Steve Sarkisian Takes Hilarious Jab At NFL Week 1 Schedule originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Coach Steve Sarkisian is hyped up for the Texas Longhorns‘ Week 1 game against the defending National Champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes. He sees it as a chance to take revenge on the Buckeyes for ending the Longhorns’ season last year.
However, as he mentioned how talked-about and headline-worthy the first college football match-up was, he also took a jab at the NFL.
The Longhorns are predicted to have a stellar season with Arch Manning taking the starting quarterback position. They have also solved the issues on the defensive side, and this year, the development could translate into on-field production.
Texas Longhorns head football coach Steve Sarkisian.© Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Sarkisian took the opportunity to reveal a joke he was making as the Texas Longhorns vs the Ohio State Buckeyes hype took center stage with just a little more than a month left in the battle.
The Longhorns HC said, “It’s great for fans. It’s great for college football. Everybody’s talking about it. And I was jokingly saying, you know, it is so different than the NFL. Nobody’s talking about Week 1 matchups in the NFL.”
The NFL also has big-ticket games in the first week, like the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Los Angeles Chargers or Aaron Rodgers going back to New York with the Pittsburgh Steelers to take on his former team. But there’s no buzz around these games yet.
Buckeyes vs Longhorns, on the other hand, is layered with many narratives that pique interest. Firstly, it is Arch Manning’s first game as a starter. Second, it is the defending champions taking on the favorites for this year. Third, it is the new SEC powerhouse taking on the Big Ten champs, so there’s the SEC vs Big Ten angle.
He also admitted that neither of these teams will be punished for this game, nor should they be punished. With the expansion in the college football playoff and the ability to bounce back from losses for premier programs, it gives way to the possibility of having such a profile, CFB programs taking on each other.
The Longhorns visit the Buckeyes on August 30, 2025.
Related: Steve Sarkisian Gets Real on Punishment for Breaching NIL Cap
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
