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Rapid Reactions from Gerry and myself this morning.

AUSTIN, Texas — Steve Sarkisian wasn’t far from the truth when he joked on Monday about Colin Simmons leading the nation in penalties. According to Pro Football Focus, the Texas EDGE has been assessed with four penalties through two games, tying him with Ohio safety Jalen Thomeson and Colorado State EDGE JaQues Evans for the FBS lead. The number of penalties charged to Simmons is almost equal to the team-leading five pressures PFF has credited him with causing. Simmons (five tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries) is off to a slow start relative to the lofty preseason expectations placed upon him. With that said, he’s had a bigger impact heading into the seventh-ranked Longhorns’ game against UTEP on Saturday (3:15 p.m., SEC Network) than what his raw numbers indicate. Simmons’ PFF pass rush grade of 84.2 is tied for No. 8 in the SEC (No. 36 nationally). His 10.3 PFF pass rush productivity rating (a formula that combines sacks, hits and hurries relative to how many times someone rushes the passer) is tied for the 25th-best in the conference, with Ty’Anthony Smith (18.8), Anthony Hill Jr. (18.2) and Brad Spence (12.5) ahead of Simmons among Texas defenders. Simmons’ win percentage (percentage of "wins" against blocking on non-penalty pass rush snaps) of 31 trails only the percentages recorded by Spence (37.5) and Trey Moore (31.3) for the third-best tally on the Longhorn defense. The PFF numbers indicate Simmons isn't too far away from becoming the pass-rushing force Texas needs him to be. The most significant hurdle for Simmons to clear on his way there could be cutting down on the penalties he’s drawing, which could be occurring due to, as Sarkisian said, the reigning Shaun Alexander Award winner “trying a little too hard.” “He's trying to jump the snap count,” Sarkisian said. “He's just got to be more mindful.” While pointing out that Simmons had no penalties and combined with Maraad Watson for a sack in the second half of last Saturday’s 38-7 win over San Jose State, Sarkisian said the key to Simmons unlocking his game-changing presence is as simple as settling down and focusing on his role within Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense. “You don't get 10 sacks in one play,” Sarkisian said. “You play within the confines of the defense. You play within the confines of the other defensive linemen, of when your rush attempts are there and how to play. You apply the game plan. “I thought we missed three sacks in this game,” he added. Simmons and Brad Spence were responsible for two of the three missed opportunities Sarkisian said the Longhorns had against the Spartans to get quarterback Walker Eget on the ground. “Our whole rush plan, if you were an edge rusher, was to rush to the upfield shoulder of the quarterback,” Sarkisian said. “All over the tape, when he got pressure, he scrambled around. He never went up in the pocket. Well, we didn't do that. We came flat and he ran around us three times. “We have to apply the things that we work on and practice.” When asked on Monday what he could do or say to help get Simmons going, Ethan Burke said that the Longhorns have only played their “first two games of a long season.” The third game against the Miners pits the Texas pass rushers against well-traveled quarterback Malachi Nelson, who has only been pressured on 12 of his 56 dropbacks (17.6 percent through two games). Nelson is 1-for-7 for 49 yards and has been sacked three times under pressure, according to PFF. If Simmons follows the advice Sarkisian and Burke have offered up publicly, he can put the struggles he's experienced through the first two games of his sophomore season in the rearview mirror. “I think he’s going to be just fine,” Burke said of Simmons. “Something I would say is just be confident and play fast. I think he will.” View full news story

