengthen its case before the regular season closes. A strong finish would leave little doubt about where the Horns belong, barring any major surprises in the final two games.
There is an obvious temptation to look at the bigger picture and start protecting bodies. Players who have already been dealing with bumps and bruises, including edge rusher Colin Simmons, wide receivers Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo, and defensive tackle Hero Kanu, could be candidates for lighter workloads if Texas were willing to play the long game.
And from a pure scheduling standpoint, that argument has some logic. There are two weeks between the LSU game and the end of the regular season, then another week before the SEC Championship game if Texas gets there, followed by more time before the CFP begins. That kind of runway makes it easy to wonder why the Longhorns would risk anything against LSU when Arkansas and Texas A&M are still waiting.
But that’s not the move here.
If Texas wants to beat LSU, Sarkisian needs his veterans on the field and his best players ready to carry the load. The Tigers bring a dangerous offense and a defense that can make life miserable, so the Horns cannot afford to go into Baton Rouge anything less than fully loaded.
After that game, the opportunity to manage workloads becomes much more realistic. Right now, Texas needs to be as close to full strength as possible.
Arkansas and Texas A&M may still matter emotionally, but neither has looked like a real threat since the season started. LSU is different.
It’s the one game left that can still sharpen Texas’s playoff case in a meaningful way. And for Sarkisian, that means the approach has to be simple: go compete.
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