Steve Sarkisian nixes Texas spring game, joining a growing list of coaches to opt out

Every team and every situation is different. Texas is one of three teams I deem to be a lock to make the College Football Playoff next season, along with Ohio State and Penn State. The Longhorns have made it the last two years and are on a shortlist of about eight teams who can realistically win it all. Steve Sarkisian has brought Texas back, but the Longhorns are two decades away from their last title.

While appearing on a recent episode of Up & Adams, Sarkisian let it be known that Texas is not going to be having its annual spring game this year. He believes there is a better way to get the most out of the 15 allotted spring practices without necessarily holding a scrimmage open to the public. Teams like Florida State, Nebraska, USC and now Missouri are not having annual spring games this season.

I understand what Sarkisian is trying to do here, but spring games are a great way to create new fans.

"I just don't know if rolling the ball out, playing the game, when we only get 15 practices, is the best for us to maximize the opportunities that we get. So it's going to be a little bit of a different approach, but I think college football's changing right now and we need to do a great job, as coaches, of adapting to college football, and that's what we're trying to do. I think it's going to be good for our team."

This lands far better than Matt Rhule being especially paranoid about Nebraska being tampered with.

How should we feel about the growing trend of college football teams not holding spring games?

Steve Sarkisian is not having an annual spring game at Texas this season

There are a few ways to look at it. First, Texas is at or near the top of the college football world. Since taking over as head coach, Sarkisian has gotten more things right than wrong leading Texas. One could argue that he is next up to win his first national title as a Power Four head coach. Texas had a deep enough run in the playoff last year. They need to break in a new starting quarterback, so I get it.

With Florida State having Doak Campbell Stadium renovated, I totally understand why the Seminoles are not having one. As far as Nebraska being fearful about players getting tampered with because the spring game will be broadcast live over cable and the internet, Matt Rhule needs to get over himself. This is the same program that canceled a home-and-home with Tennessee late last week.

What I am getting at is many of these programs that not holding spring games reside in cities and metroplexes where there is plenty to do. You do not have to watch the Longhorns play a scrimmage to have a good time in Austin. Unfortunately, college teams located in smaller towns do not have that luxury. A spring game could be what helps local businesses remain in the black. They will never cancel theirs.

This is a sentimental topic for me because I loved going to G-Day when I was an undergrad at Georgia. It was a way that I could bring my dad to a game without us paying an ungodly amount of money to watch the Dawgs tee it up Between the Hedges. Good luck to anyone trying to bring a small family to a Georgia game now. You are essentially giving up a mortgage payment to pull that event off.

I hope for the sake of the sport that this trend does not end up sticking because we as fans all lose.