AUSTIN, Texas — When the dust settled on last Saturday’s 38-7 win over San Jose State, Steve Sarkisian parked himself in front of a television at home with his son, Amayas, for the afternoon and evening slate of college football games. Sarkisian's respite came after No. 7 Texas was assessed the second-highest number of single-game penalties (12) and yards (112) in his tenure. Even while achieving a 31-point margin of victory over the Spartans, the Longhorns fell short of their championship standard. Texas struggled at times to get out of its way at the same time as No. 2 Penn State was making a 34-0 win over FIU “harder than it needed to be in a lot of areas,” coach James Franklin said afterward. “Get better” was Georgia’s message after the Bulldogs slugged through a 90-plus-minute weather delay in a 28-6 win over Austin Peay. Clemson trailed Troy at home, 7-0, when play was stopped due to the weather. The Tigers rallied for a 27-16 victory, avoiding what would’ve been a disastrous 0-2 start to a season that coach Dabo Swinney’s team entered with sky-high expectations. “This group really hadn’t had the rat poison,” Swinney said on Monday. The two-time national championship-winning coach put his own twist on a metaphor made famous by Bill Parcells and Nick Saban to summarize his team's struggles. “They’ve just had the ‘you suck’ poison. The Tigers’ only loss remains a 17-10 defeat at the hands of LSU in the season opener. The Bayou Bengals dealt with their own issues in Week 2, winning a 23-7 decision over Louisiana Tech, after which coach Brian Kelly saying he wasn't “happy with the production across the board.” The issues in State College, Athens, Clemson and Baton Rouge don’t absolve the Longhorns from the mistakes they must fix in their two remaining non-conference games before opening SEC play in the Swamp against Florida on Oct. 4. Still, it can’t hurt Sarkisian, his coaches or his players to know that they’re not the only highly-ranked team dealing with varying degrees of issues through two games. “You think, 'Is this just us? Are we screwed up?' Well, some pretty good teams were struggling,” Sarkisian said. “There were some other teams that looked really good. Maybe they're a little ahead of the curve? I don't know. “I just trust in our process of getting our guys ready to go." Even though Trevor Goosby and Arch Manning were among the talented prospects waiting in the wings to move up the depth chart into more significant roles in 2025, Texas only returned 40 percent of its offensive production from a 13-win, College Football Playoff semifinalist. ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranked the Longhorn offense No. 103 nationally in returning production, which contributed to Texas ranking No. 81 in overall returning experience. The multi-year impact of the transfer portal and the expiration of pandemic-related eligibility extensions made the conditions ripe for inexperience to be a significant problem across college football. According to Connelly, the national average for returning overall experience at the FBS level has declined every season from a 76.7% mark in 2021 down to a 53.2% national average in 2025 (with 51 percent of the production back from 2024, the Longhorns are below the national average). The lack of experience, even for one of the most talented rosters in the country, could explain why adjectives like 'sloppy' and 'undisciplined' accurately describe the product Texas has put on the field through two games. It could also be the root the Longhorns, as Sarkisian put it on Monday, giving in to human nature and failing to show up with the required levels of mental intensity and focus for the San Jose State game. “You come off a really big game on the road for your season opener and human nature is, 'Let's take a deep breath and relax.' We don't get to relax,” Sarkisian said. “Our mental intensity needs to be as high as it needs to be. We need to play with the right type of discipline throughout the week — on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. That discipline is what's going to lead to the proper habits of how we practice, which, ultimately, will lead to the consistency in our play, which will lead to the growth that all of us need to make." The process of showing up every day with the right frame of mind, Sarkisian said, starts with him and the coaches, a group dealing with their own growing pains. Sarkisian’s Texas staff wouldn’t be the first to miscalculate the issues inexperience can create after coaching clubs chock-full of talented veterans to the doorstep of the national championship game each of the last two seasons. If the Longhorns want to find out whether or not the third time is the charm, things need to come together sooner rather than later and result in a cleaner, more detail-oriented product on the field. For that to happen, Texas must show for Saturday’s game against UTEP (3:15 p.m., SEC Network) more prepared to play to its lofty internal standard compared to how it handled last weekend's home opener. “Our standard is the only scoreboard that matters,” Sarkisian said. “We've got to play to our standard. The scoreboard up there will take care of itself.” View full news story

Wonderful "Champ" Monds update Vero Beach, Fla. - At least two Power 4 head coaches believe top 2028 quarterback prospect in the country is Wonderful "Champ" Monds IV. And that opinion covers any class from 2026 to 2028. That type of feedback from college coaches means OnTexasFootball needed to make some time to stop by the High School in old "Dodger Town" to see the 6-foot-2, 219-pounder. Monds is currently out with an ankle injury, but is expected back late in the regular season. He was injured in the season-opening win over Melbourne (Fla.) Eau Gallie High. He was 11 of 15 for 127 yards and TD when he went down around halftime. While Texas hasn't offered Monds yet, quarterbacks coach A.J. Milwee has been in contact with Vero Beach High head coach Lenny Jankowski. In talking to Monds and his father today at practice, there is a definite interest in the Longhorns if an offer is extended. Monds was offered by UCF (first), Florida State, Florida and Miami in June of 2024, prior to playing a high school game. Michigan is the most recent offer, the first week of September. Notes on Monds ... 1. Started all season for Vero Beach in 2024 as a 14 year old freshman. Completed 181 of 268 passes for 2,234 yards and 23 TD's (5 INT's), along with 501 yards rushing and 9 scores. 2. Won't turn 16 until January of 2026. 3. Was an unofficial visitor at the Texas at Ohio State game August 30. 4. SEC offers: Florida, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss and South Carolina. 5. Other offers: Ohio State, FSU, Miami, UCF, Baylor, Illinois, SMU, USF, West Virginia, North Carolina and Wake Forest. 6. Having known Vero Beach head coach Lenny Jankowski for over a decade, I take him at his word on his players and players he has gone against. Jankowski says Monds is easily the most talented player he has coached or see at 14 years old, and now 15.

