Steve Sarkisian Warns Texas of 'Notre Dame Scenario' to Avoid Loss After Michigan Win

Notre Dame seemed well on its way to a College Football Playoff spot after defeating Texas A&M on the road in the first game of what looked to be a soft schedule.

And then it lost at home in stunning fashion to Northern Illinois in its second game.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian doesn't want something like that to happen to his program against UTSA on Saturday following a headline road victory over Michigan.

"Human nature is human nature," Sarkisian said Monday, per ESPN's Eli Lederman. "So what did I do this morning? I walked them through the Notre Dame scenario of [the Irish] going into College Station a week ago and winning that game and being anointed a top-five team and in the College Football Playoff, then a week later losing to Northern Illinois.

"I showed them that clip of [Kanon Woodill's game-winning] field goal and I showed the clip of Northern Illinois storming the field this morning as a good reminder that we're entitled to nothing. We're capable of anything. We've got a really good team. But we're entitled to nothing. We're going to earn everything. And we've going to have to earn the victory here Saturday night."

Highlighting Notre Dame's failure is an ideal strategy for Sarkisian, as it would be easy for his team to let down its guard some after defeating the reigning national champions in one of the most hyped games of the early season.

It was also an important hurdle for the Longhorns, as they don't face the most challenging schedule for the rest of the year despite being in the SEC.

Only two of their future opponents—Oklahoma and Georgia—are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, and they could surely afford a loss to one or both of them and still make the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff field.

That is, as long as they take care of business against teams like UTSA.

It is the same situation Notre Dame found itself in after clearing the Texas A&M hurdle. Only Louisville and USC are ranked on the Fighting Irish's remaining schedule, and they were in a position where losing one or both could still leave them in the field.

Yet losing at home to Northern Illinois drastically changes the math on that scenario, and Notre Dame doesn't even have a race for a conference championship to fall back on as the season continues.

Texas does, but Sarkisian doesn't want his team heading into conference play with a loss on its resume.