Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian took a jab at Southeastern Conference rival Lane Kiffin hours before his No. 4 Longhorns kicked off against the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday. Sarkisian made the comment during an appearance on ESPN's College GameDay in Austin, Texas.
Asked to take the microphone, Sarkisian contrasted the legal chaos surrounding Kiffin's Louisiana State University program with the game he was about to coach. "We're not talking about injunctions and TROs and lawsuits. We're talking about a hell of a football game that's gonna get played tonight," Sarkisian said on set.
LSU's offseason controversy
Kiffin was, in Sarkisian's telling, the villain of the college football offseason after his attempts to sign two NFL players to his LSU roster. Tight end Dae'Quan Wright and lineman Zxavian Harris, both formerly of Ole Miss, had signed contracts with NFL teams earlier in the preseason before trying to return to college football with LSU.
The two players obtained a temporary restraining order, known as a TRO, against the NCAA to clear their path back to college eligibility. The SEC then tried to block their entrance by enforcing its own conference rules, but a court ruling thwarted that effort as well.
The saga unfolded during a year in which college football has grappled with attempts to update and define limits on transfers and player eligibility, throwing the sport into what the report described as chaos.
Focus shifts to Ohio State
Sarkisian's shot at Kiffin was brief. He quickly turned his attention to the game in front of him, gesturing to the crowd gathered behind the GameDay set. "This is what this is about. Look at this crowd," he said.
He also pointed to the two helmets displayed on the set representing Texas and Ohio State. "You look in front of this set. You see the two helmets down there... the branding of these two programs. What it means for college football," Sarkisian said.
Texas entered the matchup looking for revenge against Ohio State following a loss to the Buckeyes in Columbus last year.
