The Texas offensive line struggled mightily in its first game of the season. Much of that revolved around a defensive scheme that it couldn’t have been prepared to face.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian shared that the Rice Owls had a wholly different style of attacking in Week 1 than what they had done prior. He said the following of its effect on the Longhorns offensive line.
“I think from an O-line perspective, I thought it was fine. You know, we got a lot of different stuff today. That’s always one of the challenges in Week 1. You never really know. And when a team does something dramatically different than what’s on tape, you gotta make those adjustments. Not just as a staff, but the players need to.”
There’s reasonable justification for Texas’ offensive line struggles in the individual game, but Sarkisian is aware that those issues cannot continue to plague the team. He spoke to the improvement he wants to see from his offensive line.
“Do I want it to be better? Of course I do. Like that aspect, I’m always striving for it to be better. But I do understand where some of the mishaps might have come. And so, we’ve gotta get that cleaned up, because if not, some of the same things we saw today, we’ll continue to see.”
When asked about whether the matter can be fixed by next week, Sarkisian replied with certainty.
“Of course. … If I thought we just were inadequate then it’d be a problem. But I definitely don’t think we’re inadequate. I think we’re a good football team. That’s the life of a coach, is to find the things that we can improve and continue to emphasize the things that we do well.”
Texas will look to identify and correct its weak points as it heads into its major clash with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sept. 9.