The Horns dominated the first half, but only had a 10-0 lead to show for it at halftime. After a third quarter UT field goal, Arkansas put together two scoring drives and two defensive stops to cut the lead to 13-10.
Texas responded with a touchdown, a forced fumble and a final drive that ended with three kneel-downs to secure the win.
After the game, ABC’s Katie George asked Texas coach Steve Sarkisian about that final drive.
“It was just one of those days. They were going to make us earn it. We weren’t going to get many chunk plays. So we had to be really efficient. I thought that was a really efficient drive on the ground. Hit a couple passes. Great catch by (Matthew) Golden for the touchdown.” Steve Sarkisian
The ABC sideline reporter then asked about the defense.
“Our defense played fantastic. Jahdae Barron had a great game as well. Alfred Collins had a great day. That’s a really explosive offense, so to hold these guys to 10 points on the road, that’s a heck of a job.” – Steve Sarkisian
Finally, George asked Sark about going on the road in the SEC.
“You guys saw the environment today. It was a tough one. Proud of our guys. It’s not easy to go on the road in this conference for sure.” – Steve Sarkisian
Texas Longhorns face a crucial SEC game vs Vanderbilt as they look to rebound and strengthen their CFP hopes ahead of the November 5 rankings reveal.
As the No. 5 Texas Longhorns prepare for their first conference road trip of the season against No. 25 Vanderbilt, head coach Steve Sarkisian expressed confidence in quarterback Quinn Ewers after a strong week of practice. Sarkisian praised Ewers’ focus and execution, suggesting the junior signal-caller is in top form heading into a pivotal SEC matchup.
“I thought Quinn’s had a really good week of work. I think he’s really dialed into the game plan. I think he’s playing with a lot of confidence,” Sarkisian noted during his weekly media availability. “I’m looking forward to him getting another opportunity as a competitor to go back out and compete at a high level.”
Texas is looking to rebound after a disappointing 30-15 home loss to the Georgia Bulldogs, a result that has left the Longhorns in the spotlight. Sarkisian acknowledged as much on Wednesday, emphasizing that his team “has something to prove” following the setback.
Sarkisian on his Thursday availability; “One of the beauties in sports is you get to do it again.”
Saturday’s 3:15 p.m. CT matchup in Nashville will be no easy task, as Vanderbilt enters on a three-game win streak, including a signature 40-35 victory over then-No. 1 Alabama. Commodores head coach Clark Lea made it clear this week that his team is preparing for Texas’ entire offensive system, which may include backup quarterback Arch Manning, a nod to the recent history of injuries at the position.
“I believe that this is a system on offense that doesn’t change dramatically with respect to who’s taking the snaps,” Lea said Tuesday. “So, we’re preparing to defend the system. Obviously, both quarterbacks have played, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see both. They’ve got injury history there, and you just never know.”
While Sarkisian remains committed to Ewers as the starter, Lea’s comments highlights the growing attention being placed on Manning’s potential role. Manning, the highly-touted sophomore, brings a more mobile dynamic to the field, a contrast to Ewers’ pocket-passing style. It’s clear that Manning’s athleticism and ability to push the ball vertically have drawn intrigue from opposing defenses, even as Ewers continues to lead the offense.
Tuesday, November 5th, will be a night all college football fans have circled on their calendars, as the College Football Playoff Committee unveils its first rankings of the season.
This game in Nashville carries significant weight for the Longhorns in the SEC standings. A win could propel Texas further in their quest for a College Football Playoff spot, while a loss could deal a serious blow to their postseason hopes.
Though the LSU-Texas A&M showdown may grab more attention, the Longhorns’ performance will be closely watched as they aim to rebound from their defeat to Georgia and keep their CFP ambitions alive in their first year in the Southeastern Conference.
With 4:43 left in the second quarter, the offense was flat. There was no life. The five Longhorns possessions ended punt, punt, fumble, punt and interception
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs already had 20 on the board.
There are only so many buttons a coach can push to change momentum. One of them is to change quarterbacks. Sark has a very capable backup QB. He pulled Ewers and inserted Arch Manning.
Immediately, experts from around college football started to question the move. They started to psychoanalyze Ewers. They started to talk about the future impact.
All valid questions. It didn’t help that Sark’s move seemingly backfired. Manning fared no better leading the offense to a punt and fumble.
“Coach Sark has come out and said that [Ewers] is his guy, he’s our starter, so at no point throughout would I ever think I would see him have to go to the bench. I thought this was a really weird decision. I don’t think it’s a situation where you have to go to the sideline and look at something or anything like that. Maybe [Texas] were trying to get a little bit of a spark going, but it didn’t really come to fruition the way they wanted it to.” — Johnny Manziel
It’s hard to imagine any quarterback advocating for a starter to be pulled. But the move might have worked better than the national media is giving Sark credit for. At least in the second half.