New 2026 LB offer update Texas linebackers coach Johnny Nansen extended an offer to Michigan State verbal Braylon Hodge (Denver/Cherry Creek). OnTexasFootball exchanged messages with the 6-3, 215-pounder since the offer was made. Hodge tells OTF that he is working out visit details with Nansen and the staff right now. It’s likely that Hodge will visit Texas September 20 for the Sam Houston State game.

2027 Lakeview Centennial (Texas) cornerback Montre Jackson tells OTF he will be visiting the Texas Longhorns this weekend for the matchup against UTEP. Jackson is currently ranked as the No. 20 cornerback in the country and No. 178 player in the country by 247Sports. He tells OTF that he remains in contact with the Texas staff regularly and now he will be in Austin for a game visit. The Garland native possesses elite speed, boasting a 10.39 wind-aided 100m in the spring. In April, Jackson clocked a wind-legal 10.53 100m. The four-star cornerback was at Oklahoma last weekend and the Longhorns will have their crack at impressing one of the top prospects in DFW.

Vic Schaefer and the WBB program hosted a major 2026 target on Saturday for the San Jose State game. 2026 Christ The King C (N.Y.) Olivia Vukosa was in Austin to check in with the Longhorns. The 6-foot-4-inch center is ranked as the No. 4 overall player in the class of 2026 and the No. 1 center in the country. Vukosa was joined by her mother and three sisters on the 40 Acres. The five-star dropped a final five on Friday, ahead of her trip to Austin. Those five included UConn, South Carolina, Texas, LSU and Ohio State.

Steve Sarkisian has made it clear that he’s playing the long game when it comes to depth and managing injuries, which is why No. 7 Texas was without a few key players for Saturday’s 38-7 win over San Jose State at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Running back Quintrevion Wisner, who rushed for a game-high 86 yards in a season-opening road loss to Ohio State, is dealing with a leg injury. Not wanting to “force the issue with him,” Sarkisian said, Wisner watched CJ Baxter Jr. (13 carries for 64 yards), Jerrick Gibson (seven carries for 38 yards) and Christian Clark (23 yards on four carries) lead the rushing attack from the sideline. “I wanted Christian to play more; I wanted Jerrick to get opportunities,” Sarkisian said. “It worked out for us that way.” The Longhorns were also without defensive tackle Alex January and wide receiver Emmett Mosley V, neither of whom dressed out for the game. OTF has learned that January’s injury absence could potentially extend into next Saturday’s home game against UTEP (3:15 p.m., SEC Network). “Could we have pressed him into action or not? I know we've got a really deep defensive line room. Again, I think about the big picture here with a lot of these injuries, especially early in the season,” Sarkisian said regarding January’s status. “I think about the long road that we're hoping to go on, I think about the depth on our roster and I just don't feel like sometimes we have to press guys into action that aren't healthy enough, or that could further injure themselves. The idea was to hold him and then play some of these other guys, which we were able to do.” During the game, DeAndre Moore Jr. appeared to catch an inadvertent fist to his head while being tackled after receiving a screen pass from Arch Manning, forcing him to leave the game early in the third quarter. Moore departed for the locker room after he was examined inside the sideline medical tent, but Sarkisian didn’t confirm the junior wide receiver’s injury after the game. “I couldn't see it from where it occurred, but he definitely got dinged,” Sarkisian said. “We held him after that.” View full news story

OnTexasFootball can report that Texas remains in contact with 4-star++ Florida Gators DL commit Kendall Guervil (Fort Myers, Gla./High). Guervil committed to Florida over Texas July 2. The 6-4.5, 310 pounder suffered a season ending knee injury (ACL) in the season opener, but that has not kept Kenny Baker and staff from remaining in contact.

