Texas Tech is currently embroiled in the aftermath of the Brendan Sorsby court verdict, with its own conference pursuing the legal route against Joey McGuire’s team. However, not long ago, the program was in the news with how it reacted when Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian called out their easy schedule and suggested his 2s and 3s would beat the Red Raiders’ opponents. And while almost everyone has moved on from that drama, Sarkisian isn’t done clarifying what he meant.

“I probably could have said it better,” Sarkisian admitted on the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams. “I was talking about the inequities in college football. And one of the inequities in college football, which we touched on earlier, is the strength of schedule and who your opponents are. And then, the toll it takes on your team as you get ready for the playoffs. That comment came out about, you know, it’s one thing to play in another conference; it’s another who are you scheduling in your non-conference and then, ultimately, getting into the playoffs.

“It was not a knock at Texas Tech, it was more looking at the schedule that they’re playing. And I think people took it the wrong way, like I was trying to attack Tech’s quality or the team they have. It was about their opponents; really, their opponents should have been the ones who [should be] trying to get mad at me, not Tech. But to each, their own. Sometimes, you hurt people’s feelings. That’s okay. We’re all big boys.”

Sarkisian appeared at the Houston Touchdown Club last month and called out an unnamed in-state rival in another conference. He claimed the Longhorns would go unbeaten and make the College Football Playoff with their 2s and 3s if they faced the same schedule as that unnamed rival. But behind this jab at Texas Tech lies Sarkisian’s overall frustration with how the strength of schedule doesn’t matter when the CFP committee decides the final slate.

After Sarkisian’s initial claim, Texas Tech Board of Regents chairman and mega-booster Cody Campbell came after him in full force and dared the Longhorns to schedule the Red Raiders. While Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire also expressed interest in playing the game in Lubbock or Arlington’s AT&T Stadium, Campbell added that the Red Raiders would pay the buyout for a game between the two teams.

“That was all fun and games, I mean, Sarkisian, if he’s going to run his mouth, we’re going to fight back. That’s West Texas, right? I mean, we’re not going to take a punch and then not give one back, right? And UT loves to do that kind of thing,” Cody Campbell said on Dan Dakich’s show on June 10, when asked about any headway on playing against the Longhorns.

Before this, Sarkisian had appeared on the Always College Football podcast to clarify things. But the smoke seemed almost as hazy as it was after his first statement. Now, Sarkisian is clearing up remaining misconceptions resulting from his claim.

Steve Sarkisian is still hurt by the playoff snub

Last season, the Longhorns missed the CFP after finishing with a 9-3 record, with losses to Ohio State, Florida, and Georgia. However, the Red Raiders made it with an 11-1 regular-season record. Their only loss came against Arizona State. Sarkisian claimed that his program has “one of the most difficult schedules in the country.”

And true to his claims, ESPN’s strength-of-schedule rankings ranked the Longhorns’ 2025 schedule 12th toughest in the country, while Texas Tech was not even in the top 40. Aside from their SEC opponents, like LSU, Texas A&M, Tennessee Vols, Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Florida, the Longhorns also faced Ohio State. On the other hand, the Red Raiders had an easier Big 12 schedule.

So, Sarkisian was not wrong with his statement. Only his claims about going unbeaten with his twos and threes seemed like an exaggeration. That comment was meant to invoke a reaction, and the Texas head coach got exactly that.