January 6, 2025 • 13 mins
Hear from Steve Sarkisian as Texas prepares to face Ohio State in the College Football Playoff Semifinal. Sark discusses the Buckeyes' fast starts to games, the health of the team, Quinn Ewers' confidence, and if they can fix the run game.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
It's the Craig Way Show with the voice of the
Texas Longhorns in Hall of Fame broadcaster Craig Way.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Here on a Monday, as we roll into this week
here on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred zone. Glad to
have you with us. Cameron Parker the producer alongside, and
again we will have other things coming up, like, for example,
Inconceivable later this hour. Paul Keel's play by play voice
(00:55):
of the Ohio State Buckeyes will join us later on
as well. But we do want to hear from the
head football coach at the University Diversity of Texas. After all,
the Longhorns are in the Final four and headed for
this Cotton Bowl matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes, and
that's coming up on Friday evening. So let's hear some
(01:18):
comments from Long Horns head coach Steve Sarkeesian. Here it
Starks opening comments here from this week. Getting ready.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Yeah, I'd just like to say, first of all, it's
an honor to UH to represent the Southeastern Conference in
the UH in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. This game has
been one the notorious for for great games, great teams
over the years. You know, Obviously, this being a semi
final game of the College Football Playoff, it's definitely an
(01:48):
honor to be part of this. It's a heck of
an opponent in Ohio State, the job that coach Day
has done with that team, their staff, they're playing really
good football right now. We know it's gonna be a
heck of a challenge, but looking forward to the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Okay, and then to the comments being asked some questions.
First of all, what stood out to him about the
fact that Ohio State got off to really fast starts?
You think about it coming off the lost to Michigan,
did not qualify for the Big Ten Championship. So the
Buckeyes first game was in the College Football Playoff against
Tennessee and they raced out of the gate and cruised
(02:22):
to a forty two to seventeen victory. And then in
the quarterfinal round in the Rose Bowl, they raced out
to a thirty four to zhing lead on the Oregon
and beat the number one, unbeaten seated Ducks to win
that one to twenty one. So what stood out to
start to sark about those fast starts for Ohio State.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Well, I think it's probably credit to their coaching staff.
First of all, game planning, putting together a nice plan
on offense, defense, and special teams. Instill in that plan
to the players and the players playing with confidence. I
think that's the one thing that jumps out when you
watch it is how confidently they're playing. They're definitely calling
it aggressively, but the execution is at a really high level.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
So that's what jumps out at us.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Okay. He was also asked about for an update on
Isaiah Bond, because while Bond did come back for the
Arizona State game, I think it was pretty clear to
everybody wasn't one hundred percent, but he was able to
get back. And how overall, how did the team come
out of the game physically, And then he was asked
about Quinn Ewers and his approach to the game, the
(03:29):
finish to the game, the passes, the scores, and would
that be the kind of thing, especially with the season
on the line, that can ignite a player's confidence and
really lift him Speaking from the perspective as a former
quarterback himself.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
So yeah, I think we're going to be healthy and
good to go by the time the game rolls around.
As far as Quinn goes, you know, is a guy
making plays at a critical moment. And I think for
any player at any position, when you're at your best,
when your best is needed naturally, that is still confidence
in you.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
All right.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Next, I think it was our friend Kirk Bowles who
asked this question about because the Long Words only ran
for fifty three yards against Arizona State and struggled with
the run, might they have to lean into the passing
game a little more or is there a fix for
what is ailing the running game? Well?
Speaker 4 (04:19):
I hope not, you know. I hope that we can
find balance.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
And I think that that we're more than equipped to
do that, you know, I think that, you know, in
really evaluating last the last ball game was, man, we
just we really couldn't get our backs free into the
second level, you know. And I thought Arizona State did
a nice job thought their safeties and their secondary tackled
(04:42):
well and got us on the ground and and we
didn't get a whole lot of reps to find the
rhythm of it. And so there's everybody's kind of got
to take some responsibility of that.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
But we're at our best when we when we when
we can.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Run it, and that gives us balance, and so I'm
hard pressed not to just kind of walk away from
it and abandon it. So we've got to do a
better great job as a staff of putting together a
good plan and make sure that our players can execute
it at a high level versus the myriad of looks,
especially that Ohio State can give you.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
All. Right, here's a popular topic coming out of the quarterfinals.
