Ranking Steve Sarkisian’s Most Underrated Wins As Texas Longhorns Head Coach

The Texas Longhorns have seen almost nothing but success since head coach Steve Sarkisian took the reins of the program back in the 2021 season.

It was a rough patch in his first season, as the Longhorns dropped six in a row at one point to finish 5-7, but by the time the 2022 season rolled around, it was like the Mack Brown era Horns had made a comeback and were quickly back in the national championship picture one season later.

Sarkisian has landed some statement wins during his time in the Texas state capital, but here are some of his victories that many overlook when they should really be cherishing them the most.

5) vs. Clemson Tigers, 2024 College Football Playoff First Round

Yes, it was the CFP, so obviously this is a big win that many will remember, but this was supposed to be a much closer game than it actually was between the two orange squads.

In Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik’s return to Austin, he showed up and showed out as he passed for 336 yards and three touchdowns, but in the end, it was all Texas, specifically running back Jaydon Blue.

The future Dallas Cowboy torched Clemson’s run defense for 146 yards and two touchdowns, and his performance was capped off with a 77-yard scoring run to put the dagger in the Tigers’ championship hopes.

Sarkisian’s first playoff win with the Horns was certainly a memorable one, and the way that Texas was able to carry itself against an equally-matched opponent is what makes this win stick out even more.

4) at Mississippi State, 2025 Week 8

October 2025 might have been the most bipolar month of Steve Sarkisian’s tenure in Austin.

Kicking off the month with a road loss to an unranked Florida team that kicked the Horns from No. 9 to completely out of the Top 25, and they almost ended the month with an equally damning loss in Starkville.

After falling behind 31-14 to begin the fourth quarter, Texas mounted a 24-point fourth quarter to force overtime, where Sarkisian’s quarterback coaching came in handy for backup signal caller Matthew Caldwell, as he found Emmett Mosley for the go-ahead score.

The Longhorns still ended up missing the CFP, but their hopes were very much kept alive with this gritty win over their fellow SEC counterparts.

3) at Texas A&M Aggies, 2024 Lone Star Showdown

We know what you’re thinking, “a win over Texas A&M underrated? Yeah, right.”

And don’t get us wrong, this is a massive win in Sark’s resume, as was the win in the 2025 season, but the 2024 win not only sits in the shadow of last season’s win in Austin, but it was the official declaration that the Longhorns had arrived in the SEC.

With their only loss coming against the Georgia Bulldogs earlier in the season, the Longhorns renewed the Lone Star Showdown with the Aggies 13 years after their last meeting, with the winner getting to face Kirby Smart’s men in the SEC Championship.

Going into an intimidating environment like Kyle Field and trying to get a win is no easy task, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell based on the way that Texas performed on November 30, 2024.

Behind 186 rushing yards by Quintrevion Wisner, a touchdown pass from Quinn Ewers to Jaydon Blue, and a stout Longhorn defense giving A&M quarterback Marcel Reed fits all night, Texas easily punched their ticket to the conference championship in their first SEC season with a 17-7 win over their in-state foes.

2) at TCU Horned Frogs, 2021 Week 6

Behind 216 yards from future NFL star Bijan Robinson, the Longhorns earned a gutsy win over a feisty TCU team, bringing back some of the aggression that many Texas fans believed was missing in the latter part of the Tom Herman era.

1) vs. Kansas State Wildcats, 2023 Week 9

As the Longhorns’ time in the Big 12 was coming to a close, the team was getting more and more momentum as the favorites for the conference championship, and they showed that with a late season victory over another heavy-hitter from the Big 12, the Kansas State Wildcats.

After allowing K-State to come back from a 20-point deficit throughout the fourth quarter, Texas stuck to their guns and was able to force overtime, where Bert Auburn nailed a 42-yard field goal, followed by an incompletion on fourth down by quarterback Will Howard to give Texas the win and keep them as the favorites in the Big 12 title race, a title they would go on to win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

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