Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian responds to season expectations

Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns are no strangers to preseason hype. The age-old Texas saying has become something of a meme in the college football community, with many fans increasingly angry at the perceived “overrated” Longhorns.

Now that SEC Media Days are behind us, the biggest stories about the midseason rankings are emerging again. Experts like Josh Pate have predicted Texas to win the SEC outright, while former coach Nick Saban thinks the Longhorns aren’t ready for SEC play. Judging by Twitter and forum comments, it’s clear what the rest of the SEC fan base thinks of the newcomer.

Many fans point to the Longhorn’s collapse in 2010, or the fact that Texas has underperformed preseason polls in seven of the last 14 seasons, as a way to discredit the Longhorns heading into 2024. To Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, though, it appears to be just noise.

“At the end of the day, it’s not about what other people think,” Sarkisian said. “It’s not about what we say we’re going to do. It’s about our actions. It’s about how we actually perform and that’s our focus.”

Sarkisian advocated for his team during SEC Media Days, especially with the flare-up old rivalry against Arkansas and Texas A&M, making sure reporters knew his thoughts after a performance in the College Football Playoff.

But there will always be questions about the Longhorns, who have underperformed AP Poll preseason expectations in Sarkisian’s first two years. But while Sarkisian enjoys the training, he doesn’t see much value in projections and rankings.

“I will say I love preseason polls. I love preseason all-conference teams and all-American teams because it gives the college football fan and the pundits something to talk about. And it keeps college football at the forefront of what’s going on. And like I said, I think our sport is at an all-time high in terms of popularity,” Sarkisian said.

But his focus is not on the pre-season rankings.

“Where we fall is irrelevant, we have to play the games, we have to perform and we have to work through the adversity that we face. We have to rely on the depth and we have to continue to develop our players as the season progresses,” Sarkisian added.

The Longhorns were voted the No. 2 team in their new conference for 2024 and are one of the few schools with double-digit All-SEC players on the roster. Expectations are indeed high for Texas, but that doesn’t seem to bother Sarkisian or the rest of the Longhorn team.

The focus for this team is now clearer than ever: Playoffs or nothing.