Is Steve Sarkisian playing mind games by heaping praise on Ohio State ahead of Cotton Bowl?

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – JANUARY 01: Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns celebrates during the trophy presentation after defeating the Arizona State Sun Devils 39-31 during the second overtime in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 01, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is a confident guy and exudes confidence in his team every chance he gets. But, as his team prepares to face Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, Sark is really singing the praises of the opponent.

Is he just being realistic? Is he playing coy or possum? Is he hoping his comments about Ohio State will make them over confident?

In his weekly press Zoom call, Sark told Longhorns fans they’ll be needed against the Buckeyes. Texas is after-all an underdog in its home state.

“I need Longhorn Nation to show out in Arlington. We’re going to need everything we’ve got to try to win this game. Clearly, we’re massive underdogs. Nobody’s going to give us a shot. So we’re going to need all that we can to try to win this game.” – Steve Sarkisian

Sarkisian is feeding into the underdog mentality, hoping it will rally Texas fans to show up and give the Longhorns a home-field advantage. He also acknowledged that Ohio State fans “travel really, really well” and that it’s not a true home game since both schools get the same allotment of tickets.

But Sark didn’t stop there.

“It’s a heck of an opponent in Ohio State. The job that Coach Day has done with that team, their staff, they’re playing really good football right now. We know it’s going to be a heck of a challenge, but looking forward to the opportunity.” – Steve Sarkisian

Sarkisian went onto talk about how confident the Buckeyes are right now, pointing out Ohio State’s aggressive play calling but also “a really high…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/steve-sarkisian-playing-mind-games-173207539.html

Author : Longhorns Wire

Publish date : 2025-01-04 17:32:00

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