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Featured Replies

11 hours ago, Nivek said:


4. 2001, 2005, 2008, 2009. Bad coaching killed 2001. Bad conference killed 2008.

No way we were beating Miami in 01 with Vince Lombardi coaching. 

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  • Born Burnt
    Born Burnt

    Sorry you live in a trailer park.

  • Daichee Bell
    Daichee Bell

    Had a buddy at a practice recently.  Nothing earth shattering here, so take it for what it's worth.  He didn't recall any first team drop.  There may have been some, but none that came to mind. 

  • closetojumping
    closetojumping

    A guy that played for years in the NFL was at practice yesterday. His takeaway was that if this team isn’t a playoff contender and conference winner, it took effort to fuck it up on gameday. 

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1 hour ago, Wulaw Horn said:

No way we were beating Miami in 01 with Vince Lombardi coaching. 

The comment was about playing for a title, not winning.

29 minutes ago, Nivek said:

The comment was about playing for a title, not winning.

Roger. Yeah. I have us 3-1 and playing for 4 titles with a little lick, lack of QB injuries and less dumbassery. 

1 hour ago, Wulaw Horn said:

No way we were beating Miami in 01 with Vince Lombardi coaching. 

Probably not, but they struggled in some games too.  They beat 8-4 VaTech by 2 and 8-4 BC by 11.  They were the best team, but they were not invincible.

15 hours ago, Waterface said:

Given that Sark was hired at Texas after demonstrating exceptional talent as a playcalling OC at Alabama, it is fair to assume (without primary evidence from the hiring process) that his ability to coordinate an offense and call plays may have, in fact, been his greatest selling point. Especially considering that his track record as a HC and program manager outside of playcalling prior to Texas was not exceptional. So it does seem odd that his greatest past strength would be his greatest present weakness here. But every situation is different, alcohol is a helluva drug, etc.

It's fair to assume that's a selling point, sure. A major one. But if you read more carefully, you'd see the other poster said rather explicitly that was the ONLY thing he was hired for...and if you think that the only thing that was discussed during multiple interviews on being the HC at Texas was having a kick-ass offense, well, I don't know what to tell you or even bother continuing having this conversation with you or anyone who feels similarly. 

The guy has had great offenses in the past. But the guy also demonstrably has stepped on his dick with playcalling and gameday decisionmaking multiple times since he took over the job at Texas. It's pretty reasonable to have questions about his capabilities when we've all must witnessed questionable shit the last two years. Running elite offenses at 'Bama and having been hired for it at Texas don't make a shit when there's been struggles we've all witnessed after two years on the job. 

The guy was elite with elite talent. He should by all accounts have that this year, lets see what happens. 

10 hours ago, Eskimohorn said:


That is a lucid, well thought-out, intelligent objection.

Overruled.

Bill O’Brien coached the 2022 offense to 41 points a game. 4th in the nation. BOB is one of the worst OC’s out there. Sometimes talent covers up bad coaching.

Sark can coordinate an offense. And some of his offenses are beautiful to watch. Some are not. It remains to be seen what he can do without elite talent. We saw our offense sputter after other teams adjusted. Sometimes it looked like we ran out plays.

He got run out of Atlanta. I’m hoping he works out, but he’s been underwhelming so far.

If you are saying having elite QBs makes it easy to be an OC, well of course it does. Andy Reid is an offensive genius. His first 4 years at KC, the highest they finished in yards/play was 16th. They have finished either 1st or 2nd, since Mahommes has become the starter. 

We know what Sark does without elite offensive talent. We watched it the last 2 seasons. Texas has finished 26th and 20th in pts per drive in Sark's Texas tenure. It was 16th (2022) and 35th in OFEI (2022). It has been marked with frustrating inconsistency, but it is hard to say that the results on offense have been bad. He did that with mediocre to poor OLs,  mediocre WRs, and mediocre QBs. This year we will find out, if it was Sark's play calling or a talent issue holding the offense back.

Atlanta finished #1 in yards/play under Shanahan. Under Sark they finished 6th and 4th. The 3 years following Sark it was 15th , 18th, and 24th. Sark is not Shanahan (few are), but I am not sure Atlanta is happy they ran him out of town. 

