Steve Sarkisian explains key to victory for Texas vs Michigan in Week 2

Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns take on Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday in a marquee Week 2 matchup between two of the nations top 10-ranked teams.

Trying to escape with a victory inside one of the toughest stadiums to play, the Longhorns will have their work cut out from them thanks to the crowd noise, let alone against a tough Wolverines defensive unit. Ahead of kickoff, Sarkisian spoke to the importance of his squad being potent offensively against Michigan.

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“I think we’ve got to have great poise and composure today,” Sarkisian told Pat McAfee on ESPN College GameDay. “You get in these environments like this, the thing that can hurt you the most is a self-inflicted wound. And so we’ve got to have great poise, great composure, especially on the offensive side of the ball at the line of scrimmage.

“We like to shift, we like to motion. We’re still going to do those things, so that’s important. We really built a program on toughness and on speed, and we need those two factors to show up today. We’ve got to play a tough brand of football today, and our speed has got to show up today.”

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Offense from Texas was not lacking during its 52-0 win over Colorado State during Week 1. Quarterback Quinn Ewers threw for 260 yards on 20 of 27 passes to go with three touchdowns and an interception. The Longhorns also rushed for 190 yards and three more scores on the ground en route to a shutout victory.

For the Michigan offense, they put up 30 points utilizing a two-quarterback system. However, a lack of explosiveness in the passing game saw both Davis Warren and Alex Orji combine for 121 passing yards (Warren had 118 as Orji was mainly used as a rusher) while Longhorns second-team quarterback Arch Manning nearly passed for that (5 of 6, 95 passing yards, one TD) in the Texas season opener. In that sense, Michigan’s offensive performance may end up being the x-factor in Saturday’s outcome instead of Texas’.

Sarkisian’s Longhorns road trip begins inside the Big House with a Noon ET kickoff live on FOX. The Wolverines have not lost inside Michigan Stadium since the shortened 2020 season as Texas tries to head back to Austin with a victory over the regining national champions.