Texas coach Steve Sarkisian found himself explaining more than just a game plan Saturday after one of the strangest celebrations in recent college football memory — and wound up blaming modern society for it.
According to Breitbart Sports, edge rusher Colin Simmons broke through the backfield and sacked Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon on a critical 3rd-and-15. Then Simmons kept going: he simulated unzipping his pants and urinating, an act that drew an immediate 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct flag.
The penalty wiped out what had been a 16-yard loss and flipped a 4th-and-31 situation into a fresh 1st-and-10 for the Volunteers — a swing that gave Tennessee new life in a game Texas ultimately escaped with a 20-17 win.
Sarkisian’s Initial Response
Asked about the play after the game, Sarkisian initially offered the kind of answer the moment seemed to call for. The Longhorns pulled Simmons off the field, addressed the conduct, and then put him back in.
“We took him out,” Sarkisian said. “We addressed it and put him back in. I’m not gonna give the guy the death penalty over an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. We’ve got to fix it, though. That can’t continue as we move forward.”
That response — discipline without overreaction — was short-lived as the explanation of the night.
The Pivot to Society
Sarkisian then expanded his answer into a broader commentary on social media and attention-seeking behavior, telling reporters that the impulse behind Simmons’ celebration reflects something larger than football.
“Unfortunately, in our society right now, we live in the ‘look at me’ society,” he said. “All of you guys have your Twitter accounts, and as fast as you can type something because you want everyone to look at your account, and you get clicks. Well, that’s the world that we live in. So, we’ve got to get to — it’s about the team and focus on the team, and not so much ‘look at me.’ So, we’ll try to improve upon that, but five sacks was pretty cool today too.”
The remarks landed as an unusual blend of accountability and cultural critique from a head coach whose team had just survived a scare — with Sarkisian making room in the same breath to praise a defensive performance that racked up five sacks on the day.
A Costly Celebration
The timing of Simmons’ flag mattered. On a 3rd-and-15, a sack that pushes an offense back 16 yards normally sets up a near-impossible conversion attempt. The penalty not only erased that field position but handed Tennessee a first down, converting a 4th-and-31 into a 1st-and-10 — a textbook example of a personal foul changing a drive’s math entirely.
Whether Sarkisian’s societal explanation satisfies Texas fans or college football observers is another matter. What’s clear is that the coach said the behavior must be corrected going forward, even as he declined to treat a single unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as grounds for a benching beyond the immediate series.
“We’ve got to fix it, though,” he reiterated. “That can’t continue.”
The Bigger Picture
College football has seen its share of elaborate and controversial celebrations in recent years, with rules against unsportsmanlike conduct regularly testing the line between self-expression and taunting. Coaches often walk a tightrope between disciplining players and not letting a single flag define a game’s narrative.
Sarkisian’s decision to pull Simmons, address the matter on the sideline, and then reinsert him reflects that balance. His subsequent comments, though, turned a routine postgame question into a broader statement about where he believes the impulse to perform for an audience comes from.
For Texas, the win keeps the season on track. For Simmons, the lesson may be simpler than the sociology: the flag cost his team field position and a down. The rest is commentary.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2026/09/26/video-texas-steve-sarkisian-blames-society-for-his-players-urination-celebration/