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SEC Commissioner Gets Very Honest Before Texas vs. Ohio State

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Jan 10, 2025 7:53 PM ET

Despite being in front of a relatively friendly crowd at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, the Texas Longhorns are underdogs in today's Cotton Bowl Classic against Ohio State, which has been a rarity for College Football Playoff games involving SEC teams.

Ahead of the game, ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel caught up with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey to discuss Texas' underdog status. Sankey admitted that he likes seeing his teams be the underdog and remarked that he finds it fun being underestimated by others.

“I relish being the underdog again. It’s refreshing. We enjoy being underestimated," Sankey told Thamel.

I ran into SEC Commissioner @GregSankey on the Texas sideline. “I relish being the underdog again,” he said with a smile. “It’s refreshing. We enjoy being under-estimated.”
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 11, 2025

In fairness to the wagering public, having lowered expectations for Texas feels justified given the wildly different ways that the Longhorns and Buckeyes reached the Cotton Bowl Classic.

Texas blew a two-score lead over Arizona State late in last week's Peach Bowl and needed two rounds of overtime to put the Sun Devils away for good.

Ohio State, by contrast, completely destroyed No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl, racing out to an ungodly 34-0 lead before taking their foot off the gas and still won by three touchdowns.

The first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff format was ultimately a frustrating one for the SEC as a conference. Fans were outraged that 9-3 Alabama and a number of other three-loss teams were snubbed from the tournament. However, Alabama and others were forced to eat some humble pie during their ensuing bowl games.

Georgia and Texas were the only SEC teams to reach the College Football Playoff while the rival Big Ten Conference had four of them. But this is the first game of the tournament that will pit the SEC against the Big Ten with actual stakes at play.

Will Sankey and the SEC be sending their team to the national title game, or will they be joining the likes of Georgia, Alabama and Ole Miss watching it from home?

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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