Steve Sarkisian’s comments about Texas Tech may have sparked controversy, but the Texas head coach insists the Red Raiders were never the real point of the conversation. Frustrated by what he believes is an uneven comparison between programs playing vastly different schedules, the Texas head coach recently took aim at Texas Tech while making his broader argument. A week later, Sarkisian acknowledged that he could have chosen his words more carefully, but he made it clear that his underlying stance on scheduling inequity and playoff selection has not changed.

“There have been some things I’ve said I probably could have said better,” Steve Sarkisian said on a recent episode of the Always College Football podcast. “But you say things, you live, and you learn.

“What I was getting at was the inequity in scheduling and strength of schedule in college football, and the task that the CFP committee has right now in trying to figure out is ‘who are the 12 best teams’. We have our automatic qualifiers, so that automatically adjusts and shifts some of that. But the reality of it is, we’re all trying to figure this out. You can play a schedule, and if you go 11-1, regardless of what that schedule is, you’re going to make the playoffs. It doesn’t matter how many tough opponents you have.”

The controversy began on May 21, 2026, when Steve Sarkisian used an appearance at the Houston Touchdown Club to criticize the schedule of an unnamed in-state rival, widely interpreted as Texas Tech, as part of his broader argument that strength of schedule is not adequately valued in the playoff selection process.

The difference in schedules helps explain why Steve Sarkisian was frustrated. According to ESPN’s strength-of-schedule rankings, Texas played the ninth-toughest schedule in the country, while Texas Tech ranked 46th. Texas Tech’s non-conference opponents last year included teams such as Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kent State, and Oregon State. Their 2026 non-conference schedule features Abilene Christian, Oregon State, and Sam Houston.

The Texas Longhorns faced the Ohio State Buckeyes (road game), San Jose State Spartans, UTEP Miners, and Sam Houston Bearkats. On top of that, over the next four years, the Longhorns are set to play powerhouse programs like Ohio State, Michigan, and Notre Dame. Texas competes in the SEC, which adopted a nine-game conference schedule, making the path even tougher.

Now, what makes things worse is that despite facing easy non-conference opponents, Texas Tech went straight into the playoffs, whereas tough losses against Ohio State weren’t considered for the Longhorns. Texas Tech donor Cody Campbell responded to Steve Sarkisian’s comments by challenging Texas to schedule a series against the Red Raiders. His message was simple: if Texas thinks Texas Tech has an easier path, then the two teams should play each other on the field.

At the same time, Sarkisian was not trying to say that Texas Tech’s success was a fluke or that the Red Raiders were not a good team. His main point was that playing in the SEC is extremely difficult because teams face tougher opponents almost every week. More than criticizing Texas Tech, Sarkisian believes the bigger issue is how the College Football Playoff committee compares teams.

“Our conferences aren’t equal, so your conference scheduling isn’t the same,” Sark said. “The requirements of what you play out of conference aren’t the same, so the strength of schedule isn’t the same. How do you compare apples to apples when it’s really apples to oranges? And how do you then put 16 people in a room, and they decide who the at-large groups are?”

Sarkisian had a dilemma. He could have either spoken up and faced backlash or stayed silent and watched unfair seeding. The Longhorns’ coach chose the former.

Steve Sarkisian faces major backlash

Steve Sarkisian’s stance didn’t sit well with Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell, and he asked them to prove their excellence on the field. Now, even though Sark didn’t respond to it, analyst Joel Klatt responded, pointing out that he would never accept a head-on challenge against the Red Raiders.

“They’re calling Sark’s bluff. So if you want to complain about their schedule, go play them,” Klatt said. “Sark has been talking a lot this offseason, right? And he called out Texas Tech’s schedule, and Tech responded. If Sark wanted to take this challenge on and he wanted to go out there with his twos and threes, he wouldn’t do it with his twos and threes. They could absolutely play week one. Texas Tech, I believe, would absolutely do this, and I believe they would absolutely pay for it. The question is, would Texas do it? The answer is absolutely not.”

Well, Klatt might think that Steve Sarkisian would never accept the challenge, but it’s not about facing tough opponents; it’s about considering facing them while adding teams to the playoffs. The committee just sees 11 wins and makes the teams eligible for the national title, but that’s not fair.

Now, here comes the bigger question: Will the committee move toward a clearer strength‑of‑schedule metric or a “reward scale,” or will coaches quietly mimic the Texas Tech path: safer schedules, chase 11–1? Let us know what you think in the comments section.