Texas Longhorns Face Rare Underdog Role in Semifinal

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The Texas Longhorns enter their College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas, as a rare underdog to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Texas has not been the underdog in a game since last season's road win against Alabama, but the team is not allowing doubters to deter its confidence as it inches closer to a national championship appearance.

"I feel like any time any football team is counted out going into a game, it definitely puts a chip on their shoulder to want to go out there and prove people wrong," said offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. on Jan. 6. "But at the end of the day, we treat every week the same. We come in every week with the same mindset. We try to make sure we have that same mentality of going out there and wanting to go dominate, no matter if we're the favored [team] or if we're not."

Texas Longhorns' Consistent Mindset

Keeping a consistent approach to treat every week the same and with urgency has been something head coach Steve Sarkisian preached to the Longhorns all season. Coming into the Southeastern Conference, he knew they could not take any opponents lightly, and it has netted mostly positive results as his team finds itself in national contention.

"I really believe this is a premier football conference in America because of the week-in, week-out tasks that it requires physically and mentally," he said. "It's not a one-time thing where you just play one SEC team, and then you get to go do the rest. You have to do it week in and week out. You have to go into some really difficult environments. And over time, that's what takes its toll on your team, physically and mentally. And so, you've got to make sure that you can kind of recharge those batteries, stay as healthy as you can."

Texas has faced some hostile environments during Sarkisian's tenure, heading to The Swamp in Florida, the Big House in Michigan, Texas A&M's Kyle Field and the SEC Championship game this season as well as previous trips to Alabama, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and last year's four-team playoff.

Last Man Standing

When not playing against Georgia, the Longhorns have been up to the task, but not without sustaining key injuries to critical contributors like Banks, wide receiver Isaiah Bond, quarterback Quinn Ewers, and others. Still, Texas has fought through the fire and is the last SEC team remaining.

"Clearly, we've endured our fair share of injuries this year, and I think have done a pretty good job, a decent job of navigating our way through it," Sarkisian said. "But to be here on this stage, to be back in the Final Four wearing that SEC patch on our jersey we're going to do our best to represent it because this is a heck of a conference."

The Big Stage

The Longhorns will play the semifinal game in a familiar venue at the famed AT&T Stadium in Arlington—the site of many Texas high school state championship games and last season's Big 12 Conference Championship victory. Texas is just 2-2 in the newer venue, but safety Michael Taffe knows something about winning there.

Taaffe has never lost at AT&T Stadium, including two state championships for Austin Westlake High School.

"I kind of go by the motto 'big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games,'" Taaffe said. "And whenever you're in AT&T Stadium, that's always a big-time game. So, you've got to show up. You've got to show out. You've got to be confident. Not a lot of people are betting on the underdog, and most of the times that I've played there, I've been the underdog. And so, I just believe in myself and kind of live by that motto."

No Guarantees

Regardless of how they look at it, this is the biggest game for the Longhorns this season and one of the biggest in school history. It took them 13 years to get back to this point last season, and they won't give it up easily.

"We didn't come this far just to come this far," Sarkisian said. "The journey is not done; the mission is not complete. It's still a driving force behind what we do every day. Why we wake up so early. Why we stay so late. Why our players are coming in on an off day when we're asking them not to be here, and they're in here watching tape, stretching, striding, getting rehab. It's all that. It's all that continues to push you because none of this is guaranteed. Today is not guaranteed. But none of this is guaranteed."

You only have to look as far as last year's playoff field for Sarkisian's reasoning to ring true. Texas is the only semifinalist from last season to return to that point this year. With such a veteran roster, the time to snatch the coveted national title and return to the top of the college football world is now. But there are still massive obstacles in the way.

"Those other three teams that were here a year ago with us didn't make the 12-team playoff, never mind the Final Four," Sarkisian said. "So, nothing's guaranteed. It's difficult to get to this spot, and we want to make sure that we maximize this opportunity and put our best foot forward and see what happens."