Snap Judgments: No. 1 Texas earned a 27-24 loss to Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout

Jeff Banks needs to go and Sark needs to run the ball. He ruined the drive at the end of the first half and we gave away moment running the ball on our final possession and then threw a pick. We were snapping the ball with 23 seconds left on the play clock on a running clock with a minute to go. What are you doing

8 minutes ago, hookem1014 said:

Shout out to all the sunshine pumpers who didn’t want to hear any criticism just because the team was 4-0

I still sip the finest of the burnt orange kool aid. Even Kobe had some ugly moments early on. Arch is my Kobe, and I will ride and die with Sark. 🤘🏾

Just now, Arch2025 said:

Spin what u want.  Different QB..Different result.  Period.  Stop blaming Sark for getting UT out of laughing stock 10+ yrs of misery… then blaming him for play calling.  Guys are open.  Period.  He can’t throw it.  There are sevaeral QBs that elevate when the game begins.  Arch panics every other series.  Time to accept a waste of 40 mill roster cause your QB is mid…..

hope he goes pro for UTs sake

Short of having someone who can create with nothing rolling around the pocket what do you want him to do? Week after week I see other teams have a real quick game. Have plenty of plays that make defense pay for sending too many people down hill. Teams have learned that we see pressure and want to hit a bomb. Not take a slant or anything quick. He made dumb plays but also got play calls that are impossible to do anything with when the defense has time for their blitz to get home. 

Banks doesn’t deserve a free pass, the last two years special teams have been way below par and outplayed in big games 

15 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

Texas earned Saturday’s 27-24 walk-off loss to Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout.

The Sooners beat the Longhorns in the trenches in the second half, out-rushing Texas (4-1, 1-1 SEC) by 30 yards (82-52) and forcing two turnovers. Arch Manning, not John Mateer, made catastrophic mistakes, with two interceptions that led to 10 points for Oklahoma (3-2, 1-1), including Tate Sandell’s game-winning 47-yard field goal.

The inexplicable loss isn’t solely on Manning’s shoulders.  The Longhorns couldn’t get a push in the running game when it mattered, Steve Sarkisian’s play-calling was as questionable as ever and Will Muschamp’s defense faltered down the stretch (although the defense was by far the better of the three phases on Saturday).

Texas is an undisciplined team that can’t run the football when it needs to, is inexplicably sloppy on special teams and failed to put its foot on the gas with a double-digit lead for the second consecutive game.

***

Oklahoma had a distinct path to victory. The action at the Cotton Bowl unfolded in the Sooners’ favor.

The Longhorns lost the turnover battle, 2-0.

Oklahoma improved to 16-2 under Brent Venables when scoring a non-offensive touchdown.

Mateer (18-for-26 for 155 yards) avoided making the backbreaking mistakes that plagued him through the Sooners’ first four games.

Oklahoma won the line-of-scrimmage battle when it mattered and seized the momentum when Texas left the door open for a potential comeback. We’ve seen Red River upsets unfold similarly in the past, which is why the Sooners taking the Golden Hat back to Norman isn’t a surprise, given how things unfolded in Dallas.

***

Even though Oklahoma’s defense lived up to its billing, seven three-and-outs, a pick-six and a missed field goal would’ve been more than enough to question where Sarkisian’s offense is going.

Then there was the last drive of the game.

The four-play drive that ended with Courtland Guillory’s interception of Manning felt like a microcosm of what’s wrong with the Longhorns on a side of the ball that’s putting out a product on par with last season's lackluster showing. Whether it’s a lack of hot routes or built-in advantage throws against blitzes, Manning’s inability or unwillingness to get the offense out of bad plays or questionable football IQ in a two-minute situation, Texas is too disjointed to take advantage of the talent Sarkisian’s organization acquired in the offseason.

Inconsistency is the only thing consistent about the Longhorn offense. The boom-or-bust nature of Sarkisian’s offense has a low ceiling for a team that can’t rely on the kicking game to do anything other than put the defense on short fields or give up points.

