OTF Premium Steve Sarkisian's preseason plan to prepare Texas for season-opening trip to Ohio State

[Jeff Howe]

SAN ANTONIO — When Texas hits the turf at Ohio Stadium in 40 days for a College Football Playoff semifinal return bout against Ohio State, Steve Sarkisian will be involved in a season opener the likes of which he hasn’t been a part of in 22 years.

The Longhorns and Buckeyes should be among the highest-ranked teams in the Associated Press Top 25 when they pick up on Aug. 30 where they left off in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10. The last time Sarkisian kicked off a season in a game featuring two top-10 squads, he was in his third season coaching USC’s quarterbacks for Pete Carroll when the eighth-ranked Trojans went into Jordan-Hare Stadium and smacked No. 6 Auburn, 23-0.

That’s one of three times throughout Sarkisian’s collegiate coaching career in which he’s had to prepare a team for a season opener on the road against a current member of a Power Four conference. He hasn’t coached a season opener against an AP Top 25 foe since 2013 (Washington soundly defeated No. 19 Boise State, at home, 38-6).

Still, Sarkisian is drawing on those experiences to prepare his squad for “probably the most daunting challenge of a first game” in his career.

“You just try to tap into those things throughout your career that you've been through,” Sarkisian said on Sunday at the Texas High School Coaches Association Convention in San Antonio. “How can you benefit from that?”

Like the team Sarkisian is taking to Columbus, USC lacked extensive experience at key positions entering the 2003 season. First-round NFL draft picks Carson Palmer and Troy Polamalu were among five Trojans selected from a team that finished Carroll’s second season with a share of the Pac-10 title and an 11-2 record after a rout of Iowa in the Orange Bowl.

Matt Leinart’s starting debut came against the Tigers. The shutout win over Auburn, which received a first-place vote in the preseason AP Top 25, also marked the USC debuts of running backs Reggie Bush and LenDale White; Bush and Leinart were two of seven Trojans on the 2003 roster (USC went 12-1 that season and split the national championship with an LSU team coached by Nick Saban) who went on to become first-round NFL draft picks.

Led by four preseason All-SEC first-team selections (DJ Campbell, Anthony Hill, Colin Simmons, Michael Taaffe and Quintrevion Wisner), the Longhorns’ current roster could prove worthy of standing side by side with the most talented collegiate teams with which Sarkisian has been associated. Wanting to ensure the 2025 squad puts its best foot forward against the reigning national champions, Sarkisian will maximize the team's preseason practice time while maintaining a proven camp format.

“The first 2.5 weeks or so of training camp have been truly that — of training camp. Then, we've adjusted, kind of, into that third week, where we've gotten into that first opponent, that bigger opponent,” Sarkisian said. A few years ago, it was Alabama for that week. Last year, it was Michigan. This year, it would be Ohio State. That was really implementing the game plan for that game. In the fourth week, we would then game-plan and prepare for our first opponent.

“This year, what it'll look like more [is] kind of a two-week process to get ready for the game,” he continued. “Similar, in a sense, I guess you could say, almost to a bowl game. Yet, the reality of it is, probably with a little more physicality, a little more opportunity to tackle and to do those things to make sure that you're sharp.”

There are concerns to address going into a season opener, regardless of the opponent. For Sarkisian, tackling and ball security top the list, as they do for most coaches.

While issues relating to alignment, assignment and communication can be problematic early in the season, Sarkisian also mentioned "dealing with performance anxiety." Not every current Texas player was on the field for meaningful snaps in Tuscaloosa, Ann Arbor, College Station or other road environments similar to the Horseshoe that the Longhorns have experienced.

For Sarkisian, no stone will be left unturned by the Longhorns to make sure they're ready for their second meeting with Ohio State in less than eight months.

“If I can put them in some of those elements, as well as the staff putting together a good game plan, and then we can get up there and go cut it loose and go play,” Sarkisian said.

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[horns96]

"Then, we've adjusted, kind of, into that third week, where we've gotten into that first opponent, that bigger opponent,” Sarkisian said. A few years ago, it was Alabama for that week. Last year, it was Michigan. This year, it would be Ohio State. That was really implementing the game plan for that game. In the fourth week, we would then game-plan and prepare for our first opponent."

 

I don't think I've ever heard a HC admit to preparing for any game other than the next one on the schedule.  Good stuff, Jeff!

[Burnt Orange Horn]

anOSU is the next game on the schedule.  

But both teams are different this year.  Which one has improved the most???

[Jeff Howe]

1 minute ago, Burnt Orange Horn said:

anOSU is the next game on the schedule.  

But both teams are different this year.  Which one has improved the most???

I think Texas will be the better team on Aug. 30. Too many new faces in key places for the Buckeyes.

[Jeff Howe]

15 minutes ago, horns96 said:

"Then, we've adjusted, kind of, into that third week, where we've gotten into that first opponent, that bigger opponent,” Sarkisian said. A few years ago, it was Alabama for that week. Last year, it was Michigan. This year, it would be Ohio State. That was really implementing the game plan for that game. In the fourth week, we would then game-plan and prepare for our first opponent."

 

I don't think I've ever heard a HC admit to preparing for any game other than the next one on the schedule.  Good stuff, Jeff!

He said he didn't mind getting into it, and I'm glad he laid out the plan.

[SuperDave0805]

Sark to defense 

 

[HTXHorn]

Great write up Jeff. 

[Cujonation83]

Good article 👍🏾 👏🏿 

[Texas fan in Georgia]

Gotta feeling sarks gonna throw some looks we haven’t even seen before .

[Jeff Howe]

51 minutes ago, SuperDave0805 said:

Sark to defense 

 

I watched that movie on a flight home a few weeks ago. Tremendous movie!

[Jeff Howe]

19 minutes ago, Texas fan in Georgia said:

Gotta feeling sarks gonna throw some looks we haven’t even seen before .

Sark is usually at his best in these early-season showdowns.

[Waxahorn]

In Sark I trust.

[SuperDave0805]

1 hour ago, Jeff Howe said:

I watched that movie on a flight home a few weeks ago. Tremendous movie!

I could probably recite it line for line 

[Jeff Howe]

17 minutes ago, SuperDave0805 said:

I could probably recite it line for line 

Seriously, one of my favorite movie scenes ever:

 

[Jeff Howe]

2 hours ago, Cujonation83 said:

Good article 👍🏾 👏🏿 

🤘

[Jeff Howe]

2 hours ago, HTXHorn said:

Great write up Jeff. 

🤘

[NothinButDaHorns34]

1 hour ago, Jeff Howe said:

Sark is usually at his best in these early-season showdowns.

Taking a bama team full of blue chip recruits down to the wire in 2022 with a 8-5 team was a feat i look back on as very under appreciated by me. 

[Jeff Howe]

5 minutes ago, NothinButDaHorns34 said:

Taking a bama team full of blue chip recruits down to the wire in 2022 with a 8-5 team was a feat i look back on as very under appreciated by me. 

Might've been a different outcome if Quinn had played the whole game.

[Paul Jespersen]

Can 
Not
Wait
For OSU game.

🤘