Texas is sitting at 3-2 after the stinging loss to the Florida Gators, and now fans and analysts are pointing fingers at Steve Sarkisian, not because of his play-calling or game management, though. It’s because he didn’t address the root cause of this situation when he had the chance. The root cause is the abysmal offensive line. In the loss to the Gators, Manning was sacked six times, hit multiple additional times, and forced to scramble his way to becoming the team’s leading rusher with 52 yards on 13 carries because the running backs managed just 11 yards on nine attempts. 

When asked point-blank why Texas didn’t address its glaring offensive line needs in the transfer portal after losing four starters from last year’s Joe Moore Award finalist unit, Sarkisian got noticeably defensive. Kirk Bohls captured the mood perfectly on social media, noting that “Sarkisian was very defensive when asked why Texas didn’t go look for offensive linemen in the transfer portal and said the Longhorn players he has ‘are more than capable.'”

That “more than capable” line is looking more delusional by the week. Josh Pate called out Steve Sarkisian when breaking down Texas’s issues on his College Football Show, putting the blame squarely where it belongs. “Arch Manning took six more sacks. He had two more picks. He was 55%. And I don’t even throw it in his lap. He doesn’t have any time to work. His offensive line’s just not good right now,” Pate explained, emphasizing that developing young linemen is part of the job but questioning why Texas put themselves in this position to begin with. 

Then came the blunt remark, “The thing that I keep going back to is they didn’t get aggressive in the portal on the offensive line. And I assumed it was because they were very comfortable with who they had on the offensive line. And I think that was right. And I think they were wrong so far this year.” The numbers back up Pate’s frustration. Florida recorded six sacks, doubling the total Texas had allowed in their first four games combined, while Manning completed just 55 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions under constant duress.

The surprising part is that Sarkisian has time and again shown that he knows how to use the transfer portal effectively. But still, under his watch, Texas never took a single OL from the portal despite going at it for other positions. They got defensive linemen Travis Shaw and Maraad Watson, tight end Jack Endries, and some more guys from the portal, not one for the OL. Sarkisian and OL coach Kyle Flood insisted on developing their own guys and backed players like Connor Stroh, Neto Umeozulu, and true freshman Nick Brooks as they lost four starters from the 2024 group. That decision, though, does not seem to be going in their favor as of now.

The Texas mid-season meltdown

Texas was on top of the preseason rankings as it opened its 2025 campaign. And nobody thought that they’d be dropped out of the ranking before October was even half over. Yet, here we are, watching the Longhorns sitting at 3-2 after getting smoked by a team that has been smoked by everyone before Texas.

David Eckert, a Texas insider who’s been tracking this disaster all season, dropped some stats that should have every Longhorn fan palming their face. According to Eckert, Texas has recorded exactly zero sacks in its two games against Power Conference opponents, which is mind-boggling for a defense that opened the season ranked No. 1 in defensive stop rate. Sarkisian didn’t try to spin it either, admitting postgame that “we got out of our gaps a few times” and that they “didn’t get off as many blocks as I’m accustomed to seeing.” He is basically accepting that they got physically dominated, but he didn’t provide a great explanation for why.

The offensive side of the ball is somehow even worse, if that’s possible. Eckert pointed out that Texas has managed just four runs of 20+ yards all season, and not a single one came from an actual running back. Against Florida, the ground game was basically nonexistent, with 52 total yards on 26 carries, with Manning carrying most of that load at 37 yards, while the running back trio of Quintrevion Wisner, Christian Clark, and Ryan Niblett combined for an abysmal 11 yards. The entire offensive identity that made Texas a playoff contender last year has completely evaporated, and now they’re hoping a banged-up Wisner can somehow be the savior against an Oklahoma defense that’s giving up just 193 yards per game.