Texas Coach Steve Sarkisian Speaks On Idea of Longhorns 'Revenge Tour'

The Longhorns are out to prove something against the Iowa State Cyclones. But as Steve Sarkisian says, it is more about proving it themselves, rather than the outside world.

After blowing out their arch-rival Oklahoma Sooners 49-0 in the Red River Showdown on Saturday, the Texas Longhorns are now set for their second 'revenge game' of the 2022 season. 

A year ago in Ames, the Longhorns were embarrassed 30-7 by the Cyclones - a game that resulted in the infamous Bo Davis bus video. 

And now, with the Cyclones coming to Austin next Saturday, the Longhorns are out to prove once again that they are a different team than they were in 2021.

"We didn’t play great last year against Iowa State at their place," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said on Monday. "We played decent in the first half, and really got overwhelmed in the second half. Didn’t play very well in the third quarter. I think our guys are hungry to go out and play a better brand of football this year.”

In a vacuum, the Iowa State loss was one of the worst losses the Longhorns have suffered since 2015 when they lost to TCU 50-7 in Fort Worth.

But from a broader spectrum, it was just one of seven losses and six blown leads that the Longhorns wish they had back, in a season that was full of disappointment and anguish for the players and coaches. 

“The outside world makes it sound like this was a hard year last year on them," Sarkisian said. "It was a pretty hard year on us. I think a lot of guys on our team, there’s a lot of bad tastes in their mouth from the way some of those games went last year and the opportunities that ultimately fell on us that we let go of."

With all that said, Sarkisian believes that this game is less about getting 'revenge' on the cyclones for the embarrassing loss, and more about him and his team proving to themselves that can be as good as they are capable of beating. 

"I think the players are really buying into the idea that, let's go play the way we are capable of playing, and let's go finish the way we are capable of finishing," Sarkisian said. " So, I don't really think it's about anybody else, as it is more about us. We want to go out and show what we are capable of doing."

The Longhorns and Cyclones will kick off at 11 am on Saturday at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

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You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan

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