AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s back on the road for the Longhorns on Saturday when they play at Kentucky (2-3, 0-3) for the first time in school history. It’s their third consecutive game away from home, and second true road game in that span that started with the loss at Florida.
That game raised a lot of questions about this Texas (4-2, 1-1) team that was preseason No. 1 only to fall out of the AP Top 25 following the defeat. After a 23-6 win against Oklahoma in Dallas, the Longhorns moved back into the rankings at No. 21, and they’re looking to build on that momentum.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian slaps hands with running back Christian Clark before an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)
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“I think it’s testing the maturity,” Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “It’s easy to be motivated when people aren’t saying very good things about you, when you know your back’s against the wall, it’s a rivalry game, all those things. Now it’s testing the maturity, can you do all those things when everybody is saying good things about you and not riding the emotional rollercoaster of the noise outside the building?”
Just like the Longhorns were under heavy scrutiny and criticism, the same can be said for quarterback Arch Manning who went 21-27 for 166 yards with a touchdown, seven third-down conversions through the air, and most importantly, no interceptions against Oklahoma.
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“What I’ve seen from him (Manning), which is pretty indicative of the entire team, is nobody is taking a sigh of relief, nobody is saying we’ve made it,” Sarkisian said. “We have more work to do, and Arch came right back to work this week and has had a great week of preparation. He’s been more demanding of his teammates around him, which is important; he’s the leader on that offensive side of the ball. I think he’s had a good week, now he’s got to go out and do it.”
Kentucky is coming off a bye week following back-to-back road SEC losses at South Carolina and Georgia. In their only home conference game, they played now No. 5 Ole Miss down to the wire, losing 30-23 back on Sept. 6.
You can watch that entire exclusive interview with Coach Sark on Texas GameDay at 5 p.m. Saturday on KBVO.
