Steve Sarkisian shoots down any assertion of 'rat poison' talk for Texas, 'come to Jesus' instead

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian warned his team about the dangers of ‘rat poison’ following their close loss to Nick Saban and Alabama earlier this season. With the Longhorns now on a three-game winning streak, one might think that message is even more relevant today than it was back then.

However, Sarkisian didn’t feel the need to address the topic again this week. After the Longhorns narrowly defeated Iowa State 24-21 at home this past week, the coach noted Texas has a lot of work to do as it prepares for No. 11 Oklahoma State.

“There was no ‘rat poison’ in our meeting this morning,” Sarkisian said in his Monday press conference. “We had a real ‘come to Jesus’ this morning. We’ve got to play better.”

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Texas began Big 12 play with a loss to Texas Tech in Week 4, but notched wins in each of its next three games. The Longhorns (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) are just ahead of Oklahoma State (5-1, 2-1) in the conference standings, making Saturday’s matchup all the more important for their Big 12 title hopes.

Last week marked the first game all season that running back Bijan Robinson was held without a touchdown, though he did have 135 yards rushing. Instead, quarterback Quinn Ewers provided the scoring to finish 17-of-26 passing for 172 yards and three touchdowns. The Longhorns will need big games from both Saturday if they are to keep up with a Cowboys offense that ranks second in the Big 12 with 45.3 points per game.

Texas has already matched its win total from last season, and can become bowl eligible with a victory on Saturday. Steve Sarkisian might have to deal with ‘rat poison’ again at some point this year, but right now the focus is on improving from last week.

The Longhorns and Cowboys will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday in Stillwater.