Steve Sarkisian Says Ohio State Shouldn't Be Penalized for Texas Loss

When the Longhorns clawed back from a 20‑point hole to edge Ohio State 24‑23 on a scorching Austin night, the victory felt like a rite of passage for Steve Sarkisian’s Texas program. The comeback was wild, the crowd was electric, and the scoreboard finally reflected a win that had eluded Texas for three tries.

But the celebration was tinged with a note of sportsmanship. On Monday, Sarkisian stepped into a press conference and, rather than gloat, he turned his attention to the Buckeyes. ‘I hope Ohio State doesn’t get punished for that game,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘They played a heck of a game. They lost with 25 seconds left—yeah, it hurts, but they were out there in 100‑degree heat and they fought.’

He went on to argue that a 9‑3 record, if that’s where Ohio State lands, shouldn’t automatically seal their fate. “If they’re 9‑3, the committee should reward them for showing up, for traveling to Texas, for taking us to the limit,” Sarkisian added, his tone a mix of respect and a little frustration. “Otherwise we end up with a college football product that looks like we’re just shuffling teams around for the sake of convenience.”

The sentiment isn’t new for Sarkisian. Last season, when Texas itself finished 9‑3, he championed a CFP bid for the Longhorns, insisting that a single loss to a powerhouse shouldn’t be a death sentence. Now he’s echoing that same logic for Ohio State, pointing out that the playoff picture should value big‑time matchups, not just win‑loss tallies.

He also reminded everyone that the CFP isn’t the NFL, where a simple record and strength of schedule dictate everything. “We’re dealing with opinions, with a committee that weighs all kinds of metrics,” he said. “If we want fans to keep seeing games like Texas‑Ohio State, we need to give teams an incentive to schedule them.”

In the end, Sarkisian’s message was clear: the Longhorns will keep grinding through the rest of their non‑conference slate and then dive into the SEC gauntlet, but they also want the playoff system to recognize the effort that goes into pulling off games like Saturday’s thriller. Whether the committee takes his advice remains to be seen, but the conversation about how we pick the best of the best is certainly alive.