AUSTIN — After a stunning 27-24 loss to the Florida Gators in which the No. 7 Texas Longhorns only ran 19 plays for 96 yards in the second half — 62 0f which came on a desperation heave on 4th and 7 down 10 points with five minutes left in the game — head coach Steve Sarkisian said that he’s going to have a long night.
The Longhorns had already had a long day.
Did he think of making a change away from struggling senior quarterback Arch Manning, who missed too many open receivers, took too many sacks,
and committed another game-changing turnover when he fumbled on a sack with two minutes remaining and the Longhorns down three points?
“I just felt like we didn’t we play good offensive football and we’re not playing great offensive football right now, so everything is going to be evaluated,” Sarkisian said.
What happened to the offense after scoring 10 points on the first two drives?
“Failure to to do our job well, not calling good enough plays, not winning one on ones,” Sarkisian said. “I mean, it’s all of it. That’s my point. It’s like, I have to evaluate everything.”
What were Sarkisian’s impressions of how Manning played? When he says everything is evaluated, does that include…
“Everything means everything,” Sarkisian interrupted.
How do does Sarkisian balance changing personnel versus improving the personnel the Longhorns are already using?
“That’s part of the evaluation. We need to figure that out,” Sarkisian said.
After all the effort put into this season, why are things not clicking and heading in this direction?
“No, that’s the frustrating part, and the frustrating part is we practice really well,” Sarkisian said. “We’re in a great frame of mind to go execute, and we’re not, and so that’s part of the evaluation. I’ve got to look at it all to figure out where is the disconnect.”
What is holding the offense back?
“I think details and route running, I think pass protection, picking up blitzes, I think not being able to run the ball for two yards in short yardage, just to name a few that pop into my head,” Sarkisian said.
What changes has Sarkisian made to his play calling or has he stuck to his base offense over the last three games? Does he anticipate making…
“We’re going to evaluate everything,” Sarkisain said, interrupting another reporter. “I don’t know how many times I need to say we’re going to evaluate everything from an offensive perspective. Part of that is play call.”
What process will Sarkisian use to evaluate himself as a play caller?
“The process is the same process that I use every weekend. I evaluate everything that we do, from the game plan itself to the play calls themselves to who was touching the ball to how did we block to what do we call in specific situations to how did every individual perform, myself included,” Sarkisian said.
“I don’t take it personally evaluating myself — I’m probably harder on myself than anybody and I’ll evaluate this game the same way. I’m sure there’s going to be situations I’m going to be really hard on myself because we weren’t good enough.”
Sarkisian speaks frequently about not concerning himself with what people outside the football facility think, but if he wants to challenge the assertion that he’s harder on himself than anybody else, taking a look at social media might give him a different perspective on that.
