Texas will have to maintain road warrior status through over 10,000 miles of travel
The Texas Longhorns have not lost a true road game since 2022’s contest in Stillwater, Okla. versus Oklahoma State. Since then, Texas has traveled to Tuscaloosa, Ala., Ann Arbor, Mich., and College Station, Texas and departed victorious.
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Speaking on 3rd and Longhorn, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian explained what it takes to win on the road wearing the icy whites and the challenges that walking into hostiles environment present.
“You’ve got to be mentally prepared to play as much as you have to be physically prepared to play, and I thought our guys did that,” Sarkisian said. “Moving forward, no different. New challenges this year that we didn’t have a year ago. We’re going to be the most traveled team in the SEC this year. We’re going to travel almost 10,000 miles this year, where I think Georgia, Ole Miss, those guys are traveling like 1200 miles.”
10,000 miles? He’s not wrong. The total straight line distance between Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and the five road venues Texas will travel to, plus the neutral site Cotton Bowl, is just over 9000 miles. So factoring in travel and the like, “almost 10,000 miles” is an apt description.
And regarding Georgia? Sark’s not wrong again. The Bulldogs play one game of their 12 games in a state that doesn’t border Georgia, and it’s a matchup with a Mississippi State team that went 2-10 last season.
Ole Miss plays four road SEC games this year, but only three are out of state considering they also travel to Starkville this season for the Egg Bowl.
That may not quell any rival chirps about the Longhorns having an easy Southeastern Conference schedule, a common criticism of Sarkisian’s program as it made its way to the conference championship game in the first year of the league. Of course, that matters little to Sarkisian. His team’s job is to play whoever is in front of it and emerge victorious.
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Paired with those 2025 treks are games in hostile venues. Ohio Stadium, Sanford Stadium, and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium all hold over 90,000 and the latter two of those games could be at night. Those are opportunities Sarkisian wants his team to relish, something he’ll try to instill this summer during the team’s culture work.
“The idea that we’re going to Ohio State, we’re going to Georgia, we’re going to Florida, you could argue three of the top five most hostile environments in the country that we’re going to get to play in,” Sarkisian said. “I say get to, and I mean that.”
Winning on the road in college football is never easy, and any win on the road — no matter what it looks like — is a welcome result. But what the 2022 team did in the back half of its schedule looked different than what the 2023 team had to accomplish. Same applies for the 2024 team compared to the previous year.
2025’s Longhorns will have to do its thing. Only then will Sarkisian’s program be able to improve upon its 2-4 record in neutral site postseason games.
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“This team has got to form its own identity and we’ve been a very good road team now for the last three years or so,” Sarkisian said. “Those moments are what are going to help us in December and January when you get into those environments. Having the ability to play in those arenas against those teams and perform well is going to infuse a ton of confidence in this team if we can do it the right way.”
