Frustrated Steve Sarkisian says Texas to 'evaluate everything' after Florida collapse
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Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian doesn't have any answers to the Longhorn's offensive woes after the unit struggled again in their 27-24 loss to Florida on Saturday, Oct. 17.
Sarkisian, visibly frustrated after the game, said numerous times he's going to evaluate everything from an offensive perspective after Texas' second consecutive loss to Florida and second straight loss to an unranked team. The Longhons fell to archrival Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry on Oct. 10.
Sarkisian said there are more issues than just quarterback Arch Manning — who was 14-of-20 passing for 173 yards with a touchdown and a costly fourth-quarter fumble against the Gators — one week after throwing two critical interceptions in the fourth quarter against the Sooners.
"Was Arch perfect? No. But nobody was perfect on offense today. We took turns today. And that’s where I have to look at every aspect of what we’re doing because if it were one person, it’d be easy. Change one guy and everything’s going to be great.
"I don’t think that was all the issue today. Could (Arch) have been better? No doubt about it. But there’s some other issues that need to be addressed.”
Reporters asked Sarkisian if he considered benching Manning, if he'll surrender play-calling duties or make other significant changes after the Longhorns' back-to-back losses. Then, the frustration mounted for Sarkisian.
“We’re going to evaluate everything," Sarkisian said again. "I don’t know how many times I need to say it. We’re going to evaluate everything from an offensive perspective. Part of that is play calling.”
Sarkisian is known for his background of piloting high-powered offenses. Texas has had strong offenses before under the sixth-year coach, but there are clear problems for the Longhorns in 2026, especially after adding numerous top-end transfers such as Cam Coleman, Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown.
Texas entered the game No. 82 nationally in total offense (379.2 yards per game) and hasn't scored more than 24 points against Power Four opponents this season. Its rushing offense hasn't been good, either, ranking No. 89 nationally, averaging 142.2 yards per game.
Facing Florida at home seemed like a potential get-right game for the Longhorns offense facing a defense that entered the game ranking No. 131 of 138 FBS teams in pass defense, allowing 268.7 yards per game this season.
Sarkisian named just about every issue an offense could have after the game when asked what his team's top-line problems are.
“I think there’s scheme issues. I think there’s execution issues. I think there’s a mentality issue," he said. "I would use mentality over toughness, that we can believe we can get those yards. We got to look at all that because when you put yourself at third-and-1, third-and-2, third-and-3, you feel good about your percentages to extend drives and stay on the field, and we were awful in that today.”
He added: “I think details and route running. I think pass protection, picking up blitzes. I think not being able to run the ball for two yards in short yardage, just to name a few that pop into my head.”
The Longhorns boast one of the most-impressive rosters on paper in college football, but it's not translating to the field right now. With remaining games against Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Arkansas and LSU, coming up with enough wins to reach the College Football Playoff could be a problem, even though Texas showed it's capable of being a national championship contender (as proven by its nonconference win against Ohio State earlier this season).
One thing's clear, though. Texas has multiple problems that have been exposed the past two weeks.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Frustrated Steve Sarkisian says Texas to 'evaluate everything' after Florida collapse
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