Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian has been named to the midseason watch list for the 2024 Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank, announced Thursday by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. This award honors coaches who excel on the field while emphasizing scholarship, leadership, and integrity, key elements of Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy.
Alongside this, Sarkisian was also recently placed on the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year watch list.
Sarkisian and his top-ranked Longhorns are 6-0 for the first time since 2009. On September 15, Texas claimed the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll for the first time since October 26, 2008. The Longhorns have held the No. 1 ranking in both the AP Poll and AFCA Coaches Poll for two weeks straight, maintaining a top ranking in at least one of these polls for five consecutive weeks. This marks their longest streak at No. 1 since 1977. Texas has also been in the Top 5 for ten consecutive weeks, the longest since a 32-week streak between 2007 and 2010, and they have been in the Top 10 for 22 weeks in a row.
This season, Texas’ offense under Sarkisian is averaging 495.7 yards per game and 7.2 yards per play, nearing the single-season record set in 2005 (512.1 yards per game). Their current average of 306.67 passing yards per game is close to the UT record held by the 2008 team (308.3). Last season, Texas finished third and fourth in yards per game (477.5) and yards per play (6.67), respectively.
Defensively, Texas has a point differential of +221 through six games, the best since 1915 (+288). They have scored 259 points through six games, the most since 2005 (274). Texas has started 5-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2008-09 and for only the second time in over 50 years.
