Texas Coach Steve Sarkisian: We Must 'Respond Better to Adversity' This Season
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As the Texas Longhorns prepare for the start of the 2022 season, which will be coach Steve Sarkisian's second year at the helm, they look to wash the bad taste of 2021 from their mouths.
In his first year as the coach of the Longhorns, Sarkisian would see his team go a disappointing 5-7, with several blown leads late in games. The tale of the Longhorns' season was wildly different between the first and second halves. In the first half Texas looked unbeatable at times. In the second half Texas looked clueless.
This would lead to several blown leads throughout the season, as Texas struggled to answer to adversity throughout games. With the Longhorns opening fall camp this week, Sarkisian addressed the need to overcome adversity heading into the 2022 season.
"Where I need to be better is making sure that our players and our staff respond better to adversity when it presents itself in-game," Sarkisian said. "You don't get leads against quality opponents the way we did going into fourth quarters of games without really good preparation."
"Now, it's when adversity strikes, when momentum starts to swing not in our favor. How we respond to those things is something that that I'm challenging myself on to make sure that we're in a better frame of mind to do that when it presents itself."
The two most notable blown leads came against the teams across the Red River in the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Oklahoma Sooners, with the latter appearing to seemingly define the Longhorns' season.
Against the Cowboys, Texas entered the fourth quarter with a 24-16 lead and was one quarter away from a huge upset win. Instead, they would allow the Cowboys to put up 16 unanswered points, going from an upset win to a backbreaking 32-24 loss.
Their second-half collapse against the Sooners in the Red River Rivalry was even worse. They would go to halftime in what appeared to be a blowout, leading the Sooners 38-20. What happened next was an embarrassing collapse that saw the Longhorns lose 55-48, including a fourth quarter in which the Sooners put up 25 points.
As the Longhorns enter year two under Sarkisian, there are moderate expectations surrounding the programs. Yes, one could argue they were talented enough to win more games last season, but hypothetical wins don't win conference titles. If the Longhorns want to compete for a Big 12 championship in 2022, handling adversity better is a must. Otherwise, it will likely be another season of blown leads and frustrating losses.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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