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Steve Sarkisian cam captures exact moment Texas coach knew the Longhorns were toast
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Steve Sarkisian deserves a fair share of criticism for Texas facing a fourth-and-goal from the Ohio State 8 late in Friday night’s Cotton Bowl. The Longhorns had it first-and-goal from the 1 and, after a series of puzzling play-calls, found themselves going in the wrong direction.
Still, ESPN’s crew for one of Friday night’s alt broadcasts had a camera fixed on Sarkisian throughout the game-sealing scoop-and-score touchdown from Ohio State and you can’t help but feel for the Texas head coach watching it back.
You can see the exact moment Steve Sarkisian knew his team was cooked.
With an envoy, Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer stripped Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and returned the football 83 yards to give Ohio State a 28-14 win. With a little more than 2 minutes remaining, the play effectively iced the game and propelled Ohio State into the national title game.
Disbelief hit Sarkisian first, and then his head just dropped as realization set in.
For the second consecutive season, Texas finished 1 game shy of the College Football Playoff National Championship. Last year, the Longhorns lost to Washington by 6 points in the Sugar Bowl. They had the ball inside UW’s 15-yard-line in the closing seconds but couldn’t find the endzone.
Ewers said after the game that falling short once again was a tough reality to accept. But Sarkisian, to his credit, lifted his players’ spirits and focused on the positives in the aftermath.
“Football is not meant to be easy. It’s a tough sport. It’s physically grueling. It’s mentally grueling,” Sarkisian told reporters after the game. “… But I’m not going to let this one game and a couple plays overshadow what we were able to accomplish this season.
Yes, we want to be champions. That’s what life is about. You always want to come out on top. But there’s so much that we can learn from this season, and there’s so much to be proud of from this season.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