Seventh-ranked Texas opened the 2025 home schedule by checking a lot of boxes in Saturday’s 38-7 win over San Jose State. Arch Manning threw for 295 yards and accounted for five touchdowns (four passing and one rushing), quarterbacking an offense that racked up 472 yards (7.3 yards per play). Parker Livingstone recorded the first 100-yard game of his young career (128 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions) and CJ Baxter Jr. (13 carries for 64 yards) paced the running game, which averaged 5.2 sack-adjusted yards per attempt (162 yards gained on 31 non-sack rushing attempts). Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense forced four turnovers (two fumbles forced by Anthony Hill Jr., one forced by Ty’Anthony Smith and an interception by Jaylon Guilbeau), which the offense turned into 21 points. The Longhorns limited the Spartans to a combined 4-for-17 effort on third and fourth down (4-for-15 on third down) and held them under 100 yards on the ground (85 total, 2.9 yards per attempt). With that said, the undisciplined, sloppy nature that clouded the 31-point margin of victory is best summarized by how the offense bookended the game. DeAndre Moore Jr.’s 28-yard gain on a flip pass from Manning on the first play from scrimmage was negated because of a holding penalty. Jerrick Gibson fumbled at the end of a 6-yard gain in the closing seconds of the game, marking the offense’s second turnover near the red zone. The toughest opponent Texas faced on Saturday was itself, and the Longhorns couldn’t get out of their way for long stretches of the game. — There’s no way to sugarcoat 12 penalties for 115 yards. Whether the infractions were committed before or after the snap, Texas has proven itself to be a sloppy, undisciplined team eight quarters into the season. The Longhorns wanted to put a cleaner product on the field than what it showed against Ohio State, but the mission wasn’t accomplished on Saturday. — Along with penalties, Texas must be better situationally. Manning’s most egregious mistake of the game was trying to throw a ball away late in the first half, which was intercepted near the goal line. While Gibson’s fumble didn’t count as a turnover in the red zone, the Longhorns have scored three touchdowns on six red-zone possessions through two games. Texas is now 7-for-26 on third down on the season. The offense was 2-for-12 on third down (average to-go distance of 9.7 yards), including 0-for-6 on third-and-9 or longer. Manning’s interception, a situation in which he’ll hopefully take the sack and live to fight another down in the future, came with 38 seconds left in the second quarter. For the second time in as many games, the Longhorns failed to get points in a two-minute situation with the opponent set to receive the second-half kickoff. — I usually don’t mind the aggressiveness to come after a punt, but in a scoreless game, and with an offense in desperate need of confidence, the 15-yard penalty Texas was assessed for roughing the punter brought the defense back on the field instead of the offense opening its third possession on the plus side of the field. — Manning (19-for-30 throwing the football) had moments where he played with confidence, stood his ground in the pocket and delivered the ball where it needed to go. The redshirt sophomore was by no means perfect, but the chemistry he’s building with Livingstone and Jack Endries (52 yards and a touchdown on two receptions) can go a long way toward laying the 2025 passing game's foundation. — Moore, who left the game with an undisclosed injury, and Ryan Wingo combined to catch eight balls for 60 yards on 12 targets. While Moore’s longest gain of the day was wiped out due to a penalty and Wingo dropped what could’ve been a long third-down conversion on a ball Manning put on the money, the attention Wingo drew on a post/corner combination route and Moore’s motion near the goal line opened windows on Livingstone’s two touchdown receptions. — San Jose State’s tight defensive alignment made it tougher for Texas to run the ball than it should’ve been against a defense that was gashed on the ground by Central Michigan (236 yards allowed). Still, it seemed like the Longhorn offensive line lacked a sense of urgency in the running game, and the Spartans won their share of one-on-one battles, which resulted in four tackles for loss and more pressure on Manning (six hurries) than expected. Saturday’s performance by the offensive line didn’t measure up to the effort in Columbus. — After two games, the identity of the offense remains a mystery. Going into the season, there was expected to be a shift away from the quick-game-heavy offense Quinn Ewers operated. The short game was largely a non-factor on Saturday, the intermediate game has been erratic and the offense hasn’t connected on enough vertical shots to lean on the deep ball. The passing game is more of a work in progress than I expected it to be, even this early. — For the most part, the defense seemed willing to let San Jose State run the football and connect on short passes. Kwiatkowski’s plan to rely on a light box to defend the run while trying to limit yards after the catch got the job done. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t expect Texas to be as bland as it was on Saturday against the better offenses it’ll face in the SEC. — Whether the Longhorns' miscues can be chalked up to growing pains or not, the most frustrating aspect regarding the seemingly endless series of self-inflicted wounds is what the on-field product looked like when Texas had everything clicking. The Longhorns scored 28 points between the 4:10 mark of the first quarter and when there was 12:56 left on the clock in the second quarter, 21 of which came off turnovers. Unfortunately, the time surrounding the 7:14 blitzkrieg was riddled with mistakes that Texas must eliminate to be the type of team it wants to be by season’s end. View full news story