Edited by Codaxx

On 8/16/2023 at 6:09 PM, Zeus said:

Fox has worse people but better coverage. Maybe it’s just Klatt that I like. 
I like how he embarrasses Cowherd regularly. 
 

Cowherd does only talk about Michigan, Ohio state, USC, and Texas. In that order. 

 

Just look at Klatt's face in this lmao

 

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10 hours ago, Eskimohorn said:


That is a lucid, well thought-out, intelligent objection.

Overruled.

Bill O’Brien coached the 2022 offense to 41 points a game. 4th in the nation. BOB is one of the worst OC’s out there. Sometimes talent covers up bad coaching.

Sark can coordinate an offense. And some of his offenses are beautiful to watch. Some are not. It remains to be seen what he can do without elite talent. We saw our offense sputter after other teams adjusted. Sometimes it looked like we ran out plays.

He got run out of Atlanta. I’m hoping he works out, but he’s been underwhelming so far.

Sark went 13-0 and grabbed a title for Alabama with Mac Jones at QB

O'Brien had Bryce Young and lost to fucking AGGY 

Just saying their points per game is a pretty weak argument, I mean they scored 49 and Bryce Young had 455 yds passing in a loss to Tennishit. 

 

Sark is a much, much better playcaller and OC than BOB. Especially when it comes to college ball. The Alabama machine was obviously a huge driving force keeping them winning but just watching the games comparing Sark to BOB is like watching two entirely different teams. With Sark calling plays everything seemed to work, look easy, and guys were wide open running with the ball in space all the time. With BOB it was just a grind with Bryce Young having to play hero ball at times even though he was supposedly running a similar offense with a lot of the same or equivalent players. 

Just saying, Sark didn't make the mistake of bringing in an OC and letting him call the plays until the offense starts sucking, then take over playcalling, then it's just a mess. Sark just runs the fucking offense as the OC still and calls the plays, as well as his other duties as HC. I respect the hell out of that because it's the opposite of what the last bunch of Texas coaches did. It's also been said by other coaches it's the reason they came with Sark to Texas. They trust his play calling. You get 60-70 plays on offense and even though you may have a huge playbook and variety of things you can do, it's very important to have the offense in a strategic advantage schematically as much as possible to hold on to the ball and put points on the board.

11 hours ago, Red Five said:


I don’t even know what show this is, but if it’s a Netflix documentary, I don’t think what you took away from it is appropriate.

wut

Good to see we are rebottling the old arguments again:

Mack Brown cannot with the big game.  (define big game)
Mack Brown cannot with the big game, without Vince Young? (dumb as well, it is his job to get the VYs)
Mack Brown cannot win the big game without an elite QB? (dumb as well, it is still his job to get elite QBs)
Mack Brown cannot win games without better talent than the other guy (that's the JOB!!!)

 

12 hours ago, Teryor said:

Ya they really had a killer attitude 

 

anchorman-boner.gif

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1 minute ago, Nivek said:

Good to see we are rebottling the old arguments again:

Mack Brown cannot with the big game.  (define big game)
Mack Brown cannot with the big game, without Vince Young? (dumb as well, it is his job to get the VYs)
Mack Brown cannot win the big game without an elite QB? (dumb as well, it is still his job to get elite QBs)
Mack Brown cannot win games without better talent than the other guy (that's the JOB!!!)

 

I'd eat her cookie over Sally's

PHOTO-Steve-Sarkisians-Wife-Wearing-A-Fl

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Josh Pate has us #6 in his power poll. Just did our record prediction last night. Best case scenario 12-0. Worst case 7-5. Most likely 11-1. Sounds like he’s on board for a CFP appearance.

it is just very hard for me to imagine a scenario where this team finishes 7-5.  even 8-4 feels like a stretch.  9-3 seems like a much more likely floor.

Just now, BigOrange1 said:

it is just very hard for me to imagine a scenario where this team finishes 7-5.  even 8-4 feels like a stretch.  9-3 seems like a much more likely floor.

Undefeated big 12 champions or gtfo tbh

44 minutes ago, TexEx15 said:

Josh Pate has us #6 in his power poll. Just did our record prediction last night. Best case scenario 12-0. Worst case 7-5. Most likely 11-1. Sounds like he’s on board for a CFP appearance.

koolaiddrinker.gif.4d6a757868791ff02346e097f8beb938.gif

46 minutes ago, BigOrange1 said:

it is just very hard for me to imagine a scenario where this team finishes 7-5.  even 8-4 feels like a stretch.  9-3 seems like a much more likely floor.

