The No. 9 Texas Longhorns walked into The Swamp on Saturday and left with a brutal 29-21 loss to Florida that dropped them to 3-2 on the season and 0-1 in SEC play. DJ Lagway was finally playing up to his potential. He threw for 298 yards, which is the highest he has thrown this season. Lagway also had two touchdowns, both of them coming from Dallas Wilson in his college debut. Moreover, the defense absolutely dominated Texas all evening. Arch Manning went 16-of-29 for 263 yards with two touchdowns and two costly interceptions. But one of the key flaws for Texas was how anemic the Longhorns’ rushing attack looked all game long.

Texas had just 24 rushing yards entering halftime and couldn’t establish any semblance of a ground game, with Manning and Quintrevion Wisner tied for the team lead at 10 rushing yards apiece in the first half. But the turnovers and the rushing attack weren’t the only stressors. During the game, Arch Manning had an injury scare that led him into the medical tent on the sidelines while everyone held their breath. He took some pretty serious hits throughout the entire game as Florida’s front seven ran over Texas’ offensive line.

After the game, Darby Brown reported what Steve Sarkisian spoke about Manning’s trip to the medical tent. The quarterback “got a stinger in his shoulder,” which is why he briefly went inside for evaluation before returning to the field. It wasn’t enough to keep Manning out of the game, and Sarkisian praised his quarterback’s toughness in the postgame presser, saying, “He did take some hits. I thought Arch competed today. He battled his butt off”. Manning gutted through the pain and continued to play, showing the competitive fire that’s been there all season, even when the results haven’t followed. 

Sarkisian’s biggest concern after the loss was the complete absence of a running game, and he didn’t mince words when addressing it in his postgame comments. “We have to figure that out. I don’t have a great answer for you today,” Sarkisian admitted, his frustration evident. “We couldn’t run it tonight when they didn’t know we were going to run it, regardless of when they knew we were going to run it. We’ve got to improve that. We just cannot be a one-dimensional team… When guys can just start rushing the passer and not worrying about the run game, it gets really difficult,” Sarkisian continued. “We’ve got to find a way to generate some run game and generate some run game outside of Arch. We’ve got to find it with the runners. That’ll be a task of ours tonight, tomorrow, Monday to put together a plan for next week”.

The numbers tell the painful story. Texas had only 52 rushing yards total, and Wisner finished the game with just 11 yards on eight carries. When the offensive line can’t create any push and the running backs can’t find any openings, everything becomes exponentially harder for the quarterback. Florida’s defense took full advantage by going after Manning all game long. Sarkisian knows that when opponents can just pin their ears back and rush the passer without worrying about the run, life gets miserable for everyone on offense.

Keeping faith in the process

The Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl on October 11 is going to be a massive test for Texas. It also can be the right opportunity for the Longhorns to reset their season. The No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners are sitting pretty at 5-0 with a 1-0 SEC record, looking every bit like a legitimate playoff contender. The neutral site atmosphere in Dallas is sure to bring out the best in both programs. 

When asked if he needs to reshape the season goals after the Florida loss, Sarkisian didn’t hesitate with his answer: “No, not at all. We’re a one-loss team in the SEC. There’s a lot of football left to be played. We’ve got 7 conference games to be played”. His refusal to panic is exactly what this team needs right now, even if some fans might be feeling differently after watching the Gators dominate at the line of scrimmage.

 “I’m not going to sit here and give the poor me’s and the woe is us. We’ll get back ready to go,” Sarkisian added, making it clear that dwelling on this loss isn’t an option with Oklahoma looming. He acknowledged the reality of what’s ahead, saying, “Obviously got a big, pivotal game next week against a rival opponent in Oklahoma. Very good football team. We need to get ourselves ready and focus on next week”. That mentality is crucial because one loss in the SEC doesn’t eliminate anyone from contention, and the Longhorns still control their own destiny in a lot of ways.