Live Game Thread: No. 7 Texas vs. BYU

AUSTIN, Texas — Twenty-seven years before he was preparing to lead No. 7 Texas into a home game against BYU on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ABC) chock-full of Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff implications while getting redshirt freshman quarterback Maalik Murphyready for his first career start, Steve Sarkisian was in the midst of trying to help the Cougars claim a seat at the table alongside college football’s bluebloods in the newly-formed Bowl Alliance. The replacement for the Bowl Coalition and the precursor to the Bowl Championship Series, the Bowl Alliance system further widened the gap between what would eventually become the Power Five and the not-yet-named Group of Five.

BYU’s snub in favor of Penn State for an at-large bid to the Fiesta Bowl bid (which, strangely enough, would’ve pitted the Cougars against the Longhorns after John Mackovic’s team upset Nebraska to win the inaugural Big 12 title game) was the first glaring example of how schools outside of the power conferences would face extremely long odds of even sniffing a chance to play for a national championship. BYU is the most recent program outside of a power conference to reach college football’s apex when it won the title in 1984, but now they’re a part of the P5 in their first season as a member of the Big 12.

The Cougars head into Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium for a conference meeting against the man who quarterbacked them to a 14-1 record, a Cotton Bowl victory over Kansas State and a No. 5 ranking in the final AP Top 25 in 1996. The WAC Offensive Player of the Year, Sarkisian claimed All-American honors and won the Sammy Baugh Trophy (awarded annually to the nation’s top collegiate passer from 1959-2018) before starting down the long, winding road as a coach that eventually led him to the Forty Acres.

Texas (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) hasn’t crashed the CFP party since the four-team playoff replaced the BCS in 2014 and BYU (5-2, 2-2) is the latest obstacle standing in the Longhorns’ way. While Sarkisian led the Cougars to their best season since winning the national championship 39 years ago, his focus is on helping Texas end its longest drought between conference titles since last winning the Big 12 in 2009.

“Naturally, in a week like this, you reminisce now and again,” said Sarkisian, who cherishes his relationship with BYU head coach Kalani Sitake (Sarkisian’s host on his recruiting trip to BYU) and credited his head coach in Provo, the late LaVell Edwards, for instilling in him a lot of the foundation of how he’s running the Longhorns.

“We had a heck of a team my senior year and I had some awesome, awesome teammates and had some great coaches.”

“In the end, sure, but I want to beat them, too,” he added when asked if Saturday’s game has a special meaning to him. “I'm sure they want to beat me, too. That's the way it goes.”

Horns247 is on the scene, providing live updates before, during and after the game. Follow the action to see if Texas can pick up a victory ahead of the release of the initial CFP rankings:

No. 7 Texas (6-1, 3-1) vs. BYU (5-2, 2-2)

When: Saturday, Oct. 28

Where: Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (Austin)

Kickoff: 2:30 p.m.

TV: ABC (Play-by-play: Dave Pasch; Analyst: Dusty Dvoracek; Sideline reporter: Tom Luginbill)

Line: Texas -20.5

Live Stream: fuboTV

Local Radio: Longhorn Radio Network/LEARFIELD, 98.1 FM and 1300 AM in Austin; (Play-by-play: Craig Way; Analyst: Roger Wallace; Sideline reporter: Will Matthews); Check other local affiliates here