Same. Like maybe if Ewers got hurt again or something. Hard for me to see how we finish worse than 9-3 considering the schedule and our talent level. And we don’t even play Ok State!

48 minutes ago, BigOrange1 said:

it is just very hard for me to imagine a scenario where this team finishes 7-5.  even 8-4 feels like a stretch.  9-3 seems like a much more likely floor.

If we go worse than 9-3 with this talent and this schedule, buckle up for a nice run of mediocrity 

49 minutes ago, BigOrange1 said:

it is just very hard for me to imagine a scenario where this team finishes 7-5.  even 8-4 feels like a stretch.  9-3 seems like a much more likely floor.

 

2 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Same. Like maybe if Ewers got hurt again or something. Hard for me to see how we finish worse than 9-3 considering the schedule and our talent level. And we don’t even play Ok State!

Y’all either don’t know what floor means, or you're out of your fucking minds if you think 9-3 is the floor. The O/U for our season is 9.5. 

1 minute ago, Burt Macklin said:

 

Y’all either don’t know what floor means, or you're out of your fucking minds if you think 9-3 is the floor. The O/U for our season is 9.5. 

9-3 is the floor you're fucking out of your mind if you don't think so. Anything less than 10 wins is failure. 

2 hours ago, Codaxx said:

If you are saying having elite QBs makes it easy to be an OC, well of course it does. Andy Reid is an offensive genius. His first 4 years at KC, the highest they finished in yards/play was 16th. They have finished either 1st or 2nd, since Mahommes has become the starter. 

We know what Sark does without elite offensive talent. We watched it the last 2 seasons. Texas has finished 26th and 20th in pts per drive in Sark's Texas tenure. It was 16th (2022) and 35th in OFEI (2022). It has been marked with frustrating inconsistency, but it is hard to say that the results on offense have been bad. He did that with mediocre to poor OLs,  mediocre WRs, and mediocre QBs. This year we will find out, if it was Sark's play calling or a talent issue holding the offense back.

Atlanta finished #1 in yards/play under Shanahan. Under Sark they finished 6th and 4th. The 3 years following Sark it was 15th , 18th, and 24th. Sark is not Shanahan (few are), but I am not sure Atlanta is happy they ran him out of town. 

Yeah- that offense is that high with Casey Thompson whistling balls out of bounds with WR's open by 30 yards, Hudson Card trying to play with a diaper full of shit, and basically a very talented more or less true freshman.  We were great when we were working under the gameplan most games and then it fell apart as we made contact with the enemy and they adjusted.  I bet that doesn't happen now. 

59 minutes ago, BigOrange1 said:

it is just very hard for me to imagine a scenario where this team finishes 7-5.  even 8-4 feels like a stretch.  9-3 seems like a much more likely floor.

7-5 assumes a rash of injuries or we simply fail to live up to the expectations we have for some of the key players. I’m of the mindset that if we stay relatively healthy we are looking at 11-1 or 10-2 just depending on what happens in Tuscaloosa. After our previous decade plus of mediocrity it sounds crazy to say that but Sark has transformed this roster through reciting and the portal. After TCU last year there is simply no excuse.

The ceiling is 2 losses.  It is set by HC brain flatulence.  The floor is 4 losses.  A chimp could get them to 7 wins.  

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1 hour ago, BigOrange1 said:

it is just very hard for me to imagine a scenario where this team finishes 7-5.  even 8-4 feels like a stretch.  9-3 seems like a much more likely floor.

Meet Beef Ref: Jacked football referee shares his workout plan -  SBNation.com

Same. Like maybe if Ewers got hurt again or something. Hard for me to see how we finish worse than 9-3 considering the schedule and our talent level. And we don’t even play Ok State!

I mean it’s easy to see even if it think the baseline is higher. There will probably be a lot of double digit second half leads to blow, and they’ll probably convert on one or two of those opportunities.
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Good article from The Athletic 

Steve Sarkisian’s vision for Texas football is here: ‘I’ve got something to prove to me’

Spoiler

Ahead of the most important season of his career, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian finds himself appreciating the small victories.

