Major Head Coach Facing 'Championship or Bust' Pressure Entering 2026 Season

College football fan bases can be unforgiving. Even in top programs, winning a championship is never a simple task. Georgia, for instance, had a 40-year exile in the college football wilderness before claiming a pair of CFP crowns.

But the hard facts of a sport where there is only one champion don't comfort fans whose backing finances programs spending tens of millions of dollars. And at least one team heads into 2026 with a culture that isn't looking great.

Pate Culture-Checks Texas

Josh Pate discussed Texas's culture on his College Football Show. He noted a recent column from RT Young at Inside Texas, noting that the school had sent out mailers for season-ticket holders to renew tickets bearing a slogan "Nothing Less than Legendary."

"Legendary at Texas means you're winning a national championship," said Pate. "I don't think you bow out in the quarterfinals and they call that legendary. I just don't think that's how the good would go down there." Pate analogized the situation to Ohio State two years prior, noting that the Buckeye program had acknowledged that it was "championship or bust."

"Championship or bust," Pate repeated, referencing Texas now. "Title or bust mentality-- that's the mood at Texas this year."

Texas's Troubles

Texas is now more than two decades on from its last title experience, winning the 2005 BCS title game over USC on a Vince Young run. Between Mack Brown's 2009 title game loss and Steve Sarkisian's 2023 semifinal loss, Texas had just a single season that ended in the top 10.

Sarkisian improved Texas from five to eight to 12 wins in his first three seasons with the Longhorns. While Texas has won 35 games in the past three seasons, the Longhorns haven't delivered when it matters. 2023 and 2024 each ended in CFP semifinal losses, but in 2025, the 10-3 Longhorns missed the College Football Playoff entirely.

Massively touted QB Arch Manning had a particularly disappointing 2025 season. Manning started the year as the odds-on Heisman Trophy favorite, but his first season as a starter included three games in which Manning failed to complete half of his throws, four times when he averaged less than six yards per pass attempt, and a two-interception loss to a Florida team that didn't reach bowl eligibility.

The massive hype over Manning probably only further emphasizes the significance of the season ahead for Texas and Sarkisian. Sarkisian is slated to earn roughly $11 million in the 2026 season, well within the top 10 in college football earners. Another season outside the CFP likely would leave Sarkisian on notably thinning ice.