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There was a reasonable excuse available for Texas during the opening weeks of this season. Ohio State has an excellent defense, Oklahoma has an excellent defense and Tennessee has an excellent defense, which meant the Longhorns could point toward the schedule and argue that an offense searching for consistency had simply been handed several miserable assignments. Florida was supposed to tell us whether that explanation still held any value.
Instead, Florida removed it completely.
The Gators had been shredded by Missouri and South Carolina in consecutive weeks, while Texas had an offense loaded with Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo, Raleek Brown, Hollywood Smothers, a highly regarded offensive line and perhaps the most scrutinized quarterback in America. The Longhorns led 17-3 late in the second quarter and then essentially disappeared, finishing with 272 yards while converting only two of 10 third downs. Florida possessed the ball for more than 38 minutes, sacked Arch Manning five times and eventually forced the fumble that ended whatever comeback hopes remained.
Manning deserves plenty of scrutiny because quarterback comes with that responsibility, especially when your last name guarantees every snap will be examined like evidence at a congressional hearing. There have been enough brilliant throws to understand why scouts remain fascinated by him, but there are also long stretches where Texas’ offense seems to shrink rather than expand around its quarterback. The uncomfortable part is that changing Manning would not explain why the running game remains inconsistent, why explosive plays feel occasional rather than intentional or why an offense this talented spends so much time moving sideways.
Eventually that conversation reaches Steve Sarkisian.
Texas hired Sarkisian because he was one of the most respected offensive minds in football, fresh off coordinating an Alabama offense that made scoring points look almost embarrassingly easy. In 2026, though, Texas is dangerous primarily because of its defense. The offense has scored exactly 24 points against Ohio State, Oklahoma and Florida, winning one of those games while repeatedly asking the other side of the ball to keep things manageable until something useful happens.
Sarkisian said afterward that everything would be evaluated, and I hope “everything” actually means everything. Manning should be evaluated, the running game should be evaluated and the structure of the passing attack should be evaluated, but so should the arrangement where Sarkisian serves as both head coach and primary offensive play caller. I have no idea whether somebody else in the building would improve things, but continuity cannot become the argument for continuity when the current offense keeps producing the same frustrations.
The schedule is not going to become kinder while Texas works through this. Ole Miss, Mississippi State and LSU still loom, and the Ohio State victory can only carry so much weight if the Longhorns continue losing games their roster suggests they should win. Texas went all in on 2026, which means missing the playoff with this much talent would inevitably turn the conversation toward Sarkisian himself.
That might sound dramatic in October, but expectations in Austin were never modest. Texas did not assemble one of the best rosters in the country hoping to argue about strength of schedule at 9-3. At some point the Longhorns have to stop explaining why these games are difficult and begin winning them.