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Steve Sarkisian emphatically reacts to Texas being No. 1 in preseason AP Poll: 'It really doesn't matter'

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh08/11/25griffin_mcveigh
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Steve Sarkisian (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

For the first time in program history, the Texas Longhorns are No. 1 in the preseason AP poll. Texas just edged out Penn State for the top spot. A cool moment for Steve Sarkisian and his program but in reality, the head coach is not taking much to heart.

“It really doesn’t matter,” Sarkisian said. “That’s how I drown it out. I tell the guys exactly that. It doesn’t matter. It’s irrelevant to the way the season is going to go, it’s irrelevant to the way we’re going to play, it’s irrelevant to how our opponents are going to play. Maybe it puts a bigger bullseye on us for our opponents but the reality is, we have to go do it. We have to perform and we have to go perform at a high level or time and time and time again. That shouldn’t change whether we were one, eight, 12, 30.”

Sarkisian says this, knowing who appears first on Texas’ schedule. A trip to Columbus against the Ohio State Buckeyes is circled on almost everybody’s calendars. When the ball is kicked off from the Shoe, the preseason No. 1 and No. 3 teams will be facing off.

It’s the beginning of a journey Sarkisian hopes lasts a long time. Two consecutive seasons have ended with Texas losing in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Ohio State took them down this past January, while the height of Washington‘s magical run under Kalen DeBoer was the Sugar Bowl win over Texas.

The goal in Austin is to take the next step forward and breakthrough for a national championship. And Sarkisian would trade having the No. 1 next to his team’s name on the scorebug right now for the honor in a few month’s time.

“Expectations around here are to always be champions,” Sarkisian said. “That hasn’t changed since Day 1. I think the key to the drill is — you’d like to have a No. 1 next to you at the end of the season.”

Texas spent four weeks as the AP poll’s No. 1 team last season. However, before then, 2008 was the last time the Longhorns found themselves in the top spot. Sixteen years passed between those two occurrences.

Sarkisian believes this can be a moment of celebration for the fans. But within the locker room, the message appears to be pretty clear. He still wants players to remain focused on what’s ahead.