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Texas coach Steve Sarkisian takes swipe at in-state school while stressing importance of schedule strength

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones05/21/26brianjones_93

Steve Sarkisian took a shot at a school in Texas while stressing the importance of the strength of schedule. Per Anwar Richardson, the Texas Longhorns head coach said, “There’s a team in our state that plays in another conference that has a schedule that I would argue if I played with our twos and our threes, we could go undefeated, and they’ll probably make the CFP this year.”

Richardson said that Sarkisian made the comment after being asked by a fan at the Touchdown Club in Houston if there is any way to get the College Football Playoff Committee to factor in the strength of schedule in its decision-making. Sarkisian did not reveal the team, but most suspect he’s talking about Texas Tech.

In 2025, Texas Tech reached the College Football Playoff after going 11-1 and winning the Big 12 championship. The Red Raiders took on the likes of Houston, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and UCF. Texas Tech’s toughest opponent was BYU, and the Red Raiders beat them twice. The two losses were against Arizona State in the regular season and Oregon in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

Steve Sarkisian shares thoughts on potential playoff expansion

Texas finished the 2025 season with a 10-3 record and missed the playoffs. In the SEC, the Longhorns went 6-2 and were tied for second with Oklahoma and Vanderbilt. The problem with that is Ole Miss, Georgia, Alabama, and Texas A&M went 7-1 in SEC play.

Along with taking a shot at Texas Tech, Sarkisian also shared his thoughts on the potential expansion of the playoffs. At the Houston Touchdown Club luncheon, Sarkisian said he would love for the playoffs to have just four teams.

“I’ve gone on record saying I’d rather go back to four. Here’s my issue: I understand why people want to go to 24, but we are now in a world where fanbases are living under this umbrella of playoff-or-bust,” he said. “I don’t agree with that, that’s not true. You had the opportunity to compete for a national championship during those 12 regular-season games, and I felt like when we were at four teams, those four teams were held in very high regard, and you earned your opportunity to be one of those four teams.”