OTF Premium Thoughts on what happened to No. 1 Texas in a 14-7, season-opening loss to No. 3 Ohio State

[CHorn427]

10 minutes ago, Texazz said:

Guys - where was the “vaulted” DLine? We looked PEDESTRIAN 

 

where was #1 on key plays???

Ohio State barely had over 200 total yards of offense at home. They have the best group of pass catchers in the nation. Their analysts are very high on their OL. If you think holding tOSU to a little over 200 yds and 14 points at home is pedestrian, you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Even though we didn’t get sacks, the DL had a big role in limiting both passing yds and (obviously) rushing yds.

And the word you were looking for is “vaunted” not “vaulted”

[CHorn427]

I think not having film on Patricia at the college level or any kind of idea on his tendencies with Ohio State neutralized Sark’s ability to dial things up with the extra prep time. Even for Martindale last season, Sark had a week one game to watch to get some idea. And that game wasn’t a runaway for Michigan last year in week one either

[Bunk Moreland]

@Jeff Howe I completely agree with your characterization of Sark’s game plan as “arrogant”. I had precisely the same impression that it seemed like he wanted to just line his guys up and see how they performed. That is a fine approach if you’re starting the season against SHSU. Against the defending national champs who just beat you by double-digits six months ago, it’s arrogant to the point of delusion. I understand that this loss doesn’t kill Texas’s chances to get back to the playoff, but the margin for error when you STILL have to play Florida, Georgia, OU, and A&M is now almost zero. 

[CHorn427]

Another aspect to consider- maybe Sark didn’t want this game vs Ohio State to be his best called game of the season, or the peak game.

Those Michigan and Bama games were great, probably the best called game of the season. That was especially important to get the Bama win in the 4 team CFP era.

In this 12 team era, maybe it’s best to save some stuff for say the Florida game. Especially when he saw something was up with Arch (nerves). Could have been a problem wasting wrinkles just for drives to stall 

[snugsie]

Im sick of this red zone dysfunction that's been in Sarks offense every single year. Every single year full stop. He cant get it done.

[G3rberger]

The going for it on 4th down also killed us. 

[DanielOnorato]

1 hour ago, Jeff Howe said:

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), limit 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 Steve Sarkisian’s team winning 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 level of 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 didn'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, with Sarkisian seeming willing to let his squad play the Buckeyes straight-up to see where they stood.

Things got better in the second half (257 total yards and 6.3 yards per play after halftime). 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 was the right one, 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.

— I’m handing out defensive game balls for this one to Lefau (nine tackles and a tackle for loss), Graceson Littleton (credited with one tackle and a pass breakup, but his presence was tremendous in his debut), Malik Muhammad (six tackles and a nice pass breakup in coverage 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).

— 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 and grow in the remaining three non-conference games before the Sept. 27 open date.

The reaction from national pundits and opposing fans is and will continue to be visceral. The No. 1 team in the country face-planted 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

 

Well written as always Jeff, love your articles. Travis Shaw was a pleasant surprise today. Bill Norton was undervalued but was a big piece lost from last season. It seems Shaw may be able to fill that role which was a question mark heading into today's game.

[WestlakeLonghorn]

Now why we see why Quinn was our starter last year.    Sark is an idiot inside the 10 yard line.  He needs to give play calling duties.  

[Helmet]

The No. 1 team in the country face-planted on a massive stage to open the season

Really?

[CHorn427]

On a positive note, OU’s RBs are only averaging 2.8 YPC on Illinois State right now

[VaHorn]

It wasn’t a great game for Arch, but I see a a lot of positives to build from. He does a great job of stepping up into the pocket. But he never could get on a rhythm. But with only 170 yards passing, he is already 3 yards behind Johnny Manziel in his Heisman Trophy winning season.  

[Helmet]

The gameplan wasn't "arrogant".  

It was conservative to protect against the the high probability that a young, inexperienced QB starting his first road game in the season opener vs the defending champs gets overwhelmed and plays poorly and makes lots of mistakes.

That is exactly what happened and Texas was still in position to win the game but for a few plays that went the other way.  Instead of getting blown out after turning the ball over several times.