***

While the season isn’t over, the loss means that Sarkisian has no choice but to look in the mirror and see what changes must be made to improve the product.

Texas’ offensive identity, when push comes to shove, is still to snap the ball to Manning and hope something good happens. When it works, it’s great. When it doesn’t work, you get the outcome you got on Saturday.

Sarkisian can figure out what’s working and hammer those concepts so that the Longhorns can lean on a few things. Or he can keep dialing things up that, while they might look cool enough on tape to put on the call sheet, aren’t doing anything other than getting the offense behind the chains.

***

The opening kickoff going out of bounds was a bad omen.

I don’t like calling for a coach’s job. Still, for Jeff Banks’ unit to answer a forgettable showing against Tennessee with a performance that was worse against the Sooners is troubling, to say the least.

***

There aren’t enough adjectives to describe the nature of Saturday’s loss.

After doing what it needed to do to keep their College Football Playoff fate out of the selection committee’s hands through the first four games, Texas now has little to no margin for error. Unless Sarkisian's long-awaited desire for his club to play consistent complementary football is realized, the loss to Oklahoma won't be the last that the Longhorns suffer before the end of the regular season.

Texas did enough right to win the Ohio State and Tennessee games. It didn't do enough right to win on Saturday, with a lot of mistakes and misfires looking all too familiar.

The Longhorns have played with fire more than once this year. They finally got burned.

 

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Never thought we were #1 and I'm not sure at this point we are even Top Ten because of all the mental mistakes I'm seeing. Special teams needs to be totally revamped. If Sark isn't going to give up play calling he needs someone with better insight in his ear.  Someone needs to explain to me how Arch's technique breaks down and he makes the kind of mistake he made at the end of the game today.   Great teams know how to gut a team at the end of the game to win and we are not anywhere close to that mentally.   

1 minute ago, nineliveslost said:

You only see 2 more losses here????

vs16Florida

10/1711:00 am

vs9Ole Miss

10/24TBD

vs17Mississippi St

10/31TBD

@14Missouri

11/7TBD

@10LSU

11/14TBD

vsArkansas

11/21TBD

@Texas A&M

11/276:30 pmABC

It’s possible.  Ole Miss with Chambliss and a healthy Lacy is tough.  LSU might game, Mizzou on the road and they’re playing well.  Aggy will be desperate for a win and look to play spoiler.  Didn’t think we would lose to OU, so we can lose to Aggy, too. 

10 minutes ago, Class of 04 said:

Your not wrong, It's pretty clear at this point that Arch is not a cerebral QB, I don't know what the answer is but I don't think he is part of the correct equation. All it takes is one oh s%$t to wipe out ten atta' boys, and he is playing on the negative side of that column right now. Banks issues have been bubbling to the surface for too long and a change is necessary. The running game has me scratching my head way too often as well. I feel like everyone clamoring for Arch owes Quinn a giant apology.

Save a few reminders for the KJ KJ KJ folks. Unless he's Tom Brady it wont matter.

7 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

I'm not spinning anything. Sark has done a great job to get Texas out of the dark period, but this is on him. He's the head coach and in charge of the side of the ball that's not pulling its weight.

Again.. you know as well as I do ..Sark ain’t hiring an OC…  Quin actually played better than Arch…   So if Sark leaves …don’t expect UT to hire the right guy …history has proven the disaster hires of the last 20 yrs.  I’ll settle for a portal QB.  
 

hope Sark never leaves .

Just now, NTX_Horn said:

It’s possible.  Ole Miss with Chambliss and a healthy Lacy is tough.  LSU might game, Mizzou on the road and they’re playing well.  Aggy will be desperate for a win and look to play spoiler.  Didn’t think we would lose to OU, so we can lose to Aggy, too. 

I actually see 8-4 a possibility. 9 and 3 would be more likely and miss the playoffs. OU will be our Florida this year.