After two straight losses to the Buckeyes, Steve Sarkisian and Arch Manning say the Longhorns are embracing another opportunity against one of college football’s biggest programs.
AUSTIN – For Texas, this week is about more than another marquee game. It is another opportunity to get Ohio State right.
The No. 5 Longhorns enter their latest meeting with the No. 1 ranked Buckeyes carrying the memory of two consecutive losses to Ohio State, games that Texas coach Steve Sarkisian believes shared an important, and costly, similarity.
“We were playing from behind in the second half, and that's an uncomfortable feeling when you feel like you're having to play catch-up,” Sarkisian said Monday. “You have to take a few more risks, and so that's probably the most common theme of the last two.”
That history gives Texas a clear idea of what it cannot afford to do this time. Against an opponent such as Ohio State, falling behind can change everything. An offense that might otherwise remain patient becomes more aggressive. The margin for error shrinks. Every possession begins to feel more consequential.
Sarkisian knows that firsthand.
His message entering this week's matchup, however, is less about what happened in the previous two meetings and more about what Texas must do differently when another opportunity arrives.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to execution,” Sarkisian said. “Mental and physical toughness. Composure.”
For quarterback Arch Manning, the rematch carries its own significance.
Texas doesn't have to wait another season, or wonder when the programs might meet again, for an opportunity to respond to what Manning described as a “rough loss.”
“Not all the time do you get a second chance to play another team after a rough loss,” Manning said. “So we're all excited for the opportunity. I think we all grown mentally, physically, and we're excited.”
That growth could be central to whether this meeting ends differently.
Texas has already experienced what Ohio State can demand from a team and the pressure of chasing the Buckeyes late, when mistakes become magnified and the freedom to operate within the original game plan begins disappearing.
Now comes the test of whether those experiences have changed them.
For Manning, there is also a personal element to the motivation inside the Texas locker room.
“We want to win this really bad for Coach Sark,” he said.
It is a short statement, but one that speaks to what is at stake emotionally for a Texas team that has watched its coach come up short against the same opponent twice.
Sarkisian isn't shying away from the magnitude of the matchup.
Instead, he is embracing it.
“These are the games that you love to be part of, and we're fortunate that we get to be part of these games as a staff, as players, as a fan base,” Sarkisian said. “We're obviously looking forward to the opportunity. Should be a heck of a week.”
For Texas, the opportunity is unmistakable.
Games between programs of this stature naturally carry national attention and expectations. But for the Longhorns, this one comes with something extra: familiarity with how quickly a game against Ohio State can turn uncomfortable.
Texas has been here before.
Twice, it found itself chasing the Buckeyes in the second half. Twice, the Longhorns walked away with a loss.
This time, Manning and the Longhorns get the second chance they wanted.
What they do with it will come down to the three things Sarkisian emphasized most: execution, toughness and composure.