Steve Sarkisian isn’t backing off his play-calling duties, and he isn’t planning to shuffle his special teams staff either after Texas’ 27-24 loss to Oklahoma.
When asked whether he might step away from calling the offense, Sarkisian shut it down fast: “Not a chance,” Sarkisian said of stepping away from his dual-role of coach and calling the offense. “We have to play better.”
He gave the same answer when the conversation turned to special teams and Jeff Banks. Sarkisian said “no” when asked about “reevaluating Jeff Banks ' responsibilities on special teams” after a game that again put Texas’ kicking operation under the microscope.
The Longhorns were hurt in the first half by a punt block that turned into a special teams score, then later gave up a defensive touchdown. It was the kind of sequence that made the Red River Rivalry feel ripe for an upset, especially against an Oklahoma offense that entered the matchup among the SEC’s worst.
Special teams has now been a problem in back-to-back games. In Knoxville, Tennessee’s Qua Moss ripped off a 57-yard punt return score against Texas. At Oklahoma, the issues showed up again.
Sarkisian acknowledged the mess without promising any major fix in terms of personnel.
“I feel like we've missed some opportunities on special teams quite frankly,” Sarkisian said. “I felt like we had a couple return opportunities that we didn't get.
Clearly, two weeks in a row we've kicked the ball out of bounds on kickoffs. We're better than that, and so I've got to find a way to get our guys playing with more confidence from a specialist standpoint.
But again, that's my job to try to get that done.”
The offense didn’t do much to cover for any of it.
Texas went three-and-out seven times against Oklahoma and now leads the SEC in three-and-out rate. Through two league games, the Longhorns are averaging just 1.63 points per possession, which ranks 103rd in college football. The overall numbers aren’t much prettier: 5.4 yards per play, good for 104th nationally and only ahead of Power Four offenses like Arkansas, Clemson, Texas A&M, Michigan and Colorado.
Arch Manning’s third-quarter pick-six swung momentum to the Sooners, and Texas never fully recovered. Then came the late mistake, with Manning forcing a throw to Cam Coleman under pressure in the final minute, setting up Oklahoma’s game-winning field goal.
The season-long profile is starting to look familiar. Against Ohio State, Texas managed only three points over the first three quarters. In the 20-17 win at Tennessee, the defense delivered 10 sacks, helping mask some offensive unevenness.
The bigger picture hasn’t changed much since Sarkisian arrived before the 2021 season. Texas has had a top-30 offense only twice in that span, including 2023. That has happened even with elite quarterback talent on the roster.
Quinn Ewers arrived with massive expectations after being the No. 1 overall player in the 2021 class. Manning carried the same billing in the 2023 cycle and entered both of his seasons as Texas’ starter with Heisman-level buzz.
Ewers produced 9,128 passing yards, 68 touchdowns and 24 interceptions over three seasons in Sarkisian’s offense, helping Texas reach a pair of CFP semifinal appearances. Those teams, though, still fell short because of execution issues in those games.
Manning has thrown for 5,254 yards, 45 touchdowns and 14 interceptions over the last 2.5 seasons, but the big moments have not always been smooth. Against three Power Four opponents this fall, he has three touchdown passes, three interceptions and 10 sacks. He still hasn’t looked like the confident passer Texas saw late last season, when the Longhorns won seven of their final eight games and closed it out with a Citrus Bowl win over Michigan.
Texas is 4-1 and still likely to stay inside the top five despite the Oklahoma loss. The path ahead is still there, with Florida, Ole Miss and Mississippi State coming to Austin over the next three games before a trip to Missouri on Nov. 7.
After that, the Longhorns finish with LSU, Arkansas and Texas A&M. Those are all winnable if Texas can find real consistency on offense.
The playoff picture is still manageable. A 10-win finish would lock up an at-large spot, especially with the Ohio State win still carrying weight. But a 9-3 season would change the conversation quickly.
And if Texas gets there, Sarkisian won’t have anyone else to point to.
In Other News...
Red River History Shows How Rarely This Rivalry Gets Out Of Hand
The Red River Rivalry has a way of making even the most confident predictions feel shaky, and the history backs that up. Over 121 years, Oklahoma and Texas have produced far more tense, back-and-forth afternoons than runaway results, with blowouts of 30 points or more happening only 16 times. Most of the series has lived in the margins, which is part of why this annual meeting still feels like one of college footballs purest pressure games.
Even in a rivalry that usually stays tight, the extremes have surfaced often enough in recent years to remind everyone how quickly things can unravel. Since 2000, there have been six blowouts of that size, including Texas 49-0 win over Oklahoma in 2022, the largest margin in series history. Oklahoma has accounted for nine of the 16 lopsided wins, Texas for seven, but the broader story remains the same: this matchup is far more often decided by a handful of plays than by a runaway. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Let Red River Slip Away In The Worst Possible Moment
In a rivalry game that already had its own pulse, Oklahoma found the break it needed late and turned it into the kind of finish that lingers. The Sooners toppled No. 1 Texas in the Red River Rivalry on Tate Sandells last-second 47-yard field goal, a kick that capped a wild sequence built on defense, special teams and the sort of pressure that can unravel even the best-laid plans.
Texas had been dragged into a tense fourth-quarter fight long before the final drive, and the Longhorns never quite recovered from the momentum swings that defined the afternoon. Oklahoma had already changed the game with a punt-return touchdown and a pick-6 off Arch Manning, then got one more chance when its defense forced the decisive interception in the closing seconds, setting up a finish that left the Sooners celebrating and Texas staring at how quickly the game slipped away. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Just Handed Oklahoma Fans A New Rivalry Talking Point
Texas left the Red River Rivalry with a familiar kind of frustration, the kind that lingers because the game was there to be taken. Oklahomas 27-24 win came down to Tate Sandells 47-yard field goal at the buzzer, but the postgame conversation from the other sideline quickly shifted toward self-inflicted damage. Longhorns edge rusher Colin Simmons pointed to Texas mistakes as the difference, a fair read considering Arch Manning threw two interceptions in a game that featured a late turnover on a promising final drive.
For Oklahoma, the result was the same regardless of how Texas explained it. The Sooners took advantage when it mattered most and walked away with a rivalry win that came after a night of swings, miscues and pressure-packed possessions. For fans on the Oklahoma side, Simmons assessment only adds another layer to a game that already delivered plenty of fuel for bragging rights, and a reminder that the Red River meeting rarely needs much help creating a talking point. [Read more 🡒]