Texas' Steve Sarkisian Previews Road SEC Bout with LSU: 'That's What It Takes!'

There are very few coaches with as impressive a winning percentage as Steve Sarkisian in ranked matchups on the road since the Texas Longhorns joined the SEC.

Texas leads all of FBS in total ranked victories since 2023, and boasts a 4-1 mark in conference road games during that span, including the 34-20 win over Missouri last week.

With a night game in Death Valley awaiting the No. 6 Longhorns versus No. 21 LSU, Sarkisian knows what he's been looking for in practice.

And he's liking what he's seen this week.

"As a football team, we're starting to find our way from a preparation stand point," Sarkisian said to the media on Thursday. "All of that starts in practice, and this week has been no different."

"I've seen a very focused football team, I've seen a football team that is very attentive to the details," he added. "I thought Tuesday and Wednesday again were as physical practices that we've had around here, and that's what it takes."

The Horns have responded to their most recent road test, a 14-point win over No. 18 Missouri to help them climb in the latest CFP rankings.

But, as Sarkisian often remarks, each week in the SEC is a heavyweight bout. That's especially true for a Texas team that faces another ranked team in their three road games out of four to end the regular season.

"In the SEC, you've got to play a physical brand of football, and you got to be violent and I think our team is really understanding that."

Among the challenges Texas will face, especially against a solid Tigers defense, is the raucous environment of Tiger Stadium under the lights.

"I think we're built for this type of stuff. We know how to do it." Sarkisian said last week before proving it in Columbia.

Now it's time to do it again against arguably one of the more complete rosters Texas will have seen to this point.

LSU has won all of its games at home this season, and by a margin of 42.4 points. Their lone home loss, however, was just last week in a 31-13 second-half comeback by No. 5 Alabama.

In many ways, these Tigers carry themselves a lot like the Longhorns: a roster bursting at the seams with talent but not always playing to their standard.

Texas will look to lean on quarterback Arch Manning, a four-year veteran of Sarkisian's system who is beginning to play his best football of the season, to get the result the Longhorns are looking for.

"He's got those moments of - some guys play better the bigger the games, especially on the road," Sark said. "I think Arch definitely rises to the challenges that we're faced with.

"But I think part of that is also the DNA in our organization and in our program. ... He's got an entire team that has been successful in these types of games on the road, and I'm sure that gives him some confidence as well, knowing he's going to be surrounded by a bunch of guys and a bunch of people that are kinda built for this moment and have been through this moment before."

"I think our guys love it, honestly," Sarkisian said earlier in the week about road success.

"There's something about going on the road - the visiting locker rooms are a little...intimate, let's use that word. ... They take pride in it and enjoy it, [and] they put their trust in us to have success."