For three quarters on Saturday night, it looked like a repeat of 2025 was coming for Steve Sarkisian and Texas. They were facing a highly ranked Ohio State and seemed destined for a loss. Then, Texas made a massive comeback, scoring 21 fourth-quarter points in the 24-23 victory.

Now, Steve Sarkisian is speaking on behalf of Ohio State and also revisiting last year, per Ralph D. Russo of The Athletic.

“Quite frankly, Ohio State should be rewarded for playing in this game against us, and so that's my goal. Time will tell, you know. And this isn't crying over spilled milk. I don't think we got rewarded for going to Columbus last year in Week One,” Sarkisan said.

While Sarkisian believes his team was not treated fairly for playing Ohio State last year, that may not be the case, as Chris Vannini of The Athletic points out.

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“Texas was rewarded for playing Ohio State last year. They were in the top 10 in November, the second-highest 2-loss team, right behind Notre Dame. They still finished as the highest 9-3 team, ahead of three 10-2 P4 teams,” Vannin posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Texas dropped from number one to number seven after their Week 1 loss to Ohio State. This year, Ohio State dropped from number one to number six and is the only team in the top 20 that has a loss. Meanwhile, Oregon dropped 15 spots for their loss, while Oklahoma dropped 13 spots to 24. Texas was still ranked ninth heading into an October 4 matchup against Florida, which was unranked. They lost that game and dropped out of the poll.

Still, after wins over number six Oklahoma, an unranked Kentucky in overtime, an unranked Mississippi State in overtime, and then a ninth-ranked Vanderbilt at home by just three points, Texas was right back in the Top 10.

Texas was still seen as one of the top teams in the nation after the loss last year. Ohio State is still seen as one of the top teams in the nation this year. What did Texas in was two more losses, including one to an unranked team. Ohio State has a difficult schedule ahead, with Iowa, Indiana, and USC, all ranked teams and on the road. Further, they host Oregon and Michigan in the last month of the year.