AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday that he would have waited for his postgame interview with ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe if he could do Saturday night over again.
Texas trailed Ohio State 23-3 entering the fourth quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Sept. 12 and scored three consecutive touchdowns to win 24-23. The Longhorns moved from No. 4 to No. 1 in the Associated Press poll two days later.
Technical difficulties delayed Sarkisian’s scheduled halftime interview with ESPN’s Laura Rutledge that night. Rutledge told the broadcast that Sarkisian had waited and then had to get back to his team.
The halftime choice for Sarkisian came down to waiting on the interview or getting to his players to make adjustments.
“I want to address a couple of my in-game interviews last Saturday night at the Ohio State ball game,” Sarkisian said. “The first at halftime, I was scheduled to have an interview with Laura Rutledge. ESPN was having technical difficulties, and 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 to come out and play as good as we could in the second half. I let Laura know that, and I think she said that on air. And then I had an opportunity to visit with Laura when we came back out of the locker room to let her know where our thoughts were as a team and what we needed to do in the second half of that game.”
Steve Sarkisian On The Postgame Interview With Holly Rowe
After the final whistle, Sarkisian met Ryan Day near midfield before Rowe reached him for the winning coach’s interview. Sarkisian repeated “Texas fight” and said “Hook ’em” before walking away to celebrate with his players.
“As it pertains to after the ball game, there was a delay after I greeted Coach [Ryan] Day in the middle of the field,” Sarkisian continued. “There was a delay in the moment. Through that delay, I wanted to go celebrate with our team. We just had a 21-point, fourth-quarter comeback against the No. 1 team in the country.”
Sarkisian and Rowe go back to his playing days at BYU. ESPN, he said, is a partner of the program.
“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 added. “Obviously, we have a ton of respect for ESPN and Holly. Holly and I go way back to even to my days of playing at BYU, and we’ve got a great relationship. ESPN is a great partner of ours.
“We know we’re going to have more opportunities with that crew covering us, and we’re looking forward to those opportunities,” Sarkisian detailed. “So, could have definitely handled that situation better with a little bit more patience in the moment.”
Arch Manning’s Apology For The AI Video
An AI-altered version of the exchange circulated over the weekend, replacing Sarkisian’s walk-off with him striking Rowe and knocking her to the turf.
Quarterback Arch Manning brought the video up himself at the Longhorns’ weekly media availability on Monday, when he was asked whether he had seen any social media posts from the postgame celebration. Inside Texas reporter Evan Vieth posted the clip of Manning’s answer later that day.
“I’ve seen a few AI edits of stuff, but that’s about it,” Manning said. “I saw an AI edit of Sark’s interview. Have y’all seen that one? That’s a good one. Of him slapping Holly Rowe? It’s hilarious.”
Several reporters in the room laughed with him. Vieth apologized the next day for how he presented the clip.
Manning’s own read a day later was that there is nothing funny about the video.
“In my press conference yesterday, I made an insensitive comment about an AI video. There is nothing funny about it,” Manning wrote Tuesday on his Instagram story. “It’s easy to say I didn’t mean it, but I know my words and actions were hurtful to a lot of people. I do not take that lightly and am deeply sorry for that.
“I specifically want to apologize to Holly Rowe for what she personally had to deal with because of my comments,” Manning continued. “I have a ton of respect for her and appreciate her showing me grace in this moment. I need to do better and will be more thoughtful going forward.”
Rowe and Manning spoke privately before she posted a response on X and Instagram.
“Thank you, Arch. I appreciate our conversation about this, which will remain private,” Rowe wrote. “Apology accepted. We move forward with respect and kindness for one another.”
The Association for Women in Sports Media issued a statement supporting Rowe on Tuesday and called for teams to remind players and staff that women in sports media deserve respect. An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment.
Sarkisian called the interviews and the AI video the two housecleaning items he wanted to clear before taking football questions on the call.
“But that obviously led to the situation with Arch and his press conference as it pertained to the AI video, and obviously Arch recognizes he made a mistake, and it’s an unfortunate one,” Sarkisian explained. “Nowhere do we condone domestic violence or violence against women. Nothing in our program says that nor Arch individually.
“I think if he could take it back, he would. But he has since apologized to Holly. He’s made a public apology, and our goal is that we can move forward and him be the guy that we all know that he is and what he represents,” Sarkisian noted.
Manning finished 23-of-37 for 195 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception against Ohio State. He completed 11 of his final 15 attempts. The SEC named him Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
Texas said Manning directed three consecutive touchdown drives of at least 12 plays and 72 yards to close the game. He went 13-of-18 for 125 yards and a touchdown across those three drives.
Texas hosts UTSA at 7 p.m. CT Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The game streams on SEC Network+. Both teams are 2-0.
