4 Immediate Takeaways From Texas Longhorns' Embarrassing Loss to Florida

The Texas Longhorns were supposed to come out of the loss to Oklahoma last week with a fire underneath them. Losing to your heated rival needs to be a season-altering moment.

Instead, the Longhorns dropped their second straight game to an unranked opponent, falling 27-24 to the Florida Gators in Austin on Saturday afternoon.

Here are the biggest takeaways from what can only be described as another embarrassing loss for Texas.

Arch Manning and The Offense Looked Worse Than Last Week

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up before a game against the Florida Gators at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Texas quarterback Arch Manning gave fans hope late in the fourth quarter with an impressive 62-yard completion to Emmett Mosley V on fourth down before connecting with Cam Coleman for a touchdown a few plays later. The comeback appeared to be underway.

But it was all for nothing in a performance that was somehow worse than what he did last week.

Manning finished the game 14 of 20 passing for 173 yards, one touchdown and a game-sealing fumble in the fourth quarter. Against one of the worst secondaries in the SEC, Manning did little through the air.

On top of that, the rushing attack once again had little to show for. While a 32-yard rushing touchdown from Raleek Brown was the only highlight, the Longhorns finished with 3.3 yards per carr.

In the defense of Manning and the running game, the Texas offensive line hardly did him any favors. He was met with heavy pressure and was sacked five times.

Third Quarter Nightmare

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

For as bad as the Longhorns were most of the afternoon, it's the third quarter that truly lost them the game.

In the third quarter, the Florida offense almost has as many third-down conversions (five) as Texas has total yards (eight).

Florida ran 22 plays in the third quarter compared to just six for Texas.

Awful all around.

The Defense Couldn't Get Off the Field

Florida Gators quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. (9) keeps the ball for yards while defended by Texas Longhorns defensive back Kade Phillips (8) and Jelani McDonald (4) during the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Texas helped Florida backup quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. look like a seasoned veteran. A second-year player with little experience to his name, Jones hardly looked phased, as he finished 22 of 35 passing for 155 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions along with 10 carries for 41 yards.

He won the game on a impressive quarterback keeper, juking out the Texas defense in the process.

Out of all of the concerns fans had coming into this, that was certainly near the bottom of the list. But with the Longhorns offense unable to do anything notable, the defense's own mistakes eventually proved to be more catastrophic than they otherwise would have been.

Jones Jr. and Florida running back Jadan Baugh kept the offense rolling all afternoon, sustaining long drive after long drive. The Gators finished 8 of 19 on third down

Somehow, Special Teams Was the Only Bright Spot

If not for Ryan Niblett's 63-yard punt return touchdown in the first half, the Longhorns would have gotten blown out on their own field despite being a Top-10 team in the country.

Who would've thought that Jeff Banks' unit would be the only bright spot?

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