Steve Sarkisian speaks on opting out of bowl games after Texas misses College Football Playoff

Texas was one of several possible at-larges, being the highest-ranked three-loss team outside the field, which missed the College Football Playoff. The Longhorns are moving on, though, and looking ahead to this next month ahead of their next opportunity in the Citrus Bowl.

Following their bowl selection on Sunday, Steve Sarkisian spoke with the media on where his team is at after yesterday’s news that they wouldn’t be in the CFP. Plenty of disappointment was part of that as, for the first time in three seasons, the playoff won’t include the Longhorns.

“I think there’s obviously a level of disappointment of not, you know, making the CFP,” said Sarkisian. “I thought that we put a body of work on the field. We stated our case. They made their decisions of who they felt was worthy and deserving of being the twelve teams to play in that tournament, and you have to respect that. That’s the system that we put in place. Congratulations to all those teams that are in that tournament, that get that opportunity.”

However, as for what’s next, Sarkisian said they didn’t have any discussions about opting out of the bowl season. They will begin to have conversations with specific players who might normally opt out, whether it be to prepare for the draft or due to intentions to transfer, but, as a team, they wanted to end their season right by still taking part in the postseason.

“As far as us moving forward, you know, for me, and I think for our players, one of the key messages has to continue to be it’s not about what just happened to us. It’s about what we’re going to do moving forward, and that’ll be our message starting tomorrow morning with the team and the players,” said Sarkisian. “Naturally, we’re going to have to have discussions with a variety of players – some that have NFL aspirations, some that may be thinking about potentially going to other schools. That’s the reality of the state of college football right now. But I think, you know, jumping to that too soon and making an emotional decision, I think, can be where we make a mistake. And so, we’ve got to be cognizant of that’s the reality of the state of college football, but, also, let’s make sure that we’re making a really good, conscientious decision with the right information and not do anything, you know, with the emotion or frustration.”

“We did not (consider opting out). We felt like, if we didn’t get into the CFP, being right on the cusp, we’d have an opportunity to go to a really good bowl game. And, you think about the longstanding history and tradition of the Citrus Bowl, with a really quality opponent in Michigan coming out of the Big Ten? This was going to be a great opportunity for us, for our players, for our team,” Sarkisian added. “I want our guys to enjoy this, and I feel like it’s the right thing for us to do for a lot of reasons.”

This comes as a hot-button topic after yesterday’s reveal as Notre Dame, who also missed the playoff as the first team out, decided to opt out of any bowl berths on Sunday. Sarkisian didn’t speak on them specifically, but noted that it’s something we may see more of as this era moves forward with the CFP.

“I don’t know about the ripple effect for everybody, you know,” said Sarkisian. “I think, you know, we all have goals and aspirations of winning conference championships and being national champions – at least we do. But, I also think that there’s an experience factor in all this. There’s growth in all this. There’s development in all this. There’s camaraderie. There’s so much that goes into this that, sometimes, a bowl game is about celebrating a season, and finishing a season the right way.”

“And, like I said, you know, I can’t speak for everybody else. You know, that may change some as we evolve, potentially, into more teams. I don’t know. You know, I think we can all agree we’ve got a flawed system right now that needs to be revamped, needs to be looked at, needs to be looked at from a lot of different angles. Where it goes from here, I don’t think anybody really knows,” continued Sarkisian. “The point being, I don’t know what the effect is going to be down the road. I just know, for us, this is an opportunity to play another game against a really good team, in a great game and great bowl game.”

Texas is electing to continue their season, with a positive there being the extra time it’ll give them with their younger players as well as their entire team, as they’ll play in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve. They’re looking forward to it too as the final game and opportunity of their year.

“That’ll be the process starting tomorrow, and I’m sure we’ll take a little bit of time to get to the final number of who may and who may not play. But, that’s okay,” said Sarkisian. “We’ve got a really young football team. We’ve got a lot of good, young players that are chomping at the bit for their opportunity to play. We’re going to get a lot of extended practice time. Essentially, this is going to turn into another spring ball for us where a lot of young players are going to get an opportunity to show how much they’ve grown and developed over the season, and with the opportunity to potentially play in this game where this game doesn’t count against their eligibility. So, looking forward to all parties on our team hopefully contributing to success in this game.”

“We’re going to cherish it,” Sarkisian said. “We’re going to put our best foot forward and try to go win this game.”