It’s something that Sarkisian, 49, wishes he’d valued more at 33, when Washington gave him his first head coaching job. Back then, as he helped the Huskies dig out of a winless season and get back to respectability, he missed some things along the way. He didn’t realize what he was building. Visions of eventually hoisting a trophy or landing the next contract or getting the next job had him, at times, focused on the future.

With time, space and some turbulence in between, Sarkisian, now entering Year 3 at Texas, his third head coaching job, now knows the value of enjoying the journey.

“You really have to be where your feet are, you have to appreciate the moments that you’re in,” Sarkisian said by phone after a recent practice. “And that was something that I didn’t do a great job of (as a young coach). I was always looking down the road.”

Sarkisian is present. He has to be to meet the demands at a program with four national championships but only one 10-win season in the last 13 years. The Longhorns have been starving for the success they had at the peak of the Mack Brown era, a nine-year stretch that included a BCS championship, another national title game appearance and a 101-16 record.

The optimism on the Forty Acres ahead of this season is as high as it has been since then. Texas is ranked No. 11 in the preseason AP Top 25, its second-highest preseason ranking since 2010. For the first time since the Big 12 dropped divisions, the Longhorns are the preseason pick to win the conference.

After two years of building, everything lines up for Sarkisian. This might be the best combination of roster talent and depth he’s had as a head coach. “It sure feels like it,” he said. And he likes the leadership. “The temperature feels different in that everybody is kind of pulling the rope in the same direction.”

As kickoff approaches, the question hangs heavy: Will Sarkisian and the Longhorns deliver on preseason expectations?

If it sounds like a different verse of the same song for Texas, that’s understandable. Swap out the year, coach and roster and it probably still fits. From 2010 to 2022, Texas was ranked eight times in the preseason AP Top 25. Only once did the Longhorns finish ranked higher than they started: 2018, Texas’ lone 10-win season in that span. Last season, Texas began the season unranked but finished 25th in the poll, the first time that has happened in that window.

But the stakes are different in 2023. As Texas embarks on its farewell tour of the Big 12, the SEC looms in 2024. The climb back to college football’s elite only gets tougher. Will Sarkisian, the program’s third head coach since Brown, be the one to take it up that mountain?  Fans and alumni expect Sarkisian to deliver results he has enjoyed as an assistant but not yet in his head coaching career: 10 or more wins and a conference championship. Three 8-4 regular seasons — one each at Washington, USC and Texas — represent his best performance in nine years as a head coach.

His first year at Texas, a 5-7 debacle in 2021 that included a six-game losing streak, could be explained away by a thin roster left by Sarkisian’s predecessor, Tom Herman. Year 2 proved encouraging, with all five defeats coming by single digits, although Texas beat just two teams that finished with a winning record and only one from a Power 5 conference. But with back-to-back top-five recruiting classes and savvy roster construction, Sarkisian has baked the cake, and fans have exercised patience.

The only thing that stands in their way, he said, “is us.”

“We haven’t done it yet,” Sarkisian said. “We have to go earn it.”

And if the Longhorns don’t, what does that mean for Sarkisian and the future of the program?

From 2010 to 2020, Texas signed eight top-10 classes, per the 247Sports Composite, but the Longhorns won more than eight games only twice in that span.

So why does this Texas team feel like the one to follow through on the preseason projections?

Those both inside and outside the program point to how Sarkisian built the 2023 Longhorns: with an emphasis on the line of scrimmage. As an opposing Big 12 coach recently told The Athletic, “The difference with this team is how they look up front. They’re a lot better.”

In 2021, offensive line play proved a weak link. Last season, with a young group including two true freshman starters, Texas made big strides. This year, the Longhorns return all five starters, and one of them, left tackle Kelvin Banks, has the look of a future NFL Draft pick.

When Banks is draft-eligible in 2025, he could end Texas’ drought of first-round offensive linemen. The Longhorns haven’t had one picked that high since 2002. Texas has only had two O-linemen drafted in the last 14 years, after having seven chosen in a six-year stretch from 2001 to ‘07.

