But that doesn’t mean the Big 12 university’s football program didn’t take a straight jab to the face while Sarkisian took a shot at the inequities in scheduling among Power Four conferences.

“There’s a team in our state in another conference with a schedule that I would argue if I played with our twos and threes, we could go undefeated, and they’ll probably make the CFP this year,” Sarkisian said.

The dig at Texas Tech came in the context of comparing team’s résumés when it comes to the CFP selection committee.

“Our conferences aren’t equal, so your conference scheduling isn’t the same,” Sarkisian told reporters before the banquet. “The requirements of what you play out of conference aren’t the same, so strength of schedule isn’t the same. How do you compare apples to apples when it’s really apples to oranges? And how do you then put 16 people in a room, and they decide who the at-large groups are?”

Last year, Texas Tech finished fourth in the final College Football Rankings that preceded last year’s 12-team playoff. The Red Raiders went 12-1 against a schedule that included just three teams who finished in those CFP rankings — No. 12 BYU, No. 15 Utah and No. 21 Houston — and a three-game nonconference schedule that included Oregon State, Kent State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The Red Raiders received a first-round bye in last season’s CFP before a humbling 23-0 loss to Oregon in the quarterfinals. Texas fell short three spots short of the CFP after losing to No. 2 Ohio State in a nonconference game and No. 3 Georgia and unranked Florida in SEC games. The Longhorns beat No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 14 Vanderbilt.

This season, Texas Tech plays Abilene Christian and Sam Houston in nonconference play and won’t face Utah and BYU in Big 12 play.

In comparison, Sarkisian’s Longhorns will face a 20206 schedule that includes another nonconference game against Ohio State as well as SEC rivals Ole Miss, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. All finished in the top eight in the final CFP rankings of 2025.

Texas boasts an all-time record of 55-18 against Texas Tech, and the two state schools played each other every year from 1960-2023 as members of the Southwest and Big 12 conferences. But the Longhorns left the Big 12 for the SEC prior to the 2024 season, and there are no plans for a renewal of the bitter albeit lopsided series.

Much to the chagrin of Texas Tech super booster Cody Campbell, who punched back at Sarkisian on social media after the Texas coach’s comments.

“Schedule us then!” Campbell tweeted, tagging Sarkisian and Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte. “We’ve been talking about it for years and we are more than willing!!”