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If they can't this week after a loss and so much scrutiny, I don't think they ever will this season.

I say they probably get it done with Florida but it's fool's gold/confirmation bias. Sark will use it as justification with his offense and then use the same philosophy with better defenses and get shut down.

There are a lot of reasons why the offense has looked disjointed. Sark and Arch not meshing has obviously been a big one. Something has to give on Saturday. It's a big game for the play-caller and the quarterback.

It’s time to tackle “One Burning Question,” an On Texas Football in-season feature where we’ll examine a question facing the Texas Longhorns as they enter a game. On Sunday, we’ll revisit the question to see whether Steve Sarkisian’s team answered it successfully. This week, with No. 1 Texas welcoming Florida to Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday (11 a.m., ABC), the question is: Can Steve Sarkisian and Arch Manning get on the same page? For all of the talk about personnel packages, the lack of an identity, play-calling concerns, offensive line issues and whether the Longhorns can count on the running game in 2026, the Texas offense won’t go anywhere until there’s synergy between the play-caller and the quarterback. When the Longhorns turned over a new leaf offensively in the second half of the 2025 season, it felt like Sarkisian understood what he had in Manning, whose playmaking ability became the identity of the offense. By the end of the season, Manning looked primed to take the next step, which led to grandiose expectations for the Texas offense this season, Manning’s fourth in the program and his second full season as QB1. Unfortunately, the ascent hasn’t happened through five games. Whether Manning has regressed is subjective. What’s clear is that he hasn’t taken off as expected, eroding Longhorn fans' patience and turning questions about Manning’s development and potential into legitimate concerns. Late last season, Sarkisian tailored the offense to maximize Manning's skill set. He doesn't fit the mold of the quarterbacks who’ve succeeded in Sarkisian's system, but things were trending upward by the time Manning accounted for 376 yards and four touchdowns in a Citrus Bowl win over Michigan. Sarkisian’s offense works best when rhythm and timing are keeping things on schedule. Considering the links Sarkisian has to Don Coryell (through Norv Turner), Bill Walsh (through Norm Chow and Pete Carroll) and Kyle Shanahan (who he succeeded as the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator), Sarkisian’s offense blends the discipline and precision of the West Coast offense with Air Coryell’s vertical passing game, topping it off with the running game, RPO and pre-snap elements he picked up from his time in the NFL and when he ran Nick Saban’s Alabama offense. Manning can do some of those things, but he’s at his best when he can use his athleticism and instincts to thrive in chaos. Down the stretch last season, Sarkisian called more quarterback runs and gave Manning the green light to scramble when opportunities presented themselves, which helped bring balance to an offense that couldn’t rely on a traditional running game. Coming into 2026, Manning had to improve within a structured offense. Manning's mastery of the offense would make him an extension of Sarkisian on the field. He'd be trusted to get the offense out of bad plays and articulate what he likes and what doesn't in certain situations. Manning's legs and ability to ad-lib when things break down around him would further elevate the offense, with impossible-to-defend aces up Sarkisian’s sleeve, capable of making college football’s best defensive minds wrong on any given snap. Needless to say, that hasn’t been the case through five games. After last Saturday’s 27-24 loss to Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout, the program is at an offensive crossroads. Will Sarkisian scheme up easy completions to get Manning into a rhythm early against the Gators? Simpler, quick-developing reads, including deep shots that don’t take as long to develop, could help Manning get his feet underneath him. Does Sarkisian need to trust Manning to make good decisions before the snap? Or does the quarterback need to do more to show the play-caller he can handle more responsibility than what he appears to have now? That extends to Manning running the ball. Yes, Manning’s legs are a weapon Sarkisian must incorporate into the offensive play more often, but Manning has to be smart when he takes off and protect himself when he’s vulnerable in the open field. It also means that when Sarkisian does scheme things open with advantage throws for Manning, he must make his layups. At some point, Sarkisian and Manning need each other at their best to become the kind of offensive team Sarkisian believes the Longhorns can be. But doing what they’ve done will result in more of what they've produced. Something has to change. We’ll see what those changes are in a few hours. When the dust settles, we’ll have a better idea of whether the offense can truly turn the corner in the second half of the regular season. View full news story

Couldn’t agree more on the 90 from 30 lol. Was thinking along the same lines. Last year physicality was not the same but defense was good. This year same concept but defense is tossing teams around. Just interesting because defense looks out of this world athletic and physical and offense is as athletic but wishing for more. I don’t think arch is the problem but more so a rhythm thing. Let’s see what happens in about 15 hrs

I don’t disagree on Gators guards … especially if B. Fland doesn’t shoot it better . Aberdeen helps the cause But they need their front court to dominate every nite against high-major competition Todd Golden will coach it up offensively for 87-88 per game average … think that is what counting on. But those tournament games that are played in 70’s and come down to last 3 mins will be interesting again

Why was Sark there ? seriously dude. You dont have to draw sides I want us to win too

Team of hired guns from the Ivy League. just crazy. SMU can outbid national powers like Carolina, Maryland, and Johns Hopkins pretty easily

We lack this type of CREATIVITY!!! https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/50197390

I mean…if we don’t stomp Florida, it’s gonna get bad around here.

I don't get this Florida is great talk. No team goes far in the tournament without high level guard play. Not only are the Florida guards not high level, but they are also objectively mediocre to bad. Haugh is not some great player. He's a wing that can't shoot consistently and can't defend his position. They can rebound and play good paint defense. They can pressure bad guards into turnovers. That doesn't win titles.

He arrived with the team to their hotel tonight. But reading Florida Boards most feel like Nakos article is correct, that Jones will start.

Kiper dropped him to the sixth best quarterback.

Coleman has a proven track record. Arch has nothing other than he can’t get the ball to Coleman.

Who is "collegefootball"? In other words, whose opinion are we looking at here?

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Agree, I also wonder if the intensity that Muschamp brings always pushing and trying to win is getting the offense frustrated. We heard about Josiah Sharma whoopin the interior on scout team this week. The standard is physicality and intensity and you’re right the offense IS NOT meeting that standard. You know it’s like getting in the cage with someone who insists on throwing 90 from 30 feet and is plunking you every 5th pitch and expecting that you’ll be ready to go hit in a game (this has actually happened to me and we literally fought because I wa la the only one who would even get in the cage with him).

Appreciate the information and your thoughts Jeff. Not sure I got this right but I thought I heard OTF guest Ali Peek this am say Gators best CB that was injured is better and would play vs Texas.

Silliness. Cam does not look like a top 10 WR either.

Arch currently is a jag. Not sure why any team would draft him.

By spreading four wide receivers across the field, Sarkisian can effectively neutralize Brad White’s 30.6% seasonal blitz metric. If Florida sends extra rushers into the backfield, they are structurally forced to leave their 131st-ranked secondary in a numbers deficit on the backend.

I guess I was more so in the mindset of sark early on saying that Colin could ruin practice if they let him....obviously not good on good but Texas 2-3 deep on defense is better than a lot of sec 1-2. just food for thought and had me intrigued thinking about it today. Either way in the boat of offense needing to pick it up for "the standard is the standard" talk.