Steve Sarkisian hilariously explains how he learned about Texas, Arkansas rivalry

The Texas–Arkansas rivalry dates all the way back to 1894, where the Longhorns downed the Razorbacks 54-0 in Austin, TX. Since that matchup, the two programs have clashed on 33 different occasions. Texas owns the all-time series 57-23 and won the last matchup (Nov. 16 of last season) 20-10.

During his comments at this week’s SEC Media Day event, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian revealed that he didn’t quite know about the Texas–Arkansas rivalry until that first game in 2021.

“From a fanbase perspective — especially the traditionalist fanbase — they love the rivalry with Arkansas,” Sarkisian said. “I think naturally when I took the job I knew of a rivalry with Oklahoma and [Texas] A&M because they made sense. I found out about the rivalry against Arkansas when they whooped our ass in the second game of my career when I got to Texas. So that rivalry got really good really fast for us. So we respect it, we honor it. It’s a heck of a rivalry and it’s a great game to be apart of.”

The two programs clashed on Sep. 11, 2021, the second game of the Sarkisian era at Texas. Arkansas rolled in that game, downing the Longhorns 40-21 as four different running backs found the end zone. That entire season would end up being forgettable for Sark and company, as the ‘Horns finished with a 5-7 record.

Following his first season however, Sarkisian has led Texas to a 33-10 record over the past three seasons. This includes a 20-10 win over Arkansas last season, which was cemented by a Matthew Golden touchdown to make it a 10-point game with nine minutes remaining.

Following their win over the Hogs last season, the Longhorns won their final two regular season games before falling to Georgia in the SEC Championship. Texas then won College Football Playoff games over Clemson and Arizona State before falling to Ohio State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

Arkansas and Texas will clash this season on Nov. 22 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. The Longhorns are 4-3 in games played in Austin dating back to 1979. The last game played between the two rivals at Texas occurred back in 2008, where the Longhorns rolled 52-10.

Quarterback Colt McCoy passed for 185 yards and three touchdowns along with rushing for 83 yards and two more scores. That season, the Longhorns downed Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.