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Entering a bye week, Texas football is staring down the final third of its regular season. But coach Steve Sarkisian pointed out Monday that, for the Longhorns to achieve their goal of winning the national title, they’ll need to play at least eight more games.
Sarkisian familiarized himself with the grind of a 16-game season when he coordinated the Atlanta Falcons’ offense in 2017 and 2018. Still, he spent part of this offseason asking some of the biggest coaching names in football how they handle it.
Via a mix of in-person meetings and phone calls, Sarkisian said he sought advice from Kansas City Cheifs coach Andy Reid, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay and former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. The three have combined for 10 Super Bowl rings as head coaches.
“Guys who are year-in and year-out accustomed to being in the playoffs and what that looks like,” Sarkisian said Monday. “And the length of the season and how you get your teams ready and what your bye weeks look like in the NFL, if you have an in-season bye, or if you have a first-round bye in the playoffs and how they attack that.”
The maximum number of games college teams can play keeps growing. Under the four-team playoff format, 15 games was the upper limit for the elite programs playing in the national title game. This year, Texas could play as many as 17 games if it cracks the SEC title game, loses and makes a run to the final of the CFP thereafter.
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Sarkisian said the Longhorns will use this week to develop depth to prepare them for the upcoming grind while also trying to manage players’ physical workloads. Receiver Isaiah Bond and safety Andrew Mukuba are nursing injuries, and the extra week of recovery will be important for them, too.
Texas…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-steve-sarkisian-sought-advice-202606666.html
Author : Austin American-Statesman
Publish date : 2024-10-28 20:26:06
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