Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is having a great season as the leader of the football program in Austin. It’s been a long while since the team won at the level it is winning at right now.
The Texas Longhorns are on the verge of their first 10-win regular season since Colt McCoy led the team at quarterback. Even so, Sarkisian knows there is an opportunity for the taking that will require better football than the team is currently playing. Texas has a chance to win the Big 12 and make the College Football Playoff.
Sarkisian noted a few things that will need to improve over the next few weeks. Most of the concern from the team’s current level of play revolves around blowing 20-point leads to win by one score. It has happened three times in the last four games.
The coach had the following to say of what is wrong with the team’s second half performance.
“How do you get back into a game when you’re behind by 20 points? You get quick scores. We have to minimize their ability to score quickly on defense yet still remain aggressive. We can’t let people get comfortable, and I think that we let them get comfortable. On the flip side, offensively, we have to possess the ball. And how do you possess it? You don’t turn it over. You extend drives on third down. Turnovers two weeks ago, not converting third downs the other night … 3rd and 1s, 3rd and 2s. That’s what you ask for as a coach, and to go 2-for-8 in those scenarios, that’s not good enough.”
The offense mightily struggled in the second half against TCU relative to what it did in the first, but the defense did the team no favors. Texas allowed three fourth quarter touchdowns to let the Horned Frogs back into the game. At least one of the two units has to step up to ensure victory moving forward.
Both the offense and defense have proven capable of championship caliber football in flashes. Now they simply need to prove they can play to that standard for four quarters.