Sarkisian has emphasized the position in recruiting, signing a total of 12 offensive linemen in the last two signing classes. When including offensive and defensive linemen, the Longhorns have signed a combined 24 trench players in the last two cycles. That’s more than Texas has signed in any other two-year stretch dating back to 2011.

Beyond the linemen, the roster is experienced. A strong veteran presence provides balance with the highly recruited talent that arrived in the last two years. Even though two key leaders from 2022 — running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson — are in the NFL, Sarkisian calls the current leadership “good.”

And among front-line starters, rotational players and the developmental group on hand, Sarkisian says the roster is three-deep in most spots.

“We have the depth to withstand injuries,” he said.

A former BYU quarterback, Sarkisian has worked with a long list of accomplished passers, from Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC to Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones at Alabama to Matt Ryan while with the Atlanta Falcons. At Texas, Sarkisian has stockpiled elite recruits at the position. Starter Quinn Ewers, who transferred from Ohio State, was the top prospect in his class and seems primed to take the next step after an up-and-down freshman year. Maalik Murphy, Sarkisian’s first high school quarterback signee, was a four-star 2022 recruit who ranked in the national top 200, per 247Sports. In the 2023 class, Sarkisian won the most visible recruiting battle in recent memory by landing No. 1 overall recruit Arch Manning.

Managing and developing all that potential is among Sarkisian’s most important tasks. For Texas to reach its ceiling, great quarterback play is a must.

GO DEEPER

Inside the Texas spending blitz that hooked Arch Manning and a No. 2 recruiting class

Even in their lean years, the Longhorns have had talent and resources. The missing pieces have been the right coaching and culture. So what of Texas’ under Sarkisian?

His offensive acumen was well-established when he arrived, fresh off a stint as Alabama’s offensive coordinator which included the 2020 national title. “From a play-calling standpoint, he’s the best in the business,” said Texas special teams coach Jeff Banks, who was with Sarkisian at Alabama.

Banks said Sarkisian continues to improve in balancing his offensive duties with the modern-day demands of a head coach. Sarkisian loves every part of running the organization, from play calling to recruiting to relationship-building with players, coaches and donors to working with the administration on big-picture issues. “I’ve always tried to pride myself on having the ability to multitask,” he said.

But doing it all is impossible, and Sarkisian has outfitted his staff with people he trusts. Texas has a top-notch recruiting staff. The on-field staff is a mix of young coaches and veterans, some with NFL experience and others who are up-and-comers. Taking a page from Alabama coach Nick Saban, former head coaches populate the on- and off-field staffs. Last year, Sarkisian brought in former TCU coach Gary Patterson as an analyst. After Patterson left the staff this spring, Sarkisian brought in former Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst for 2023. Kyle Flood, Texas’ offensive coordinator and offensive line coach since 2021, was once the head coach at Rutgers.

“It definitely helps,” Flood says of ex-head coaches’ presence. “Sometimes you get a different perspective on things, a different way to do things, a different way to do training camp, a different way to run a drill … those things have been excellent.”

Said Sarkisian, “You have to have great people around you, and you have to trust the people you hire.”

But there are things that need to be improved. Texas is 13-12 combined under Sarkisian. It is 4-10 in games decided by eight points or less. In the last two years, the Longhorns are 3-9 against Power 5 teams that finished the season with a winning record (2-5 in 2021, 1-4 in 2022).

At times, they’ve shown a tendency to start fast and fade down the stretch. In both 2021 and 2022, Texas has, on average, outscored opponents in the first three quarters but allowed a negative average point differential in the fourth quarter and overtime. In 2021, Texas outscored opponents by an average of 6.58 points per game in the first three quarters and was outscored by an average of 2.42 points per game in the fourth quarter and overtime.

In 2022, Texas improved on both fronts. The Longhorns outscored opponents by an average of 13.77 points per game in the first three quarters (10th best in the FBS), but were outscored in the fourth quarter and overtime by an average of 0.92 points per game (91st).

Sarkisian acknowledges the need for consistency and better execution late in games.

“If we’re this really good game-planning team, and we got players buying in, and preparing and going out and executing a plan for the first two, three quarters of the game, how do we get to a point to where we continue that and not have those lulls?” he said.

He has hunted for ways to improve, whether it’s based on scheme, messaging to his team or relationships.

