When Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian made a Houston Touchdown Club appearance, he probably thought he was making a point about CFP expansion and strength of schedule. Instead, his comments came off as a shot at Texas Tech’s schedule. Little did he know the Red Raiders would shoot back with an equally bold challenge. 

“Schedule us then! We’ve been talking about it for years and we are more than willing!!” Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell shot back on X. 

He fired that challenge directly at Steve Sarkisian and Texas AD Chris Del Conte. The whole conversation began with the Longhorns head coach discussing whether the CFP Committee should value strength of schedule more heavily.

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

Steve Sarkisian never mentioned Texas Tech by name. But everyone knows it’s the Red Raiders he’s talking about. The Big 12 team had just gone 11-1 in 2025, won the conference championship, and reached the CFP. Texas fell back finishing 10-3 in the SEC and missing the playoff. That’s where the argument comes from. 

Inside the SEC, the idea is to choose quality over quantity with the conference pushing for 16 teams instead of 24. Steve Sarkisian would rather even return to the four-team playoff format.

“I’ve gone on record saying I’d rather go back to four,” he said. “You had the opportunity to compete for a national championship during those 12 regular-season games, and I felt like when we were at four teams, those four teams were held in very high regard, and you earned your opportunity to be one of those four teams.”

Cody Campbell’s response is a challenge. If Texas truly believes Texas Tech’s road is that easy, why not play them? This isn’t even the first time they’ve called for a matchup. The Red Raiders have tried to keep this rivalry alive after the Longhorns left for the SEC. Discussions reportedly happened between Del Conte and Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt about continuing the series. 

Even Governor Greg Abbott publicly pushed for the game to continue. Yet every offseason passes with no scheduling progress. Campbell has openly voiced frustration over that before.

“We’ve been very concerned with UT’s reluctance to follow through on the promises to actually play us and schedule us,” he previously told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. “They’re both publicly and privately saying they’re not going to do it.”

That tension has been sitting beneath the surface for a while now and Steve Sarkisian’s comments brought it back into the spotlight. Now, Texas Tech GM decided to weigh in on the jab too.

Steve Sarkisian gets a response from Texas Tech’s front office

James Blanchard wasted no time joining the fun Thursday afternoon.

“For the longest they claimed ‘it just means more.’ Now it’s a bunch of excuses,” he posted on X.

His response pushed back against the SEC argument Steve Sarkisian was making. Texas believed its tough schedule should have mattered more for the playoffs. The Longhorns went 6-2 in SEC play, tying Oklahoma and Vanderbilt for second place. But they still missed the playoffs because Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M all had better 7-1 conference records.

With a less difficult Big 12 schedule, Texas Tech beat BYU twice on their way to winning the conference championship. They’ll look to repeat their success while dealing with a messy QB situation. Blanchard even dug out the areas where his team topped the Longhorns this past season. 

“Checks this past years NFL draft and laughs, checks this past years playoff bracket and laughs again.. #TrueStory,” he added. 

The thing is both sides actually have valid arguments. Texas absolutely played a harder weekly schedule than Texas Tech in 2025. But Texas Tech also won games, won the conference, and reached the postseason. That’s why this debate won’t fizzle out soon. But right now, the only path toward another Lone Star rivalry matchup may come through the CFP itself.