Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian has revealed a grim admission on the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Ohio State Buckeyes opened up their 2025 college football season against the Texas Longhorns and came away with a 14-7 win against the then-ranked No. 1 team in the country.
Ohio State will also face Texas next September as part of a home-and-home series between the two titans, and next year's meeting will be in Austin.
However, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is wondering if scheduling another nonconference matchup with the Buckeyes was a good idea.
Texas went 9-3 and was left out of the College Football Playoff this year, and had it gone 10-2, it may very well have gotten in.
That revelation is not lost on Sarkisian, who said the Longhorns will honor their 2026 clash with Ohio State, but that it could end up hurting his team.
“Do you want us not to schedule Ohio State?” Sarkisian said. “Because if we’re 10-2 right now, this isn’t a discussion. We’re in the playoff. But we were willing to go up there and play that game.”
Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian. Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images.Texas also has a matchup with Michigan slated for 2027.
"We’re going to nine SEC conference games, so to think that we’re going to play a 10th game against Ohio State and Michigan, and who knows who else down the road, I hope we get credit for that," Sarksian said. "If not, then we really need to look after the ’27 season."
It's hard to blame Sarkisian for his frustration, although it should also be noted that the Longhorns also lost to the 4-8 Florida Gators during the middle of the 2025 campaign.
Still, teams should have room for one bad loss. Alabama was hammered by Florida State in its own season opener, but was able to bounce back and still earn a berth in the CFP.
Few would argue that Texas is a better team than both Tulane and James Madison, but with the way the CFP is set up, the Longhorns didn't have a chance to score a berth over either team.
This is something the committee should definitely weigh, because it really isn't fair for squads like Texas to be penalized for actively creating tougher schedules.
Ohio State, meanwhile, went 12-1 and is the No. 2 seed in the CFP.