AUSTIN, TEXAS – OCTOBER 19: Quinn Ewers #3 of the Texas Longhorns walks off the field after being defeated by the Georgia Bulldogs 30-15 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 19, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Ewers came out of the locker room looking more confident. He played better. His throws were better. The junior was 3 of 5 on the next drive, which ended in a Ewers TD pass to Isaiah Bond for Texas’ first score of the game. Ewers hit Bond again on the 2-point conversion.
UT then went on a bit of a run to cut the lead to 23-15. Ultimately, Texas and Ewers couldn’t complete the comeback. But you can’t rule out that Ewers two series on the bench may have contributed to his hot start in the second half.
The long term impact of the move is being much discussed across the nation. ESPN’s Greg McElroy had some harsh words about the move.
“So when your backup quarterback has rock star status, you just can’t make that move there. Now Pandora’s box has been opened, because Steve Sarkisian showed that he is not afraid to replace Quinn Ewers in favor of Arch Manning in the event in which Quinn Ewers struggles. So the only way you could have pulled the plug on Ewers is if Arch is going to be your guy moving forward.” — Greg McElroy
It’s an interesting point. McElroy is suggesting the move could harm Ewers’ psyche, partly because the backup is famous. Sark has stated, before and after the game, that Ewers is his starting QB. I don’t think anyone on the team questions that.
Could the move harm Ewers mentally? Maybe. But if Ewers is the guy that’s going to lead Texas to the playoff and a chance at the national title, his mental makeup better be stronger than to cave in for the season because he was benched for two series. Ewers has been through a lot in his college career. I don’t think the benching Saturday will have much of an impact.
The more pressing questions are: Why did Ewers have a bad game in the first place? Why did Ewers look lost? Why has Ewers not risen to his pre-injury level of confidence and performance?
The short answer is he’s still probably hurt on some level. If your abs hurt, they hurt on every throw. You just can’t put your entire core into a throw if the oblique injury is nagging.
In 2021, Georgia QB JT Daniels suffered the same injury in Week 2 and wasn’t cleared to play until mid-October. By then, Stetson Bennett had taken over and would lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back national titles.
It you’re in pain every time you throw the ball, you will not have the same amount of confidence you have when you’re pain free. The biggest impact on Ewers mentality is most likely his health.
"As soon as Arch jogs on the field, if he has success, it's his job."@joelklatt shares his thoughts on the Texas QB changeup against Georgia and he doesn't think it's that serious, yet 🙌 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Jo3NEPJes6
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) October 21, 2024
McElroy mentions Manning’s “rock star status.” Should the fame and notoriety of the backup have any impact at all on who plays? Should Sark take the celebrity status of his backup and outside opinion into account when making the decision of which QB to play? McElroy thinks so.
“With who the backup is, and the celebrity status that he carries, I would have avoided that at all cost. That’s a problem because now, first series of the game, if Quinn Ewers starts a game one for three and they punt after a five-play drive stalls, you’re going to start hearing chants of Arch. You have to force your starting quarterback into feeling comfortable.” — Greg McElroy
Sark’s job is to win. A coach has to be aware of player mentality, but ultimately, this is big boy college football. This is a program where you have to win. It is a program you have to be aiming for the top. Sark might worry about feelings, but winning takes precedent.
Ewers is far from perfect. He is a really good college quarterback. There are only a handful of QBs that might be better. Does Ewers have what it takes to beat a top shelf defense? A top three of four defense? He never has.
I fear he doesn’t have enough arm strength or mobility to thrive against an elite SEC defense, or at the next level for that matter. Speed on the other side of the ball is his kryptonite.
It is obvious Manning’s tools are better. His arm strength has a much better chance against the speed of an elite SEC, or even NFL, defense. But his experience is lacking. We saw that on full display during his two series against Georgia.
No one knows Ewers and Manning as players better than Sark. Juggling the two personalities is and will be a challenge. But if you start hamstringing the coach based on outside perceptions and popularity, then you’re not doing everything you can to win. You’re not doing everything to be at the top of the sport.
Steve Sarkisian was ‘cussing’ himself out during the Longhorns game with Mississippi State, but it wasn’t for pulling points off the board.
Sometimes Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian has regrets. Think of all of the plays and scenarios that go through a play-callers head during a game. Do we pass? Do we run? Do we go for it? Do we kick? Coaches are used to second-guessing themselves and being second-guessed.
In his time at Texas, Sark has been aggressive on fourth down. Austin-American Statesman writer Danny Davis points out, “In its 44 games under head coach Steve Sarkisian, the Texas football team has left its offense on the field for 80 fourth-down conversion attempts. And on 36 of those tries, the Longhorns have not been successful.”
