Steve Sarkisian blasts Texas Tech’s strength of schedule

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It’s been 165 days since the Texas Longhorns were left out of the 12-team College Football Playoff and consigned to playing the Michigan Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl.

Consider head coach Steve Sarkisian still frustrated about the selection committee not considering strength of schedule as highly as the committee’s principles intend, ultimately ignoring three top-10 victories for the Longhorns — on Thursday at the Houston Touchdown Club, when asked about scheduling, Sarkisian fired off a statement that instantly ignited controversy.

“There’s a team in our state in another conference with a schedule that I would argue if I played with our twos and threes, we could go undefeated, and they’ll probably make the CFP this year,” Sarkisian said.

According to ESPN’s strength of schedule metric, that in-state school, Texas Tech, played the No. 46 schedule nationally, well behind the No. 9 schedule faced by Texas.

After playing Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kent State, and Oregon State in its non-conference schedule last year, head coach Joey McGuire’s program will face off against Abilene Christian, Oregon State, and Sam Houston in 2026.

In the two ensuing seasons, the Red Raiders have one opening each year in addition to schedule games against UAPB, New Mexico, Stephen F. Austin, and Wyoming.

Texas Tech mega booster Cody Campbell fired back at Sarkisian, calling for a series between the longtime conference opponents.

It wasn’t just Campbell, either — Red Raiders general manager James Blanchard had his own thoughts on the Longhorns.

But with Texas scheduled to play Ohio State, Michigan, and Notre Dame in the next four years, the Longhorns have already made their commitment to playing difficult schedules every year, heightened by the SEC’s move to nine conference games.

So why is it the responsibility of Texas to fix an obvious issue that Texas Tech created years ago by scheduling non-conference opponents that never had any chance of competing for the College Football Playoff in the future?

Bringing up inequities in scheduling reflects an offseason theme for Sarkisian after igniting another recent controversy by making a dig at Ole Miss’ academic standards.

“Our conferences aren’t equal, so your conference scheduling isn’t the same. The requirements of what you play out of conference aren’t the same, so strength of schedule isn’t the same,” Sarkisian said prior to the banquet. “How do you compare apples to apples when it’s really apples to oranges? And how do you then put 16 people in a room, and they decide who the at-large groups are?”

The lack of insight into the committee’s thinking irks Sarkisian.

“My biggest gripe is the selection committee,” Sarkisian told USA TODAY last week. “There’s no transparency on what exactly the committee is doing. We have to figure that out.”

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