Noticed that all four teams that received first round byes
lost in the quarterfinals. So the seeds five to six, seven,
and eight, all of whom played a first round home game,
won the quarterfinal game. In fact, Texas is the number
(05:34):
five seed, is the highest remaining seed, technically the home
team for Ohio State, but the Longhorns chose to wear white.
We'll get more on that in a little bit, But
in the interim, Sark was asked about this whole thing
about the teams that did not receive buys winning their
(05:57):
first round game at home and then winning the bowl game,
and did they receive an advantage by having the play
and does he think there might be changes going forward
with how the seeding is done or how the home
fields are done.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
You know, I don't know, you know, I've referenced this before.
You know, my initial thought on all this was similar
to the NCAA basketball tournament that you know, if you
win your conference championship, you get an automatic bid into
the tournament, like like they're doing basketball, and then the
committee seeds the tournament. You know, And I've referenced these
(06:29):
two schools just because they're in the same conference, But
how many times have Duke and North Carolina both been
number one seeds coming out of the ACC for all
those years? And so like in this instance, if this
year were that way, we would have been the three
seed and we would have gotten a buy and so,
(06:50):
but because of the guaranteed spots as one seeds, we
went in as the five seed and we had to play.
And so I don't know if there's necessarily an advantage
or a disadvantage.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
To it that way.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I know our guys were chopping at the bit to
get back out there and play and compete, but I
also know we're going into our sixteenth game here coming up,
you know, this coming week, and you know, without a
real significant rest. We've been finding our spots to get
some rest and to get healthy. But we didn't get
that massive rest that I think a lot of the
other teams do. Now, I don't know if that's beneficial
(07:23):
or not. You know, I think there is something to
be said about playing football consistently and rhythm and routine and.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
So on and so forth.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
So I'm not sure I have a great answer for
what is best, but what I do know that would
be my one recommendation to the seeding process.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Interesting, Yeah, what would the higher seeds draw the byes
instead of just conference champions receiving buyes? The fest four
highest seated and they weren't all power for us. We know,
Boise State, you know, got to buy and then lost
to Penn State as they played. So you know, that's
(08:00):
that's going to be something that the committee certainly will
discuss going forward. All right now, they're going to see
a very familiar face on Friday, Will Howard, the Kansas
State quarterback. When the long Warts last saw Will Howard
it was when they were knocking him to the turf
in the second overtime of last year's game with Kansas State,
when the Long Words won.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
That in overtime. So the question is.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
What does he see from Will Howard and what does
his team need to do to disrupt Will Howard's game.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Well, I think we've got to be really good at
the line of scrimmage against the run, in the pass.
You know that Ohio States similar to us that way,
when they have balance, they're very difficult and.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
So got to be good against the run.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
We got to try to, you know, affect him in
the pocket, and we need to disrupt timing in the
back end. We need to disguise our coverage as well.
We need to be sticky in coverage. We need to
get hands on footballs. We need to make throwing lanes difficult.
We need to get our hands up at the line
of scrimmage. So there's a there's a lot of facts
to that. Not an easy task, I'll say that, but
(09:03):
but one that I think is going to be necessary
if we want to be successful.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Okay and h and moving on from the defensive side.
Sark also then was asked about to what they need
to do offensively with his own quarterback, Quinn yours and
really what has he seen from Quinn going all the
way back to when Youwers was a red shirting freshman
(09:30):
at Ohio State.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Well, I like anything, you know, when when he went
to Ohio State, early on, he should have still been
a senior in high school, you know, and and when
we got him back, you know, he was still in
our eyes, a freshman at that time. And so there's
been a lot of development. I would say physical development,
but I would also probably say mental and emotional development
to watch him grow into a leader that he's grown
(09:53):
into for us. His ability to have the poise and
composure he has uh not only on the field, but
off the field, to look into the face of adversity
and get come out on the other side of it
time and time again, whether it be injuries, whatever, that
looks like, to be at his best when his best
was needed, you know, similar to to the to the
(10:15):
Peach Bowl there at the end of the game and
in overtime. So I think that's all from a from
a you know, a seismic shift from maturity standpoint, Like
I said, physically and mentally, he's.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Definitely come a long way since that time, all right.