Steve Sarkisian’s truest words between last Saturday’s 14-7 road loss to Ohio State and the 2025 home opener against San Jose State on Saturday (11 a.m., ABC) came during his weekly press conference on Monday. Sarkisian was addressing the Spartans, specifically his respect for Ken Niumatalolo as a coach. Aside from the kind words, Sarkisian wrapped up his opening statement by pointing out where the Longhorns' attention should be while building toward the SEC opener, on the road against No. 13 Florida on Oct. 4. “Good challenge, good opportunity for us, but this week is really about us and what we do, and everybody in the organization being coachable and striving to get better this week,” Sarkisian said. “It's a lot of internal focus for us.” How Texas gets the job done is more important than running San Jose State (0-1), which dropped a 16-14 decision at home to Central Michigan last Friday, out of Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium like a five-touchdown favorite should do. The team’s three remaining non-conference games are an opportunity to establish an identity, something that’s desperately needed on offense after a largely forgettable afternoon in Columbus. It's imperative to fix the red zone issues. The Longhorns have scored just three touchdowns in 10 red-zone trips over their last four losses. Still, execution inside the 20 isn’t the only area where the offense has to find itself before attempting to navigate an SEC schedule. Texas was 5-for-14 on third down and 1-for-5 on fourth down against the Buckeyes. The Longhorns had a three-and-out in a two-minute situation before the end of the first half and ended a potential game-tying drive (with possession of the ball at their 15-yard line with 2:26 left in regulation) by turning the ball over on downs. Sarkisian’s club will be left wanting against the more formidable opponents on the schedule if situational football continues to be executed with such ineptitude. The more snaps Arch Manning logs running Sarkisian’s offense, the better the Longhorns can be. That’s if the two are on the same page, which means Manning has to execute and trust what Sarkisian dials up when playmaking opportunities arise. It's also on Sarkisian to have a better working knowledge of which portions of his call sheet will help Manning succeed situationally, especially how to most effectively start drives (the offense averaged 5.2 yards per play on first down in the loss to Ohio State, but the running game averaged 5.9 yards per attempt, while Manning was 6-for-13 through the air for 58 yards). The Spartans averaged the third-most pass attempts per game in FBS last season (42.5). Their run-and-shoot style of offense should be conducive to Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense negatively impacting Walker Eget (24-for-43, 308 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in San Jose State’s opener) far more than how often Texas got to Julian Sayin, with the game plan put together by Ryan Day and Brian Hartline minimizing the risks taken by the redshirt freshman. Even though Pro Football Focus only charged the Longhorns with two missed tackles in the opener, Sarkisian wants to see a more conservative effort from Texas defenders to force turnovers (the 2023 team’s loss to Oklahoma was the last game in which the Longhorn defense failed to record a takeaway before last week’s loss to the Buckeyes). “I thought we played with really good effort, which didn't put us in a lot of one-on-one tackle situations. We had multiple white hats around the ball to get people on the ground,” Sarkisian said during his pregame Zoom call on Thursday. “That's going to be important in this game because the run-and-shoot creates space, and half of that offense is — get the completion, make the first guy miss in the open field. Owning our leverage, wrapping when we tackle — not just trying to knock people to the ground, but wrapping up — and then the second man coming in, attacking the football, I think, is going to be big as we continue to move forward.” Although there’s no silver lining to the Ohio State loss, Texas knows exactly where it must improve with four weeks to go until the Longhorns head to the Swamp to tangle with the Gators. While Sarkisian’s club should travel to Gainesville with a 3-1 record in tow, how Texas approaches the next three games will go a long way toward determining how many notches the Longhorns will put in the win column when the level of competition picks back up. “What do we do on Monday morning to get ourselves prepared for a ball game? What do we do to try to minimize players looking too far down the road and focus on the task at hand, of what's right in front of them?” Sarkisian said Thursday. “It's not so much about what anybody outside the building thinks or doesn't think, it's truly what I believe. I've been doing this long enough to know that human nature is human nature, and we can get caught in that trap, so sometimes you coach them harder. Sometimes you point out the slightest of details that could be off to make sure that the screws are tightened up really tight and that we're ready to play.” View full news story

