Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian should first evaluate himself

The Longhorns broke a 14-14 tie in the third quarter, but left 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, including a shocking OSU score on Jack Sawyer’s fumble return that took 83 years.
Steve Sarkisian expressed great pride in the team’s performance this season, but there is a feeling the Horns could have made a breakthrough to the title game.

ARLINGTON – Texas football will be back.

But Friday was the Longhorns’ best chance to get it done.

And they came up short.

Just before the end zone.

Just before a third trip to Atlanta.

More:Texas football: Championship hopes end as Longhorns fall just one yard short in the Cotton Bowl

The Longhorns will compete in future College Football Playoff tournaments because head coach Steve Sarkisian has built a sustainable culture.

“It’s the life of a competitor,” said quarterback Quinn Ewers, whose last meaningful appearance as a Longhorn ended with him on all fours watching his former Ohio State roommate Jack Sawyer scoop a knee-bending 83 Yards galloped and scored.

No chance to make history.

The strip sack and fumble return was the second-longest defensive touchdown scored against Texas in 2024; Will Lee’s 93-yard interception return took the longest on Thanksgiving weekend. The difference is greater than the 10 yards that separated these two plays. The Horns defeated the Aggies that night. Ohio State gave them heartbreak and the end of the season came a week early.

Ohio State 28, Texas 14.

Ohio State will win the 2024 national championship because the Buckeyes made the plays in the must-have moments that separate the good rise from the offseason.

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The Horns had a date with fate and literally stood up, just feet away from setting their national championship dream ablaze.

“We have nothing to worry about given the way they competed, not just tonight but all season,” Sarkisian said.

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Sarkisian had a proud look on his face – and he puffs out his chest every week when talking about a team that just completed a 25-5 run with a conference title and back-to-back national semifinal appearances. But right now, deep down, he’s worried himself.

This was his championship team.

And it escaped.

I know many of you want to blame all of this on Ewers, but you shouldn’t. He played pretty well at times behind a line that gave up some pressure and didn’t prove to be as reliable as the preseason rankings would suggest.

Ewers got the Longhorns back in the game against a defense that was as good as advertised, and although he missed a few routine throws (including a third-down out to Matthew Golden that he usually makes in his sleep), he stayed up On-toe with the Buckeyes and had a chance to tie it.

We don’t have to wonder why Arch Manning didn’t have a package in his second year on campus, but he will get all the offense in 2025. He brings more advantages than his predecessor, but there is no guarantee that he will win 23 games as a starter and reach the next two national semifinals.

This was not the comeback of Texas football

All the talk about Ohio State forcing the Longhorns into submission gave way to what seemed like a season-extending third quarter. The Horns, who left the field reeling at halftime after TreVeyon Henderson’s 75-yard catch with 29 seconds left, broke a 14-14 tie in the third period on Jaydon Blue’s touchdown catch.

Somehow, they were back in it, a testament to the will of a program solidified by Sarkisian’s 5-7 start to 2021 and 33 wins over the past three seasons. And for a few glorious minutes, the orange half of AT&T Stadium smelled of blood.

Until it wasn’t the case anymore.

The Buckeyes found their footing again. They took advantage of an obvious layup that didn’t rely on a closing Colin Simmons, who allowed Will Howard to complete a third-and-8 pass to Carnell Tate; The quarterback later burst through the defense and delivered a massive 18-yard scramble on fourth-and-2.

It was a night where the Horns made some big plays, but not nearly enough to defeat the most complete Ohio State team since the 2014 national championships.

“I’m a competitor,” safety Michael Taaffe said when asked what hurts the most. “I hate this feeling more than I like winning.”

An offseason that came too soon

As the offseason begins, Sark will evaluate its players and coaching staff.

The first assessment should be made by himself.

Who do you want to be? Sometimes simpler is better, but all too often one of the smartest play callers in the business has been second guessing themselves.

Sure, I think he’s still haunted by Jonathon Brooks’ three runs from the Oklahoma goal line that yielded minus-1 yard in the fourth quarter of last season’s 34-30 loss. Therefore, there is a tendency to want to be more creative when sometimes the wiser thing is to literally run into a wall and hope one of those bricks will give way.

Sarkisian doesn’t hesitate to credit his mentors Nick Saban and Pete Carroll, but he should have been more Nick than Pete on the biggest night of his coaching career. Saban has evolved over time, but deep down he wanted to beat his running backs to the goal line.

Not only did it send a message to the opponent that he was fine playing mano y mano, it also showed his blockers that it was their chance to show their toughness where it matters most.

The throw wasn’t as egregious as ignoring “Beast Mode” Lynch and throwing a Super Bowl ring into Malcolm Butler’s arms at the goal line, but the disappointment is just as great. The season ended with the realization that a team that was built to win was now failing to win for the second year in a row.

“It was a difficult situation,” said safety Jahdae Barron. “I love these guys and I love coach Sark. He changed my life, but he always told us: “Misfortune will come to us. You just have to react, but we can try to just keep fighting out there and we haven’t been able to do it.”

There’s no shame in reaching the semifinals two seasons in a row. If anything, it’s a credit to what Sarkisian has built here. While there was a lot of love in the locker room after the game, they all left the Metroplex knowing they had missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime.

Sure, a tying touchdown wasn’t a guarantee of a win over the hottest team left in the playoffs, but it sure would have been fun to find out.

So the reloading begins now. Ewers announced on College GameDay that he was turning pro, marking the beginning of the Arch Manning era. The boy has all the skills and enormous advantages, but needs the help of teammates who take on a role on the front line.

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Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian should first evaluate himself

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