Paul Finebaum: Texas Longhorns' Steve Sarkisian Will Win First National Championship

Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian is current pick of Paul Finebaum for the next head coach win his first national championship.
Texas Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian speaks during the Coaches' Press Conference at AT&T Stadium, Jan. 9, 2024. Both coaches answered questions from the media during the conference, and will face each other in the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semi-final game on Friday.
Texas Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian speaks during the Coaches' Press Conference at AT&T Stadium, Jan. 9, 2024. Both coaches answered questions from the media during the conference, and will face each other in the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semi-final game on Friday. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
In this story:

With Ohio State's win over Notre Dame in the first National Championship of the 12-team College Football Playoff era, the Big Ten has won back-to-back national titles for the first time since the 1940s. And while the common narrative has been the SEC's dominance is at an end, Paul Finebaum has the conference retaking its place back on top next season.

During his recent appearance on the "McElroy and Cubelic In The Morning" radio show for WJOX-FM, the SEC Network talking head predicts that Texas Longhorns' Steve Sarkisian will join the exclusive club of active head coaches to have won a national championship.

“I would pick Steve Sarkisian,” Finebaum said. “I think he’s probably set up the best of any of those who don’t have a title. We’re still getting used to Ryan Day being a national champion. It changes the narrative a little bit, doesn’t it?”

Steve Sarkisian
Jan 10, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian before the College Football Playoff semifinal against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

If the Longhorns can climb back to the mountaintop, Sarkisian would join Georgia's Kirby Smart, Clemson's Dabo Swinney, and Ohio State's Ryan Day, as the only active FBS head coaches to have won a national championship.

And after watching the Buckeyes finally get over the hump with Day at the helm after a few years of falling short, who's to say the Longhorns aren't the next program to ascend the mountain?

After back-to-back years of falling just short of making the national championship game for the first time in over a decade. Texas looks to be in the situation that Michigan and Ohio State found themselves in, a program on the cusp on winning it all.

For the Wolverines being on the cusp meant losing two straight years in the semifinal before finally breaking through in 2023 with a win over Alabama in the Rose Bowl prior to beating Washington for the national title last season. The Buckeyes had made a national title game under Day back in 2020 but lost to Alabama before losing to eventual national champions Georgia in 2022 in the semifinal.

Despite losing starting quarterback Quinn Ewers and a number of other key pieces from last season's team, the Longhorns are still expected to be national championship contenders in 2025, as they kick off the Arch Manning era.

Now, whether or not, the Manning era means the Longhorns will get over the hump and their first national championship since 2005, will be the question. However, at least for now, Sarkisian seemingly has Texas in the position to do so.

Join the Community:

Subscribe to our YouTube Page HERE

You can follow us for future coverage by subscribing to our newsletter here. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @LonghornsCountryOnSI & follow us on Twitter at @LonghornsSI

Other Texas Longhorns News:

MORE: Everything Texas Longhorns Players Said After Win vs. No. 22 Missouri

MORE: Texas Longhorns TE Gunnar Helm Signs with Agency of San Francisco 49ers' George Kittle

MORE: College Football's Top 2025 QBs: Where Does Texas Longhorns' Arch Manning Rank?

MORE: Texas Baseball 'Chasing the National Championship' in 1st Year With Jim Schlossnagle

MORE: Texas Longhorns' Dual-Sport Freshman Jonah Williams Meshing Well With Baseball Team


Published