Three years into his tenure, Steve Sarkisian has changed the conversation about Texas

For almost 15 years, the conversation around Texas was one centered around ridicule. The Longhorn football program, flush with resources envied by all but a handful of FBS programs, posted five under .500 seasons, including one in 2021 under current head coach Steve Sarkisian.

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Fleeting successes only gave critics and commentors local and national more material. The whole ordeal about being “back,” something born from a comment made when a 5-7 team defeated a 4-8 team in overtime, lingered around the program. But even so, Texas went 5-7 more times than it was declared back.

While the Longhorns may not be consistent enough to be labeled “back,” there’s no question the conversation about Sarkisian’s program has changed. No longer are the Horns a subject of ridicule. Rather, the way Texas is spoken about these days involves an air of respect usually reserved for college football’s elite. This season, the Longhorns’ 11-1 record and Big 12 Championship game berth has earned them the right to be considered one of the land’s best teams.

“The people that has been here for this three-year span with Sark, we’ve come a long way,” Xavier Worthy said after the game. “We came from 5-7, to 8-4, and now we’re 11-1. We never want to take anything lightly because we were where we were.”

Even before Sarkisian replaced Tom Herman on the Forty Acres, Texas couldn’t find the recipe that had made the program one of the most successful in the 2000s. Colt McCoy‘s BCS Championship Game injury started a cascading series of events that moved the program backward more often than forward, the first of which was a 5-7 2010 campaign immediately following the national championship appearance.

Three different head coaches tried to make things work. Each would move within arm’s reach of success only to see it slip away. As expected, the national ridicule came back each time.

The problematic decade became more difficult to dig out of due to Texas’ regional rivals enjoying renaissance years. Oklahoma, long a foil to the Longhorns in the Big 12, kept on humming when Bob Stoops handed the keys over to Lincoln Riley. Texas A&M, who left the Longhorns’ shadows for the SEC, enjoyed victories previously thought impossible in College Station during their first year in the league. Baylor and TCU showed more consistency than the Longhorns, as did Kansas State.

Those were just the issues at home. Nationally, Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, and Clemson, teams the Longhorns would have thought to be their peers, lapped Texas again and again. Though potent and well supported, they didn’t have all the resources available to the Texas program let alone an entire network dedicated to all things burnt orange.

In 2023, Texas has undone so much of what plagued it over the course of the 2010s, Oklahoma excepted. Sarkisian’s team defeated TCU, Baylor, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Kansas, and Kansas State during league play, offering final farewells before the SEC patch is affixed to the Longhorns’ jerseys in 2024. They took care of business against Houston and BYU. The lone setback came to Oklahoma, a stinging loss but one that may not be a debilitating one to their lofty aspirations.

Of course, the Longhorns defeated Alabama in Tuscaloosa, something Sarkisian didn’t want to let slip from the minds of those who cover the sport and who determine the College Football Playoff field after the Horns’ 57-7 win over the Red Raiders on Friday night.

“I won’t back off the fact that I think we have the best win in the country this year going into Tuscaloosa, Alabama and beating them by double digits,” Sarkisian said. “I’ve said this before and I know we’re going into that league next year, if it were that easy then other teams in the SEC would have done it the other 53 games they went 52-1 in.”

Texas isn’t resting on its laurels, but they are cognizant of how far every aspect of the program has come during Sarkisian’s tenure. But to continue to change the conversation, and maybe even be regarded as back, another obstacle awaits.

“It’s just awesome to see everything that we’ve been through and all the hard work that we’ve put in since Sark got here is all paying off,” Jake Majors said. “A win like this solidifying ourselves in the Big 12 championship game, that’s all we wanted and we’re making it happen.”

What the conversation is like next week, Texas can determine itself. It could include retribution against Oklahoma, or possible an extra leg on the revenge tour against Oklahoma State.

But there’s no doubt it’s changed from what was an almost 15-year trend, and it can change further with hardware next Saturday.

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“I’m proud of our guys for what we’ve accomplished up until this point in the season,” Sarkisian said. “Like I said, we’ll see how the dust settles next week. We’ve got to handle our business. That’s the most important thing.”