How Steve Sarkisian and Texas Longhorns Are Handling Chunk of Road Games

Like safety Michael Taaffe said Saturday night after the Texas Longhorns' close win over the Kentucky Wildcats, "it's freaking hard to play in the SEC," and Steve Sarkisian's team has found that out the hard way, especially this season.

Last year, with Quinn Ewers at quarterback, the Longhorns ran rampant through the SEC, with their only regular-season loss coming at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs, and now in 2025, with Arch Manning, they have already suffered two losses, and we're only halfway through the season.

Needless to say, the going hasn't exactly been the best for the Horns, and being in the midst of a four-game road slate hasn't made it any easier, but they are currently 2-1 during said slate, with the finale occurring in Starkville this Saturday against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

What Has Helped the Texas Longhorns?

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian stands with his team after a game against the Florida Gators. — Oct 4, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian stands with his team after a game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

The one loss was against the Florida Gators deep in "The Swamp," while their wins over the Oklahoma Sooners and Kentucky Wildcats, despite the ugliness of the latter, have served as the shining moments for the team thus far in the season, conference-wise, leading many to wonder how the Longhorns have handled this long stretch away from the Forty Acres.

During his weekly teleconference with the rest of the SEC coaches, Sark broke it down and chalked it up to the thing that builds any great football team, which is leadership.

"Well, I think the biggest thing is for us to stay really connected as a team, and I think that we've done that, you know, and I credit the leaders on our team," Sarkisian said Wednesday afternoon. "I've seen the numerous stats of SEC teams playing back-to-back road games and how poor the records are, and there's a bunch of them this week that have back-to-back road games, and I was thinking to myself, 'this is our fourth straight road game,' so you find out a lot about yourself."

Sark continued, saying that to overcome the toughness of a schedule like this, it's a matter of all hands on deck.

"I think you need everybody, you got it, you got to lock arms, you've got to stay really well connected, and you've got to fight through," the coach said. "None of these are easy; you've just got to find a way to win by any means necessary."

The Longhorns and Bulldogs kick off from Davis Wade Stadium Saturday at 3:15 PM on the SEC Network.