The log Words have had this interesting path in reaching
the semifinal round, been ranked inside the top five versus
of the entire season, ranked number one for a while,
lost not once but twice to Georgia, of course, including
the SEC Championship, but those who have been the only
(10:47):
two losses bounced back one decisively at home over Clemson
and survived the double overtime game in the Peach Bowl
to be the Arizona State now here they are in
the semifinals and back in the State of Tech, albeit
two hundred miles up the road in Arlington, and Sark
was asked about this path and returning to the Metroplex
(11:09):
for the Cotton Boll I think.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
It's been really fun. I'll be honest with you, you know.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
I thought, you know, in our first year in the SEC,
UH to play in Mercedes Benz Stadium for the SEC
Championship in Atlanta, I thought was an awesome experience for
our guys. Coming back home and being part of the
first round of the College Football Playoffs and having a
home game, I thought was another really cool experience. The
fact that that we hosted one of the inaugural home
(11:35):
home games and the CFP was was really cool. And
then an opportunity to play in the Peach Bowl UH
an iconic bowl, and and for us to to win
that and and to be the first team to UH
to win all the major bowls in that fashion.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
I thought I thought was fantastic.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
But now to be in the Semis and playing the
Cotton Bowl in Dallas is huge. You know, we're we're
gonna need our fans. We're gonna need our fans support.
I need Longhorn Nation to show out in Arlington. We're
gonna need everything we got to to try to win
this game.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
You know.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
You know clearly we're massive underdogs and nobody's going to
give us a shot, So we're gonna need all that
we can to try to win this game.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Just to let you know, from a ticket update perspective,
each team was given an allotment of thirteen thousand tickets.
Each team has sold out its allotment, so now it
simply comes down to you know what what other folks
are going to get in terms of tickets to whether
(12:36):
there's this perceived home field alternate home field advantage for Texas.
Will they have more fans? Probably, But I know this
so Ohio State travels very very well, So there's there's
that as well. All Right, we're gonna hear more from
Sark coming up a little later on. But up next
we have Inconceivable for a Monday afternoon here on. Hey,
(13:00):
you under the zone of the iHeart Radio app,
It's the Craig Way Show with the voice of the
Texas Longhorns in Hall of Fame broadcaster Craig Way.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Here on a Monday, as we roll into this week
here on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred zone. Glad to
have you with us. Cameron Parker the producer alongside, and
again we will have other things coming up, like, for example,
Inconceivable later this hour. Paul Keel's play by play voice
(00:55):
of the Ohio State Buckeyes will join us later on
as well. But we do want to hear from the
head football coach at the University Diversity of Texas. After all,
the Longhorns are in the Final four and headed for
this Cotton Bowl matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes, and
that's coming up on Friday evening. So let's hear some
(01:18):
comments from Long Horns head coach Steve Sarkeesian. Here it
Starks opening comments here from this week. Getting ready.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Yeah, I'd just like to say, first of all, it's
an honor to UH to represent the Southeastern Conference in
the UH in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. This game has
been one the notorious for for great games, great teams
over the years. You know, Obviously, this being a semi
final game of the College Football Playoff, it's definitely an
(01:48):
honor to be part of this. It's a heck of
an opponent in Ohio State, the job that coach Day
has done with that team, their staff, they're playing really
good football right now. We know it's gonna be a
heck of a challenge, but looking forward to the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Okay, and then to the comments being asked some questions.
First of all, what stood out to him about the
fact that Ohio State got off to really fast starts?
You think about it coming off the lost to Michigan,
did not qualify for the Big Ten Championship. So the
Buckeyes first game was in the College Football Playoff against
Tennessee and they raced out of the gate and cruised
(02:22):
to a forty two to seventeen victory. And then in
the quarterfinal round in the Rose Bowl, they raced out
to a thirty four to zhing lead on the Oregon
and beat the number one, unbeaten seated Ducks to win
that one to twenty one. So what stood out to
start to sark about those fast starts for Ohio State.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Well, I think it's probably credit to their coaching staff.
