Steve Sarkisian reveals message to team with title hopes dashed

For the third consecutive week, Texas finds themselves on the losing side after having a double-digit lead in the second half. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and now Baylor have all snatched victories away from Steve Sarkisian’s squad late in games.

With the 2-3 conference record, the Longhorns’ chances of making the Big 12 championship are all but over. Without any tiebreakers against the top three, a lot of chaos would have to occur to see Texas in Arlington.

Sarkisian’s state his goal at the beginning of the season was to make the Big 12 championship. He was asked what the message would be to his team after the Baylor loss with that now out of the equation.

“We focus on the next game,” Sarkisian said during his post-game press conference on Saturday. “We’ve got work to do. We’ve got to continue to fight. That’s the only thing I know how to do. When things do not go your way, you got to fight your way through it, you got to fight your way out of it, and that’s what our team needs to do.”

Sarkisian has taken accountability for how his team moves forward. How he handles the next week will influence the players.

“It starts with me in our approach, in our demeanor, in how we approach meetings, and in how we approach practice,” said Sarkisian.

Steve Sarkisian focused on Iowa State

Things are not going to get easier after the Baylor loss. Texas will now have to travel to Ames for a matchup against Iowa State. Given the 7:30 pm. ET kickoff, Jack Trice Stadium is going to provide a hostile environment.

Sarkisian knows the challenge the Longhorns will face on Saturday. Even without the Big 12 championship implications on the line, this is a big matchup for both teams — Iowa State is coming off a road loss to West Virginia themselves.

Making sure his team is focused on the game and not the future was Sarkisian’s message.

“It’s not about what’s down the road, it’s about what’s right in front of us, and what’s ahead of us next week is a really good Iowa State team,” Sarkisian said. We are going to need to play good football on the road. We’ve got to prepare ourselves to do that.”

Texas has lost two consecutive games to Iowa State and two out of the last three on the road. Sarkisian will be matching up against head coach Matt Campbell for the first time as well.