Steve Sarkisian 'not one to shy away' from SEC Championship expectations

Steve Sarkisian and Texas aren’t shying away from SEC Championship expectations and more for the rest of the season.

Sitting at No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings and atop the SEC standings, tied with Texas A&M, the Longhorns are in the driver’s seat. After winning the Big 12 and getting to the CFP last season, Sarkisian knows what the school and fanbase expect at this point.

The same goes for him and his players.

“I’m not one to shy away from that kind of stuff,” Sarkisian said after the win over Arkansas. “I mean, I think we all know what our goals are for the season. We want to be in Atlanta in December, compete for an SEC championship, and we want to be playing January 20th. But I don’t have to belabor the point. I don’t have to talk about it all the time with our guys.

“They know, and then once they know, and then we get focused on the task at hand and that’s the next week’s game, and we’ll celebrate this one here, you know, getting home and then it’s on to Kentucky.”

Sariskian knows Texas has to be at its best in order to win a loaded conference and eventually at least three games to win the national title in the CFP.

“We’re 9-1 for the second year in a row,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “We’re competing for a spot in the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row. Don’t forget what the last decade looked like. Let’s just remember how good we’ve got it right now and appreciate this team and how good they’re playing right now.”

But as usual, Sarkisian and Texas are focused on the current task at hand: Kentucky.

“They just play really good defense,” Sarkisian said. “They minimize the explosive plays. They can bog you down. I think Ole Miss scored 17 points against them. Georgia scored 13 points against them. Tennessee got a couple scores late to get to 28. They can control the game that way. Offensively, they’re a run first offense that can control the clock. They get yards in the return game.”