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Our QB had a really bad game. You can't game plan around that.

That 1-6 vs Top 5 teams is pretty damning. I’m not upset, just….disappointed.

Well, I’ll disagree with him.

arch was so bad.

Stinker of a game plan? Sark said he loved the game plan.

I don't totally agree with this. The first drive was actually pretty decent. Ran the ball really well. Arch was off on his passes. If he hits those passes instead of throwing the ball in the turf, the opening drive looks a lot different. It was the rest of the first and second quarters that playcalling was bad.

I mean, Dabo and Saban ain’t bad…but he clearly does have trouble scheming his offense against great head coaches with great defenses and equal talent. I am shocked by how conservative he was today. I thought for sure he would try to maximize Arch’s best assets (his legs and the deep ball).

If you would’ve told me ahead of Saturday’s game that Texas would win the rushing yardage battle over Ohio State by 89 yards (166-77), hold the Buckeyes to a 4-for-14 effort on money downs (3-for-12 on third down and 1-for-2 on fourth down), hold the Ohio State offense to 3.8 yards per play and dominate field position (the averaging starting field position for the Longhorns was their own 32-yard line, while the Buckeyes’ averaging starting field position was their own 20), I would’ve expected the outcome to be that Steve Sarkisian’s team won the game in relatively comfortable fashion. Instead, the Longhorns suffered a 14-7 loss because some of the same critical issues that had plagued them last season resurfaced in a big way in Columbus on Saturday. — It starts with penalties. The totality of six accepted penalties for 50 yards was less than what Texas averaged in its three losses last season (eight accepted penalties for an average of 63 yards per game). Still, they accounted for some of the most critical plays in the game. It’s hard to put any blame for the loss on the defense. Pete Kwiatkowski’s unit did everything it could to keep the Longhorns in the game. Regardless, a hands-to-the-face penalty against Colin Simmons wiped out a third-down stop on an eventual Ohio State touchdown drive. The same penalty levied against Liona Lefau negated what would’ve been a safety (the call offset a holding call against Ohio State in the end zone). Pre-snap penalties stunted the offense’s progress in the first half. — The Longhorns pressured Julian Sayin (13-for-20, 126 yards and a touchdown), getting him off the spot and speeding him up on critical downs. The pass rush never got home, though, which was a credit to Ryan Day and Brian Hartline for dialing up easy throws for Sayin and positioning him so that he could throw the ball away without putting it in harm’s way. The Texas defense was tremendous, even if it couldn’t force the negative play it needed to create to flip the game. — Arch Manning’s legs limited the few negative plays the Buckeyes created, but, overall, the offensive line did a solid job in pass protection (Ohio State finished the game with one sack and one tackle for loss). Including the lone negative play (and a no-gainer, when Manning got back to the line of scrimmage on a scramble), the Longhorns ran the ball for 166 yards and averaged 4.5 yards per attempt. I felt going into the game that if Manning (10 carries for 38 yards) had more than eight official rushing attempts, it wouldn’t be good for the offense. It wasn’t good because… — Texas still doesn’t have an identity in the red zone. It’s easy to be disappointed when the play-caller doesn’t dial up the touchdown play, but I don’t like Sarkisian’s sequencing near the goal line, especially his decisions on second down. On the first failed goal-to-go situation, he called a between-the-tackles run for Manning that was stuffed for a 1-yard gain after CJ Baxter (10 carries for 40 yards) ran for five yards on first-and-goal from the 9-yard line. — I’m accusing Sarkisian of something I used to fault Tom Herman for, which is putting an arrogant game plan into motion. The game Sarkisian called in the first half lacked creativity and seemed to be one in which he was willing to let his squad play the Buckeyes straight-up to see where they stood. Things got better in the second half. Ohio State also deserves credit for causing some of the issues (Arvell Reese, who finished the game with nine tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss, might’ve been the best player on the field for the Buckeyes). With that said, it was the most unimaginative, uninspiring game plan I can remember seeing from Sarkisian. — Even when Sarkisian’s call hit, the offense (more often than not) suffered from Manning (17-for-30, 170 yards, a touchdown and an interception) missing throws or wide receivers failing to catch the ball. I don’t know if Manning had happy feet, felt panicked/rushed or couldn’t anticipate where to go with the ball, but the passing game never clicked. — As solid as the offensive line was overall, what jumped out to me was Texas going 0-for-8 on rushing attempts with two or fewer yards to convert that resulted in a first down or a touchdown. The Ohio State defense stood tall, turning the Longhorns away at point-blank range when it mattered. — I’m handing out defensive game balls for this one to Lefau (nine tackles and a tackle for loss), Malik Muhammad (six tackles and a nice pass breakup against Jeremiah Smith, who had six catches for 43 yards, but never took over the game), Ty’Anthony Smith (a nice open-field tackle against Smith to force a Buckeye punt late in the first half) and the interior defensive line (Alex January, Maraad Watson and Cole Brevard had their moments). On offense, here’s to noteworthy performances by Baxter (a tremendous blitz pickup on a first-down throw from Manning to Parker Livingstone), Livingstone (a nice contested catch for the offense’s only touchdown), Jack Endries (who turned six targets into four receptions for 50 yards) and Quintrevion Wisner (a game-high 80 yards on 16 carries). — I know Texas won’t play a team with a pulse until Florida in Gainesville on Oct. 4. Still, I want to see how Manning, Sarkisian and the Longhorns respond in the remaining three non-conference games and how much they grow. The reaction from national pundits and opposing fans is and will continue to be visceral. The No. 1 team in the country faceplanted on a massive stage to open the season and, given Manning’s performance and Sarkisian’s 2-12 record as a head coach against top-five opponents (1-6 record at Texas), the Longhorns won’t feel the love until they put a better product on the field against a quality foe. What Sarkisian said about Manning in his postgame press conference applies to the 2025 squad and where it goes from here: “The expectations were out of control on the outside, but I’d say let’s finish the book before we judge it. This is one chapter, and we have a long season to play." View full news story

