Steve Sarkisian emphasized the importance of Texas appreciating victories

Texas has been declared ‘back’ more times than we can count. Now, wins are coming on a weekly basis but for a long time, that wasn’t the case.

The Longhorns have come a long way under head coach Steve Sarkisian, and after defeating Baylor 38-6 in the Big 12 Conference opener on Saturday, he wants his guys to cherish every victory they earn this season.

“That’s a great way of saying it. I had to remind the guys ‘Let’s not take winning for granted.’ It was almost like ‘Okay, let’s get ready for Kansas,'” Sarkisian said after the win. “They do have a great mentality right now, but like I said to them in the locker room we have a bunch of guys who endured 5-7 a couple of years ago, that came into this stadium and lost a really tough ballgame.”

Texas completely controlled the Bears on Saturday. Baylor scored three points during the final three quarters as the Longhorns pitched a second-half shutout behind the arm of star quarterback Quinn Ewers. He completed 18-of-23 passes for 293 yards and one touchdown on the night. Running back Jonathon Brooks led the way with 106 rush yards and two more touchdowns on the ground as well.

“I wanted to make sure that we appreciate these wins. Going on the road in a hostile environment at night, blackout game, and our guys just showed such great composure,” Sarkisian said. “It was very businesslike. It was, this is what we came here to do. Let’s go do it. Then, okay, the game is over. Let’s get ready for next week. I want to make sure we appreciate these wins. These are tough wins to get on the road in conference play. To kick off conference play 1-0, that’s a big deal.”

Of course, Texas’ claim to fame this season was Week 2’s 34-24 road win over Alabama. Otherwise, they haven’t had much competition against Rice, Wyoming and Baylor, respectively. Week 5’s game against Kansas could be different, as head coach Lance Leipold has his Jayhawks 4-0, one of three Big 12 teams (Oklahoma and Texas are the others) to be unbeaten on the season.

After the matchup with the Jayhawks, it’s time for the Red River Rivalry in Dallas the following week. The way the standings currently sit, the next two weeks will set the tone for the rest of the season for Texas in the Big 12 and beyond.