Texas Football Coach Steve Sarkisian: Rivalry Games, Mom-Approved Disasters, and the "Smell of Popcorn"

Oh, bless his heart. Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian has graced the Red River Rivalry with his presence thrice, and his coaching record is a stunning 1-2 at the Cotton Bowl. Spoiler alert: He's never suited up against Oklahoma as a player. Gasp.

But don't you worry, Sark knows a thing or two about rivalry games. Back in the dark ages of 1995 and 1996, he was BYU's quarterback, taking on in-state rival Utah in what they like to call the "Holy War."

When asked about his fond memories of those games, Sarkisian shared a heartwarming tale. "I'm chuckling right now because my two games against the University of Utah when I was at BYU (weren't good)," he said. "My junior year, I threw four interceptions. I threw three in the first half and they were booing me so bad, my mom left the stadium at halftime. My second year, we played in a blizzard, and I was 7-for-12 for like, 80 yards, and we rushed for 350 yards and we won. So there's no great moments, but I remember both games vividly for their own reasons."

Isn't that just adorable? But wait, there's more.

"But the rivalries in college football, that's what this is all about. It's so special," he gushed. "I love the pageantry of college football. I love the energy of the crowd. I love the smell of the popcorn, all that stuff. There's nothing like this (Red River Rivalry) game. When you pull into the State Fair and you see fans from both sides and they're intermixed, and both teams buses pull up and we're in the same tunnel, and you come out and here's all those OU fans and you look and there's all the sea of burnt orange, and you're just like, I can't wait to get over there with my people, I just want to get with them. That's what it's about."

When asked if his Utah experiences could be some kind of teaching moment for his players, Sarkisian dropped some serious wisdom. "The best way to enjoy and experience a rivalry game is to prepare really well. I think that the people that get caught up in the game on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday miss the preparation, and then you don't play very good. ... If you want a good experience, we've got to make sure we prepare really well so that we can enjoy the experience because we're playing good football."

Preach, Coach Sark. Now go enjoy that popcorn.