TexasLonghorns

You think Florida State opens? Their HC just got a new deal a year ago…..

Thats right!! That’s exactly why being able to beat ranked teams matters. You don’t win national championships or even survive in a 16 team playoff without proving you can consistently beat top 15 and top 10 opponents and Franklin hasn’t shown he can do that. Again, good on Penn State for finally seeing this. Very true! Franklin and Sark both have plenty of wins, but look at the records that actually count: Sark is 13–13 vs ranked, 4–8 vs top-10, 1–6 vs top-5. Franklin is 15–30 vs ranked, 4–21 vs top-10. Those aren’t championship level numbers, especially in a 16 team playoff, you basically have no chance. The playoff is only going to expose that even more. It’s not about “unrealistic expectations,” it’s about finally meeting real ones. If you can’t beat elite teams regularly, you’re not a contender, you’re just padding your record.

What’s he have to lose? Don’t know the details of his buyout and if taking another job impacts that…if it does, then yeah I wouldn’t, haha.

IMO Franklin would be a great fit at Arkansas.

If you have national championship aspirations, your record against top teams has to matter more than padding your win total against nobody. And that’s where Franklin’s resume gets exposed: Under Franklin, Penn State is 15–30 vs ranked opponents. Even worse: he’s 4–21 vs top 10 teams Against top 5 teams, he’s nearly winless 1–15 And within the Big Ten, his record vs Ohio State & Michigan is 4–16. You can’t build a title contending program by treating games against elite competition as optional. If your coach can’t consistently beat top 15 or top 10 teams, you’re not competing for a playoff run, you’re hoping to sneak in. So yes, when people point out Franklin’s wins, they should also point out how few of them came in the games that actually define elite programs.

Sure, Franklin’s got 100+ wins, but how many came against non Power 5 teams? His record against ranked opponents tells the real story. At some point, padding the win total against overmatched teams stops meaning much. When it comes to the games that actually matter, that’s where the expectation lies and he’s fallen short there far too often. If you can’t consistently beat top 15 opponents, it’s hard to sell the idea you’re building a national championship program. Good on Penn State for recognizing this.

Agree!

Like which one? Not seeing that myself

The days of saying you don’t have the money to fire a coach has become an excuse if you are a major P4 team.

Arch is fine. The OL and coaching, not so much.

I agree with most of your post, but not that part. Sure, we’ve missed on some OL prospects in past cycles and relied on players down the list, no doubt. But the two you mentioned (Mills and Fasusi) are true freshmen, so they don’t really support the “too much hope in youth” argument for this team. The guys we’re actually playing are older than both. Only one is a second-year player, the rest are third and fourth year guys. This isn’t a young group, they’ve had plenty of time in the program. Also, Neto’s been here four years now, he just hasn’t developed for whatever reason. That’s not a youth problem, it’s a recruiting, evaluation, and development problem, compounded by coaching and scheme issues.

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Good catch, won’t let me edit.

That whole “we’re young” narrative only popped up after the results didn’t meet preseason expectations. Nobody was calling this offense young in August, if someone had suggested we’d struggle because of youth, they’d have been laughed off the board. In fact, we were going to be better offensively because the players being inserted brought more physicality up front from G,C,G, Arch was more dynamic than Ewers, Wingo was the best freshman WR in the country just didn’t get much opportunity and Endries was a plug and play vet that would have a huge impact, etc. Offensive starters: QB – 3rd yr RBs – Baxter (3rd), Wisner (3rd), Clark (2nd) WRs – Moore (3rd), Wingo (2nd), Livingstone (2nd) OL – LT (2nd), LG (3rd), C (4th), RG (4th), RT (2nd) TEs – Endries (3rd), Washington (2nd) That’s 2 fourth-years, 5 third-years, and 4 second year players. Far from young.

That’s fair, haha.

If you worked for Harbaugh for that long as an OL coach, I’d wager he’s good. Didn’t make much difference last week though, granted no idea how much of a voice he has or how much he can change in a few weeks. Can’t hurt having someone on staff with his experience.

I absolutely agree. I’ve defended Flood for years, but at this point I’m questioning everything. The warning signs were there before, I just thought he could reel in more Kelvin Banks type players. Turns out Banks was an outlier. Even with guys like Banks showing individual promise, run blocking in short yardage situations has been a glaring weakness under Flood from day one. Five years in, it’s still a weakness. The OL looks unhealthy, unphysical, and underdeveloped/poor evals and that’s a reflection of both recruiting and coaching. It’s extremely concerning, and honestly, there’s no defending it anymore. Especially considering it’s going to get Manning injured. I’d imagine the Manning family isn’t happy with the protection he has up front. Honestly, no QB would look good behind this OL and it’s hindering Arch’s development in a large way.

I’m not saying Kyle Flood has done enough to keep his job, he hasn’t. Recruiting hasn’t met expectations, and development clearly hasn’t either. Something needs to change, no question about it. But let’s be real, swapping OL coaches won’t fix the core problem. Sark is just as responsible for what we’re seeing. The long developing routes, predictable play calls, blocking schemes, and lack of execution and discipline up front those all trace back to the head coach/OC just as much as it does Flood. Sark and Flood both personally evaluated that OL room and decided Texas didn’t need anyone from the portal. Sark even bragged about it at SEC Media Days. That’s not on Flood alone that’s on Sark’s judgment and his system. Until that changes, the results won’t either IMO.

I’m not sure firing Flood will remedy the issues. Just my opinion though.

This isn’t just a bad week, it’s a measure of consistency. A program that consistently attracts top talent should be performing at a high level. Year 5 should reflect growth and dominance, not unpreparedness and losses against Power 5 competition.

Let’s be honest, making the playoff last year doesn’t excuse disappearing against top-tier programs in Year 5. Down 14-0 with 4 minutes left vs Ohio State, and Texas only scores because the opponent goes into prevent? That’s not competitive, that’s failing when it matters. Yes, the OL and DL have issues, and Arch is a third year QB, not “young” at all. With NIL advantages, portal access, and top ranked recruiting classes, there are no excuses for rolling food out on the offensive line or racking up penalties. “Playing in the Horseshoe and the Swamp” doesn’t justify looking unprepared and undisciplined. This isn’t about throwing in the towel, it’s about holding the program accountable. Right now, Sark’s program is trending in the wrong direction, and the responsibility falls squarely on the head coach. The only two Power 5 opponents Texas has played this year? Totally unprepared, manhandled, and one of those was a 1-3 Florida team coached by Billy Napier with a QB on one leg. That’s on Sark.

Sark’s offense completely disappears against good Power 5 competition. Down 14-0 with 4 minutes left vs Ohio State, and Texas only scores because the opponent goes into prevent. Sark is 0-4 in his last four SEC/Big Ten games.

Exactly. He’s trying to be the head coach, OC, QB coach, and culture cop all at once. When you do everything, you end up doing nothing great. He makes $10M+ a year, the job is to lead and delegate, not micromanage every detail. Great coaches empower their staff.

You’re not wrong about the QB play being underwhelming, but at some point you’ve got to look higher up the chain. Sark is the QB coach, he’s the one designing the offense, developing the room, and making the calls. If every position under his control keeps underperforming, maybe the issue isn’t the assistants. And it’s not just scheme, it’s execution and discipline, too. Sark’s teams consistently fail in both areas, and when you fail there, these are the results you get. You can swap out coordinators and position coaches all you want, but if the same issues keep showing up, that’s on the head coach.