3 Unanswered Questions Texas Has After Losing to Oklahoma

No. 1 no more.

Texas shockingly lost to unranked Oklahoma 27-24 in the Red River Rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday in Dallas.

The Longhorns are now 4-1 and carry plenty of questions heading into a Week 7 showdown with Florida that's suddenly must-win for both teams. The Gators lost 38-19 to South Carolina for UF's second loss of the season on Saturday.

Texas needs to address these questions ASAP, for the 2026 season's sake.

Are the Longhorns' Special Teams Good Enough?

Jeff Banks needs to get the special teams right immediately — Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns special teams coordinator Jeff Banks against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian was asked after the loss if he'd look into re-evaluating special teams coordinator Jeff Banks' role after the kicking and punting units helped lose this game to the Sooners.

If that's not a sign that the special teams is an issue...

Mac Chiumento had a punt blocked in the second quarter by Oklahoma's Danny Okoye that was picked up and scored by the Sooners' Dakoda Fields. Justin Cryer blew his blocking assignment, leading to the game-changing special teams score for OU. Chiumento then had a poor 29-yard punt in the second half that led to Oklahoma's only offensive touchdown of the game.

Meanwhile, Texas kicker Gianni Spetic had a missed field goal with 2:00 left on the clock that would've put the Longhorns up three. The missed kick helped decide the game, since Sooners kicker Tate Sandell's 47-yarder as time expired ended up being the game-sealing moment.

While special teams didn't have any of the Longhorns' eight penalties, this was still a disastrous game for the group from those two plays alone.

Can Texas Improve on Glaring Third-Down Woes?

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian during the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Arch Manning's performance could be dissected from many different angles. He's still holding onto the ball too long, and he still makes too many risky and/or inaccurate throws that hurt the offense.

The biggest issue Manning and Co. have is struggling to sustain drives on third downs. Texas was just 3 of 14 on third down against Oklahoma and was 3/12 against Tennessee two weekends ago on Rocky Top.

Besides the fourth quarter of the Ohio State game, third down has been the bane of the Longhorns' existence against Power 4 competition.

The Buckeyes, coincidentally, were the last team to win it all with an inefficient third-down offense in 2024.

It's possible Texas may have to rely on its defense as heavily as Ryan Day's championship-winning squad did two seasons ago if the Longhorns have any hope of being the last team standing come January. It's possible, but it'd be easier if the offense simply extended drives on third downs.

Is Steve Sarkisian the Right Man to Call Plays For Texas?

There's a contingent of the Burnt Orange faithful that believes Sarkisian is in over his head calling plays right now. Unfortunately, there's no clear option to hand the play-sheet to.

Long-term, it could behoove Texas to find someone who can be a true offensive coordinator so Sarkisian could serve as a CEO. He'd could learn a thing or two from Ryan Day, who is always at his best when he's not overly involved in the offensive play-calling.

Sarkisian was the arthitect of the Ohio State comeback a few weeks ago, but he may have undone the goodwill from that with the Red River Rivalry collapse.

We'll see if he can capture confidence back as the schedule offer four currently ranked teams in the next five games.

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