His staff offers rave reviews on the relationships front. Banks said Sarkisian comes in, every morning, with a positive, high energy level. “That permeates to our team,” Banks said.

Flood, who spent time with Sarkisian both at Alabama and with the Falcons, said Sarkisian’s connection to Texas’ players is unlike any he’s seen before.

“I feel that every day,” Flood said. “I see the way the players interact with him … our program has improved because of his connection to those players on a daily basis.”

Sarkisian said he and his wife, Loreal, took a vacation the week of July 4, but otherwise he stayed around the team.

“I wanted to be at the workouts,” he said. “I wanted to be at everything I could be at with them and stay connected to ’em.”

Sarkisian appreciates the buy-in and dedication of the players he inherited who have remained in the program and become the nucleus of this team. Thirteen players that played in the 2020 Alamo Bowl, Herman’s final game as Texas’ coach, are still on the roster, including starting receiver Jordan Whittington, right tackle Christian Jones, linebacker Jaylan Ford, center Jake Majors, defensive lineman T’Vondre Sweat and defensive back Jahdae Barron.

In Year 1, Sarkisian was still sorting through players who were bought in and who wanted out. Now, the team is made up of players he recruited plus those 13 holdovers who have contributed to the “team-first mentality” that Sarkisian wants.

“This locker room is very special,” Jones said. “I’ve been here longer than some of the bricks in the building. It’s a real brotherhood bond. People are staying late, getting extra reps in voluntarily. No one has to tell them. … Everyone wants to be great. The hunger is there.”

“I really value those guys, because without them, that makes the transformation harder,” Sarkisian said.

Good vibes and all, there are challenges ahead. When Texas goes to Tuscaloosa on Sept. 9 and stares down the Crimson Tide and 100,000 rabid Alabama fans at Bryant-Denny Stadium, can the Longhorns turn last year’s moral victory into a program-changing win? When Oklahoma enters the Red River rivalry eager to avenge a 49-0 loss from 2022, will the Longhorns shut the door on the Sooners again?

More importantly, can Texas avoid the letdowns: dropping games to teams it’s favored to beat, teams that haven’t recruited at near the level the Longhorns have? Those losses have become emblematic of Texas’ pattern of underachieving in the post-Brown era.

The Longhorns became a punchline for losing to Kansas in 2016 (under Charlie Strong) and 2021 (under Sarkisian) when the Jayhawks were among the worst teams in the country. The program is 3-8 against TCU since the Horned Frogs joined the conference, despite carrying an average recruiting ranking 28 spots higher than TCU in the last 10 years. How about three consecutive losses to Iowa State from 2019 to ‘21, before Sarkisian’s 2022 team finally ended that skid by squeaking out a three-point home win?

Meeting those challenges can help Texas prove the offseason positivity is more than just talk.

(Aaron E. Martinez / American-Statesman via USA Today)

Sarkisian appreciates the opportunities that led him to this point. After only a year as the quarterbacks coach at El Camino College in 2000, he joined USC’s staff, where he spent seven of the next eight years and was part of the program’s halcyon days. After five seasons rebuilding Washington, he returned to USC as head coach.

That chance ended five games into his second season, when Sarkisian was fired from USC in 2015 for issues related to alcohol abuse. After seeking treatment, Sarkisian landed on Saban’s Alabama staff the next fall as an offensive analyst. The move changed his life and his career trajectory.

In 2017, he was hired as the Falcons’ offensive coordinator. In 2019, Saban brought him back as the Tide’s offensive coordinator. Sarkisian’s success there paved the way for his return to head coaching at Texas in 2021.

When he was in Atlanta, Sarkisian said he made a pact with himself to be the best version of himself every day.

“I had a real sense of gratitude that I got another chance,” Sarkisian said. “I didn’t ever want to give off any sort of idea that I deserved it. I wanted to make sure that everybody knew I appreciate this opportunity that I have.”

That’s why Sarkisian cherishes the little things now. That’s why he’s no longer looking far ahead. That’s why he comes into the building bubbling with energy.

“I am going to be upbeat and positive, I’m going to try to do things in a manner that’s going to motivate people to be the best they can be,” he said. “And everybody’s going to know they’re going to get the best version of Steve Sarkisian today.”

