When SEC programs hire head coaches, a key part of their interview process must be testing their ability to do marketing and promotion.
Few, if any, coaches excel at marketing, like LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin, who has worked tirelessly to convince the broader college football public that losing games should not be punished because of SEC stadiums. Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea campaigned in 2025 by telling fans, voters and media that SEC teams should be given preferential treatment over all other conferences if they have the same records.
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Then there’s Steve Sarkisian.
SUDDENLY, STEVE SARKISIAN IS SINGING A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TUNE ABOUT PLAYING OHIO STATE
Head Coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns looks on during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sept. 26, 2026. (Getty Images)
The Texas Longhorns head coach said in 2025 that excluding his 9-3 team from the College Football Playoff would be a “disservice to the sport.” A disservice! College football would forever be lesser if a 9-3 Texas team was not included, despite several awful performances against a bad Florida team, a bad Mississippi State team, a bad Kentucky team, and getting blown out by Georgia.
Sark complained about the result of the 2025 matchup between the Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes hurt his team’s resume, saying that even in a 14-7 loss, Texas shouldn’t be punished for scheduling a tough opponent. There’s some truth to that, sure, but after their miraculous comeback in this year’s game, he had a totally different perspective.
“We could be like other teams and play Jones Junior High and win 66-0,” he said to reporters after beating OSU. “I don’t know what that does for us. Tonight we found out that we can (win big games).”
When they lose, the result shouldn’t matter. When they win, it’s a huge boost to their resume compared to teams that played lesser opponents. Shocking.
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Well, Sark is back, and this time, the marketing effort is to convince those watching that the Longhorns are actually humble little “nobody believes in us” underdogs. Against Missouri.
“I’m really proud of our football team overall because our guys, they’re not naive to noise. As much as I would love to say, tune it all out — and we try our best to do that — I could hear the talk getting on the plane yesterday. I could hear the talk when we got here,” he said after their 34-20 win. “Nobody believed we’d win the game. Nobody thought we were going to come here and win the game. Nobody thought we were we were tough enough at the line of scrimmage. Everyone thought we’d be pushed around.”
He continued, saying that the “DNA” of Texas is “toughness,” which showed through against the Tigers.
“The DNA of this organization is mental and physical toughness, and I think that poured out of our pores today in this ball game today, and so I’m very proud of them for that. I’m very proud of the way they hung together, the way they responded to adversity,” Sarkisian said.
And finally, claimed that the win showed they’re “big game hunters.”
“We are big game hunters, and we showed up again today,” he added.
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Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian walks into Camping World Stadium ahead of the Citrus Bowl against the Michigan Wolverines in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 31, 2025. (aAustin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
Sure! It was a good win for Texas, on the road against a solid, top-25 level opponent. They did face some “adversity,” mainly falling behind after a shaky first quarter, then fighting their way back. But acting as though Texas, literally Texas, with arguably the most expensive roster in the sport, or at worst, top 2-3, is a “nobody believed in us” team is ridiculous. Beyond ridiculous.
Texas also had some help, well, a lot of help from the officials. A number of questionable calls went against the Tigers, including what appeared to be a completed pass on a big third down deep in Texas territory, and what seemed like a clear incomplete pass from Arch Manning on 3rd-and-10 being ruled a fumble that gave the Longhorns a 12-yard gain and a first down. Sure enough, that drive resulted in a touchdown and what wound up being 21 unanswered points.
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That’s not to say officiating was the reason Texas won, but it sure didn’t hurt. Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz implied as much after the game, when asked about the number of calls that went against his team.
“If I say what I want to say, I’m going to get fined until I don’t have any retirement, and I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to blame the officials. That would be disrespectful to Coach Sarkisian and his team,” he said, according to On3.
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian pauses during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 22, 2025. (Scott Wachter/Imagn Images)
Even the announcing team, including Jesse Palmer, were flabbergasted at the officiating.
“If you’re a Missouri fan, if you’re Eli Drinkwitz, you are livid because it does feel like a lot of these calls are going against Missouri today,” he said.
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Again, this isn’t to say Texas didn’t deserve to win, they outplayed Missouri on the field and were the better team. It’s the attitude that Sarkisian brings, that they were just humble underdogs clinging to a win against the big, bad Missouri Tigers that’s the marketing campaign.
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By acting as though every win his team gets is a monumental achievement, it builds the case that should Texas trip up against, say, a struggling LSU or on the road against a bad Texas A&M team, they can’t be punished for it. It’s marketing. It’s classic SEC. And it’s ridiculous.