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Texas Longhorns have advanced to the American football playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
Once again, it is projected that the Longhorns make a career in the playoffs of this next season, but the chief coach Steve Sarkisian is doing what he can to moderate some of those high expectations. Sarkisian also threw cold water on the notion that any team is crowned as national champion will end the season with a perfect 16-0 record.
“I don’t think we see an undefeated champion” during the SEC spring meetings.
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Chief coach Steve Sarkisian from the Texas Longhorns speaks during the media days of the SEC at the Omni Dallas hotel on July 17, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. (Tim Warner/Getty images)
Sarkisian pointed out the difficulty of maintaining a completely healthy list during the extended university football season. “It is very difficult to stay healthy for so long. This idea that someone will go 16-0 in university football? If so, place a statue.”
The 12 -team playoff format debuted last season. After a team plays its complete list of the regular 12 games season, it could be classified for its conference championship. Under last year’s format, the Power 4 conference champions won a goodbye. The 13-0 team would need to win a quarterfinal game, semifinals and championship to finish 16-0.
CFP 2025 championships: OSU, Texas is still favored after format change
Sarkisian then remembered the vast differences in the panorama of current sport and his time in the coaching staff of southern California in 2003.
“Then we become a two -team playoff, and we become a four -team playoff, and now we have become where we are today,” he continued. “I think that at the end of the day, we all only want the best teams to have the opportunity to compete for a championship. The duration of the season, last year, we played 16 games and that was only to reach the semifinals. It would have been 17 to win a championship.”
Chief coach Steve Sarkisian from the Texas Longhorns reacts during the second quarter against the Bulldogs of Georgia at the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 19, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Sarkisian also addressed the high expectations that Texas and the Arch Manning field marshal will face for the 2025 season. Manning saw action sometimes last season, but the jump from Quinn Ewers to the NFL opened the door to become a full -time headline.
“Arch is a great player, but I hope for everyone that we do not move too much to ourselves,” Sarkisian said. “Let’s let this guy play this year. We are going to have fun to finally have their opportunity as the titular field marshal for Texas Longhorns. It has been a dream of life for this guy to do this.”
The Lonhorns suffered a 37-31 defeat against Washington in the Playoffs 2023–24 semifinal. After defeating Clemsson in the first round, Texas survived a dual extra time thriller against Arizona State in the quarterfinals. But, the Lonhorns could not overcome the eventual champions, the state of Ohio, in the semifinals.
