3 questions Steve Sarkisian must answer after bad loss to Texas Tech
Does Sarkisian finally overcome failure when ranked in the top 25?
Another point of emphasis coming out of this loss to Texas Tech was how Sark has fared as the Texas head coach when playing games ranked inside the AP Top 25. In the last two seasons, Texas has posted a record of 0-4 (0-3 Big 12) when facing a Power Five opponent as a team ranked in the AP Top 25.
However, this is an issue that goes a long way back for Sark. He’s developed the pattern of struggling to get it done in big games when he is the head coach of a team ranked in the top 25 in all three of his stops as a bench boss at the collegiate level.
Going back to his first season as an FBS head coach with the Washington Huskies in 2009, Sark has posted a record of 7-18 when facing a Power Five team while being ranked in the top 25.
Sark was never able to find consistent success against Power Five opposition when put under the pressure of playing as a ranked team.
This also plays into the notion that there is an overall ceiling on Sark’s teams. Sark has never won more than eight games in a season, despite helping to rebuild the Washington football program and finding a lot of potential in his short time with the USC Trojans.
To right the ship, Sark must get this team back on track starting next weekend with a comfortable win over West Virginia. If he can build some momentum with the Longhorns with a solid win over the Mountaineers, that could give this team the confidence needed to go into the Red River Rivalry game with a possible upset of Oklahoma on the mind.
Next. 5 takeaways from backbreaking OT loss to Texas Tech. dark
If Texas is able to come out of the difficult October slate with three wins, that would put this team back in the running to challenge for a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game. It would also put Sark and the Longhorns in a position to eclipse the eight-win mark this season, thus giving the second-year head coach a shot at raking in nine wins during the postseason. That would be a career-best for him as a college head coach.
Nine wins may sound a long way off right now, and it surely is if Sark and this staff can’t put this bad loss to Tech behind them right now to focus on the next few weeks.