Longhorns Coach Steve Sarkisian Keeping an Open Mind vs. West Virginia

The Texas Longhorns have been hit with a handful of surprises the past two games, but how they respond to future surprises could determine their success against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian knows that anything can come his team’s way Saturday at home against the West Virginia Mountaineers. 

“For us, every game takes on a life of its own, a personality of its own and you never know what the game could present itself,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “So I'm not surprised when games go anyway.”

For Texas, surprises have come in different forms over the past two games. Some have been easier to overcome than others. 

In a 41-20 win over the UTSA Roadrunners on Sept. 17, Texas was blindsided by an onside kick and subsequent double-pass for a touchdown. The Horns were staring down a 17-7, but bounced back to outscore the Runners 34-3 the rest of the way. 

But last week against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, the Longhorns couldn't keep up with the surprises as they found themselves on the wrong end of a comeback. 

On the shoulders of converting 6 of 8 conversions on fourth down, Texas Tech fought its way back for a 37-34 overtime win after trailing 31-17 in the third quarter. 

And then, the surprise to top them all. Texas running back Bijan Robinson coughed up his first fumble of the year on the first play of overtime.

Headed into the matchup against West Virginia, there's certain to be some surprises and some things that are expected for Sarkisian. 

Like the Horns did in the first three quarters against Tech, Sarkisian thinks his offense can keep up with a Mountaineers offense that has averaged the fourth-most yards per game (490) in the Big 12 this season. 

But he won't be surprised if his defense steps up to the plate, something it failed to do in the second half against the Red Raiders. 

"I wouldn't be surprised if our defense plays great," he said. "We're going up against a good defense who's got good coaches, good schemes."

Still, we've seen some wild finishes between these two teams in the past. Saturday could be something no one expects. Seven of of the 11 all-time meetings have ended within one score. 

"The game is going to take on the personality of its own," Sarkisian said. "And then you got to play to that personality of the game to make sure that we're making the best calls available to put our players in the best position to have success."

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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