That has been his approach since 2017. Every day is not perfect, and he understands that. But over time, if he’s consistent enough, Sarkisian thinks he can create an environment players and coaches want to be in, not one they have to be in.

Texas wants a championship. It always does. “The expectations at Texas are always crazy,” athletic director Chris Del Conte said.

“We’re excited about the season, we’re excited about what Steve and the team have put together,” Del Conte said. “It doesn’t make a difference what last year’s record was or wasn’t. Expectations are what they are. That’s why you’ve come to the University of Texas: to compete with the very best and to win championships. That’s our goal.”

Whether Texas lives up to the hype — or doesn’t — the credit (or blame) this season will go to Sarkisian.

He says he wants to be at his best for his players, so they can reap the benefits of their hard work. But there’s personal pride involved, too. A chance to make all those small victories add up to a big one.

For that to happen, he has to take a team where he hasn’t before. Can he? For Sarkisian and the program, the future depends on it.

“My goal this year is to be the best head coach I can be,” he said. “I don’t feel like I have anything to prove to anyone outside. But I definitely feel like I’ve got something to prove to me to be the best version of Steve Sarkisian this fall.”

 

9 minutes ago, TexEx15 said:

Stay healthy we are 11-1 or 10-2...  After previous mediocrity it sounds crazy to say that but Sark has transformed this roster through reciting and the portal. After TCU last year there is simply no excuse.

 

39futf.jpg

9-3 is the floor you're fucking out of your mind if you don't think so. Anything less than 10 wins is failure. 

9-3, OU win, Big 12 championship. Failure?
24 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

9-3 is the floor you're fucking out of your mind if you don't think so. Anything less than 10 wins is failure. 

You are conflating different things here. Yes of course it would be a failure, but it's also very possible. 

1 minute ago, gmr548 said:


9-3, OU win, Big 12 championship. Failure?

I'm probably too hopped up on kool-aid but I don't know if I would take that right now. 

20 minutes ago, gmr548 said:


9-3, OU win, Big 12 championship. Failure?

Yes.  Unless 1 or 2 of the losses was egregious and corrupt officiating.  That would actually be 10-3 though if we are the big 12 champions.  Win the bowl game and go to 11-3 and I guess maybe you could make an argument that would be acceptable.  

21 minutes ago, gmr548 said:


9-3, OU win, Big 12 championship. Failure?

If Big12 Championship Win gets Texas to 10-3, that's success 🤘

 

Yes.  Unless 1 or 2 of the losses was egregious and corrupt officiating.  That would actually be 10-3 though if we are the big 12 champions.  Win the bowl game and go to 11-3 and I guess maybe you could make an argument that would be acceptable.  

Yes. 11-3 in that case is acceptable.

But will 7-2 get you in the championship game? That’s assuming that 3rd loss is to Bama. With 14 teams, we’d need a tie breaker most likely to get there. Odds would be decent that at least one loss is against another championship game front runner.
Yes means we lost a game or two we shouldn’t have. Unacceptable 

Yes.  Unless 1 or 2 of the losses was egregious and corrupt officiating.  That would actually be 10-3 though if we are the big 12 champions.  Win the bowl game and go to 11-3 and I guess maybe you could make an argument that would be acceptable.  

If Big12 Championship Win gets Texas to 10-3, that's success [emoji869]
 

Well, BOW originally used a 12 game record so I was using that same frame. Y’all are wildin’ claiming the first league title in 14 years would be a failure.
30 minutes ago, Ghost of Shag said:

Oh shit…players are staying late and bonding!

kool aid snl GIF by Saturday Night Live

Need them doing late night workouts like this.....

 

Sure, but it was only so they would be in better shape for their crimes.

14 minutes ago, The Dog said:

 

You know, I hadn't thought about it like that, but fuck it, why not win all 20 conference championships? I like what CDC is selling here. 

5 minutes ago, longhornmatt said:

Of course its theoretically possible, especially with key injuries, but if we go 7-5 and are losing to teams like BYU or Houston we should just burn all the NIL money in a big pyramid like The Joker and find new hobbies. 

I remember during the 00's when we would joke about going 7-5. I am looking at you old lmfanzone'rs.

48 minutes ago, kevwun said:

Sure, but it was only so they would be in better shape for their crimes.

or an alibi? 

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Ban him from the stadium, imo

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