Thoughts on Arch Manning I have a number of thoughts on Arch Manning today …. 1. Any QB simply can’t miss the easy throws. Arch missed nearly every easy throw today. You can’t play QB at a high level, or be a high level team missing easy throws. End of discussion. 2. Some of the easy throws were also in critical down and distance. Those are double bad for a QB. Simply can’t do it against quality competition, period. 3. Ohio State is uber talented team and quality team. Statistically, this will be Arch’s worst game of the season. 4. Arch’s legs will be a major asset as the season moves along. Again, this will be as talented of a D as Texas faces. And this was on the road with months to prepare. 5. Arch has to get more comfortable in the pocket. Again, high end competition, but he had too many throws without balance in the pocket today to be an accurate QB. 6. What I’m expecting the next three games. Texas will overwhelm lesser opponents with talent. There will be big games statistically, big play TD’s and talk about how much the Texas offense will have improved. I will be in wait and see mode. The next test isn’t lambs getting paid to come to Austin and get taken to the woodshed… it’s at Florida. 7. Arch will play better. That’s easy to see and predict. But the question comes down to how much better as the season moves along. Texas has a playoff defense - zero doubt in my mind. But Sark and Arch have a lot to prove if they will end up with a playoff level offense. Other topics: 1. Texas run game has a chance this year. If that’s the start, can’t wait to see the finish. 2. Texas’ defense will give the team the opportunity to be in every game this season. 3. The season isn’t over. But the margin for error is down to one game. That amps up the pressure the rest of the season. And the pressure is on Sark after that stinker of a game plan today.

Won big games vs “great” coaches? Which ones? Outside of beating Alabama, Sark hasn’t gotten it done vs opposing great coaches. Unless Dabo and Clemson last year count? Oklahoma State in Big12 championship game? They didn’t have similar talent. Sark has a similar talent problem. If the opposition can match Texas talent, Sarks teams fold and don’t even look the part. 0 points through 3.5 quarters today, didn’t score until they went into a prevent late in fourth quarter.

My bad if it has been said already......................this loss doesn't sting as much to me (especially with new post season format). Defense played lights out and the run game was pretty damn good. Arch was off with regards to accuracy for sure. I think he will get much better as the year progresses. Progress will be made from here on out. HOOK EM!!!!!!

The 99.9% have spoken.

I’m not so much worried about the lack of scoring against elite defenses. I’m concerned that we just look like ass offensively especially in the red zone.

Ohio state going through the exact same roster turnover we are and replaced both coordinators while one is a first time play caller.

H8rz gunna H8. I have faith, we played a good team at home the first game of the season and lost because we aren’t executing at the level we will at the end of the year. Let’s get them back if/when we see them in the playoffs

I'm worried that OSU isn't good either and we struggled against them.

Agreed. This OSU defense is legit, but it’s not as good as last year’s OSU D and I don’t think they’re nearly as disruptive as Georgia’s from last year.

Haha

🤯 @Joe Zura in shambles.

None of those teams were going through massive roster rebuilds. We've also had some sh!t injury luck in regards to our draft picks and weapons late in the postseason. It's pretty meaningless.

Why can’t Sark offense score 21 points or more vs other elite teams? No one is talking about it but his offenses don’t show up in the biggest games, haven’t since he’s been the coach. 15 and 19 points vs Georgia. 14 and 7 points vs Ohio State. What’s the issues with his offense? Outside of the one drive today when Ohio State went into a prevent the offense didn’t score a single point through 3.5 quarters. You simply won’t beat good teams if you can’t score at least three TDs.

The elephant in the room: Sark has an elite opposing HC problem. He is now 0-6 vs Day, Smart, and DeBoer. I’m sure he will break that streak at some point, but the one constant through all of those losses is Sark. He has won some big games against great coaches, but time for him to evolve as a coach.

No