Steve Sarkisian is his own worst enemy this weekend vs Ohio State

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The University of Texas has not won a National Championship in college football since 2005. It’s a statement that doesn’t sound too outlandish when you say it out loud, but ask any Texas fan, and they’ll tell you that they very easily could have won at least 4 National Championships in that span.

There’s the Michael Crabtree play that cost a prime opportunity to win in 2008, the Colt McCoy injury that is one of the greatest “what ifs” in football that transpired in 2009, and then a period of down years for the program followed right after that. But since the University hired Steve Sarkisian, they’ve turned it back around and had a team that could compete for a National Championship in each of the last 3 seasons.

But while Sarkisian is largely the reason that the Horns have found themselves in that position, he’s also one of the primary reasons that they haven’t reached the mountaintop. It is time for Steve Sarkisian to slay those demons Saturday night when Texas takes on Ohio State.

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Sarkisian is different from most head coaches

Not one, not two, but three consecutive Texas football seasons have ended largely because of the same root cause.

What separates Steve Sarkisian from most head coaches is that he calls his own offensive plays. It makes sense – he originally rose to prominence as the offensive coordinator for Pete Carroll’s USC teams, and also held that position for the Atlanta Falcons and Nick Saban’s Alabama teams (which directly preceded getting the job at Texas).

Sarkisian is known as one of the most innovative and creative playcallers in college football, but he has a flaw. For whatever reason, Sarkisian really struggles to get the Longhorns to finish drives in the end zone.

Texas’ red zone struggles have become a trend

In 2023, a red zone interception and goal line stand allowed Oklahoma to beat the Longhorns in the final seconds, and the season also ended with a 1-minute drill that stalled once it got to the red zone against Washington.

In 2024, the Horns stared down Ohio State with a 2nd-and-goal at the 1-yard line while down 7 with under 4 minutes to play. A doomed toss sweep was snuffed out by Caleb Downs for a 7-yard loss, and then an incompletion was thrown before Jack Sawyer’s strip-sack scoop-and-score of Quinn Ewers that sealed the game.

In 2025, in the season opener against Ohio State (which eventually kept the Longhorns from the College Football Playoff), Texas went 0-for-2 in the red zone, totaling zero points in two trips in a 14-7 loss where the Longhorns had an 81% post-game win expectancy.

That’s just anecdotal evidence in a few key moments – but Texas ranked 120th and 101st nationally in Red Zone TD percentage in 2023 and 2024. The data backs it up.

Can Sarkisian finally fix the problem?

So, what is Sark going to do to fix this? Well, his 2026 offense is set up better than any before to reverse this trend. First, Sark has shown that he is willing to use Arch Manning’s legs as a weapon in the red zone. This not only gets the ball in the hands of a bigger, heavier, stronger runner, but also gets an extra number to block with the running back.

The Longhorns also added Auburn WR Cam Coleman in the transfer portal – a contested catch specialist who makes 50/50 balls more like 80/20. Twice against Texas State, Coleman was targeted in one-on-one situations in the red zone, and twice he scored touchdowns.

The time is now for Steve Sarkisian to end these red zone woes and put Texas back on track to win the National Championship. One of the key determining factors in the Texas/Ohio State game Saturday night is going to be whether Steve Sarkisian can slay his red zone demons and put the Longhorns into the end zone.

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