Despite Loss, All of The Texas Longhorns' Goals Remain Alive

On Saturday, the Texas Longhorns were defeated in an upset 29-21 by the Florida Gators for their first game of SEC play this season.

Throughout the season, the Longhorns have voiced their goals of reaching the national championship. After falling short in the College Football Playoffs semifinals in back-to-back seasons, Ohio State (2024) and Washington (2023), many fans and critics might pose the question: Should the Longhorns adjust their expectations?

However, head coach Steve Sarkisian believes their ambitions are still within reach.

SEC play is just beginning, there’s still a lot of football left

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian during the first half against the UTEP Miners at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Sept. 13, 2025 in Austin, Texas. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

In a post-game interview on Saturday, Sarkisian was asked if the Longhorns plan to reshape their goals heading into the remainder of the season. To which Sarkisian quickly shot it down.

“No, not at all. We’re a one-loss team in the SEC,” Sarkisian said. “There’s a lot of football left to be played.”

While the Longhorns played hard football in Saturday’s matchup, it proved to be sloppy, inconsistent, and wasn’t enough to keep the Gators off in their home turf. However, the Longhorns have a shot at redemption in their highly anticipated Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma next Saturday for the Cotton Bowl.

“(We) obviously got a big, pivotal game next week against a rival opponent in Oklahoma,” Sarkisian said. “(They’re) a very good football team. We need to get ourselves ready and focus on next week.”

Texas will have two more away games against Kentucky (Oct. 18) and Mississippi State (Oct. 28), before returning home to DKR on Nov. 1 for its matchup against Vanderbilt. The Longhorns will then conclude the last three weeks of their season with a road game for week 12 at Georgia (Nov. 15), followed by two home games against Arkansas (Nov. 22) and Texas A&M (Nov. 30).

“We’ve got seven conference games to be played. I’m not going to sit here and give the ‘poor me’s’ and ‘the woe is us,’” Sarkisian said. “We’ll be back, ready to go.”

With over half the regular season remaining, there proves to be plenty of time for Texas to make adjustments and improvements on both the offensive and defensive front — something that will be crucial if they want to be true College Football Playoff contenders.

However, despite suffering a striking and unexpected loss in week 6, for Sarkisian, their goals are still steady and attainable, as long as they focus on the present.