Steve Sarkisian says Jordan-Hare Stadium during Iron Bowl is ‘probably toughest place to play in country’
By Sydney Hunte
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Steve Sarkisian is no stranger to Jordan-Hare Stadium, having coached there on Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama during the 2019 Iron Bowl against Auburn.
Headed into his 5th season at Texas, Sarkisian is part of a different rivalry: the Red River Rivalry between the Longhorns and Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, which resumes on Oct. 11. He’s 2-2 in that game, including a 34-3 Texas win in 2024.
“I think that the Red River rivalry is a unique game in itself, that it’s a neutral site game in Dallas every year at the State Fair,” Sarkisian said at SEC Media Days on Tuesday. And the way the stadium is split at the 50-yard line, one tunnel, both locker rooms right there, it creates a great deal of intensity.”
How does that compare to over 87,000 fans at Jordan-Hare during the Iron Bowl?
“I do know when you’re at Alabama and you go to Auburn, (it’s) probably the toughest place to play in the country, in that game in particular,” he said. “As an opponent going into Jordan-Hare Stadium, it’s one of the loudest things I’ve ever heard, and so that creates its own challenges that way too.”
Rivalries like Alabama-Auburn and Texas-Oklahoma make the sport what it is, Sarkisian added.
“I think rivalries in college football are what make this thing so special,” he said. “I’ve been a part of some great ones, man, and those are two of them, but I’ve just been fortunate that way to be part of some really cool ones.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
