Plenty of us knew the Arkansas idiots would consider that game a jihad experience, but that allegedly wasn't a pervasive theme inside of the program at the time. Sarkisian pushed back on feedback about it being a special game to Arkansas and paid the price, including feedback from the powers that be around the program. He'd coached against them at Bama and didn't respect much about their program. Go back and look at clips during that game and he's got a 1000 yard stare and looks to be in a state of shock, just like his shitty QB at the time. No doubt he and the program didn't understand that rivalry.
That said, there's no comparison with ATM. That game is "in your face" for everyone, and the schools are separated by a few hours of driving. We all hear about it all of the time, it's a constant drumbeat of forecasts and discussions nationally with guys like Doering picking ATM already, and there isn't a big money player who is going to get pushback from Sarkisian about this game who isn't going to snap him back to reality, real fast. I'm not worried about Sarkisian or the team being ready for this one. He has spoken about ATM as a force to be thwarted as an existential threat to roster acquisition and management for the last 3 years in private conversations.
The OU game and the Arkansas game will always be driven by emotions, often wild ones. The ATM has never really felt that way. The better team on paper just usually wins. I'd love to see Texas win the next two games while ATM chokes on the road against Auburn and the match-up is 10-1 vs 8-3, but if ATM wins out as well, it will be a top 10 matchup and one of the most hyped games of the season. It's not sneaking up on anyone either way.