The No. 5 <a href="https://bolavip.com/en/topic/texas-longhorns">Texas Longhorns</a> head into a big matchup with No. 25 Vanderbilt Commodores with the focus set on regrouping and bouncing back after an atrocious outing last weekend. The Horns fell off their top spot in the country and head coach Steve Sarkisian has made a clear statement on what this upcoming game means to the team.



The Longhorns’ loss to the Bulldogs was frustrating and deflating, but it is far from catastrophic for the program. In past years, a loss could mean the difference between a playoff berth and missing out. However, with the expanded <a href="https://bolavip.com/en/college-football">College Football</a> Playoff format, a single loss is not as decisive. Still, teams can’t afford to get too relaxed. Against Vanderbilt, Texas must play with a strong sense of urgency, while avoiding the urge to hit the panic button.



Ahead of the surprising Top-25 matchup with the <a href="https://bolavip.com/en/topic/vanderbilt">Commodores</a>, head coach Steve Sarkisian has made something clear on what this game symbolizes for the Longhorns. 



“I just coached ’em like coach Sark always does. All they know is this is a top 25 matchup on the road with a sellout crowd,” <a href="https://bolavip.com/en/topic/steve-sarkisian">Sarkisian</a> said, via HornSports. “We know the challenge we’re faced with, what’s on tape, and what they look like. We don’t want to count our possessions in this game. We want to make our possessions count.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.bolavip.com/webp/en/full/BUS_20241024_BUS_258953_Steve-Sarkisian-8-1024x576_12fd2772.webp&amp;width=1024&amp;height=576" alt="Texas Longhorns" class="wp-image-256127" srcset="https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-8-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-8-300x169.jpg 300w, https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-8-768x432.jpg 768w, https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-8-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-8-740x416.jpg 740w, https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-8-490x275.jpg 490w, https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-8-250x140.jpg 250w, https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-8.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure><figcaption>Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns reacts during the second quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 19, 2024 in Austin, Texas.</figcaption></figure>



<h2>How Sarkisian’s Texas has fared after first loss of the season</h2>



Steve Sarkisian is currently coaching through his fourth <a href="https://bolavip.com/en/topic/ncaa">NCAA</a> season in ‘The Forty Acres’. Through his first three seasons, the team has finished 5-7, 8-5, and 12-2, in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively. This is how the team bounced back after their first loss of the season in each year under Sarkisian:


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In 2021, the Longhorns undefeated season was short-lived, the Horns didn’t make it past the second week as they lost to Arkansas. However, the team bounced back with three consecutive wins after the early defeat, although the six-game losing streak that followed took away any progress. 



In 2022, the Horns lost again in the second week of college football, though to No. 1 Alabama by a one score game, and bounced back with a win the following week. As for last season, Texas fell on the Red River Shootout to Oklahoma as their 5-0 start was snapped. Texas got back on track and went on a seven-game win streak to close out the regular season 12-1 and secure a spot in the CFP semifinal.



This time around, the Longhorns hope for a similar trend and showcase the team’s resiliency under Coach Sark. During his first years in Austin, the team has yet to lose the week following their first loss of the season. While many variables contribute to this pattern, it demonstrates that the program and its players don’t fold at the first sign of adversity.

NCAAF News: Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian makes something clear on Vanderbilt

Johnny Manziel opens up about Steve Sarkisian&#039;s decision to bench Longhorns QB Quinn Ewers

NCAAF News: Vanderilt HC makes big admission on Steve Sarkisian&#039;s Texas Longhorns

NCAAF News: Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian makes something clear on Vanderbilt - Bolavip US

miniaturas

No. 25 Vanderbilt is looking to deliver their second upset victory of the season. The Commodores aim to make another statement in the SEC by taking down No. 5 <a href="https://bolavip.com/en/topic/texas-longhorns">Texas Longhorns</a>. While the pressure is on Texas to bounce back after their loss to Georgia, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea made an honest admission about Steve Sarkisian’s program ahead of their matchup in Nashville this weekend.



Once is a fluke, twice is a pattern. If Vanderbilt takes down another Top-5 team in the country, then Lea’s program will be acknowledged as the giant’s slayer in <a href="https://bolavip.com/en/college-football">college football</a>. The Commodores are on a three-game win streak, this run started with the shocking victory over Alabama. Lea and the program hope it doesn’t come to an end when they host the Horns.



Texas’ season has shifted at the drop of a hat, perhaps a golden one. After the triumph in the Red River Shootout, Sarkisian’s team fell to the Bulldogs and the bubble may have burst on their dream season. Though frustration is palpable in Austin, <a href="https://bolavip.com/en/topic/vanderbilt">Vanderbilt</a> HC Clark Lea made a big admission on how the Longhorns could fuel off it, rather than drown in it.



“It can swing either way,” Clark Lea said, per On3. “When we’ve had a tough loss, the game at Missouri, there’s a world where that can be taken as heartbreaking, and how do you come back from that? How devastated is the locker room? Or you can take it and say the guys will be motivated, they’re so close, they’re going to keep inching towards that breakthrough. I think you can take that and go either way with it.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.bolavip.com/webp/en/full/BUS_20241023_BUS_258311_Steve-Sarkisian-7-1024x576_8bcfbaee.webp&amp;width=1024&amp;height=576" alt="Steve Sarkisian" class="wp-image-256090" srcset="https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-7-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-7-300x169.jpg 300w, https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-7-768x432.jpg 768w, https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-7-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-7-740x416.jpg 740w, https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-7-490x275.jpg 490w, https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-7-250x140.jpg 250w, https://bolavip-us.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/Steve-Sarkisian-7.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure><figcaption>Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns reacts during the second quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 19, 2024 in Austin, Texas.</figcaption></figure>



<h2>Clark Lea on preparing for Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning</h2>



When <a href="https://bolavip.com/en/topic/steve-sarkisian">Steve Sarkisian</a> subbed out Ewers and put Manning into the game against Georgia, he didn’t just send a message to the locker room but to the rest of the NCAA watching. Much talk had focused on the Longhorns’ depth at quarterback and how Sarkisian might play both QBs depending on game situations. That may come to fruition, and Vanderbilt will not be risking coming out flat-footed with their defensive gameplan.


 

 

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“I believe that this is a system on offense that doesn’t change dramatically with respect to who’s taking the snaps,” Clark Lea stated. “So, we’re preparing to defend the system. Obviously, both quarterbacks have played so I wouldn’t be surprised to see both. They got injury history there and you just never know.“



<h2>Can Vanderbilt talk Playoffs yet?</h2>



The Commodores are one of the biggest Cinderella stories in the country. After their statement triumph over Bama, the program has built on their success and strung together consecutive wins to earn a place in the AP Top-25. 



Though they are still a long way from earning a playoff berth, the team does not shy away from dreaming of making the extended <a href="https://bolavip.com/en/topic/ncaa">NCAA</a> postseason, however, coach Lea was wary on his thoughts.



“With respect to the potential of what this year could come to, is the understanding that we’re going to have to play really well from here to the finish line have a chance at the postseason. So we’re not getting ahead of our skis.”

NCAAF News: Vanderilt HC makes big admission on Steve Sarkisian's Texas Longhorns

NCAA icon claims Steve Sarkisian has made a huge mistake with Longhorns&#039; Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning

NCAAF News: Vanderilt HC makes big admission on Steve Sarkisian's Texas Longhorns - Bolavip US

Steve Sarkisian

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