With the heat index at 110 degrees before kickoff at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and the temperature on the artificial turf at Campbell-Williams Field reaching 160 degrees, the Ohio State Buckeyes were the only team on the field for pregame warmups.
Seeking an edge in a game with a betting line set at 1.5 points during the week, the Texas Longhorns were across the street in the school’s brand-new, $80-million dollar Frank & Wofford Denius Football Training Complex.
“Figured they could go out in the heat,” Texas senior quarterback Arch Manning said.
The decision was made by director of football sports medicine Donald Nguyen.
“You save yourself a little bit from the heat — it’s all sweat that leaves your body when you go out there in the sun, so definitely helped, I thought,” said fifth-year defensive tackle Hero Kanu.
Whether or not the tactic contributed to the Longhorns finishing strong as the Buckeyes fading in allowing three fourth-quarter touchdowns to complete an improbable comeback, the numbers are stark — in the second half, Texas ran 46 plays and controlled the ball for 19:06, out-gaining Ohio State 239 yards to 132 yards, including a 103-46 edge in rushing yards as the offensive line for the Horns controlled the line of scrimmage late.
Sarkisian certainly thought Texas was better conditioned overall after enduring the crucible of a Texas summer.
“To score 21 points in the fourth quarter against a team of that caliber, I think that’s a credit to our conditioning,” Sarkisian said. “I think that’s a credit to our players understanding why we practice the way that we do, and how hard practices are in training camp. At the end of practice, that’s the hardest part of our practice, and them embracing that for moments like this.”
For the season opener against Texas State, Texas went through pregame warmups in the stadium, and may do so again next week with a 7:00 p.m. Central kickoff against UTSA with the likelihood of heavily rotating players, but it’s now a tool available for the team to use on the weekend in addition to aiding with the recovery process following hot games because the indoor facility offers more room than the outdated Bubble.
When conference play starts in Austin on October 17 with Florida coming to the Forty Acres, whether temperatures remain hot won’t matter because SEC guidelines adopted during the pandemic require teams to warm up in the same location.
But when Michigan plays Texas next year on September 4, there may once again only be one team in the stadium warming up before kickoff.