Texas has made a habit of lighting up the scoreboard right away, only to let the early burst slip away when the game settles in.
That pattern showed up again in the Longhorns’ last two losses. Against Oklahoma, Arch Manning hit Cam Coleman for a 41-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.
Against Florida, Raleek Brown finished a seven-play, 75-yard march with a 31-yard rushing score. In both games, Texas grabbed momentum early and still ended up on the wrong side of a 27-24 final.
The problem is deeper than simply “fast start, slow finish.” Texas can move the ball when first-down play calls put defenders in a bind, but once those favorable looks disappear, the offense keeps getting dragged off schedule by negative plays and missed conversions.
Florida showed that unraveling most clearly. After Brown’s opening touchdown, Texas went 60 yards in eight plays on its next possession, but the drive ended with a field goal. A third-and-three run by Hollywood Smothers went backward four yards, knocking the Longhorns out of a manageable spot and leaving Gianni Spetic to attempt a 38-yard kick.
The next series was the first one that ended empty. Texas started at its own 5 and opened with back-to-back gains of seven and six yards from Smothers.
But Brown picked up only four yards on the next carry, then two more on second down. Manning’s third-down throw fell incomplete, and the possession died after just 19 yards.
Florida never had to erase some grand offensive shutdown. Texas had already shown enough to run the ball and make short throws. The issue was that those modest gains never got turned into another first down, and one failed third down was enough to kill the drive.
The Oklahoma game took a little longer to get there. Texas scored immediately, added a 34-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo and tacked on a field goal before halftime. By the break, the Longhorns were up 17-7 and had piled up 382 total yards by the end of the game.
After halftime, though, the rhythm thinned out. Texas opened with a screen to Wingo, but the drive stalled and ended in a punt.
Oklahoma answered with a field goal to trim the margin to seven. Texas then went three-and-out on its next possession and later came up short on a third-and-one.
That stretch gave Oklahoma better field position and helped swing control back the other way.
What stands out is that the issue wasn’t only the play-calling. Texas simply had fewer successful early-down snaps, which pushed it into tougher third-down spots and made every mistake more costly.
Against Florida, a third-down loss yardage turned a promising drive into three points. Against Oklahoma, a missed short-yardage conversion helped change the flow of the game.
Steve Sarkisian has to account for that. The opening script can get Texas rolling, but the offense needs answers once defenses adjust. More productive early-down runs, quicker throws and easier third-down situations would keep the Longhorns from leaning so heavily on explosive plays.
Texas has already shown it can strike early. The bigger test is keeping one stalled drive from becoming the start of a broader offensive fade. Against Ole Miss, holding that rhythm may matter just as much as finding it.
In Other News...
Texas Still Has One Frustrating Question After That Gators Field Incident
A Texas fans ill-advised moment on the field has already brought a harsh consequence, with the university identifying the person involved and permanently banning him from Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Athletic director Chris Del Conte said the fan is a local college student who attends a Florida school other than the University of Florida, adding another layer to a situation that quickly moved beyond simple postgame embarrassment.
What still hangs over the episode is the basic question of how he got that close to the action in the first place. Del Conte said he does not know who authorized the field access, and that uncertainty has fueled criticism from Texas fans who want a clearer explanation for how the whole thing was allowed to happen. For now, the school has dealt with the punishment, but the path that led to the incident remains unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Defense Has A New Problem Fans Wont Like
Texas has spent the aftermath of its recent slide trying to figure out why a defense that was supposed to travel well suddenly looked vulnerable against unranked opponents, including a home loss to Florida. The drop of 18 spots in the Associated Press poll only sharpened the scrutiny, and the Longhorns issues on that side of the ball have become impossible to ignore.
Florida gave the blueprint for some of those problems, with offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner leaning on boot-action concepts to keep backup quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. comfortable and the Texas defense off balance. The Gators mixed in a steady run game with play-action looks that created easy answers, and Texas never found a clean way to sort out the stress those plays put on its front and coverage. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Fans Got Reassuring News About A Marquee Future Showdown
Texas fans got a useful update on one of the programs most attractive future nonconference matchups, with Steve Sarkisian confirming the Longhorns will still play Notre Dame in a home-and-home series in 2028 and 2029. The move fits with Texas broader approach to preserving big early-season games even as college football moves toward a 24-team playoff format that is expected to begin in 2027, easing some of the pressure that has historically led top programs to trim ambitious scheduling.
The dates are already set for Sept. 9, 2028, in South Bend and Sept. 22, 2029, in Austin, giving Texas a marquee trip and a return game in front of its own fans. It also lines up with the Longhorns stated preference to keep valued nonconference dates on the calendar, the kind of matchups that can still carry real weight even in a sport where the postseason picture is getting larger and more forgiving. [Read more 🡒]