College Football Playoff or not, Texas makes a statement crushing Oklahoma State for the Big 12 title
Texas may or may not make the College Football Playoff. Its fate is firmly in the hands of the selection committee now, but no matter the discourse or decision on Sunday, no one can deny the Longhorns’ statement in 2023.
This is your granddaddy’s Texas. That Burnt Orange you heard about, you read about, you feared about, has returned.
Bury all your “Texas is back!” jokes or “Steve Sarkisian can’t win 10 games” because this program finally turned a corner in 2023, and whether its successes are recognized by the playoff committee, the Longhorns deserve aplomb for such an impressive season.
They spanked Alabama in Tuscaloosa early in the season, and they blasted Oklahoma State 49-21 in the Big 12 Championship on Saturday. In between, they had some close calls but avoided the typical Texas face-plant we’ve become accustomed to. They lost to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, but they didn’t let one defeat turn into 2-3.
They ended the season playing their best ball.
This Texas team proved different. The program proved it should finally be feared again.
A little more than two years ago in Sarkisian’s first season on the Forty Acres, Texas defensive line coach Bo Davis had a postgame rant that went viral following a fourth-straight loss by the Longhorns.
“I got my ass kicked and you motherf***ers wanna laugh!” Davis yelled while on the bus with players texting and laughing.
“And, some of you motherf***ers do transfer out this motherf***er because I’m tired of this s***! This s***’s goddamn real!”
The video was recorded by a Texas player and it quickly leaked, only the damage wasn’t reflective on Davis, a former Alabama assistant used to winning championships with the Tide, but on a rotten culture inside the Longhorns’ locker room.
It’s taken multiple seasons, but Sarkisian, with the assist of coaches like Bo Davis, has finally built the program they envisioned possible when they took over in 2021.
With an ode to departed tailbacks Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, who helped establish a different mindset within the program, defensive tackles T’Vondre Sweat (who caught a touchdown Saturday!) and Byron Murphy, among others, have carried that torch. Texas is a player-led team now, and it shows on the field.
Just last week, Sarkisian explained in detail how Texas’ culture has organically “manifested itself” over time, and look where the Longhorns are today: 12-1, Big 12 Champs for the first time since 2009 and one of the scariest teams in the country — now and moving forward.
“It’s not a sign-up in your building. It’s not a t-shirt you wear,” Sarkisan said.
“It’s not breaking the team down and saying, ‘Hey, culture on three.’ I think culture is organic, right? It manifests itself with the relationships that you build.”
Sarkisian has always been one the top play callers and schemers in college football, and he was in his bag again Saturday, helping Quinn Ewers set a Big 12 Championship Game record with 452 passing yards. The junior had four touchdowns, with the Longhorns flaunting their litany of explosive skill players (Xavier Worthy, AD Mitchell, Ja’Tavion Sanders, Keilan Robinson, and others).
But there’s a toughness and nastiness about this Texas team that’s been absent for close to a decade. Sweat and Murphy lead a defense that’s Top 5 nationally against the run, and they totally bottled up Doak Walker Award favorite Ollie Gordon for just 34 yards on 13 carries.
Their offensive line is among the best units in the nation, too. While they struggled in the red zone all season, they became a better overall situational football team, particularly at protecting second-half leads.
It’s all culminated into a team capable of beating anyone anytime, anywhere. This is what was possible when Steve Sarkisian took over three seasons ago, and now it’s a reality.
Ideally, that means we get to see Texas test its mettle against the best in this year’s College Football Playoff. But if we don’t, that’s ok too, because the Longhorns have made their statement.
Lookout, SEC.