Golden: If Sarkisian thought expectations were high before Alabama, take another look

Three days after Sark the Daring led his band into the dragon’s lair to slay the Alabama beast, the Texas Longhorns are the ones breathing flames.

Saturday night’s flight from Tuscaloosa was one of jubilation following the 34-24 win, even if offensive hero Quinn Ewers decided to have a quieter celebration than many of his other teammates.

“I was tired,” Ewers said. “I slept. I went to sleep watching 'Dr. Strange.'”

Golden: Texas and its defense landed a knockout against a college football heavyweight

With wins like these, the nation is no longer sleeping on the Longhorns, and with those extra eyeballs come even higher exceptions. Talk of a Big 12 championship has been trumped in some circles by CFP discussions.

After all, this was a double-digit digit fourth-quarter domination of Alabama. The ensuing reaction was one of fans acting as if Colt McCoy actually came back to lead the Horns to the 2009 title after hurting his shoulder.

Last I checked, Texas students weren’t jack-knifing into the Littlefield Fountain after the Rice win. Following recent events, Steve Sarkisian and his staff are now the owners of a great problem. Their crew just knocked off a national title contender, but it came in Week 2 and not the CFP.

More: Texas students celebrate at Littlefield Fountain after upset win over Alabama

With Wyoming coming to town Saturday, the 2-0 Horns, all of a sudden No. 4 in the country and dominating the headlines and sports talk shows, have to hit the reset button and prepare for an opponent that’s already beaten Big 12 member Texas Tech. Just two years ago, they were a 5-7 team. Now that Texas has the nation’s attention, Sark has to figure out how to keep this engine humming while avoiding the danger of overcoaching.

It’s actually an interesting study with Sarkisian and his staff, which has to balance how much they can slap backs and give props with reminding the players that the Cowboys don’t really care about what just happened in Tuscaloosa.

Bohls: Texas climbing in polls with biggest win of the season, starting with my AP ballot

Yes, the players earned the right to poke their chests out because they kicked the crimson out of the Tide before a national television audience. Yes, they put in the work to get here. Yes, they are one of the top stories of the early season.

But with that said, they still have 10 games left in the regular season. Sark must navigate these next few days carefully.

“I think one of the mistakes I can make is try to beat them down and then knock the confidence out of them,” he said. “Hell, I’ve spent two-and-a-half years trying to instill confidence into them and I want to be mindful of that, but two, I have to point out areas where we need to improve and where we can get better as a team.”

At Monday’s practice, Sarkisian said he saw the faces of players who understood that the season will not be defined by what happened at Alabama.

“Ultimately for me being transparent with them all of the time — good, bad, ugly, whatever that is — that I’ve earned their trust and that I would never guide them in a direction that wouldn’t be in their best interests to perform at the highest level,” Sarkisian said.

No. 23 Texas A&M was the only top 25 team besides Alabama to lose last week — the Aggies lost by 15 at unranked Miami —  but three teams won by eight points or less, including Mack Brown’s North Carolina team which turned back Appalachian State in double-overtime. The Horns are enjoying the view from this side of the fence, but permanent residency can only be guaranteed by consistent winning.

“We see it every year,” said cornerback Ryan Watts. “Teams have one good win and then get upset.”

As one of the leaders in the locker room, Watts doesn’t want to see the Horns follow up a program-changing win with a clunker, especially in a season where they will be likely favored in each game the rest of the way.

Watts’ actions will say more than any words come Tuesday’s practice, which is usually the most physical workout in game week.

“I’m going to go hard in practice and set an example for the young guys,” he said.

How 'bout them Cowboys?

A strong showing: The last time a Dallas Cowboys defense dominated in such fashion, they were spanking up on the Buffalo Bills in their first Super Bowl meeting. Those were the Jimmy Johnson-led Boys that would win two titles under his watch and another under Barry Switzer.

Sunday night's 40-0 road win over the New York Giants was easily the most complete performance of the Mike McCarthy era and pushed the Cowboys up the power rankings, joining Super Bowl contender Philadelphia, which had its problems before taking out the New England Patriots.

It's too bad the Dallas game wasn't played in late January. The Cowboys, who had seven sacks, will have plenty of time to show us if this was merely one fantastic evening or if this defense really is as good as advertised.

They get the Jets and Aaron Rodgers next.

Oklahoma assistant erred in inviting Briles

Sooners' lapse in judgment: Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby could have run over hot coals barefoot on Saturday and not felt as much heat as he did from the fan base, and Sooners athletic director Joe Castiglione after inviting his father-in-law — disgraced former Baylor coach Art Briles — to be on the field following Saturday’s win over SMU without obtaining permission from head coach Brent Venables.

Sooners fans reacted mostly in anger online to images of Briles, wearing Oklahoma gear, standing with Lebby, who is married to Briles’ daughter Staley.

Lebby said in a prepared statement that inviting Briles onto the field was not intended to create a distraction.

“I was just as disappointed as many of our fans when I learned of the postgame situation tonight,” Castiglione said in a released statement. “It shouldn’t have happened and it was my expectation it never would, based on boundaries we previously set. I’ve addressed it with the appropriate staff.”

More: 'A step in the right direction': Texas closes out Alabama upset with strong fourth quarter

No matter what he does between now and the rest of his days, Briles is inexorably bound to the violent acts some of his football players committed against women on the Baylor campus on his watch. The toxicity attached to his name is one that any football coach interested in keeping his focus on the team should avoid like the plague.

Lebby thought it was safe to bring Briles into the Sooners circle.

He was dead wrong.

Coco Gauff gets tennis and life

A big, big win: Coco Gauff became the fourth American teenager to win a women’s tennis major and she did it in indomitable style, by coming back from a set down to topple the world No. 2 for the U.S. Open title.

More: Offensive line keeps Quinn Ewers clean while powering Texas football to win over Alabama.

There’e something endearing about this 19-year-old, who looks like a giggling fourth grader one minute and then speaks with the wisdom of a Grandma Walton the next. She has spoken out on important issues in her community and retains the ability to focus on her craft, parts of life some older athletes struggle to balance.

Even better, she understands that she is blessed to play tennis for a living while understanding the struggles of the less fortunate.

When asked earlier in the tournament about handling pressure, Gauff, whose parents videotaped her dancing to Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” as a 10-year-old attending Flushing Meadows, put it all in the perfect perspective.

"I realize in a way it’s pressure, but it’s not," Gauff said. "I mean, there are people struggling to feed their families, people who don’t know where their next meal is going to come from, people who have to pay their bills. That’s real pressure, that’s real hardship, that’s real life.”

She is a breath of fresh air for American tennis, which has been searching for that next major star to take over the mantle left by the great Serena Williams, her personal idol. It will be fun watching her grow in the sport and in life.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Longhorns football expectations skyrocket after upset at Alabama