Sark defends culture at Texas after latest flop

Steve Sarkisian erstwhile again is the people of wide scrutiny aft Texas' latest high-profile loss.

But contempt the Longhorns' constrictive title way and their wide deficiency of big-game occurrence during his coaching tenure successful Austin, Sarkisian defended the civilization astatine Texas and praised his team's mindset up of Saturday's showdown with Oklahoma successful the Allstate Red River Rivalry.

"Probably wouldn't beryllium just to these guys to say, you know, our civilization is cleanable close now," Sarkisian said Monday. "They're each -- they're owed to bash the close things. They were large today. They came in, they were coachable. They took to the pugnacious coaching from Saturday.

"So their mindset is each there, truthful that tells maine the culture's right. But astatine the extremity of the day, we got to play unneurotic arsenic a squad Saturday."

Sarkisian's comments came 2 days aft Texas fell to 3-2 with Saturday's 29-21 nonaccomplishment astatine struggling Florida.

The Longhorns, the preseason No. 1-ranked team, fell retired of the Associated Press canvass with the nonaccomplishment and saw their chances of reaching the College Football Playoff driblet to conscionable 22%, according to ESPN Analytics.

Texas is conscionable 3-8 against AP top-10 teams each clip nether Sarkisian, who raised much eyebrows Monday erstwhile asked whether helium was amazed by the Longhorns' struggles this season.

"I don't cognize if I'm stunned," helium responded. "I mean, instrumentality the different -- however galore teams are determination successful assemblage football? One 100 and thirty-six. Take the different 135 and person them spell play astatine Ohio State and astatine the Swamp. See however they do."

Texas reeled disconnected 3 consecutive victories aft its season-opening nonaccomplishment astatine Ohio State, but the nonaccomplishment astatine Florida renewed disapproval of Sarkisian, who accepted work for the Longhorns' dilatory start.

"We don't person clip for the 'poor me.' We don't person clip for the 'woe is us,'" helium said Monday. "We've got to travel to work, and I deliberation I person to exemplify that. I can't fto my actions betray my words, and if I'm going to accidental those things, well, I person to beryllium a exemplary of that, and that's successful our preparation."

According to ESPN Analytics, Texas has a 3% accidental of moving the array and reaching the College Football Playoff arsenic a two-loss team.

Beating the sixth-ranked Sooners (5-0) connected Saturday would vault the Longhorns backmost successful the heavy of the SEC rubric chase, the archetypal measurement toward the 12-team playoff. Sarkisian said helium didn't similar the "noise astir however we're playing," but acknowledged that helium can't power the communicative astir Texas struggling to conscionable lofty expectations.

"I can't power things extracurricular of our gathering and extracurricular of our team," helium said. "But I tin power [our mentation for Oklahoma] and I tin power our mindset and I tin power our approach. And then, ultimately, the unit and the players travel suit that way. So I person to look astatine maine first, and I can't fto my actions betray my words. If I privation our players to enactment a definite way, I surely amended exemplary that."