AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Longhorns’ road odyssey has come to an end. Forty-two days, five weeks and four games will have passed from the last time Texas took the field at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium against Sam Houston and Saturday’s game against ninth-ranked Vanderbilt.
“It’s been a great week, I know the feeling of coming home is exciting,” said head coach Steve Sarkisian. “I know, to our players, to our fans, we’ve missed our fans, we’ve had great support on the road. Longhorn Nation has been incredible. Being back in front of over 100,000 at DKR against a really good opponent is exciting. This is what this league presents and gives us the opportunity to do. That’s why guys come to the University of Texas to play in games like this.”
The Longhorns (6-2, 3-1) are fighting to stay in the SEC Championship game race as well as the College Football Playoff conversation. After losing at Florida on Oct. 4, the Longhorns have run off three straight wins to keep their hopes alive with the first official CFP rankings released on Tuesday.
The one trap that Sarkisian does not want to happen to his team is that they lose that edge they played with, especially the three wins following that Florida game.
“At the end of the day, I think being on the road a month straight has really brought this team closer together, and we’re going to need stay connected on game day,” said Sarkisian. “We’re going to need the support from Longhorn Nation, and that’s going to be tremendous. We know they’re going to provide a ton of energy in that stadium, but we need to make sure we’re giving something to cheer for. We’ve got to make sure we’re providing them the energy too, it’s got to be a two-way street between us and the fans.”
Vanderbilt comes to Austin for the first time since 1903, a game that ended in a 5-5 tie. Texas won in Nashville last year, 27-24.
In the video player above is an excerpt from Wallace’s conversation with Sarkisian on Thursday. You can see the entire exclusive interview on Texas Gameday, Saturday at 10 a.m. on KBVO-TV.
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