[Jeff Howe]

2 minutes ago, VaHorn said:

It wasn’t a great game for Arch, but I see a a lot of positives to build from. He does a great job of stepping up into the pocket. But he never could get on a rhythm. But with only 170 yards passing, he is already 3 yards behind Johnny Manziel in his Heisman Trophy winning season.  

The point about stepping up into the pocket is a positive, for sure. Arch eliminated a few chances Ohio State had to create negative plays.

[Jeff Howe]

7 minutes ago, Helmet said:

The No. 1 team in the country face-planted on a massive stage to open the season

Really?

That's what part of the national narrative will be, yes. That's not what I believe, but it doesn't matter what I believe when it comes to people with big platforms giving their opinions.

[Thanos72]

Arch was unexpectedly and alarmingly bad. Concerned with his mechanics. Odd side arm pushing motion vs his quick release. I was calling for arch over quinn last year. Super concerned that sark new manning wasn’t better than an injured quinn.

We were worse than they were good. Also our backs have zero burst. I don’t get why we wouldn’t try a different back. There were holes missed because we were dancing and/or weren’t fast enough. Love wisner but he is not a rb1. Baxter is a good story but he’s running in quicksand right now. Looked good in pass pro at least.

Maybe manning was a one-off. Not giving up but about as a bad loss for considering his arch looked. 

 

[Jeff Howe]

3 minutes ago, Helmet said:

The gameplan wasn't "arrogant".  

It was conservative to protect against the the high probability that a young, inexperienced QB starting his first road game in the season opener vs the defending champs gets overwhelmed and plays poorly and makes lots of mistakes.

That is exactly what happened and Texas was still in position to win the game but for a few plays that went the other way.  Instead of getting blown out after turning the ball over several times.

I was taken aback because it's unlike other game plans we've seen from Sark in these big non-conference games. Even the Alabama game in Quinn's second start, Sark was aggressive. 

[drag worm]

1 hour ago, Jeff Howe said:

The No. 1 team in the country face-planted 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.

 

So reminiscent of Mack before VY. The talent to beat most teams but an inability to galvanize that talent to get the most out of them against the best teams. It took a QB from Madison HS to do that for Mack. Arch needs to step TF up and do it for Sark. 

[Helmet]

3 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

That's what part of the national narrative will be, yes. That's not what I believe, but it doesn't matter what I believe when it comes to people with big platforms giving their opinions.

It was a one-score game for the vast majority of the game and the final score was 14-7.

[DanielOnorato]

11 minutes ago, Helmet said:

The No. 1 team in the country face-planted on a massive stage to open the season

Really?

Four failed fourth downs and only one score for the pre season #1 team is at least an offensive face plant imo.

[TexasLonghorns]

3 minutes ago, drag worm said:

So reminiscent of Mack before VY. The talent to beat most teams but an inability to galvanize that talent to get the most out of them against the best teams. It took a QB from Madison HS to do that for Mack. Arch needs to step TF up and do it for Sark. 

Signed Ed Orgeron. Sark needs to figure out how to beat great teams. 1-6 vs top 5, 3-8 vs top 10 teams, 4-12 vs top 15 teams. If he’s waiting on a unicorn to consistently beat great teams, we’ve got a problem most don’t want to admit. 

[Jeff Howe]

7 minutes ago, Helmet said:

It was a one-score game for the vast majority of the game and the final score was 14-7.

Again, I was making a point about what is and what will be said about Texas nationally. I didn't say that I believe it or that I agree with the opinion of others who don't follow Texas daily.

[Califashorn75]

We dominated them yet lost. We were too sporadic in the first half. We missed the receiver from the transfer portal. The receiving group needs to step up and find ways to get open. Endries looked good. Tre and CJ ran hard. The O-line was good except for the penalties. Arch will get better. He's a gamer. Just a real tough place to win a game. But we had it. 

[Ricardo V]

Gus Malzahn’s motion is killing Bama right now. Where was our motion and quick throws to the RBs and WRs?

[watty7796]

Aside from previous mentioned areas, poor play calling etc, my question falls to the defensive side.  Why with all of the talent are they not dialing up blitzes.  There was next to no pressure on Sayin the entire game.  Poor discipline has proved to be a year over year issue as well with presnap penalties.  Kids played hard, but they sure werent ready.

[Texas fan in Georgia]

Could be worse. We could be Alabama and lose to FSU