Texas just pulled off an incredible 24-23 comeback win over No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday night in Austin, coming back from 20 points down in the fourth quarter. But instead of soaking in the victory with his team, head coach Steve Sarkisian found himself in hot water for dodging the broadcast cameras. What should have been his proudest moment quickly turned awkward when ESPN reporters Laura Rutledge and Holly Rowe were left holding the mic with no coach in sight.

This victory was a monumental turning point for Steve Sarkisian’s tenure at Texas. After years of criticism over falling short in high-stakes games, knocking off top-ranked Ohio State flips the playoff race wide open and proves Texas is a legitimate national title contender under his watch.

Viral video clips claiming Sarkisian blew off reporters hit their peak right after the final whistle. As veteran journalist Holly Rowe stepped up for the mandatory live postgame interview, Sarkisian didn’t even stop walking. He shouted “TEXAS FIGHT, HOOK ‘EM!” right over her question and headed straight for the tunnel, leaving Rowe visibly shocked on national television. This live postgame brush-off, caught clearly on camera, is what truly fueled the fan backlash and cemented his unpleasant image for the night.

The outrage actually started building at halftime when Sarkisian ran up the tunnel without speaking to Laura Rutledge. While ESPN later clarified on air that technical issues on their side caused the delay, social media had already made up its mind. The broadcast glitch planted the seed among fans that Sarkisian was deliberately dodging the cameras, turning a simple technical delay into a viral narrative before the game even ended.

To be fair to Sarkisian, he was operating under intense pressure. Texas had a lot to sort out as the program trailed 23-3 heading into the fourth quarter after Ohio State dominated nearly every phase of the first three quarters. Quarterback Arch Manning was having a rough outing before lighting things up in the final twelve minutes to pull off three unanswered touchdowns. Sarkisian’s main focus was getting into the locker room to salvage the game, not doing television soundbites.

Even with that context, fans online were not ready to let him off the hook. Many pointed directly to Rowe’s expression of total disbelief as the coach brushed past her mid-sentence. Comments flooded X calling the move plain rude, with viewers noting they had rarely seen a veteran reporter like Rowe look so genuinely taken aback on the sidelines.

“So rude,” one fan commented on Sarkisian’s reaction when the reporter tried to ask his thoughts about the game.

Another X user pointed to Rowe’s expression of disbelief as Sarkisian walked past her mid-sentence.

“I’ve never seen Holly look mad,” an X user wrote. An X user, on the other hand, echoed the same sentiment, pointing to Holly Rowe’s expressions as the camera moved to her. “She took it so personally,” the fan wrote.

Many fans felt Sarkisian should have shown basic courtesy to two of the most respected journalists in college football. Instead of the focus staying on Texas’ landmark win, social media spent the night debating coach etiquette.

“Needed to get his drink,” the X user commented.

Though Rowe was simply doing her job of reporting on live television, some fans even dragged her for asking questions that would be irrelevant to the celebration.

“She is as going to ask the same lame a– questions,” another X user commented.

Arch Manning walked away with the biggest win of his college career, and Texas proved it can pull off miracles against top-ranked teams. Yet, Sarkisian’s hasty exit stole the headlines. Winning on the field is one thing, but on live national TV, how you treat the people holding the microphone matters just as much to the fans watching at home.