AUSTIN (KXAN) — It was Sept. 14, 1996, and when Brigham Young quarterback Steve Sarkisian walked into Husky Stadium in Seattle to play the Washington Huskies, he knew something was different. It was the people, their amount and volume, to be more specific. It was the moment he learned how loud people who want to see you fail can get.
Sarkisian didn’t play poorly (23-for-35, 279 yards with two touchdowns and an interception), but he was sacked eight times and his Cougars suffered their only loss of the season 29-17. The exposure to the boisterous Huskies fans in the largest stadium he ever played in helped him move forward, and now as the Texas Longhorns head coach, he knows playing in “The Big House” will help his players, too.
Of course, he’d prefer his team to take care of business with a victory if they have the same kind of epiphany he did. Michigan Stadium is the third-largest stadium in the world, holding a capacity of 107,601, and there are reasons other than the amount of seats that it’s earned the nickname.
“I hadn’t been in an environment that was loud like that,” he said, reflecting on the day in Seattle. “There’s another level of what opposing stadiums can feel like and be like, especially when there’s some hatred toward the opponent.”
Expect the home of the Wolverines to be several decibels above the 71,165 fans that made life tough on Sarkisian nearly 30 years ago, and probably a little more nasty, too. Everyone hates Texas, right?
“I’ve learned to relish those opportunities. There’s something about it, I like being the villain,” he said. “I like going in there thinking it’s 100 versus 120,000 and we’re the villain, and it’s OK being the villain. How do we create that deafening silence and how do we go about it? It comes about by our style of play, execution and sticking together as one.”
Among other things the Longhorns have going for them entering Saturday’s game, perhaps the biggest that will help them in hostile territory is third-year quarterback Quinn Ewers. He’s a calming presence with total command of Sarkisian’s run-pass option concepts and playaction passing scheme, and he’s an extension of the head coach between the lines.
“Just knowing that he’s going to operate the calls accordingly is comforting,” Sarkisian said. “When I call something, he understands the intent of the play call. It doesn’t mean it’s always going to go that way, but as long as he understands the intent, usually pretty good things come out of it.”