What’s the biggest game on the college football schedule this weekend?
Well, it’s whatever game YOUR team is playing in, right? Isn’t that the old punchline?
Actually, yes, we suppose it is. But technically, THE biggest game of the weekend is No. 3 Texas at No. 10 Michigan, Saturday at noon Eastern / 11 a.m. Central on FOX.
The defending national champion Michigan Wolverines, minus former head coach Jim Harbaugh, taking on a Texas Longhorns team that they just barely missed facing in the College Football Playoff national championship game, because then-Washington, now-Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer took the ‘Horns out in the semifinals.
At any rate, there’s been so much water under the bridge, or wherever the water goes, since Michigan won last year’s national title, it’s almost laughable. Harbaugh’s gone, now leading the L.A. Chargers. Nick Saban retired and DeBoer is in Tuscaloosa. Wolverines that won that title are gone; do they have a chance to derail the Longhorns, who actually do resemble that 2023 team?
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian weighed in on different topics on Wednesday on “The Herd,” Colin Cowherd’s national show on FOX Radio and Fox Sports 1. Oh, and here: Texas coach Steve Sarkisian focused on improved depth, leadership ahead of Michigan game | FOX Sports.
“A lot of these players have been here for two, three and four years now and have really grown up in the culture and understand what we’re about,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got great leadership, but I also think we’ve got great depth. The one thing about this year’s team is that we definitely have more depth than we’ve had in any of our other years. Our two deep, sometimes you can’t tell the difference between our [No.] 1s and our [No.] 2s. That’s great for us. That’s great for us right now early in the season. We can play a lot of players, especially when we’re at home, but also for the longevity of the season. “We kicked off on Aug. 31 and we’re hoping to play on Jan. 20. So, we’re going to need all the depth that we have.”
Of course, the Longhorns’ scenery has changed. They may still be in Austin, but the Big 12 schedule is out the window. In is the Southeastern Conference, of which the Longhorns are now members. And while the conference didn’t put them against ‘Bama, LSU or even Ole Miss the first season, they do host Georgia this year, and they return to College Station in late November to renew “pleasantries” with longtime rival Texas A&M.
No one is thinking about that. Right now, it’s all about Texas-Michigan. And someone’s CFP playoff hopes will take a dent with a loss on Saturday.
“This is a great program,” Sarkisian said. “As much as it is about this current team they have, it’s about the program and the development that they’ve done. The harder part for us isn’t about the quality of the opponent, it’s about the new faces. Naturally, from a staff perspective, Wink Martindale is their defensive coordinator. We’ve only got a one-game sample size of him as the defensive coordinator at Michigan. So, some of those things can be a little bit more difficult. “
