Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is already pushing a theme for his Longhorns: they are a team that wins the games that matter. After a comeback victory over Ohio State in 2026 and a 34-20 road win at Missouri, Sarkisian has spoken about his team's ability to win "big games" and has described Texas as "big game hunters." The messaging has drawn skepticism from at least one columnist, who calls the underdog framing marketing and ridiculous.
The comments follow a season in which Sarkisian's program was measured against playoff standards. Last year, Sarkisian called the exclusion of his 9-3 Texas team from the College Football Playoff a "disservice." That history gives his current emphasis on toughness and underdog status a sharper edge, since the same program that argued it deserved recognition is now presenting itself as a squad nobody expected to win.
At Missouri, Sarkisian said nobody believed Texas would win on the road. The Longhorns did, 34-20, and Sarkisian used the result to argue that his players perform when the stakes are highest. Critics counter that Texas's roster is among the most expensive in the sport, which makes an underdog narrative harder to sustain. A program with that level of investment is unlikely to be seen as an outsider, regardless of how the team is described in press settings, and the columnist's objection rests largely on that gap between image and resources.
The Missouri game also produced a controversy. Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz implied that officiating went against his team, pointing to a fumble ruling on a pass by Arch Manning. Texas scored a touchdown on the drive that followed the disputed call. Broadcaster Jesse Palmer said on air that the calls seemed to go against Missouri, adding a visible layer of debate to a game Texas won by 14 points. The sequence gave Drinkwitz a specific moment to point to, and it gave Texas a scoring drive that followed the call in question.
Taken together, the Ohio State and Missouri results give Sarkisian a foundation for the story he wants to tell about his team. The first win came after Texas trailed and recovered, while the second came on the road in a setting Sarkisian said few expected his team to win. Whether that narrative holds will depend on how Texas performs as the season continues, and on whether a team with Texas's resources can convince skeptics that it still plays like the underdog it describes.