TexasLonghorns

A win is a win” is exactly why Texas fans settle for mediocrity. Year 5 under Sark, top5 roster, nearly 11 million dollar coach, unlimited NIL resources and the offense still looks undisciplined, unprepared, and uninspired. A win in the column doesn’t mask systemic failure. The stats, the lack of development, it all points to one conclusion….this isn’t a program being coached to greatness, it’s a program being managed. Sark isn’t elevating Texas he’s capping it. That’s the evidence, plain and simple.

The OL, roster construction and execution up front are also Sarks responsibility. Flood is going to be the scapegoat? It’s deeper than that as Gerry has continued to say. There’s an elephant in the room folks don’t want to face. It’s coming though.

The issues with this team are obvious, no rhythm, no identity, no adjustments, and it all points right back to Sark. It’s year five, and he’s still calling plays like a coordinator instead of managing the game like a head coach. The offense is predictable, the team looks flat, and there’s zero accountability. At some point, you’ve got to stop clinging to the play sheet and start leading the program. Everything wrong with this team reflects that.

If Sark can’t bench a struggling QB because of his last name, that’s on him. And if he hasn’t been able to develop that same QB after three years in his system, that’s on him too. He’s supposed to be an offensive guru, but at some point, you’ve got to show it. This is Sark’s offense, Sark’s roster, and Sark’s responsibility.

And Georgia shows up when it matters to seal the victory, extremely well coached. For kiffin to have his team in it though speaks volumes of his coaching acumen, doesn’t have a fraction of the talent Georgia has. He needs to take Florida job if he hopes to win SEC or a national title, he could do it there.

Georgia shows up when it needs to, well coached

Gerry casually dropping the hammer saying Sark isn’t a Kiffin from an offensive coaching perspective. And he’s right!

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.