Texas defeated Missouri 34-20 in a road matchup, overcoming external doubts and securing the Longhorns’ status among top-tier opponents this season.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian stated after the game that his team does not pay attention to outside noise, according to burntorangenation.com. The victory brings Texas to 4-1 against top-25 opponents on the road.
Before the contest, SEC Network studio analyst Peter Burns predicted a Missouri victory on Friday, stating that Missouri held advantages at quarterback, wide receiver, and running back while playing more physically.
“Missouri is winning this ballgame … better QB, better WR core, better RB, they’re more physical.”@PeterBurnsESPN is all in on Mizzou over Texas 🍿 pic.twitter.com/wC1LGEfpIe
Sarkisian addressed the pre-game skepticism after the final whistle. “I’m really proud of our football team overall because our guys, they’re not naive to noise,” Sarkisian said, as reported by burntorangenation.com.
“As much as I would love to say, tune it all out — and we try our best to do that — I could hear the talk getting on the plane yesterday. I could hear the talk when we got here.”
The head coach added that nobody believed his team would win or match Missouri at the line of scrimmage. Reports noted that the 34-20 win highlighted a core identity of mental and physical toughness despite early skepticism and favorable odds for Missouri.
“The DNA of this organization is mental and physical toughness, and I think that poured out of our pores today in this ball game today, and so I’m very proud of them for that,” Sarkisian said, according to burntorangenation.com. “I’m very proud of the way they hung together, the way they responded to adversity.”
With four wins over ranked teams this season, Sarkisian emphasized the resilient nature of his squad. “There is a toughness in our organization that is undeniable,” Sarkisian said. “Right when people want to count us out, we refuse to go away.”
