Steve Sarkisian Appears to Take Another Subtle Jab at Texas Tech's Schedule

Steve Sarkisian didn't call out any schools in particular, but it's hard not to infer that the Texas Longhorns head coach was taking a swipe at schools like Texas Tech and Indiana with his latest comments on "The Herd" with Colin Cowherd.

Sarkisian has made it clear that he's bothered about teams that had better records and made the College Football Playoff last year as a result of less adversity during the season. While he recognized that some schools have players and administrators who are fired up to play, Sarkisian called out the ones that don't schedule significant challenges in non-conference play.

"There are some other teams around the country, quite frankly, that play nobody in the non-conference," Sarkisian said.

Steve Sarkisian Has Been Relentless Towards Texas Tech

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Texas Tech will face off against Abilene Christian, Oregon State, and Sam Houston State before Big 12 play begins. Sarkisian claimed during the spring that the Longhorns' backups could go undefeated with Texas Tech's schedule. And though he didn't directly name the Red Raiders then either, it was clear who he was referring to.

“There’s a team in our state that plays in another conference that has a schedule that I would argue if I played with our 2s and our 3s, we could go undefeated, and they’ll probably make the CFP [College Football Playoff] this year," Sarkisian said in May.

Steve Sarkisian Has Been More Subtle With Indiana Jabs

Sarkisian never said anything as direct toward the Hoosiers as he did Texas Tech with his "2s and 3s" comment. Still, he has called out the Hoosiers' non-conference schedule for keeping the team fresh in the past.

"The way that (Cignetti) did it has been somewhat unconventional with the six-year seniors, the transfers, the veteran group, the way that they practice, those things" Sarkisian said in early June. "But one thing in there, he adjusted their schedule, too, so they've got a fresh team, and they're playing a lot of players early in the year and they're a happy team."

As the College Football Playoff showed, though, the real contenders will reveal themsleves, as the Hoosiers did, and the pretenders will see themselves out, like the Red Raiders did after scoring zero points in their CFP matchup against the Oregon Ducks.

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