Texas‘ season didn’t get off to the hot start many fans were hoping for on Saturday, with the Longhorns falling 14-7 to No. 3 Ohio State. During an appearance on The Matt Barrie Show on Sunday, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum weighed in on Texas’ loss. “Texas is the story. There’s no getting around it,” Finebaum said. […]
Texas‘ season didn’t get off to the hot start many fans were hoping for on Saturday, with the Longhorns falling 14-7 to No. 3 Ohio State. During an appearance on The Matt Barrie Show on Sunday, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum weighed in on Texas’ loss.
“Texas is the story. There’s no getting around it,” Finebaum said. “[Steve Sarkisian], for all the praise that he has received as this new-age play caller, looked pretty bad. This is another big-time, elite defense that outmatched him, and that’s becoming more of a trend right now. And I think if you’re a Texas fan, you need to be concerned.”
Texas’ offense couldn’t find its footing against the Buckeyes. The Longhorns finished the game with just 336 yards of total offense. For reference, Texas averaged 437.5 yards of offense per game last season.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning particularly struggled for much of the game, only completing 17-of-his-30 pass attempts for 170 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing an interception. Texas’ defense certainly couldn’t be faulted for its efforts on Saturday.
The Longhorns held the Buckeyes to 215 yards of total offense, and limited star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith to only 43 receiving yards. To put Texas’ defensive effort into perspective, Ohio State only recorded fewer points in a game once last year.
While Paul Finebaum may be panicking about Texas’ future with Steve Sarkisian at the helm, the Longhorns’ head coach himself isn’t worried. After the game, Sarkisian owned up for his mistakes while painting a more optimistic vision of the future.
“We’ve got to score more points at the end of the day. If we can hold a team like that to 14, we’ve got to find a way to score 15,” Sarkisian said. “… We’re going to be fine. We’ve got work to do as a team and as an offense, but ultimately, I’m getting on the plane knowing we’re going to be a good football team.
“We didn’t win tonight. That’s the life of a competitor. We went for it in a tough place against a good team. But we’ll get back on the horse and we’ll play good football this season.”
Texas won’t have to wait too long before having an opportunity to redeem itself. On Saturday, the Longhorns will square off against San Jose State in their home opener at noon ET. The game will air live on ABC.
Category: General Sports
