IT’S ONLY SEC (but I like it….) : Week Three

On Sunday, we should have been talking about Texas overcoming the #1 team in the country and, in turn, making the Longhorns the best team in the country.

But the thrilling win over the Buckeyes was overshadowed by controversy caused by comments and actions made solely by the Longhorns’ head coach and Quarterback.

Sark, Arch and ESPN — when the story after the game becomes bigger than the interview

Texas produced one of the most dramatic wins of any season against Ohio State, but somehow a 24–23 comeback victory over the nation’s No.1 team was far from the Longhorns story dominating the days since.

Instead, Steve Sarkisian’s interactions with ESPN — and Arch Manning’s subsequent comments about an AI-generated video — have created an unwanted sideshow in Austin.

It actually started at halftime.

With Texas trailing Ohio State 20–3, Sarkisian was due to speak with ESPN’s Laura Rutledge as he headed towards the locker room. But technical problems delayed the interview and, with adjustments to make and his team waiting, Sarkisian eventually abandoned it and headed inside.

Sarkisian has since explained that he faced a fairly straightforward choice: continue waiting for ESPN to resolve the technical issue or get into the locker room and coach his football team.

“I had to make an in-moment decision to say wait on the interview or try to get with our team and try to make the proper adjustments,” Sarkisian explained on Thursday.

Importantly, Rutledge subsequently explained the technical difficulties on the ESPN broadcast, and Sarkisian spoke to her when the Longhorns returned for the second half. 

Then came Holly Rowe

The second incident came in very different circumstances.

Texas had just completed a remarkable fourth-quarter comeback to beat Ohio State, and Sarkisian met Buckeyes coach Ryan Day before being directed towards ESPN’s Holly Rowe for the traditional postgame interview.

Again, according to Sarkisian, there was a delay.

This time the Texas coach was desperate to get back to his players and celebrate. When Rowe began her interview, Sarkisian barely allowed it to get started before enthusiastically shouting “Texas fight” and “Hook ’em” and heading towards his team.

The exchange looked awkward on television and inevitably spread rapidly across social media. It went viral.

Sarkisian has now conceded that he could have handled the moment differently.

“If hindsight’s 20/20, if I could do it all over again, I would have exuded more patience in that moment and sat through and waited for the interview with Holly,” Sarkisian said.

He also stressed that there was no personal issue with Rowe, pointing out that the pair’s relationship stretches back to his playing days at BYU and adding that Texas has “a ton of respect for ESPN and Holly.”

“Could have definitely handled that situation better with a little bit more patience in the moment,” Sark admitted. 

And that might have been where the story ended.

Except this is 2026, so inevitably AI and social media entered the equation.

Enter Arch Manning

An AI-manipulated version of the postgame exchange subsequently circulated online, falsely depicting Sarkisian striking Rowe.

When Manning was asked during his Monday press conference whether he had seen any of the social-media edits following the victory, he brought up that particular video himself.

“I saw an AI edit of Sark’s interview,” Manning said before referencing the fake video and calling it “hilarious.”

There was laughter in the room, but once the clip of Manning’s comments reached a much wider audience, the reaction was considerably less amused. Criticism centred not simply on the AI manipulation itself but on Manning appearing to make light of an image depicting violence against a woman. 

Manning subsequently apologised.

“There is nothing funny about it,” the Texas quarterback wrote in a statement. “It’s easy to say I didn’t mean it, but I know my words and actions were hurtful to a lot of people.”

He specifically apologised to Rowe, saying he had “a ton of respect for her” and adding: “I need to do better and will be more thoughtful going forward.”

Rowe confirmed that she and Manning had spoken privately and publicly accepted the apology.

“Apology accepted. We move forward with respect and kindness for one another,” she wrote. 

Sark closes the circle

Sarkisian addressed Manning’s part in the controversy on Thursday too, making the Texas position unequivocal.

“Nowhere do we condone domestic violence or violence against women,” Sarkisian said, while adding that Manning recognised that he had made a mistake.

The Texas coach said his quarterback had apologised both publicly and directly to Rowe and expressed the hope that everyone could now move forward.

In what should have been a week of positivity and inspiration for the Longhorns, Sarkisian and Manning have spent much of the week trying to repair the damage their comments caused. It has been quite the PR disaster for a program which is not short of confidence or “cockiness”, as some may suggest. Perhaps some humility might not go amiss in Austin.