ARLINGTON, Texas (WCMH) — On the final day of preparations for the Cotton Bowl, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian reaffirmed his belief that his team remains big underdogs against Ohio State.
Not that Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day is buying into that opinion.
“The truth is that nothing that Ohio State has done or Texas has done up until this week has anything to do with what’s going to happen in this game,” Day said. “Zero.”
The two head coaches met at AT&T Stadium for the traditional joint press conference ahead of Friday night’s contest, which serves as a playoff semifinal. The winner will face the Orange Bowl champion, which will be determined later Thursday between Penn State and Notre Dame, in the national championship on Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
Sarkisian thinks there’s a big reason why OSU is the favorite in the first meeting between the two schools since the 2009 Fiesta Bowl.
“They’ve been extremely explosive offensively,” Sarkisian said. “It’s not always about who is the best team for 12 games, it’s who’s playing the best football this time of the year. I think we can all agree, what coach Day has done, their team, them coming out of that Michigan game and what they’ve been able to do since the playoffs have started has been tremendous.”
In the two games since the Nov. 30 loss to the Wolverines, Ohio State has gotten off to fast starts en route to lopsided CFP wins over Tennessee and Oregon.
“They’re the favorite to win the game and that’s okay. That’s football. That’s sport. That’s why we have to do what we do,” Sarkisian said. “They’ve earned that right because the way that they’ve played the past couple of weeks.”
Day’s counterpoint is that the Longhorns have momentum following their double overtime win over Arizona State in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1.
“The way that Texas won the game last week, there’s momentum there,” Day said. “I think it’s important for all of us, if we have momentum, to keep it. If we don’t, we have to go get it.”
The two coaches reflected on the moment that college football is having. While both teams are no strangers to the CFP semifinals, Day and Sarkisian realize how their programs have benefitted from the expanded 12-team playoff, allowing more room for error during the regular season.
“Now with the way this is set up, you’re allowed a loss or two throughout the season to learn and to grow and to build as a team,” Day said. “In the past, if you were to lose a game like that, your whole season was ruined.”
While Ohio State’s losses were to Oregon and Michigan, the Longhorns’ blemishes were to the same team, falling to Georgia in the regular season and in the SEC championship.
The importance of conference titles was also a subject both coaches addressed.
“This was our first year in the Southeastern Conference and we wanted as much or more than anything to try and capture that championship,” Sarkisian said. “We regrouped and got ready for this tournament, for this playoff. I don’t know if it will ever be diminished. That’s always one of the goals.”
The goal now for both teams is to survive and advance. For Day, he knows that will depend on his team’s execution on Friday night.
“You win, you move on, you get to play together for another week,” he said. “I think when they’re playing at their best, they’re playing for each other. There’s great stories individually within this team and collectively as a team. But the only way that story is told about your team is if you win. That’s the reality. And I think they realize that.”
As for those “underdog” Longhorns, it’s not a role that Sarkisian is necessarily embracing.
“We don’t talk that way,” Sarkisian said. “The reality of it is you don’t get any points for being an underdog.”