For the OTF OG's, ask me anything! It is late enough on a Friday afternoon where you can go ahead and mentally log out and prepare for the upcoming weekend of football. To help get you to the weekend, feel free to get your questions in!

Texas vs San Jose State Game Week Thread The Longhorns play host to San Jose State September 6 in the 2025 home-opener. TV: ABC 11 a.m. central San Jose State SJSU lost their season opener 16-14 to Central Michigan at home. CMU rushed for 247 yards at 4.9 per attempt. The CMU top two RB’s put up 201 yards of the 247 on 31 attempts. CMU totaled 362 yards on 63 plays. QB Walker Eget attempted 43 passes in the loss, and had two rough interceptions in the opener. Both were ill-advised throws. If he repeats decisions close to that September 6, Texas will likely get a pick six opportunity. Eget also had a lost fumble in the game. SJSU posted 383 yards on 67 offensive plays.

Wanted to share my final thoughts on Arch Manning ahead of the non-conference action over the next three weeks. I think Arch Manning will be fine. The quickest way to elevate his game is to truly trust that offensive line which played admirably against Ohio State last Saturday. Trust in the offensive line will do a few things: 1. Slow down the game, allowing Arch to read his keys instead of skipping chapters to find a check down. 2. Allow Arch to play comfortably within the pocket, cleaning up the mechanical issues we saw due to a sped up internal clock. 3. Provide opportunities for routes downfield to develop and come open downfield, something that happened on Saturday but was not given a chance as a result of some skiddishness. Three weeks to improve and as a betting man, the one thing I am not going to do is bet against Arch Manning.

Thoughts on Arch Manning I have a number of thoughts on Arch Manning today …. 1. Any QB simply can’t miss the easy throws. Arch missed nearly every easy throw today. You can’t play QB at a high level, or be a high level team missing easy throws. End of discussion. 2. Some of the easy throws were also in critical down and distance. Those are double bad for a QB. Simply can’t do it against quality competition, period. 3. Ohio State is uber talented team and quality team. Statistically, this will be Arch’s worst game of the season. 4. Arch’s legs will be a major asset as the season moves along. Again, this will be as talented of a D as Texas faces. And this was on the road with months to prepare. 5. Arch has to get more comfortable in the pocket. Again, high end competition, but he had too many throws without balance in the pocket today to be an accurate QB. 6. What I’m expecting the next three games. Texas will overwhelm lesser opponents with talent. There will be big games statistically, big play TD’s and talk about how much the Texas offense will have improved. I will be in wait and see mode. The next test isn’t lambs getting paid to come to Austin and get taken to the woodshed… it’s at Florida. 7. Arch will play better. That’s easy to see and predict. But the question comes down to how much better as the season moves along. Texas has a playoff defense - zero doubt in my mind. But Sark and Arch have a lot to prove if they will end up with a playoff level offense. Other topics: 1. Texas run game has a chance this year. If that’s the start, can’t wait to see the finish. 2. Texas’ defense will give the team the opportunity to be in every game this season. 3. The season isn’t over. But the margin for error is down to one game. That amps up the pressure the rest of the season. And the pressure is on Sark after that stinker of a game plan today.

