There was a time when the Texas men’s basketball team had it rolling so good, rivals simply couldn’t stand it. The Longhorns once went to Lubbock, and during the pre-game introductions, Texas Tech officials played Darth Vader’s theme music.
Here came the Texas Longhorns, the evil empire.
It’s been ages since Texas football fans could feel that level of confidence going into games or even seasons. Sure in 2005, the Longhorns were the national champions, but every talking head reminded them that “USC was better.” The No. 1-ranked Trojans were better until they weren’t inside that night in the Rose Bowl.
On Thursday, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian flashed that same kind of confidence you’d expect from a Darrell Royal or Mack Brown as he talked about this weekend’s matchup against No. 10 Michigan . He's hoping for a church-quiet Big House come Saturday, save for the pockets of burnt orange that will be on full tilt.
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Remember, this is the same coach who gave every one of his players T-shirts last year that said “Embrace the Hate” coming from opponents. School administrations had a small freak out when news reports started blaring news that those T-shirts were available online to purchase through the University Co-Op. But the sentiment was real.
“One good sign for us is we’ve progressively have gotten better throughout the week,” Sarkisian said. “Feel good about the state of mind our guys are in.”
Sarkisian was asked to describe his first big moment in college football. The coach spoke about his days as a BYU quarterback when he first went to Washington and ventured into Husky Stadium. The place was so loud, Sarkisian recalled, it made a huge difference.
“People can generate hate in a lot of different ways,” Sarkisian said. “And so for me, now I’ve learned to relish those opportunities. There's something that I kind of relish being the villain. I kind of like going in there thinking, man, there’s 100 versus 120,000 and we’re the villain, and it’s okay being the villain.
“And how do we create that, you know, that deafening silence, and how do we go about that,” Sarkisian added. “And that comes about by our style of play, that comes about by our execution, that comes about by sticking together, playing as one.”
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Sarkisian said numerous times this week that he likes the 100-vs.-100,000 analogy. That type of confidence gets transferred to the players. It permeates throughout the locker room and the entire Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletics Center.
The Longhorns are headed to Ann Arbor as 6.5-point favorites and ranked No. 3 in the country. The Wolverines are the defending national champions but ranked 10th. Both teams lost double-digit amounts of players to last April’s NFL Draft. Yet, it the Horns who appear to have the upper hand on paper.
For Sarkisian, these types of games come down to preparation. Not just during the week. How did you prepare during the spring and summer?
Texas carried the same confidence into Alabama last year in Week 2 and won by 10. The Horns have that same vibe this week.
“We know we’re going to get some new stuff,” Sarkisian said, “and that’s why we use the adage trust your training.”
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