Golden: Why I asked Steve Sarkisian if Texas is the best football team in the country
It’s a question I would not have dreamed of asking Texas coach Steve Sarkisian during Red River Rivalry week in 2021.
The Longhorns were actually off to a decent start that season, his first year here with a 40-21 blowout loss at Arkansas counting as the only blip on a solid 4-1 debut. They entered the Red River matchup against No. 8 Oklahoma as a 3½-point underdog, which gave them a fighting chance, but the bottom fell out in startling fashion.
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They blew a 28-7 lead and eventually lost 55-48 in overtime, starting a five-game avalanche that hit the lowest of lows with a 57-56 overtime home loss to 1-8 Kansas.
Mama said there would be days like this, but she never mentioned seasons.
The Horns crumbled to 5-7, sparking questions as to whether Sarkisian was the right man for this coaching pressure cooker.
So there he sat on Monday, two years later, in a room full of reporters on the ninth floor of Bellmont Hall, answering questions about his 5-0 team that’s No. 3 in the Associated Press poll but No. 1 in the mind of Kirk Bohls, my favorite AP voter who was seated in front of me.
When it came my turn to ask, I let it fly.
“Steve, you never ran from the expectations that come with being the head coach at Texas. So, I’m going to ask you point blank: are you coaching the best team in college football?"
Are you coaching the best team in college football?
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Loaded questions? No, I don’t think so. They were to the point and Sarkisian, one of the straightest shooters in the business, knew the point of me asking. I had to ask. They are No. 3 and he has brought this program from despair to national recognition, to the doorstep of something potentially spectacular.
Instead of answering in a manner that would become the lead in every college football headline and every talk show in the country in addition to becoming bulletin board material in Norman, he took the safer, more traveled road with his reply.
"That's for you guys to answer," Sarkisian said. "I'm not in the coaches poll and I don't have a vote. Some of you in this room do. I don’t know. Obviously it's flattering to some degree that the product we're putting on the field is one that people appreciate the way that we’re playing, and I think our guys have earned the respect of some that feel that way and hopefully we can continue to do that.
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"But there's a lot of football left this year, and we haven't even hit the halfway point.”
It’s true, but they have also hit some nice points with voters like Bohls, one of 10 national voters who placed the Horns atop their ballots this week. The Longhorns can make even more of an impact with a win in the 17th Red River matchup featuring UT and OU teams that are both unbeaten and ranked 12th or better. Conversations like these are fun even if Texas fans have chastised the media for not taking the 1-0 approach that Sarkisian has been preaching since he got here.
Hey, allow us to have our jollies. Sarkisian's players are listening to him, not us.
“We’re definitely super fired up for the opportunity that's right in front of us, but we want to be where our feet are,” quarterback Quinn Ewers said. “That’s what we want to focus on. We want to focus on us and just go 1-0 each and every week. When you look at it like that way, I won’t say it gets easier, but it’s less taxing. Just go 1-0 each week.”
I will say this about Sarkisian. When he answered my question, he had this confident glow about him. He knows he has a wonderful opportunity to do great things in 2023. He knows he has the deepest roster in the league and weapons all over the field.
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But he also understands that wins are what matter most, and any talk of CFP or No. 1 rankings should take a backseat to the task at hand: taking down a Sooners squad that’s much better than that wildcat-running, punchless 49-0 nightmare that coach Brent Venables put on the field last season.
Sarkisian was correct when he said even if his team is the best in the country, it doesn’t really matter in early October. Even if the Horns are, they will still have to prove it each week over the next two months.
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“Ultimately, like I’ve said all along, our goal is to be in Arlington on Dec. 3 and try to win a Big 12 championship, then whatever happens is supposed to happen,” he said. “But if we don’t do that, everything else is irrelevant."
Then later: “The opinions of others doesn't matter. What we do does.”
He has them pointed in the right direction, but any title contender must answer each challenge separately and with great fortitude and confidence. Texas has played with plenty of both so far.
I’m kind of thinking they’re the best team in the country right now, though far from a finished product. Let’s see if they can prove it against a quality opponent in the most fun game day atmosphere in America.
Can’t wait.
Meanwhile, in College Station …
The other huge game this week: While the Horns and Sooners get after it in Big D, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher can land what would effectively be described as a CFP kill shot to his old buddy Nick Saban in College Station.
If that A&M defense, fresh off an impressive performance against Arkansas, can confuse young Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe the way the Horns did in Week 2, the Tide would be looking at missing the CFP for the second straight season, which counts as the end of the world in Tuscaloosa.
No one said there wouldn’t be the chance of a Texas-Texas A&M bowl matchup this winter.
Something to think about.
Swifties take over Kansas City
The Taylor effect: You will never hear yours truly dispute Taylor Swift’s box office appeal.
She’s selling records like Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Madonna and Whitney Houston sold them them back in the day and she already has multiple generations of fans who are watching her every move.
What can’t be disputed is she could become one major distraction to the Kansas City Chiefs’ attempt to become the first team in 20 years to repeat as Super Bowl champs.
The Chiefs haven’t shown the look of world-beaters so far and maybe that’s more about the loss of offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and the lack of a play-making receiver than Taylor’s relationship with tight end Travis Kelce, but TV viewers are getting the relentless cutaway shots of Taylor in the press box after the Chiefs make a play.
Viewership of Chiefs games is up since Taylor started showing up. In fact, 27 million watched Sunday night’s win over the New York Jets, making it the most watched Sunday television show since KC’s Super Bowl win over Philadelphia. NBC reported that female viewership was up by approximately two million.
Taylor is definitely box office, but I can’t help but wonder if discussion of this dynamic, which has taken on a life of its own, will eventually work its way into the Chiefs locker room if they continue to play at a less-than-championship level.
As for any distraction questions, I’m sure the Chiefs will be able to shake it off in good fashion.
See what I did there?
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Golden: I asked Sark is Texas is the best team in college football
