Texas is treating the SEC Championship like a road game

Despite being in its first season in the conference, and facing a conference championship game against a powerhouse of the sport, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why Steve Sarkisian’s Texas Longhorns are confident ahead of tomorrow’s SEC Championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs.

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Texas has had arguably the best calendar year of any school, going 11-1 in the SEC and securing the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. This all off the back of a CFP appearance and 11 players sent to the NFL draft. But recruiting and past success won’t matter on Saturday, where Texas will have to avenge itself against the team that handed it its sole stain on an otherwise elite resume.

Texas will be tasked with playing in what is essentially a road game in Atlanta, where the Bulldog faithful have at points taken over past championship game crowds. 

“Clearly we know we’re essentially going on the road for a road game when you play in Georgia at Atlanta,” Sarkisian said. “I also know there’s a ton of pride from Longhorn Nation in support of our team.”

But whether you want to label this as a true road game against the program that has won two of the last three national championships, or just the neutral site game versus another team standing in the way, Texas has history in its favor.

Sarkisian is no stranger to this stage, having coached in both the 2016 and 2020 SEC Championship games, helping the Alabama offense put up over 50 points in each contest and holding a 2-0 record. 

“This game is a fantastic game to be part of. What the SEC does and what they put into this game, the arena, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a tremendous stadium,” Sarkisian said. “I had the opportunity to coach there for two years with the Falcons. It’s a great venue. It’s great for the fans.”

After a statement win in Aggieland last weekend, Texas has won its last 11 true road games, dating back to October 2022. On the road this season, Texas beat Michigan in the largest stadium in the country, a win that aged very well after the final week of the season, as well as Vanderbilt and Arkansas. These aren’t wins that pop off the stat sheet, the teams are just 19-14 combined in the rest of their games, but Arkansas and the aforementioned A&M game were in extremely hostile environments against rowdy fans who see Texas as their biggest rival.

“It’s a little bit of a war of attrition in our conference,” Sarkisian said. “I always kind of chuckle at people. Oh, yeah, we beat an SEC team this year. But you didn’t play it eight straight weeks. You didn’t have to go play in some of these environments that people have to play in week in, week out, deal with the injuries that we have to deal with in our conference.”

It may just be better for Texas to have this game feel like a true road one. Sarkisian has coached in seven neutral site games during his tenure for Texas, four Red River Shootouts, a conference championship game and two bowl games against Washington. The Longhorns have split the four against Oklahoma and won the Big 12 championship last year, but the Huskies have had the Longhorns’ number, ending the last two seasons for Texas with wins in the Alamo Bowl and the Sugar Bowl.

Texas could be feeling deja vu this weekend at the hands of Georgia, feeling like the Bulldogs own the Longhorns the same way Georgia feels like it can never get over Alabama. But after securing the commitment of Justus Terry this morning, and Texas riding the high of a dominant defensive performance in College Station, the Longhorns have the chance to make history by winning the SEC in their first year in the conference.

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“We know how hard the Southeastern Conference is. To earn the opportunity to play in this game with an opportunity to be conference champions is something we hold in very high regard.” Sarkisian said.