Steve Sarkisian details special moment with parents before College Football Playoff semifinal, message to Texas players

Even college football coaches still need an occasional word of encouragement from their parents. Ahead of Texas‘ showdown against Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinals on Friday, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian revealed the pregame tradition he shares with his parents.

“I FaceTime them before every game,” Sarkisian told ESPN’s Laura Rutledge. “My dad, for the longest time, stood on the sidelines with me, and obviously he’s getting older. He’s getting ready to turn 89, but they’re our biggest fans, our biggest supporters. I love touching base with them.”

Texas will need all the support it can get as it prepares to square off against the Buckeyes, who dominated Oregon 41-21 in the CFP quarterfinals. Of course, Ohio State isn’t the only talented team taking the field on Friday night.

Texas is coming off a 39-31 double-overtime victory against Arizona State in the Peach Bowl. The air raid was key for the Longhorns in the win. They finished the game with 322 passing yards. Steve Sarkisian plans on using his high-octane offense to attack Ohio State early.

“One of the keys is we got to remain aggressive,” Sarkisian said. “That’s who we are as an offensive football team. We’ve been a fast-starting team, as well. So have they. So, we got to make sure we run our best stuff and execute it early on.”

Texas and Ohio State will square off at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN. The winner will advance to the national championship to face off against Notre Dame.

ESPN’s College GameDay crew surprises Nick Saban

Ahead of the Texas–Ohio State showdown on Friday, ESPN’s College GameDay crew surprised co-host Nick Saban by telling him he is being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Instead of gloating about the achievement, Saban immediately praised all the coaches and players who helped him along the way.

“Anytime anything like this happens, it’s because you had a lot of great people in your organization,” Saban said. “A lot of great players, a lot of great coaches, a lot of support staff, and they made a great team. And I was happy to drive the bus, but we had some great people on it. So thank you so much.”

If anybody deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame, it’s Saban. The college football icon coached for over half a century and won seven national titles as a head coach, the most by any college coach ever.

Nick Saban is the fifth Alabama coach to be elected to the College Football Hall of Fame and the 27th inductee in program history. The 2025 class will be officially inducted during the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 9, 2025, at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.