A victorious Steve Sarkisian when asked if he second-guessed fourth down aggressiveness: "No. That's how losers think."

Down 20 in the second half against the No. 1 team in the country, Steve Sarkisian kept leaving his offense on the field on fourth down, backed up in his own territory, and dared anyone to question it afterward.

No. 4 Texas rallied from a 23-3 hole to beat Ohio State 24-23 on Saturday night at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. Asked why he kept going for it deep in his own end with 17 minutes left in the game, deep in the third quarter, rather than punting to protect field position, Sarkisian didn't blink and offered an epic one-liner response.

"No, that's how losers think," Sarkisian said. "Winners win, baby. You got to go for it."

"They didn't hire me to keep it close. They hired me to win."

The math looked ugly at the break. Ohio State led 20-3 at halftime and pushed it to 23-3 entering the fourth quarter, and while Ryan Day mentioned on his way into the locker room at halftime that he knew it was the type of game that was going to be decided in the fourth-quarter, Texas had shown nothing to suggest a three-touchdown period was coming. 

But then Arch Manning started converting on fourth down, the do-or-die snaps most staffs punt away, and the Longhorns ran off three unanswered touchdowns to steal it.

For Manning, the night closed a wound. Ohio State beat Texas 14-7 in Columbus to open the 2025 season, when the Longhorns walked in ranked No. 1 and Manning walked out with one of the rougher outings of his young career. Last night he flipped the script on the top ranked team in the country.

"We couldn't lose to them again," Manning said. "I had nightmares about that game last year. I'm glad to get a win tonight."

Texas came in ranked No. 4, Ohio State No. 1, and the Longhorns had spent a full calendar year staring at the loss that opened 2025 with them atop the polls. The rematch flipped the script in Austin, and it did it in the most nerve-testing way available, one gutsy fourth-down conversion at a time.

Sarkisian has never been one to hide his aggressiveness on fourth down, and he just backed it up against the best team in the country with everything tilted against him. 

Every coach who has ever taken heat for keeping the offense on the field now has a fresh piece of tape, and a fresh quote, to point at.

Texas gets back to work next week against UTSA. Ohio State, #1 no longer, heads home to regroup. 

Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.