Steve Sarkisian: OSU ‘Best Team in CFB,’ Texas ‘Massive Underdogs’ in Cotton Bowl

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian believes his Longhorns are preparing to face “the best team in college football” when they take on Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10.

“I need Longhorn Nation to show out in Arlington,” Sarkisian said in a Friday Zoom call with reporters, per ESPN’s Dave Wilson. “We’re going to need everything we’ve got to try to win this game. Clearly, we’re massive underdogs. Nobody’s going to give us a shot.”

Sarkisian continued: “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.”

Despite having fallen in the playoff seeding thanks to a regular-season finale loss to Michigan, No. 6 Ohio State eliminated top-ranked Oregon with a 41-21 Rose Bowl win on Wednesday.

Texas’ semifinal berth looked to be in jeopardy the same day as Arizona State pushed the favorited Longhorns to double overtime in Wednesday’s Peach Bowl.

The Longhorns prevailed in a 39-31 win. It was ASU running back Cam Skattebo named Peach Bowl MVP, however, in a close game that left Ohio State the betting favorites heading into the semifinal.

Day said during his own media appearance on Friday that he was working to keep his team from being distracted by outside noise regarding their title hopes following the quarterfinal win over Oregon.

“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 said, per 247Sports’ Hank South.

Day continued, per South: “I think that’s one of the things that our guys need to understand is that when you’re playing in playoffs, it’s almost like, you know, seasons within themselves during that week, and that, you know, you almost start from scratch… And so we got to do a great job this late in the season of being disciplined to do a better job than Texas.”

The upcoming matchup will be highlighted by the return of Quinn Ewers, who transferred to Texas after one season with Ohio State, to face his former team.

Day praised Ewers as “one of the best quarterbacks in the country” on Friday, per South.

Ohio State and Texas last faced off during the 2009 Fiesta Bowl, which Texas won 41-21. The Longhorns have an all-time 2-1 record against the Buckeyes.

A championship game berth will be on the line when these two programs meet up for a fourth time next Friday.