Texas Longhorns Not 'Pointing Fingers' As They Move Past Florida Loss

Fifth-year defensive back Michael Taaffe spoke about the team's accountability and mindset Monday, following the Longhorns' loss to the Florida Gators.

Oct 4, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe (16) intercepts a pass to Florida Gators wide receiver Aidan Mizell (11) during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Following a frustrating loss like the Texas Longhorns suffered to the Florida Gators on Saturday in Gainesville, it is easy to play the blame game and look at certain units as the weak spots.

But in Monday's press conference, fifth-year defensive back Michael Taaffe made clear that each Longhorn needs to focus on themself for the team to ultimately put the best all-around product on the field.

"You gotta look in the mirror first," Taaffe said. "We're not a team that's about pointing fingers. If you wanna play the pointing fingers game, then everybody has something to improve."

Sep 6, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe (16) holds up his horns with the fans during the singing of the Eyes of Texas after a victory over the San Jose State Spartans at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Few people thought that the Longhorns would be in do-or-die territory this early in the season. But heading into a Red River Rivalry matchup unranked and facing the No. 6-ranked Oklahoma Sooners, it sure feels like it is. This coming Saturday's showdown at the Cotton Bowl will more than likely prove vital for the trajectory of Texas' season.

Taaffe had a simple answer about the mindset of the team this week.

"Go 1-0," he said.

The Longhorns are tackling this rigorous Southeastern Conference schedule one week at a time. The conference opener in Gainesville did not go as planned, but being able to move forward -- utilizing losses as fuel and knowledge -- is required when consistently facing some of the best competition in college football.

"I think we're the same team that we were a week ago from today," Taaffe said. "The only thing is that we're playing Oklahoma instead of (playing) Florida. (We) just keep going at it. We had a great Monday practice, and we continue to try to do better and play better and show up on Saturday when it counts."

Oklahoma Sooners defensive lineman Caiden Woullard (90) is sacked by Texas Longhorns defensive back Michael Taaffe (16) during the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In his press conference after the Florida loss, Taaffe spoke about how "the season is not over by any means," per Inside Texas. There's no doubt that it's an uphill battle for the Longhorns to follow through on their preseason aspirations. But as Taaffe mentioned on Saturday, there's no reason to hang their heads now. He followed up on that on Monday.

"The goal is still the same," Taaffe said. "I said it after the game, but there's no such thing as a championship team without going through a little bit of adversity. Personally, my adversity, I missed my first tackle of the season, and it resulted in a touchdown. I'm not going to lose sleep over it. If you play the game long enough, you're gonna get caught at some point. So you've just gotta do better than (do worse)."

Leading the secondary in his final Red River Rivalry experience as a Longhorn, Taaffe is ready to get his defense back on track and battle to retain the Golden Hat Trophy. He had this advice for his teammates playing in the Cotton Bowl for the first time:

"There's no other game like this," Taaffe said. "It's a unique game. I would say, 'just be ready.' It's a big momentum game. You make plays, you get the orange side excited."