Steve Sarkisian excited by versatility of Texas roster, ability to win multiple ways

The Texas Longhorns (12-2 overall) have been one of the most dominant teams in college football the past two seasons. And that’s thanks in large part to their massive offensive and defensive lines. Dominating the line of scrimmage allows the Longhorns a number of different ways to win. And head coach Steve Sarkisian is well aware of that. In his postgame press conference after the Longhorns’ first round 38-24 win in the 2024 College Football Playoffs, Sarkisian discussed his team’s ability to win in multiple ways.

“Yeah, I mean it’s you know, it’s like the offense, coming out of the Georgia game. We had to challenge them. We didn’t run the ball very well. And so, then you challenge them, and they can respond. And so, the same thing now can go for the defense. We obviously have some things to clean up,” Sarkisian explained.

Get your team’s official College Football Playoff watch from AXIA by CLICKING HERE: “Watches that tell so much more than time”

“But you know, I think that’s kind of the beauty of this team. And we haven’t been faced with this a ton, but the versatility we have as a team, we can win games in a lot of different ways. And we can win low scoring tight, defensive tight games. But, we can also score points when we have to, and extend leads when we have to do that,” Sarkisian continued.

“And I thought tonight, when they cut into a one score game, the response the offense had that, you know, [Jaydon] Blue’s long touchdown run to open it back up to a two-score game. That’s what this team gives us the ability to do. We’re just not one dimensional. We’re very versatile, and I think there’s more there for us to even improve upon. And things that we didn’t even have to use tonight that I think we could have if the game would have gone in even a different direction,” Sarkisian finished.

The Texas offense displayed their balanced attack on Saturday against Clemson, throwing for over 200 yards and rushing for over 200 yards. Their offensive line was dominant, allowing the Longhorns to roll up 292 total rushing yards. The dagger came when Jaydon Blue ripped off a 77-yard touchdown run with 10:48 remaining in the fourth quarter. It opened up the Texas lead to 38-24, which would be the final score. Blue finished with 14 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

The Longhorns will now face off against Cam Skattebo and the Arizona State Sun Devils. They’ll be in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals. Both teams will face off in the Peach Bowl in Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Georgia).