Against Mississippi State, Sark took points off the board to go for it on 4th and 3. Arch Manning’s pass sailed out of bounds and Texas turned the ball back over to the Bulldogs on downs with the score stuck at 14-6.
In his postgame press conference, Sark was asked about the decision. The coach explained that he had already decided on third down that Texas would go for it if fourth down was within three yards. He stuck to his original plan.
“I thought they played what we were running pretty good. We got the look we wanted, they played it pretty good. I wish Arch could have maybe given Isaiah a little better throw, it was going to be a really tough catch for him. But that’s human nature, sometimes the throw is not perfect, the catch isn’t great and it falls incomplete.
But I’m never going to apologize for us trying to stay aggressive because our players appreciate us being aggressive. It wasn’t us going rogue. It was something that we believed in that hey, this was the number of where we were going to go and that number came up and so we went for it.” — Steve Sarkisian
AUSTIN, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 28: Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns reacts on the sideline in the first half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 28, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
It wasn’t that play that took away points and handed the ball back to Hail State that had Sark second guessing his choice. He went for it because of another decision he made in the first quarter.
“I can sit here and beat myself up (about that fourth-down play), but I beat myself up for something earlier in the game already enough.” — Steve Sarkisian
The Longhorns coach explained it was on a third down run to Jaydon Blue that had him upset with himself. Sark said he should’ve gone with the original play he wanted to call on third-and-1 in the first quarter but didn’t. Instead, Blue fumbled.
“Coach Sark was getting cussed out in his own head.” — Steve Sarkisian
The Rice head coach has a ton of respect for Steve Sarkisian and his offensive prowess.
Texas is set to host Rice for their season opener on Saturday, and emotions are running high for a couple of reasons.
For starters, college football is finally back. However, the hype around the Longhorns has many thinking that this team will be generational. Texas is set to field what should be their best team since 2009, and are looking to finally be…we all know the word.
On Tuesday, Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren was speaking to the media about the game and spoke highly of Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. He highlighted how innovative Sarkisian is on offense and even went as far to call him surgical as written about by On3.
“I think everybody knows Sark’s background. When you go back to those mid-2000’s USC teams when him and Lane (Kiffin) were as innovative as anybody in the country. What Sark did when he went to the Falcons and went to Alabama again, I mean, just an unbelievable offensive mind that’s very surgical.”
With a more confident and improved Quinn Ewers, elite receiving corps, and one of the best offensive lines in the country, Texas fans are hoping to see the success that Sarkisian had while at Alabama as the offensive coordinator.
Unfortunately for Rice and Bloomgren, they are subject to feeling the wrath of this high powered offense and enter the game as 35 point underdogs. They do however have an experienced quarterback in JT Daniels and a pair of receivers that could challenge the defense.
Former championship winning head coach Urban Meyer was recently discussing the Texas roster ahead of the 2023 season and had very high praise for the team.
The buzz around the Longhorns has been growing and growing as the season approaches, with Texas being favored in all but one game and expected to win the Big 12. The hype has gone from Texas fans praising their own team, to analysts and experts hopping on the hype train as well.
The latest to do so was former Florida and Ohio State head coach, Urban Meyer. When talking to Tim May of Lettermen Row, Meyer raved about how deep this Texas team was.
“They are loaded. There’s a five-star athlete at every position on offense.”
Meyer is correct, as this Longhorns team is the deepest squad we have seen since 2009 headlined by five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers. Joining Ewers is one of the best receiver corps in the country, a stacked running back room with four and five-stars littered throughout, and an offensive line that is one of the best units in college football.
Texas will be putting their new loaded offense on display come Sept. 2. As for Meyer, he is one of the analysts for Fox Sports and can be seen previewing games each Saturday.
Texas is finding success across multiple recruiting classes.
The Longhorns have been hitting the recruiting trail as hard as any program across the country, and they appear to have more good news coming their way.
After seeing Texas’ class take a major leap from around No. 60 in the country to now being a top-25 class, 247Sports analyst Hank South is calling for more. The Texas recruiting insider for Bama247 inserted five crystal ball predictions on Tuesday in favor of Texas for recruits across multiple classes.
Let’s take a look at which recruits Texas is now viewed as the favorite to land in the near future, according to Hank South.
The Texas Longhorns are being mentioned as the favorite to win the Big 12 this college football season and maybe even make a playoff appearance.
If they were to win the Big 12 it would be the first time they’ve done so since No. 12 (Colt McCoy) was leading the offense. When looking at this roster on paper combined with what we saw during the spring game, it is hard to think of a team from the past decade that looks as good as this one. However, even with all of the hype there are still players that have much to prove in 2023.
That is why I decided to pinpoint four emerging stars for Texas. These are names you absolutely need to look out for this upcoming season. Whether they were starters last season or not, these four Longhorns will have much higher expectations as Texas looks to return to glory.
