ARLINGTON, Texas — Thus far Steve Sarkisian’s greatest accomplishments at Texas are a shiny Alamo Bowl runner-up trophy, and a first-place “finish” in the 2023 Big 12 preseason poll.
The last time Texas was picked to finish first in the Big 12 preseason poll was 2009, the year the Horns did win the league, and reached the national title game.
Since then, no team in major college sports consistently leg whips its fans, alums, sponsors, media right’s broadcast partners, cats, dogs, and cattle all over the world like Texas.
Unlike the NFL, where the salary cap keeps it close, the NCAA has no such parameters. Thus, a program like Texas, where money is used for toilet paper, should never be this average for this long.
Considering how much talent TCU lost to the NFL this spring, and that Oklahoma looks more like Nebraska than Oklahoma, there is no reason why Bevo’s last season in the Big 12 Texas does not include a league title.
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Which means it won’t happen.
Something about this team, and this head coach, still doesn’t feel right. All of these years, and coaches, later.
Conjecture and rumor have always surrounded the University of Texas, and the noise about this year’s team isn’t at an Aggie-level, but it’s not ideal for a program that is desperate to prove it can beat TCU.
On Tuesday at Day 1 of Big 12 Media Days in Arlington, Sark’ and select players said all of the right sentences about the upcoming season, which includes a game at Alabama on Sept. 9.
“I chose to come to the University of Texas; with that comes responsibility and expectation,” Sark said in his press conference. “We have to recognize we’re the University of Texas. We are going to get everybody’s best shot.”
He’s right, although the math doesn’t add up.
The goal in 2023 in Austin is double-digit wins, something Sark has never achieved. UT has one of those in the last 13 years; the same number as West Virginia.
By comparison, in that time frame Baylor and TCU both have six 10-win seasons, Oklahoma State seven, Kansas State three, and Oklahoma 10.
This all starts with the head coach, who is now in his ninth year between three elite jobs — Washington, USC and UT. That trio isn’t exactly Kansas, Rutgers and Vanderbilt.
As Texas is learning, there is something about Sark’ that people just like. It’s why he was hired by Washington, USC, and Alabama’s Nick Saban gave him a chance to repair his career.
Sark comes across as sincere. Personable.
There is also something about Sark’ that has yet to click the way it should when you’re the head coach at a Washington. When you’re the head coach at a USC. At a Texas.
Zero double-digit wins in eight previous years, at those jobs, is not great.
The road to 10 starts by Sark defeating UT’s new Big 12 rival, Kansas, on Sept. 30 in Austin. Sark is 1-1 against Kansas in his career at Texas.
The last time KU visited Austin, in 2021, the Jayhawks left DKR with an OT win.
UT must beat the teams it’s supposed to beat, which is the majority of the opponents in the Big 12.
It’s not for a lack of talent. Sark has bagged elite recruits, most notably quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning.
You know who else landed top recruits? Charlie Strong. Tom Herman. Five of the seven recruiting classes signed by those two men ranked in ESPN’s Top Ten.
Texas showed progress last season; the Horns lost to No. 1 Alabama by a point. They beat Kansas State. They shutout Oklahoma.
They also lost to Texas Tech. They also lost Oklahoma State. They did nothing in a home loss to TCU.
Texas fans have seen all of this for years. They’re sick of it.
The results look like Sark’s timeline in Seattle and Los Angeles; right around, “Encouraging,” and several slots closer to “Why Did We Hire This Guy?”
In his third year, Sark is not in trouble, but he’s creeping closer to that time when eight wins is a fireable offense.
Texas has one season remaining to win a league it supposedly dominates but has not for more than a decade. It’s embarrassing how cow-floppy the University of Texas football team has been in that time.
The change starts with Sark, who needs to prove why exactly Washington, USC and Texas hired him to be their head coach.
That starts not with a Big 12 title, but a 10-win season.
It should happen. And no one will be surprised when it doesn’t.