Steve Sarkisian wants Texas to take care of its own business in 'playoff' type game vs. Baylor

Texas heads into their season finale at home against Baylor in a game that will be played this Friday the day after Thanksgiving. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is feeling festive, and seems to be a fan of this time of year as it relates to football, as he highlighted what he’s looking forward to in their next matchup.

“Great challenge ahead of us, looking forward to the opportunity at Thanksgiving ball game which it’s always fun,” Sarkisian said. “You know when I was a kid it was always the turkey bowl on Thanksgiving and hopefully it was raining and you got to play in the mud and all that kind of good stuff. And in high school it was always if you were playing Thanksgiving weekend that meant you were getting deep into the playoffs which was always fun as well.”

The stakes are a little bit higher in this matchup compared tho the ones Sarkisian mentioned, as the Longhorns take on the defending conference champions in a game that has potential Big 12 championship contention on the line.

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“And in this instance, feels kind of like a playoff game, we’ve got to take care and do out part. We all understand the ramifications of where it’s at in the Big 12, again we don’t shy away from those things so we gotta do our part Friday at 11 a.m. and then see what happens after that,” Sarkisian said.

The Longhorns sit at a 5-3 record, currently in the third spot behind 6-2 Kansas State in the Big 12 Conference standings. The undefeated TCU Horned Frogs have punched their ticket into the conference championship game and will take on the second seed in the conference, which could be Texas if they secure a win this weekend against Baylor and if the Wildcats lose to Kansas on Saturday.

Sarkisian was asked how he keeps his team from playing the ‘what if game’, as they now must rely on a win from themselves and another team in order to keep their conference championship hopes alive.

“A couple things, one I’m a realist with our guys, I’m honest with them. They know the scenario, I painted the scenario for them last night, we got to win Friday, then we can worry about what happens Saturday night. But if we we don’t take care of our business, if we don’t mow our own lawn then it doesn’t matter what happens Saturday night,” Sarkisian said.

Hopefully for the Longhorns, they don’t get too ahead of themselves, as a loss to Baylor diminishes their chances completely of playing for the conference championship. Sarkisian wants his team worried at the task right in front of them, but if they do handle business, they’ll surely be tuned in to a Big 12 rivalry game in Kansas that will ultimately decide their post-season fate.

“So I think the focus and the intent is taking care of our own business first. I think it’d be a lot more challenging if it was reversed, if we didn’t play until Saturday night and they played Friday, then it could be challenging watching that. But right now, because that game is going to kick off 24 hours after we’re done, we can invest our time and energy into that as it pertains to the Big 12,” Sarkisian said.