After a week filled with Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian assuring the Longhorns faithful that he’s not leaving the school for another job, Saturday couldn’t get here soon enough.
Well, it finally did and the Longhorns, who are No. 17 in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings, get to host the Arkansas Razorbacks in a Saturday afternoon kickoff at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. Eastern and the game will be shown on ABC.
Sarkisian has been under the hot media lamps after Georgia kicked Texas’ teeth in 35-10 in Athens, Ga., last Saturday night.
The Bulldogs and head coach Kirby Smart simply got one over on the Longhorns. While the game was tight late (Georgia was only up 14-10 at one point), the Bulldogs found a way to outsmart Sarkisian and his coaching staff.
It wasn’t a pretty sight for Sarkisian to see his team melt down. Texas starting quarterback Arch Manning had a decent outing, but even his efforts were not enough to get Texas a much-needed win on the road.
Now Texas comes home for its final two regular-season games. The Longhorns are going to face an Arkansas team on its second head coach this season. Sam Pittman got throttled after the Razorbacks started out on the wrong foot, only to be replaced by Bobby Petrino.
Yes, that Bobby Petrino.
The Razorbacks are 2-8 on the season, 0-6 in Southeastern Conference play. As for the Longhorns, they are 7-3 overall, 4-2 in SEC play.
Looking at the team statistics, the Razorbacks have not been that bad on offense. They are averaging 470 yards per game and 34.1 points per game. As for Texas, it is averaging 370.7 yards per game and scores at a 27.6 clip.
Last season, Texas beat Arkansas 20-10 in Fayetteville, Ark. This time, though, the battle comes to Austin, Texas.
With the Arkansas offense really performing well despite the team’s overall record, it means that the Texas defense has to step up. As if the Longhorns’ defense isn’t doing enough already.
Colin Simmons will be one player to keep your eyes on as he’ll look to get pressure beyond the line of scrimmage.
This rivalry dates back way, way back to the Southwest Conference days. Longtime Longhorns fans know that Texas won the national college football championship over Arkansas back in the day.
With their excellent video clips, the Texas program harkens back to that time when late President Richard M. Nixon gave legendary Texas head coach Darrell Royal the trophy.
Of course, some of the college football voices like Texas play-caller Craig Way and late ABC Sports college football announcer Keith Jackson get some love in the montage.
On Saturday, the Longhorns have a chance to add their own highlights to the reel. Record-wise, it would seem like Texas should roll over Arkansas. But this game? Sometimes, things get a little weird.
That would fit, though, in a city where “Keep Austin Weird” has been an old stand-by moniker for years.
Cody Croy
Writer
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