First of all, game planning, putting together a nice plan
on offense, defense, and special teams. Instill in that plan
to the players and the players playing with confidence. I
think that's the one thing that jumps out when you
watch it is how confidently they're playing. They're definitely calling
it aggressively, but the execution is at a really high level.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
So that's what jumps out at us.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Okay. He was also asked about for an update on
Isaiah Bond, because while Bond did come back for the
Arizona State game, I think it was pretty clear to
everybody wasn't one hundred percent, but he was able to
get back. And how overall, how did the team come
out of the game physically, And then he was asked
about Quinn Ewers and his approach to the game, the
(03:29):
finish to the game, the passes, the scores, and would
that be the kind of thing, especially with the season
on the line, that can ignite a player's confidence and
really lift him Speaking from the perspective as a former
quarterback himself.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
So yeah, I think we're going to be healthy and
good to go by the time the game rolls around.
As far as Quinn goes, you know, is a guy
making plays at a critical moment. And I think for
any player at any position, when you're at your best,
when your best is needed naturally, that is still confidence
in you.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
All right.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Next, I think it was our friend Kirk Bowles who
asked this question about because the Long Words only ran
for fifty three yards against Arizona State and struggled with
the run, might they have to lean into the passing
game a little more or is there a fix for
what is ailing the running game? Well?
Speaker 4 (04:19):
I hope not, you know. I hope that we can
find balance.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
And I think that that we're more than equipped to
do that, you know, I think that, you know, in
really evaluating last the last ball game was, man, we
just we really couldn't get our backs free into the
second level, you know. And I thought Arizona State did
a nice job thought their safeties and their secondary tackled
(04:42):
well and got us on the ground and and we
didn't get a whole lot of reps to find the
rhythm of it. And so there's everybody's kind of got
to take some responsibility of that.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
But we're at our best when we when we when
we can.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Run it, and that gives us balance, and so I'm
hard pressed not to just kind of walk away from
it and abandon it. So we've got to do a
better great job as a staff of putting together a
good plan and make sure that our players can execute
it at a high level versus the myriad of looks,
especially that Ohio State can give you.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
All. Right, here's a popular topic coming out of the quarterfinals.
Noticed that all four teams that received first round byes
lost in the quarterfinals. So the seeds five to six, seven,
and eight, all of whom played a first round home game,
won the quarterfinal game. In fact, Texas is the number
(05:34):
five seed, is the highest remaining seed, technically the home
team for Ohio State, but the Longhorns chose to wear white.
We'll get more on that in a little bit, But
in the interim, Sark was asked about this whole thing
about the teams that did not receive buys winning their
(05:57):
first round game at home and then winning the bowl game,
and did they receive an advantage by having the play
and does he think there might be changes going forward
with how the seeding is done or how the home
fields are done.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
You know, I don't know, you know, I've referenced this before.
You know, my initial thought on all this was similar
to the NCAA basketball tournament that you know, if you
win your conference championship, you get an automatic bid into
the tournament, like like they're doing basketball, and then the
committee seeds the tournament. You know, And I've referenced these
(06:29):
two schools just because they're in the same conference, But
how many times have Duke and North Carolina both been
number one seeds coming out of the ACC for all
those years? And so like in this instance, if this
year were that way, we would have been the three
seed and we would have gotten a buy and so,
(06:50):
but because of the guaranteed spots as one seeds, we
went in as the five seed and we had to play.
And so I don't know if there's necessarily an advantage
or a disadvantage.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
To it that way.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I know our guys were chopping at the bit to
get back out there and play and compete, but I
also know we're going into our sixteenth game here coming up,
you know, this coming week, and you know, without a
real significant rest. We've been finding our spots to get
some rest and to get healthy. But we didn't get
that massive rest that I think a lot of the
other teams do. Now, I don't know if that's beneficial
(07:23):
or not. You know, I think there is something to
be said about playing football consistently and rhythm and routine and.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
So on and so forth.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
So I'm not sure I have a great answer for
what is best, but what I do know that would
be my one recommendation to the seeding process.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Interesting, Yeah, what would the higher seeds draw the byes
instead of just conference champions receiving buyes? The fest four
highest seated and they weren't all power for us. We know,
Boise State, you know, got to buy and then lost
to Penn State as they played. So you know, that's
(08:00):
that's going to be something that the committee certainly will
discuss going forward. All right now, they're going to see
a very familiar face on Friday, Will Howard, the Kansas
State quarterback. When the long Warts last saw Will Howard
it was when they were knocking him to the turf
in the second overtime of last year's game with Kansas State,
when the Long Words won.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
That in overtime. So the question is.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
What does he see from Will Howard and what does
his team need to do to disrupt Will Howard's game.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Well, I think we've got to be really good at
the line of scrimmage against the run, in the pass.
