Sarkisian’s offseason – Steve Sarkisian spent the offseason trading shots at Ole Miss and Texas Tech, remarks that intensified the spotlight on Texas after missing the College Football Playoff. The comments arrive with playoff expectations rising again for 2026 and with Arch Manning’
Steve Sarkisian didn’t wait for fall camp to feel the pressure. He spent the offseason talking—pushing back, swinging at rivals, and letting the confidence he’s asking Texas fans to feel hang in the air.
For Texas. the backdrop is simple: the Longhorns missed the College Football Playoff last year even though they had the kind of roster that made preseason expectations explode. The roster included Arch Manning. and Sarkisian has since praised Manning’s growth—saying Arch Manning’s confidence and ability to manage protections elevated Texas’ offense in a Vanderbilt win.
But Sarkisian’s public tone has also carried a sharper edge. In May. he appeared sensitive to the fact Texas didn’t make the playoff while Ole Miss and Texas Tech did. Now. with the pressure to reach the postseason’s top bracket set again for 2026—and with what could be Arch Manning’s final college season—the offseason comments about Ole Miss and Texas Tech read less like harmless chatter and more like Texas trying to talk its way past last year.
The Ole Miss jab came first. Sarkisian took a swipe at Ole Miss’ academics with a “basket weaving” comment that became widely repeated. “All you have to do is take basket weaving, and you can get an Ole Miss degree,” Sarkisian said.
The point wasn’t just academic. The argument implied Texas was somehow held to a different standard—an idea that clashes with the larger reality readers saw on the field. The piece states Texas missed the playoff because it lost to a bad Florida team in The Swamp. It also argues the structure of the 12-team playoff contributed to Texas’ problem: the rules resulted in the committee selecting two Group of Five teams. clogging the bracket. And it adds another decisive swing: Texas scheduled Ohio State in Week 1. The column’s logic is that if Texas had dominated another Power Four opponent early. reached 10-2. and avoided early chaos. it might have qualified.
Sarkisian’s tone, though, didn’t steer the debate toward those specifics. Instead, the column frames it as a coach reacting—sensitive about Ole Miss’ success, and willing to turn the spotlight to academics instead of execution.
Texas’ roster, the argument continues, was good enough to earn a preseason No. 1 ranking. The piece says Sarkisian “amassed a roster good enough” to get there. but “squandered it” and took too long to learn how to properly use Manning. Even so, it insists the missed playoff shouldn’t automatically become a crisis. It points to a 10-3 final record and to Sarkisian’s back-to-back CFP semifinal appearances. saying those results shouldn’t amount to a “five-alarm fire” and that “nobody sane is calling for Sarkisian’s job.”.
The column’s criticism sharpens as it moves from Ole Miss to Texas Tech.
Sarkisian didn’t stop at one target. He also went after Texas Tech, implying Texas could play its second- and third-string players and still go undefeated if it played Texas Tech’s schedule. The piece says he made that implication during an interview with On3.
The counter is immediate. The column argues Texas could have played a Big 12 schedule if it wanted to, since it chose the SEC instead. It also expresses skepticism that Texas’ backups could replicate the kind of dominance needed to win a Big 12 slate. citing what it calls the fragility of Texas’ deeper confidence: it says the author watched Texas lose to Florida—the same Gators that lost at home to South Florida—and argues that if Texas starters needed overtime to survive Mississippi State and Kentucky. it’s hard to believe third-string players could go 13-0 in the Big 12.
Texas Tech, the piece says, responded in a way that turned Sarkisian’s remarks into a real-world challenge. It notes that Texas Tech played “this situation beautifully” by responding to the dig and challenging Texas to a Week 1 game.
Texas, according to the column, won’t accept the gauntlet—because the Longhorns will face Ohio State in Week 2. With the Buckeyes in the on-deck circle, the piece says there’s no way Texas would swap Texas Tech into the season opener in place of Texas State.
The result is that Texas Tech “smartly claimed a PR win” by daring Sarkisian to back up his comments on the field, while the scheduling reality limits Texas’ ability to do so in the way Sarkisian may have suggested.
Underneath the back-and-forth, a single question keeps tightening: why is Sarkisian belittling Ole Miss and Texas Tech instead of focusing on turning talent into the kind of playoff results the Longhorns are expected to deliver.
Coaches who win the big prize, the column argues, don’t need to diminish other programs. It frames the opposite behavior as something that shows up when a team misses the playoffs—then spends the offseason reacting to the pressure.
The piece also makes clear it’s not purely hostile to the theatrics. It says writers benefit—especially during the offseason slog—from coaches who fill up a notebook, and that Sarkisian added “some spice” to the headlines.
But even with the offseason entertainment factor, the thrust remains the same. Texas has a deep roster and a “war chest” the piece describes as the envy of most of college football. The call is for Sarkisian to stop reacting to other teams’ success and start making Texas’ spending and talent pay off “this season.”.
In other words, the talk is loud enough now that Texas doesn’t just need to be competitive. It needs to prove it.
Steve Sarkisian Texas Longhorns Ole Miss Texas Tech College Football Playoff Arch Manning NIL On3 Ohio State 2026 playoff expectations college football recruiting SEC