Texas, Sarkisian look forward to early test against Alabama, Saban

By Laken Litman
FOX Sports College Football Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas — One of the marquee matchups this upcoming season will be when Alabama travels to Austin to play Texas on Sept. 10 (noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). 

The Week 2 game will be the first time Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian will face Nick Saban, his former boss and mentor, since leaving the Crimson Tide in 2021. 

Sarkisian has taken a lot of what he learned working on Saban’s staff at two different points in his career and implemented those things at Texas. For example, he hired Gary Patterson to be a special assistant when Patterson resigned from TCU after 22 years as its head coach. 

Saban is well-known for reviving coaching careers, including Sarkisian’s. 

After Sarkisian was fired by USC in 2015 due to off-field issues involving alcohol, Saban gave him a second chance and hired him as an offensive analyst in 2016. He was promoted to offensive coordinator for the 2017 national title game after Lane Kiffin abruptly left the team early to become the head coach at Florida Atlantic. 

Then after two seasons in the same role with the Atlanta Falcons, Sarkisian returned to Alabama and won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant. 

“Without Nick Saban, I wouldn’t be sitting here today in front of y’all,” Sarkisian said Thursday at Big 12 media days outside Dallas. “I owe a great deal to him. I owe so much to him, and I will never, ever forget that he and Ms. Terry have been tremendous in my life and my wife’s life and what they’ve done for us on and off the field. 

“With that being said, I can’t wait to play them because I know what he puts into it. I know the work ethic, I know the discipline that he has personally. I know what he instills into his organization, into that team. I think ultimately that’s what you try to take when you leave Alabama, because you can’t try to be Nick Saban; there’s only one. 

“You have to be Steve Sarkisian. But the discipline and commitment that he has instilled into his team and into his own organization is something that you try to emulate. I cherished my time there with him. I loved my time there with him and am looking forward to playing him in Week 2.” 

Later, Sarkisian was asked what it will be like shaking hands with Saban at midfield before kickoff. What will they talk about? 

“I’m sure there will be some pleasantries about Ms. Terry or [Sarkisian’s wife] Ms. Loreal. And then he’ll probably point out our new south end zone because that wasn’t here since the last time he probably looked at our stadium,” he said.

“And then in the end, it’s going to be that awkward handshake of like, we’re wishing each other luck, but we’re not, and then we’ll go play the game, and we’ll see what happens.”

Here are some other takeaways from Big 12 media days this week:

“The fire hose is fully inserted in my mouth here” 

Brent Venables gave his first media day press conference as Oklahoma‘s head coach. This is Venables second stint in Norman, previously serving as the program’s defensive coordinator from 1999-2011 before going to Clemson in the same role. 

This is his first head coaching gig, despite having been one of the hottest names in coaching carousels for years. 

“I feel very prepared for this moment,” Venables said Thursday, while later adding that the last seven months have “been just like you would expect, the fire hose is fully inserted in my mouth here, and we’ve been blowing and going.” 

Venables explained he is practicing patience in building this program given how much production OU lost on both sides of the ball. This Oklahoma team lost close to 400 career starts from last year’s team, and Venables said 40 percent of the roster has never put on a Sooners jersey. 

That includes new starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who transferred from UCF. 

“Dillon Gabriel is a winner,” Venables said. “You can’t say it any better than that. He’s thrown for 8,000 yards, completed over 60 percent of his passes, incredible touchdown-to-interception ratio, just a great leader. He’s our quarterback. 

“Certainly anything can happen as we move forward through fall camp. It’s always about daily competition. But I feel great. I can lay my head down at night knowing not just what he has done on the football field but the quality of the person he is.”

“We’ve only just begun”

If you’ve never heard a Karen Carpenter reference at a college football media event, well, there’s a first time for everything. 

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said he heard the 1970 hit song “We’ve only just begun” the other day and “the first thing I thought about was conference realignment.” 

As one does. 

Gundy got a few laughs with that comment before going into more of his thoughts on realignment. 

He was asked about the future of Bedlam and if he envisioned a scenario in which Oklahoma State and Oklahoma would continue playing their annual rivalry game even after OU moves to the SEC by 2025. 

“The future of Bedlam is there’s a year or two left,” Gundy said. “I mean, that’s the future of Bedlam, based on somebody else’s decision.” 

He later said that continuing the series probably isn’t logistically feasible given how far in advance programs have to schedule opponents, despite how much fans would love to see the game played. 

And it wouldn’t have been media days in 2022 if Gundy didn’t have a jab for Oklahoma and Texas. He jokingly said that if he were the conference’s commissioner, he wouldn’t let them into any Big 12 meetings. 

“We go to conference meetings, and OU and Texas are in there,” Gundy said. “They’re still in the conference. But I’m guessing when they leave, they’re scratching down things that can help them when they’re in the SEC. So, it is an unusual situation.”

The Big 12 is “open for business”

Brett Yormark made his first public comments since his new job as Big 12 commissioner was announced two weeks ago. 

The 55-year-old was most recently the chief operating officer for Roc Nation, an entertainment agency founded by hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, and he previously served in executive roles with the Brooklyn Nets and NASCAR. 

Beginning Aug. 1, he will be the Big 12 commissioner. 

While Yormark enters college sports at a unique time, his hiring infuses fresh perspective and style to a conference with an unsettled future amidst the sprawling and mighty SEC and Big Ten. 

Yormark always envisioned working in college athletics — though he assumed it might be as an athletic director — and has a passion for it. 

Now he has accepted the challenge of leading a Big 12 that is about to lose bluebloods Texas and Oklahoma. 

“There is no doubt the Big 12 is open for business,” Yormark said in his opening remarks. “We will leave no stone unturned to drive value for the conference. We will be bold and humble, aggressive and thoughtful, and innovative and creative, all in an effort to position the conference in a way that not only grows the Big 12 brand and business, but makes us a bit more contemporary. 

“One thing is crystal clear: There is no higher priority than to best position the Big 12 for its upcoming multimedia rights negotiations. Everything we do must create momentum for those negotiations.” 

Yormark understands he needs to improve the marketability of his conference and said multiple times he wants to position the Big 12 to be “younger, hipper and cooler.” What that means, we don’t know yet, but the words came from a guy who worked with Jay-Z. 

He also understands there will be a real-time learning curve, but firmly believes his background is suited for the role. This, of course, includes potential realignment, and Yormark said he is “actively engaged” in those discussions, though any potential expansion in conference membership would have to be an “additive and not a dilutive.” 

“I think it’s fair to say I’ve received a lot of phone calls, a lot of interest,” Yormark said. “People understand the direction of the Big 12, and we’re exploring levels of interest. Nothing is imminent, but we’re working hard to make sure that we position the Big 12 in the best possible way on a go-forward basis.” 

What happens next — in the Big 12 and in college football as a whole — will undoubtedly have Yormark’s mark on it. 

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously covered college football, college basketball, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team and the Olympics at Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. Her first book, written in partnership with Rizzoli and Sports Illustrated and titled “Strong Like a Woman,” was published in spring 2022 marking the 50th anniversary of Title IX.