Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian had no time to adjust to ESPN’s technical difficulties at halftime of Saturday’s game against the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.
Sarkisian was supposed to talk to Laura Rutledge after the first half, but he did not have enough time to give the interview while waiting for ESPN to sort out its technical issues. He then rushed toward the locker room for a talk with the Longhorns, who were down by 17 points at the half.
Here is a video of that moment, as Rutledge tried to explain what happened.
"Alright, we actually just lost Sark because he had to go. I'm sorry about that, you guys. He waited for a long time. Credit to him for waiting. We'll try to get him on the way out of the half." – Laura Rutledge on Texas HC Steve Sarkisian pic.twitter.com/pacpABhvZh
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 13, 2026
Later on, Rutledge provided more context on Sarkisian leaving before the interview could even start.
“I do want to make sure we clear something up. [Steve Sarkisian] did decline the interview at the half,” Rutledge said on the broadcast before the start of the game’s second half.
“He had waited a long time, been very patient with some technical issues that we had. He apologized to us. We should be apologizing to him, which we did.”
Sarkisian had a lot to discuss with his team during halftime, with the Longhorns getting embarrassed in front of their home crowd in the first two periods of the contest. He wasn’t going to waste any more time he wouldn’t get back, as ESPN scrambled to fix its issue.
Credit can go to both Rutledge, for how she handled the situation, and to Sarkisian, for the respect he showed in declining the interview.
H/T Awful Announcing
