Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has been praised by college football fans for sprinting to midfield and putting a stop to his players celebrating on their rival A&M’s logo.
The Longhorns downed the Aggies in the biggest game of the season to set up their first SEC Championship game – in their first year in the SEC – against Georgia in Atlanta next weekend.
And on a night of violence across the country on Rivalry Week, ‘Sark’ was quick to stop any anger from escalating in College Station, spotting what his players were planning to do.
When he realized, Sarkisian could be seen sprinting after them, quickly followed by his coaches, who shut down the midfield party and stopped the players taking photos – and potentially attempting to plant their flag on the A&M logo.
Earlier in the day, a huge brawl had broken out at Michigan-Ohio State when the victorious Wolverines tried to plant their flag in midfield, and similar happened in North Carolina-UNC and Florida-Florida State.
‘I just watched Ohio State and Michigan get into a brawl in my hotel room this morning,’ Sarkisian said when asked why he decided to stop his players celebrating.
Steve Sarkisian (center) runs to midfield to stop his players from disrespecting the A&M logo
Some of the players were disappointed when their coach forced them to head to the locker room
Texas beat their rival A&M to book their spot in next weekend’s SEC Championship
The Texas head coach was also praised by Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit in the booth, who said: ‘Good job by Sark. No need for that. We can celebrate in other areas. That’s how you handle that.
‘Take your victory and flip it forward. And play for bigger things now.’
On social media, fans quickly hailed the coach for his move, with one writing: ‘Classy move by Sark to pull them off the logo, but god I wanted them to plant a flag too. At least it’s very clear that he has his and the program’s priorities straight.’
Another added: ‘What a job by Steve Sarkisian of preventing World War III in College Station.’
The bigger test will come next weekend when Texas travel to the Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium for a second showdown of the year with the Georgia Bulldogs.
In the first matchup, on October 19, the Dawgs headed to Austin and won 30-15 against the Longhorns.
This time around, there is a championship on the line, and Sarkisian’s actions hint at full focus ahead of their shot at redemption – this time on neutral ground.
