The Texas Longhorns made it a sweat for fans in attendance at DKR Stadium and anxious bettors across the country, but they handled business in a 34-31 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores in Week 10. Vanderbilt scored 21 unanswered and was an onside kick away from a chance to overcome a 34-10 deficit.
Crisis averted. Steve Sarkisian isn’t out of the woods yet in Austin, though. Not even close.
Texas takes on the Georgia Bulldogs Between the Hedges after the Longhorns’ upcoming bye week, then has home matchups against the Arkansas Razorbacks and TAMU Aggies in Austin to close out the schedule.
USA Today’s Kevin Skiver warns that the road ahead is tough for Sarkisian and Co., and winning out is the only way to keep the team off the bubble for the 12-team College Football Playoff field.
“Ultimately, with games against Georgia, Arkansas, and Texas A&M, the path for the Longhorns is exceptionally difficult. If they win out, it would be difficult to impossible to keep them out. If they win two of three, they're firmly on bubble watch,” Skiver wrote.
Texas’ politics giving Steve Sarkisian wandering eyes
Sarkisian denied that there’s interest in taking an NFL job, but The Athletic’s Diana Russini’s report of his supposed interest in the Tennessee Titans’ head coaching role wasn’t the first time a connection was made.
Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde floated the idea of Sark coaching the BYU Cougars, his alma mater, next season.
Regardless of whether there’s 100% truth to any of the aforementioned scenarios, everything points to difficult questions this offseason if Texas can’t show up against Georgia, Arkansas, and TAMU.
Arch Manning has not had a Heisman-level season, and the politics of the job weigh heavily on his mind. There's no guarantee Sarkisian will want to continue dealing with some of the most high-demand boosters in the FBS.
Enough losses will make the University of Texas at Austin unhappy, too. Things could get ugly after that.