Texas' Steve Sarkisian Reacts to Longhorns 'Abysmal' Start and 'Phenomenal' Comeback

The Texas Longhorns couldn't have had a worse start to what will likely be the biggest game of their 2026 season.

They turned the ball over to No. 1-ranked Ohio State twice in their first five plays from scrimmage, and before too long, the air was sucked out of Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin as the No. 4-ranked Longhorns trailed 23-3 entering the fourth quarter.

But what followed perfectly exemplified the program's oldest mantra: "Texas Fight".

The Horns pulled off the largest fourth-quarter comeback against a top-ranked team, stunning the Buckeyes with three straight touchdowns in a 24-23 win.

Here's what head coach Steve Sarkisian had to say in his opening remarks of the postgame press conference:

Texas quarterback Arch Manning delivered a signature moment in his third attempt at beating the Buckeyes in the last three seasons. Manning threw for 195 yards and a touchdown on 23 of 37 passing while also rushing for 24 yards.

Raleek Brown, who fumbled on the first play of the game, bounced back to join Hollywood Smothers in the backfield for 128 rushing yards between them.

Ryan Wingo responded from his blatant drop earlier by catching a short touchdown to open the fourth quarter scoring. Smothers added a pair of one-yard rushing scores, with the second putting Texas ahead with just 25 seconds remaining after the extra point.

The defense finally found ways to keep Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith at bay, though he still ended with 164 receiving yards and a touchdown. Most impressively, the offense showed resilience by stacking quality scoring drives in response to the defensive stops and a costly missed field goal.

"This team can understand that we can overcome adversity, and we're gonna get faced with more adversity," Sarkisian said about what this comeback does to the team's morale.

"Hopefully this serves as a lesson that we can come back from a lot."

Manning recognized Connor Hawkins' missed field goal from 45 yards late in the fourth quarter as the moment where a comeback was within reach for the Horns.

"When that happened, I knew it was our time," Manning said postgame. "I'm really proud of the way we responded. We could have let that thing go. It was a testament to our coaches and our culture."

Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day said he felt his team "had them on the ropes and didn't finish." Ohio State will remain a Big Ten contender and potential bid into the CFP, and Sarkisian is hoping he can get one more bout with the school up north.

"I told Ryan after the game, I hope to see you again," Sark said.

Almost two years ago, Manning sat on the sideline as the Buckeyes rolled past the Longhorns late to book their ticket to the national championship game, which they'd eventually win.

In last season's opener, Ohio State got the better of Texas again as Manning's first game as the full-time starter didn't live up to his Heisman Trophy hype from the offseson, let alone the expectations throne upon him because of his legendary last name.

Things were different in the second half of Saturday's meeting.

Third time's a charm.