Steve Sarkisian believes Texas will grow from close losses over recent years

Steve Sarkisian believes Texas‘ close losses from over his tenure in Austin thus far will only help the Longhorns in the long run.

Since Sarkisian has come to town, Texas has lost some real heartbreakers, especially during the 2022 season. However, the Longhorns are in prime position to make a jump in 2023, and Sarkisian believes part of the reason why is his team’s mettle, and what they’ve learned from the disappointing times.

Joining Greg McElroy’s Always College Football show, Sarkisian elaborated on his thoughts, explaining that he’s already seen progress, and thinks the only way to go is up.

“I think so. You know, I look at — you know two years ago, we couldn’t find a way to win any of those games, and all our losses the year before were tough, heartbreaking losses,” started Sarkisian. “Last year, definitely some tough losses, when you think about Oklahoma State, or the Texas Tech. Games we really felt like getting out of there, we just gave it away. But I also look to last year, I look to going into Kansas State and winning that game in a tight ball game in the fourth quarter. I look to the Baylor game at the end of the year, when we were behind in the fourth quarter and then kind of take over that game and win it in the fourth quarter. So I see the progress.

“Obviously we’re not a finished product yet. But I definitely see the progress, and I’m kind of proud of the mental makeup of our guys, because they showed a lot of resolve throughout the season. To me, that all came to fruition in that Baylor game, because you know, in our minds we were playing to get into the Big 12 Championship Game. You know, we didn’t know what was going to happen the next day. We had to win that game, to give ourselves a chance. To go into a game down in the fourth quarter, and then to come back and find a way to win it, that was really encouraging for me.”

Sarkisian makes some salient points, as Texas’ ability to win the close game improved over the 2023 season. Still, the entire campaign is what matters, and the Longhorns leader will hope to put together a more complete season in another year on the job.