Texas doesn’t need a reminder that the Ohio State rematch is here. It needs a fix.
Last season’s meeting gave the Longhorns a clear blueprint for what went wrong, and the ugliest part of it showed up where games are often decided: inside the 20. Texas had two red zone chances against the Buckeyes and walked away with zero points. Meanwhile, the Longhorns still piled up 336 yards to Ohio State’s 203, which only made the failure to finish more glaring.
That’s the area Steve Sarkisian pointed to on Monday, and he didn’t soften it.
“Ultimately, we need to be better in those scenarios,” Sarkisian said about Texas’ red zone performances against Ohio State. “That was probably the difference in the ballgame was our inability to score inside the 10 … You know, hopefully this time around we get more opportunities like that, and we can capitalize on them.”
It’s not just a one-game issue, either. Texas has struggled to cash in in the red zone during Sarkisian’s tenure, scoring a touchdown on 58.8% of its trips there since 2022.
Last season was its best stretch in that span, with a 63.77% touchdown rate that ranked 54th nationally. Good enough to keep drives alive.
Not good enough to keep up with elite teams when the field shrinks.
The Longhorns also look better equipped to handle that kind of tight-space football now than they did a year ago. One obvious difference is Cam Coleman, a big-bodied target who can win a contested throw without needing the whole play design to go perfectly. Texas State offered a quick glimpse of that when Arch Manning’s first touchdown of the season went to Coleman after just four plays.
Arch Manning's first TD of the season goes to Cam Coleman 😤Won't be the last we'll see of this Texas duo 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YJG6CWP0pd
That kind of presence changes the calculus near the goal line. Manning doesn’t always need a receiver to separate cleanly; sometimes he can simply put the ball where Coleman can go get it.
Manning himself is also in a different place than he was in the Ohio State game last season. Back then, pressure tended to push him off script, and too often he tried to escape and make something happen on the move instead of staying within the structure of the play. This time around, he looks more settled in the pocket.
The numbers back that up. Through the first seven weeks of the season, Manning averaged 3.14 seconds to throw. Over the back half of the season, that dropped to 2.69 seconds, a sign of a quarterback becoming quicker and more decisive.
That matters everywhere, but especially in the red zone. Throwing windows get tighter, secondaries squeeze space, and a quarterback who bails early can kill a drive in a hurry.
Texas moved the ball just fine last year. What it didn’t do was finish. And with a different quarterback, a different weapon, and a better grasp of pressure, the Longhorns have a chance to make this rematch look a lot different.
In Other News...
Arch Manning Showed Texas Fans Something Bigger Than His Viral Fall
Before Texas even got to the opening kickoff, Arch Manning had already given Longhorns fans a moment they were not expecting when he was knocked down by a bystander in the tunnel before the first game of the season. The scene spread quickly online and became one of those viral pregame clips that seemed destined to overshadow everything else, but Manning handled the moment with humor in his media availability and then turned the focus back where Texas wanted it.
Once the ball was in his hands, Manning showed the bigger takeaway for Texas was never the stumble itself. He settled in and delivered a strong performance, completing 20 of 27 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns, a response that mattered far more than the replay circulating on social media. For a fan base watching closely, it was a reminder that the noise around Manning can be loud, but his play on the field can still speak the loudest. [Read more 🡒]
Arch Manning Gives Texas An Edge Money Usually Complicates
Arch Mannings name carries its own kind of gravity, and at Texas that now extends well beyond the huddle. Reported to have a $2.5 million contract for the current college football season, the Longhorns quarterback is still operating in a space where multiple NIL endorsement deals can add to his profile without turning him into the most expensive player in the sport.
For a program like Texas, that matters because money can so often become a source of noise, especially when revenue sharing and roster expectations are part of the conversation. Instead, Mannings setup may give the Longhorns a cleaner kind of edge as they get ready for No. 1 Ohio State, with the focus staying on the field rather than on the usual complications that can follow a high-priced quarterback. [Read more 🡒]
Colin Simmons Just Unlocked A New Wrinkle In Texas Defense
Will Muschamps first game back calling Texas defense came with a noticeable tweak to how the Longhorns deployed Colin Simmons. The edge rusher still spent most of his night in his usual outside role, but Texas also began moving him around in ways that hinted at a broader plan for one of its most disruptive defenders. In the win over Texas State, the Longhorns mixed in a mint front package often enough to stand out, and Simmons was one of the players asked to help make it work.
For Texas, the interesting part is less about a single game and more about what it could mean going forward. Simmons ability to handle off-ball responsibilities alongside his normal pass-rush duties gives Muschamp another way to disguise pressure and keep offenses guessing, even in limited snaps. He was productive against Texas State while adjusting to the new responsibilities, and the early usage suggests the Longhorns may have found a wrinkle worth expanding as the season moves along. [Read more 🡒]