Texas Longhorns Steve Sarkisian is Taking a Page Out of Nick Saban's Book

The Texas Longhorns are coming off a much-needed bye week, giving the program time to get healed up and focus on ironing out the details ahead of the rest of the season.

Entering week six of the season, the Longhorns are still the No. 1 team in the country and have a target on their back as the rest of the conference guns for their top spot.

For head coach Steve Sarkisian, who studied under the tutelage of Nick Saban, he isn't paying any mind to the ranking, and is instead looking to take each week at a time, especially with the gauntlet that lies in front of them.

Sark Channelling His Inner Nick Saban

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian walks across the field prior to the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas on Sept. 12, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Since beating the then-No. 1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in a Week 2 thriller, the Longhorns have held that coveted spot atop the sport. Now, entering week six of the season, still ranked as the No. 1 team in the country, that four-week stretch is the longest in school history since 1977.

Sarkisian and the Longhorns, though, aren't falling for the rat poison that comes with that honor either.

"He doesn't talk about it. It's irrelevant. We don't either." Sarkisian said, recalling how Saban used to handle the ranking that his team held more often than not during his tenure.

That matters, and it matters even more entering rivalry week against the Oklahoma Sooners. Rivalries don't care what a ranking says. It hasn't mattered between Ohio State vs. Michigan, and it surely hasn't mattered in the Red River Rivalry over the years either.

For Sarkisian and his team, all that matters is winning each week and making the College Football Playoff at the end of the regular season. Rankings don't matter when the bracket comes out, as lower seeds have lost before.

All the No. 1 ranking truly does is put an even larger target on the Longhorns' back, which surely isn't needed based on the volatility that fanbases around the country feel for them. The Longhorns will get every team's best shot, including five of their next seven games coming against top-20-ranked opponents,

However, while Sarkisian and the Longhorns might not exactly care what the number next to them shows, if they are able to get through the season unscathed, which would feature potentially three top-10 wins, it would be well earned.

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