Steve Sarkisian: Texas is a “Massive Underdog” in the Cotton Bowl, while OSU is the “Best Team in CFB.”
The Longhorns are getting ready to play “the best team in college football” when they play Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on January 10th, according to Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian.
In a Zoom call with reporters on Friday, Sarkisian stated, “I need Longhorn Nation to show out in Arlington,” according to ESPN’s Dave Wilson. “To try to win this game, we’re going to need to give it our all. We’re obviously huge underdogs. They won’t give us a chance.”
Sarkisian went on: “This is the best team in college football, and we’re going to have to make sure that we put our best forward to give ourselves a chance to win the game.”
With a 41-21 Rose Bowl victory on Wednesday, No. 6 Ohio State defeated top-ranked Oregon, despite dropping in the playoff seeding due to a regular-season finale loss to Michigan.
The same day that Arizona State forced the favored Longhorns into double OT in Wednesday’s Peach Bowl, Texas’ playoff spot appeared to be in doubt.
The Longhorns won by a score of 39–31. However, in a close game that left Ohio State as the betting favorites going into the semifinal, ASU running back Cam Skattebo was awarded Peach Bowl MVP.
During his own media conference on Friday, Day stated that he was trying to prevent his team from being sidetracked by outside chatter about their chances of winning the championship after their victory against Oregon in the quarterfinals.
“Nothing that’s happened in the past, or really the noise that’s around the building has anything to do with our preparation and our focus and our process, and that’s what we’ve been diving into,” Day told 247Sports’ Hank South.
“I think that’s one of the things that our guys need to understand is that when you’re playing in the playoffs, it’s almost like, you know, seasons within themselves during that week, and that, you know, you almost start from scratch,” Day went on, according to South. Therefore, we had to perform exceptionally well this late in the season in order to outperform Texas.
The return of Quinn Ewers, who transferred to Texas after playing one season for Ohio State, to face his old team will be the main attraction of the forthcoming game.
According to South, Day called Ewers “one of the best quarterbacks in the country” on Friday.
Texas defeated Ohio State 41–21 in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl, their most recent meeting. The Longhorns’ record versus the Buckeyes is 2-1 all-time.
When these two programs play each other for the fourth time next Friday, a trip to the title game will be at stake.
