Texas' Steve Sarkisian Calls Out Notre Dame

By Jordan SiglerShareNewsweek is a Trust Project member

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian didn't waste any time lobbying the College Football Playoff selection committee after the No. 16 Longhorns took down No. 3 Texas A&M 27-17 in front of 103,632 fans at DRK-Texas Memorial Stadium on Friday night.

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Following a win that improved Texas to 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the SEC, Sarkisian argued that his team shouldn't be penalized for losing to Ohio State in Week 1.

"If we're a 10-2 team, it's not a question," Sarkisian said. But we were willing to go play that game. So, is that what college football is about? Don't play anybody and just have a good record? Or play the best and put the best teams in the playoff? And we're one of the best teams."

College football head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns

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During his postgame news conference, Sarkisian called out Notre Dame for getting into the CFP last season after losing to Northern Illinois. He suggested Texas' loss to Florida was comparable to the Irish losing to the Huskies.

“This whole idea that, ‘Well, you lost to Florida.’ Well, the team that played for the national championship last year lost to Northern Illinois at home,” Sarkisian said via On3. “So you’re going to punish us and you don’t want to punish them, but they were good enough to go play for a national title?

"So I have no doubt in my mind that the team we have in that locker room downstairs is a Playoff football team and worthy of an opportunity to play for a national championship.”

ND finished the season 11-1, two fewer losses than Texas has this season. The 2024 Irish didn't have a 25-point loss in November in their resume last season before going on to beat the SEC champion in the CFP quarterfinals.

It'll be interesting to see where the selection committee puts Texas in their updated rankings on Tuesday. For the Longhorns to make the next bracket, they'd have to surpass a BYU program that only has one loss on its resume before getting set to play 5-6 UCF on Saturday.

For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.

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