AUSTIN (KXAN) — Former Texas head coach Mack Brown used to describe the annual Texas-Oklahoma game as a “mid-season Bowl game” because of the pageantry surrounding the Red River Rivalry.
While “it’s just another game” is a popular response from players and coaches, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian might approach the actual game with that mindset, but he understands this is a different week leading up to the game than the rest of the regular season.
“I think there’s been a level of intensity … the sense of urgency has been very high. I think the guys are working hard, we’re accustomed to that, I think we all know what comes with this game,” Sarkisian said.
“Everybody wants the bragging rights, everybody wants the Golden Hat. Also, the reality of the SEC and conference play, we stubbed our toe in week one, we’re 0-1 in conference play, we’ve got to get back on the winning board in conference play. We’ve got a lot of conference games to go, and this is the next one, and this is the most important one.”
Sarkisian is 2-2 against Oklahoma as the Longhorns head coach, and both wins have been blowouts: 34-3 last year and 49-0 in 2022. The trend, however, has close games in this series over recent years, with five games decided by seven points or less since 2017, along with the 2020 overtime game, which Oklahoma won 53-45.
You can watch the entire exclusive interview with Sarkisian on Texas GameDay, Saturday at 1:30 p.m. on KBVO.
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