The No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes dominated the No. 4 Texas Longhorns and held a 20-3 lead at halftime in Austin, Texas, on Saturday night. The Longhorns woke up and charged back, claiming a 24-23 victory when Hollywood Smothers found the end zone with 25 seconds remaining.
It was a Hollywood ending at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, quite literally. But all night long, a saga within the saga unfolded between Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and ESPN on ABC’s sideline reporters.
At halftime, Laura Rutledge chased after Sarkisian as he jogged into the tunnel. Rutledge turned back toward the camera and said, “Alright, we actually just lost Sark because he had to go. I’m sorry about that, you guys. He waited for a long time. Credit to him for waiting. We’ll try to get him on the way out of the half.”
“Alright, we actually just lost Sark because he had to go. I’m sorry about that, you guys. He waited for a long time. Credit to him for waiting. We’ll try to get him on the way out of the half.” – Laura Rutledge on Texas HC Steve Sarkisian pic.twitter.com/pacpABhvZh
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 13, 2026
As promised, after halftime, Rutledge spoke with Sarkisian and defended him against criticism for blowing off the standard halftime interview.
“I do want to make sure we clear something up,” Rutledge said. “[Sarkisian] did decline the interview at the half. He had waited a long time, been very patient with some technical issues that we had. He apologized to us. We should be apologizing to him, which we did.”
Laura Rutledge: “I do want to make sure we clear something up. [Steve Sarkisian] did decline the interview at the half. He had waited a long time, been very patient with some technical issues that we had. He apologized to us. We should be apologizing to him, which we did.” https://t.co/y9o6lXgNhx pic.twitter.com/yE08r5BNpD
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 13, 2026
That was the end of that, until Sarkisian blew off ESPN’s Holly Rowe amid pandemonium on the field after Texas’s thrilling comeback win went final. It’s possible that technical difficulties were the culprit again, as Rowe appeared peeved as soon as Chris Fowler threw it down to her.
The Steve Sarkisian postgame interview with Holly Rowe was quite brief. https://t.co/TWV6JrA9Ro pic.twitter.com/xo0z8oidMN
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 13, 2026
“Coach, this was one of the most—” Rowe attempted to say, as Sarkisian spoke over her. He seemingly repeated, “That’s called Texas fight,” though it wasn’t 100% clear due to the clunkiness of the brief, chaotic exchange.
“Hook ’em!” Sarkisian said, throwing up the “Hook ’em Horns” sign to the camera before stalking off. Rowe initially started following him with her microphone up before rolling her eyes and walking off herself.
“It wasn’t very pretty, but we found a way to win.” 🔥
Arch Manning after completing the largest Texas comeback since 2007 🤯 pic.twitter.com/znEMPQrhhF
— ESPN (@espn) September 13, 2026
Elsewhere on the field, Texas quarterback Arch Manning had the polar opposite demeanor with Rutledge.
“I’m just so proud of our guys in all three phases,” a breathless Manning said. “It wasn’t very pretty, but we found a way to win. That’s what good teams do.”
Manning added, “We couldn’t lose to them again. I had nightmares about that game last year, so we’re glad to get a win tonight, have a good night in Austin. Thank you so much.”
That’s that Manning media training at work. Sarkisian could learn something from his quarterback.
About Megan Armstrong
Since first getting published as a student by the Kansas City Star in 2013, Megan Armstrong has gone wherever curiosity and stories have taken her, specializing in sports, media, music, and culture coverage. She also has an extensive background in interviewing and profiling public figures. Her work has appeared in Billboard, Boardroom, Bleacher Report, Esquire, GQ, GRAMMY.com, NYLON, Newsweek, Teen Vogue, The Hollywood Reporter, UPROXX, and elsewhere.