Josh Pate calls Texas’ win over Ohio State ‘career altering’ for Steve Sarkisian
The Texas Longhorns were able to redeem their loss to begin the 2025 season to Ohio State on Saturday, overcoming a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit to escape with a 24-23 victory. In the process, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian may very well have altered the path of his coaching career, according to college football pundit Josh Pate.
Things looked incredibly bleak for Texas for much of Saturday’s game, putting up just three points through the first three quarters. But thanks to some clutch quarterback play from Arch Manning and some gusty play-calling from Sarkisian, Texas now finds themselves as the top-ranked team in the country in the latest AP Top 25 Poll.
Discussing the Longhorns’ win, Josh Pate took to social media to explain the magnitude of what this victory means for Sarkisian, whom he believes may have been on a very different path as a coach if his team hadn’t pulled off the improbable comeback.
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“There are two moments where if you could freeze them in time and do an entire segment in that moment, you would legitimately say Sark’s career may be on the line here,” said Pate in a post on X. “The future of him as the head coach at Texas may be on the line. In those moments, you would also say Arch Manning’s legacy is on the line. It wouldn’t have even been hyperbolic by the way.”
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The two moments that Pate is referring to are fourth-down conversations from the Longhorns on their own side of the field down the stretch of the game, which resulted in scoring drives and ultimately were necessary for the comeback for Texas.
Ultimately, most will likely judge Sarkisian on whether Texas ends up not only making the CFP, but potentially finds themselves in the position to compete for a National Championship. That being said, this victory for the Longhorns undoubtedly serves as one of the biggest regular season wins in Sarkisian’s career at the University of Texas.
Sarkisian and the Longhorns will look to continue their positive momentum following their win over Ohio State in Week 3 when they take on UTSA, before ultimately getting into SEC play with a Week 4 matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers.
