Texas coach Steve Sarkisian offered up something of a defense of the Ohio State Buckeyes after his Longhorns stormed back from a 20-point deficit to beat them on Saturday.
Sarkisian addressed poll voters, as well as the College Football Playoff selection committee, by saying Ohio State should not be harshly punished for their 24-23 loss in Austin. The Texas head coach wanted the Buckeyes to get credit for playing the game, and pointed out that he felt the same courtesy had not been afforded his team when they went to Columbus and lost last year.
“Quite frankly, Ohio State should be rewarded for playing in this game against us, and so that’s my goal. Time will tell, you know,” Sarkisian said Monday, via Ralph D. Russo of The Athletic. “And this isn’t crying over spilled milk. I don’t think we got rewarded for going to Columbus last year in Week 1.”
The Longhorns lost 14-7 at Ohio State last season, one of three defeats they suffered during the season. They missed the CFP and did not appear to get much credit for challenging themselves with a non-conference game against the Buckeyes.
This has long been an issue in college football when it comes to playoff success. Strength of schedule is considered, but teams that have not been credited for playing tough non-conference games have questioned what the value of playing them is.
Ultimately, Ohio State likely won’t pay too much for this defeat if they don’t lose more than once the rest of the way. Things could get interesting if they do, though.
