Steve Sarkisian Has Blunt Message For Texas Longhorns Schedule Detractors

The Texas Longhorns are ranked near the top of the of the College Football Playoff rankings, and some opposing fan bases are not happy about it.

Texas Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian talks with the special teams as they warm up ahead of the Longhorns' game against the Florida Gators, Nov. 9, 2024 at Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns checked in at No. 3 in the latest edition of the College Football rankings on Tuesday night, moving up two spots from No. 5 after losses from Georgia and Miami.

Their win over Florida also put the Horns at 8-1 on the season and 4-1 in the SEC, and in firm control of their own destiny going into the end of the regular season.

However, there are some detractors out there who believe the Longhorns' lofty ranking is undeserved, thanks in part to their perceived lack of strength of schedule.

And when asked about that narrative on Thursday, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was not particularly interested in that line of thinking.

"Honestly, I don't pay attention to that stuff," Sarkisian said. "All I know is, we play the teams that are in front of us, and they're good. So I don't know if people don't think they're good or not. That's not for me to decide. We just try to play the best football that we can."

Does Texas have the toughest schedule in the country? No.

Its big non-conference opponent in Michigan ended up being a .500 football team, while matchups against Oklahoma and Florida were not as difficult as many imagined they would be.

That said, the Horns can only play who they are scheduled to play, and they have faced some tough opponents.

After all let's not forget, the same was said about the Michigan Wolverines last season, and all they did was go on to win a national title.

And truthfully, the same could be said about multiple teams every season, including 2024. The No. 1 Oregon Ducks have faced two ranked teams all season, one being Boise State. The No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers are about to face their first-ranked team of the season this Saturday when they take on Ohio State.

Yes, Texas fell to Georgia last month. But they also took down a ranked Vanderbilt team that beat Alabama earlier in the season.

They also still have matchups vs. Arkansas - who has beaten No. 7 Tennessee - this weekend, Kentucky - who took down Ole Miss and nearly beat Georgia, and the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies on Nov. 30.

And if they win those, they will face another top tier team in the SEC Championship Game.

In other words, all Texas has to do is keep winning, and they will silence their doubters by default.

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