Texas players have sidestepped any preseason chest-beating as archrival anticipation builds. On Monday, the Longhorns boarded their charter for Columbus, knowing a noon kickoff inside “The Shoe” will judge, loudly, just how ready Arch Manning and a No. 1 roster really are. National talk-show hosts frame Saturday as a referendum on Texas’ return to power, but Steve Sarkisian insists the bigger verdict won’t be rendered in Week 1.

Only after that reminder did Sark lay down his public marker. In a message amplified by HornSports, he told reporters, “This one game is not going to define our season, but we will find out a lot about ourselves.” The tweet ricocheted through Longhorn Twitter within minutes, a timely echo of his own warning that “success doesn’t magically transfer just becau

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