Steve Sarkisian wasn’t trying to pick a fight with Notre Dame, which went 10-2 last season. He was asking a much bigger question. At SEC Media Days, the Texas head coach was asked whether the Longhorns still plan to honor their home-and-home series with Notre Dame in 2028 and 2029. Instead of giving a simple answer, he asked what’s the point of scheduling heavyweights if the playoff committee doesn’t reward you for it.

“I don’t know yet about Notre Dame,” Steve Sarkisian said when asked about the series. “We’ll see because I think the committee’s got to show us what happens now and what’s the value that they’re placing on strength of schedule and are we ever going to let a 9-3 team in as an at-large? We’ll find out, and I think that this year is going to be a great test of what that looks like.”

That’s the problem. Coaches no longer know if loading up the schedule is actually worth it. Steve Sarkisian said he’s stuck between two different experiences. He still looks back at Texas beating Alabama on the road in 2023. That win carried serious weight and became one of the biggest reasons the Longhorns made the four-team playoffs.

A year later, another statement victory at Michigan strengthened Texas’ case again in the first season of the 12-team format. Then came last season when they opened the year with a high-profile trip to Ohio State and lost 14-7. Looking back, Steve Sarkisian wondered whether the Longhorns would have been better off scheduling an easier opponent instead.

“If I don’t play Ohio State and I play Jones Junior High and we’re 10-2 and our two losses are to Georgia and Florida, we’re a playoff team,” he said.

His comment summed up the frustration many coaches have with the current selection process. Steve Sarkisian also acknowledged the other side of the argument. Elite games carry enormous value when you win them.

“There’s risk involved in playing a high-level non-conference schedule,” he added, comparing scheduling decisions to calling plays or investing in a business. “But there’s a lot of value in that win. There’s a lot of value in that win if you can get the win. And so, is the juice worth the squeeze or not? That’s what we’re all tasked with.”

That’s why he believes this season could become an important test case for the CFP committee. Despite three victories over Top-10 opponents, the Longhorns were left outside the playoffs at No. 13 in the final CFP rankings. Steve Sarkisian has questioned more than once whether that difficult schedule ultimately hurt more than it helped.

His concern isn’t unique. As the SEC debates moving to a nine-game conference schedule, athletic directors across both the SEC and Big Ten are weighing whether premium nonconference matchups are worth the risk. If losses to elite opponents are treated the same as losses against weaker schedules, the incentive to schedule marquee games starts disappearing.

That’s why the Notre Dame series suddenly feels less certain than it once did, even though the Irish AD, Pete Bevacqua, has previously said he expects the games to be played. For now, nothing has been canceled. But Steve Sarkisian isn’t ready to make promises either.