Steve Sarkisian Taking Heat For 'Unaccountable' Comments Following Cotton Bowl Loss

Yesterday at 02:47 PM

Texas played Ohio State tough for most of Friday night's Cotton Bowl before they messed up late in the fourth quarter. 

Trailing 21-14, they had the ball at the one-yard line and opted for a toss play on 2nd-and-goal, which lost seven yards. They had nothing going on third down before Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer stripped Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers on fourth down and returned the fumble for a touchdown to put Ohio State up by 14, 28-14. 

That ended up being the final score, allowing Ohio State to advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship against Notre Dame.

After the loss, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke about what happened before the fumble. 

"It's one of those plays where if you block it all right, you get in the end zone, and we didn't. We lose quite a bit of yardage and at that point, you're kinda stuck behind the eight-ball because we knew we were in four-down territory because of the score of the game," Sarkisian said. 

"I was okay even if we didn't score, not that I didn't want to score, but thinking alright, they're gonna have to be backed up and we'll probably get one more possession with good field position."

#Texas HC Steve Sarkisian speaks on the 1st & 2nd down calls on the 1-yard line vs. Ohio State. @ontexasfootballpic.twitter.com/WeFdwxZLz2

— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) January 11, 2025

Fans aren't happy with that answer since they think he wasn't being accountable.

"Bro take responsibility, you made bad calls when it mattered most- learn and grow," one tweet read.

"This is a horrible answer with your QB who you set up for failure sitting right there. I would never send my son to play for Sark. Take accountability you called a horrible play and lost the game. No excuses," another tweet read. 

"Well - he had his reasons. Just listening to this it sounds like he overthought it, though," another fan tweeted.

"Inexcusable. I hate this reaction from Sark. Hated the play call. A defining moment for Sark as the Texas head ball coach," another fan tweeted.

"I love Sark just as much as the next guy, but just take accountability here man," another tweet read.

Sarkisian will have all offseason to think about what he could've done differently to finish that drive. 

Related: Texas Player Caught Screaming Near Locker Room After Loss To Ohio State