AUSTIN, Texas — Steve Sarkisian opened his press conference on Monday, more than 48 hours after Texas kicked off the 2025 season with a 14-7 road loss to Ohio State, with his thoughts after reviewing the game. Sarkisian’s film study confirmed that the Longhorns left too many yards, opportunities and points on the field at the Horseshoe to avenge their College Football Playoff semifinal loss to the Buckeyes in January. A streak of 24 consecutive games forcing at least one turnover was snapped (a 34-30 loss to Oklahoma in 2023 was the last game in which the Texas defense failed to record a takeaway). Three penalties charged to the defense (illegal hands to the face calls against Colin Simmons and Liona Lefau and a defensive holding call against Malik Muhammad) aided a touchdown drive and wiped out a safety, which put the Longhorns on the losing end of a nine-point swing. Even with Jack Bouwmeester averaging 46.2 yards per punt, with three of his four punts pinning Ohio State inside its 10-yard line, Sarkisian said Texas must be better at playing complementary football, beginning with Saturday’s home opener against San Jose State (11 a.m., ABC). “I thought in the first half we had some really good field position that we didn't capitalize on offensively, that the defense and special teams got us,” Sarkisian said. “Conversely, we had some good field position on defense. “I just didn't think we did a good enough job of pinning them deep and flipping the field back in our favor.” Obviously, the offense going 1-for-5 on fourth down, with two turnovers on downs occurring in the red zone, isn't conducive to winning games against elite-level competition. “We were aggressive initially, obviously, with the first fourth-down sneak, and then the fourth-and-2, which we didn't convert,” Sarkisian said. “A couple of the fourth downs late were, kind of, because of the situation, we, kind of, had to go for them. They were what they were.” On the other side of the coin, Sarkisian liked his team’s fight. The offense “played much better in the second half,” he said. Arch Manning and the Longhorns tallied 257 total yards on 41 plays from scrimmage (6.3 yards per play) and recorded six of their seven explosive plays (four pass completions of 15 yards or more and two rushing attempts of 10 yards or more). He came away pleased with what Texas generated on the ground (166 yards on 37 official rushing attempts). With Quintrevion Wisner (16 carries for 80 yards) and C.J. Baxter (10 carries for 40 yards) leading the way, the Longhorns averaged 4.5 yards per rushing attempt as a team (the Buckeyes allowed 4.5 or more yards per carry in just three of their previous 29 games, a stretch in which the Ohio State defense held opponents to under 100 yards rushing). “I think our ability to run the football was evident in the game,” Sarkisian said. “To go into that environment against that defense, to rush for just about 170 yards, I thought, was good for us.” Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense held the Buckeyes to 3.8 yards per play, 2.3 yards per rushing attempt, a 3-for-12 effort on third down and just two explosive plays (a 16-yard reception by Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin’s 40-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Tate) on 54 snaps. “I thought, defensively, we played a very good football game,” Sarkisian said. Individually, Sarkisian singled out a few Longhorns for their performances in all three phases. “I was proud and happy for Cedric Baxter. I think he had 15 touches in the game, his first game back not playing for a year — 10 rushes, five receptions,” Sarkisian said. “I thought Manny Muhammad competed his tail off Saturday against a great player in Jeremiah Smith. I thought Jack Bouwmeester was fantastic. He's a weapon for us in the punt game. I thought to have four [new] full-time starters on the offensive line [Trevor Goosby, Connor Stroh, Cole Hutson and Brandon Baker], and the way that they performed was definitely encouraging. I think Arch, in the second half, I thought we started to see the glimpses of what he's capable of. Sarkisian wrapped up his thoughts on the loss to the Buckeyes before fielding questions on Monday with a message befitting a coach and a team looking to turn the page after learning a lot about themselves. “A lot to look forward to this season, I think, of where this team can go,” he added. “We've got a ton of potential. Now, we've got to make that come to life.” View full news story

Week ones are good for overreactions and out of proportion takes that typically don't age well, so read into this as you wish. However, when scouring over the numbers and tape again this morning, there was a clear part of the passing game that felt worse than others – play action passes. The numbers back it up too. *** Arch on Play Action Pass Attempts 10 drop backs 5-10 passing 26 yards 2.6 yards per attempt 1 INT 2 turnover worthy plays Arch on Straight Drop Backs 24 drop backs 12-20 passing 144 yards 7.4 yards per attempts 1 TD 0 turnover worthy plays Perhaps part of the offensive struggles on play action snaps include the average distance of target. On PA snaps, Arch's average distance of target was 11.9, compared to 8.8 on straight drop backs. *** We will see over the next three weeks how this trend continues, but file this one in the growing "Didn't Expect That" folder from the season opener.

Texas is back in Austin and returned to the practice field on Monday morning following the season opener in Columbus against Ohio State. Steve Sarkisian will meet with the media around 11:30 a.m. and will be followed by a handful of Texas Longhorns as they put to rest the discussion about the season opener and prepare for the first home game of the season against San Jose State on Saturday.