Still schedule the Ohio States and Michigans? You betcha: 5 takeaways from Steve Sarkisian

With the debate about the College Football Playoff in full flame, Texas still has to focus on Saturday’s Big 12 title game against Oklahoma State. Sure, the Longhorns are 15½-point favorites in their quest for a first conference title since 2009, but the Cowboys offer a stern test behind Big 12 player of the year Ollie Gordon.

Sarkisian touched on all of those topics and more in his weekly Zoom meeting with the media Thursday. Here are five takeaways from that call before Texas (11-1) faces Oklahoma State (9-3) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington:

These CFP rankings won't change out Texas schedules

Based on this week's CFP rankings that have No. 7 Texas behind one-loss teams such as Oregon and Ohio State, the Longhorns' road win at No. 8 Alabama in September is fairly far down the list when it comes to measuring a team's playoff worthiness. Still, Sarkisian said Texas will continue to schedule challenging nonconference matchups even though the risk seems to outweigh any rewards from the CFP committee.

For Texas, that means upcoming games against and Ohio State (2025 and 2026) and Michigan (2024 and 2027).

“I look at those games as what a great opportunity for our players,” Sarkisian said. “You know, we try to recruit great competitors here. They want to play in big-time games, they want to play in big-time environments. For our players knowing that, hey, in the next four years, they're playing Michigan and Ohio State at home and on the road. I think our players are excited about that.

“And I think when you do that early in the season, that gives you confidence for games later in the season that are needed when you need those tough wins on the road. I don't know what's going to happen with the CFP. But what I do know is man, we got a lot of value in going to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, this year and winning that game, and I think that that's helped us put ourselves in position to win a Big 12 championship Saturday."

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A 12-team playoff won't end politicking by coaches

For coaches that have teams in the CFP hunt, the conference title season comes with plenty of politicking. Like most of his peers that are prepping teams for a game this weekend, Sarkisian has made national media appearances in order to make a case for his team.

“I've got a responsibility to our team, and I think every other coach feels that way,” he said. “We want what's best for our players, and if I need to advocate for our team and politic for our team to try to get us into the playoffs, I'm going to do that because that's my job as their coach.”

Sarkisian doesn’t expect that job duty to change next year even when 12 teams earn a spot in the CFP.

“The 12-team playoff, everybody's going to be happy about that,” he said. “But the same way we're trying to get our team into the playoffs next year, the teams that are ranked 13, 14, 15 and 16, they're going to be trying to get their teams in next year. So I don't know if that part's ever really going to go away.”

Ryan Watts remains questionable for Saturday

Will cornerback Ryan Watts play against Oklahoma State? That remains to be seen. On Monday, Sarkisian described Watts and special-teams standout Austin Jordan as “day-to-day” while other nicked-up players such as receiver Xavier Worthy, tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders and running back CJ Baxter should be ready to go. He has ruled Jordan out for Saturday’s game, but didn’t specify whether Watts will see action.

“Everybody else is pretty status quo from what I touched on Monday,” he said.

More: Malik Muhammad shines for Texas in place of injured cornerback Ryan Watts

All-Big 12 fallout: Jahdae Barron, Ryan Sanborn stood out as snubs

Texas reaped some rewards from the Big 12 coaches earlier in the week after finishing the regular season atop the conference standings. Defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat earned defensive player of the year honors, receiver Adonai Mitchell picked up offensive newcomer of the year accolades, linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. was named the defensive freshman of the year and defensive tackle Byron Murphy II earned the defensive lineman of the year award. In addition, Worthy, Sanders, left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., kicker Bert Auburn and linebacker Jaylan Ford all earned first-team honors.

“I always feel like our guys get overlooked, but that's probably the dad in me, right?” Sarkisian said. “We always pull for our kids to get to get more recognition for the work that they do and how much they mean to the team.”

But did any particular players stand out as overlooked?

“I don't quite understand why (defensive back) Jahdae Barron wasn't a first-team, all-conference player, and I don't understand how Ryan Sanborn wasn't an all-conference punter,” Sarkisian said.

Looming decisions are facing Alfred Collins, other Longhorns

With both the transfer season and the NFL draft preparations fast approaching, Sarkisian knows some of his players have decisions to make. That group includes Alfred Collins, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound defensive tackle from Bastrop who has shined in a reserve role behind Sweat and Murphy. Collins has another year of eligibility remaining and could emerge as a star, like Sweat and Murphy did this season in their lone seasons as starters. But like many of his teammates, Collins has NFL potential. His situation will be one of several that Sarkisian and his staff must address after the Big 12 title game.

“I think Alfred is going to have an opportunity to play beyond college football,” Sarkisian said. “And when he decides to do that, between his mom and I and Alfred, we will hopefully get to a really good decision for him. But I do think he has a chance to take his game to even another level. Very similar to Sweat and Murphy, they kind of assumed that leadership role and really stepped into it and gained a lot of confidence from that. I think a similar thing could happen for Alfred.

“Declaring for the draft, people think that these kids have to do it right after the last game, which is not the case. He doesn't have to worry about that, technically, until January, so we have plenty of time to take in all the information so we make a really rational decision and one that's best for his future.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian discusses CFP, future scheduling