Steve Sarkisian is staring at a messy offensive problem after Texas dropped a 27-24 decision to Florida, suffering its second straight loss and slipping to 4-2 overall, 1-2 in the SEC. The Longhorns, who were No. 1 just a few weeks ago, have now fallen to No. 19, and the offensive side of the ball is taking the brunt of the criticism.
Texas actually opened fast. The Longhorns put together a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown march on their first possession, then added a field goal on an eight-play drive to jump out to a 10-point lead.
After that, though, the offense largely vanished. Texas did not score again until late in the fourth quarter, and the loss marked the second time this season the Longhorns were held under 300 total yards.
The spotlight is on Sarkisian as the play-caller and on Arch Manning at quarterback. Florida came in with a pass defense that had already allowed more than 250 passing yards to every quarterback it had faced and ranked 131st nationally against the pass, but Manning finished with just 173 yards through the air. That number looks a little better on paper than it did in real time, too, because before a 62-yard completion to Emmett Mosley V with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Manning had only 111 passing yards.
Sarkisian’s plan appeared aimed at getting the ball out quickly and forcing Florida to defend in space with screens and throws behind the line of scrimmage. The approach did keep the ball moving at times, but it also capped Texas’ explosiveness.
Manning completed 14 of 20 passes, yet only four of those completions traveled more than five yards. On top of that, 131 of his 173 passing yards came after the catch, and with 10 minutes left in the game, his 10 completions were averaging negative 0.7 air yards per completion.
The plan wasn’t the only issue. Manning’s own play was uneven, with the quarterback holding the ball too long, missing open receivers and at times not processing the field cleanly.
Texas had problems everywhere else, too. The running game never got going and finished under 100 rushing yards for the second time this season, with the team’s leading rusher managing just 58 yards. Up front, Manning was under constant heat and took five sacks, while Florida’s defense produced 10 tackles for loss and repeatedly prevented the Longhorns from generating much push on the ground.
For Texas, the offense is stuck in a bad place, and the fixes start with Sarkisian. He has repeatedly shown reluctance to hand over play-calling duties, so the responsibility for sorting this out stays with him. That means reevaluating the game plan, the scheme, Manning’s role and the rest of the offensive operation.
There’s not much time to sort it out, either. No. 7 Ole Miss is next, and if Texas wants even a modest bounce back on offense, it needs a real step forward across the board.
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