Texas heads to Knoxville with a familiar warning from Steve Sarkisian: in the SEC, there’s no room to relax, and no such thing as an easy Saturday.
Before the top-ranked Longhorns open conference play at No. 14 Tennessee, Sarkisian leaned into the reality of the league and the atmosphere awaiting his team at Neyland Stadium.
The kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT, and he made clear he expects a full-scale test.
"In this conference, I've said it time and time again, from top to bottom, anybody can beat anybody," Sarkisian said. "I think that's the challenge of our conference: being mentally and physically prepared to play week in and week out. And for us this week, it's no different."
He was just as direct when talking about the venue.
"We're going into what I would probably consider is the loudest stadium in the country, Neyland Stadium," Sark said.
Tennessee’s offense has earned attention for its big-play passing under Josh Hueppel, but Sarkisian said the Volunteers bring more than that. He pointed to true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon and the run game led by Desean Bishop and Duane Morris as part of the challenge Texas has to handle.
That ground attack was on display in last week’s 42-9 win over Kennesaw State, when Bishop and Morris combined for 158 of Tennessee’s 268 rushing yards.
"Gotta be able to play both," Sarkisian said about defending the Vols' offense. "And gotta play against the tempo and how fast they go.
"We've got a heck of a challenge going into a hostile environment."
Texas has had to prove itself on the road under Sarkisian. The Longhorns went just 3-6 in true road games during his first two seasons, but they’ve been much sturdier since then, going 11-3 away from Austin. Sarkisian also noted that Texas has piled up the most SEC wins since joining the league just over two years ago.
"So, I'm very confident in our ability to go on the road and play well," he said.
That confidence, he said, has a lot to do with how his team is operating right now. Texas is 3-0 and has looked sharp, but Sarkisian still believes the season is revealing new layers about the group.
"We're a team that is very well connected. I think that plays well with one another, that takes pride in our conditioning," said Sarkisian.
"[The players] believe in the adjustments that the coaches are making, and they go execute and they continue to play together. That's very encouraging.
"We're going to continue to find out more as the season unfolds itself to us. Then we got more challenges ahead of us. Obviously this weekend it starts with Tennessee."
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