You know that Ohio States similar to us that way,
when they have balance, they're very difficult and.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
So got to be good against the run.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
We got to try to, you know, affect him in
the pocket, and we need to disrupt timing in the
back end. We need to disguise our coverage as well.
We need to be sticky in coverage. We need to
get hands on footballs. We need to make throwing lanes difficult.
We need to get our hands up at the line
of scrimmage. So there's a there's a lot of facts
to that. Not an easy task, I'll say that, but
(09:03):
but one that I think is going to be necessary
if we want to be successful.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Okay and h and moving on from the defensive side.
Sark also then was asked about to what they need
to do offensively with his own quarterback, Quinn yours and
really what has he seen from Quinn going all the
way back to when Youwers was a red shirting freshman
(09:30):
at Ohio State.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Well, I like anything, you know, when when he went
to Ohio State, early on, he should have still been
a senior in high school, you know, and and when
we got him back, you know, he was still in
our eyes, a freshman at that time. And so there's
been a lot of development. I would say physical development,
but I would also probably say mental and emotional development
to watch him grow into a leader that he's grown
(09:53):
into for us. His ability to have the poise and
composure he has uh not only on the field, but
off the field, to look into the face of adversity
and get come out on the other side of it
time and time again, whether it be injuries, whatever, that
looks like, to be at his best when his best
was needed, you know, similar to to the to the
(10:15):
Peach Bowl there at the end of the game and
in overtime. So I think that's all from a from
a you know, a seismic shift from maturity standpoint, Like
I said, physically and mentally, he's.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Definitely come a long way since that time, all right.
The log Words have had this interesting path in reaching
the semifinal round, been ranked inside the top five versus
of the entire season, ranked number one for a while,
lost not once but twice to Georgia, of course, including
the SEC Championship, but those who have been the only
(10:47):
two losses bounced back one decisively at home over Clemson
and survived the double overtime game in the Peach Bowl
to be the Arizona State now here they are in
the semifinals and back in the State of Tech, albeit
two hundred miles up the road in Arlington, and Sark
was asked about this path and returning to the Metroplex
(11:09):
for the Cotton Boll I think.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
It's been really fun. I'll be honest with you, you know.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
I thought, you know, in our first year in the SEC,
UH to play in Mercedes Benz Stadium for the SEC
Championship in Atlanta, I thought was an awesome experience for
our guys. Coming back home and being part of the
first round of the College Football Playoffs and having a
home game, I thought was another really cool experience. The
fact that that we hosted one of the inaugural home
(11:35):
home games and the CFP was was really cool. And
then an opportunity to play in the Peach Bowl UH
an iconic bowl, and and for us to to win
that and and to be the first team to UH
to win all the major bowls in that fashion.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
I thought I thought was fantastic.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
But now to be in the Semis and playing the
Cotton Bowl in Dallas is huge. You know, we're we're
gonna need our fans. We're gonna need our fans support.
I need Longhorn Nation to show out in Arlington. We're
gonna need everything we got to to try to win
this game.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
You know.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
You know clearly we're massive underdogs and nobody's going to
give us a shot, So we're gonna need all that
we can to try to win this game.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Just to let you know, from a ticket update perspective,
each team was given an allotment of thirteen thousand tickets.
Each team has sold out its allotment, so now it
simply comes down to you know what what other folks
are going to get in terms of tickets to whether
(12:36):
there's this perceived home field alternate home field advantage for Texas.
Will they have more fans? Probably, But I know this
so Ohio State travels very very well, So there's there's
that as well. All Right, we're gonna hear more from
Sark coming up a little later on. But up next
we have Inconceivable for a Monday afternoon here on. Hey,
(13:00):
you under the zone of the iHeart Radio app,
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