Man, what a trainwreck in Austin. Texas, the number 7 team, just dropped its second straight embarrassing loss, falling 27-24 to unranked Florida. And get this: they blew a double-digit lead *again*! A 17-3 first-half lead gone, just like that. This is the first time since 2003 a top-10 squad has coughed up double-digit leads in back-to-back weeks against unranked opponents. Wild, right?
Sarkisian Drove the Lamborghini Into a Ditch
Steve Sarkisian was handed the keys to a frickin’ Lamborghini this season, a super expensive roster with one of the highest-paid coaches in the game. And what’d he do? Drove it straight into a ditch. His Longhorns are now sitting at a disappointing 4-2, and honestly, the whole operation looks broken. The play-calling? Not good enough. The quarterback play? Not good enough. Even the “much-ballyhooed” roster construction? Nope, not good enough. You can’t be one of the most invested programs in the sport and be this anemic on offense, especially when Florida had lost its last two games by more than 20 points and was playing its backup quarterback against them. This program needs wholesale changes, short-term and long-term.
The Arch Manning Conundrum is Real
A huge part of this mess has to be Arch Manning. Remember all the preseason hype about him being a potential No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick? Yeah, he looks a lot closer to being benched right now. He still flashes a “wow” play when the chips are down, but his confidence is clearly shaken. An SEC head coach even straight up said, “Arch, you don’t know what you’re going to get. Whether it’s good Arch or Dazed and Confused Arch.” That’s brutal, man. He’s holding back an offense that should be explosive with guys like Ryan Wingo, Cam Coleman, and Hollywood Smothers. Forget the national championship dreams; he just doesn’t look capable of guiding them there.
After the game, a salty Sarkisian basically admitted everything is on the table. He said, “We’re going to evaluate everything,” and stressed it included the quarterback position and the offensive play-calling. You know it’s bad when the coach is publicly questioning his own play-calling and his starting QB. Texas’s playoff odds are now chilling at 43%, according to CBS Sports, and missing the 12-team playoff for a second straight year would be “egregious” given all the cash poured into this program. With No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 16 Mississippi State, a trip to No. 13 Missouri, and then a showdown at No. 22 LSU still on the schedule, Sarkisian and his squad better figure things out fast. Otherwise, this freefall is gonna hit rock bottom.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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