Steve Sarkisian Calls Out Media After Texas Longhorns Win Over Tennessee

After starting the season 3-0, with all three wins coming at home, including holding the best win in college football, the Texas Longhorns were ready to kick off conference play heading into week four of the season.

That task involved hitting the road for the first time in 2026, with a trip to Neyland Stadium to take on the Tennessee Volunteers for the first time in program history. While the game was too close for comfort, the Longhorns now enter their bye week 4-0 after a 20-17 victory.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian, though, called out the media following his program's big road win, not taking kindly to the words calling his team "soft".

Stats Tell the Truth

Texas edge Colin Simmons (1) celebrates after Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon (11) is sacked again during a college football game between Tennessee and Texas at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Sept. 26, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Longhorns are the ranked No. 1 team in the country, but after the first three weeks of the season, they had yet to play a conference opponent. That changed after week four, and the Longhorns left Knoxville with their undefeated record still intact.

More importantly, the Longhorns sent a message to the rest of the country that the program is more than just talent and can play physical football with the rest of them.

"I think they had eight guys get carted off, so I'm not sure who wrote the article today and what coach said, 'we weren't a physical football.'" Sarkisian said after the 20-17 win. "They might want to write another article."

That came in response to an article from The Athletic, which had a quote saying that the Longhorns were "soft" and that they didn't have an edge over them. Unfortunately for the Volunteers, that turned out to be furthest from the actual truth.

The Longhorns were the physical team on the field and, at one point, had knocked freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon out of the game with an apparent upper-body injury. He would later return to the game, but not without facing further torment as the clock continued on.

That trend from Sarkisian's squad continued, sacking Brandon 10 times, while the defense also added 12 tackles for loss in the matchup. For the Volunteers, who were one of the top rushing offenses in the country, they were man-handled at the line of scrimmage and held to just 70 yards.

While the offense might not have had its best performance on the season, the Longhorns sent a clear message about their physicality level, and that they aren't afraid to get dirty when it matters.

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