ATLANTA — Despite suffering a narrow defeat in the SEC championship, the Texas Longhorns remain hopeful about their chances of making the College Football Playoff and potentially winning the national title. Coach Steve Sarkisian believes it would be unwise to dismiss their team following this loss, especially considering the fervent expectations of Longhorns fans.
Sarkisian expressed optimism after the Longhorns’ 22-19 overtime loss to Georgia, suggesting that this setback, though painful, will provide Texas an opportunity to regroup before the playoff. “This stings, it’s hard, but we have a chance in a couple of weeks to get into the College Football Playoff and compete for a national championship,” he stated. The team awaits the announcement of their playoff destination, which will be revealed alongside the final rankings for the 12-team playoff field on Sunday.
Highlighting the Longhorns’ confidence, Sarkisian emphasized their belief in their capabilities, stating, “I think we’re plenty good enough to go win it all, but we’ll need to get healthy so we can put our best foot forward.” The Longhorns feel they had the game in hand, especially considering their first-half performance where they statistically outplayed Georgia. However, they faltered due to self-imposed penalties, committing 11 for a total of 94 yards, which hindered their scoring efforts and erased key turnovers they had created.
“The penalties were an issue in the first half where we stalled on some plays and in some third-and-longs,” Sarkisian noted, reflecting on a dominant defensive display that held Georgia to just 54 yards while allowing 260. The halftime score, however, stood at a mere 6-3, underscoring their struggle to capitalize on their dominance.
Entering this rematch ranked No. 2 in the College Football Playoff standings, the Longhorns aimed to avenge their only loss of the season but instead left with a second defeat to Georgia. The Bulldogs rallied in the second half, scoring 19 points after their starting quarterback Carson Beck was injured on the last play of the first half. Backup quarterback Gunner Stockton took over, and Beck returned just long enough to hand the ball off to Trevor Etienne, who scored the game-winning touchdown from four yards out.
Despite the disappointment of squandering an opportunity that many felt could have swung in their favor, the Longhorns are maintaining a positive outlook towards their championship aspirations. Cornerback Jahdae Barron attributes this optimistic attitude to the culture established by Sarkisian. “We’re in a good place mentally just because of the level of the culture that ‘Sark’ created here. We still have an opportunity to make things right,” he said, stressing the need to focus and learn from the experience over the next two weeks.
Quarterback Quinn Ewers shared a sense of confident resilience, declaring, “We’re built for the moments we’re going into.” He reinforced that the team’s mindset is critical to overcoming adversity, echoing a sentiment he previously expressed: “It’s 10% what happens, 90% how you react to it. I think we do a good job of handling adversity.”
The Longhorns clearly have their eyes set on the future, eager to correct their course and secure a spot among the elite in the upcoming playoff.
