Steve Sarkisian Doesn't Think Longhorns Were 'Jittery' Despite Penalties vs. Oklahoma State
Penalties and uncharacteristic mistakes are understandable when faced with a tough road environment like the Texas Longhorns were presented with on Saturday. The opposing crowd of the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Stillwater was always expected to be a tall task for the Longhorns to overcome if they wanted to secure a crucial conference road win.
But Texas was a victim to these mistakes and then some in Saturday's 41-34 loss to the Cowboys.
And yet, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian doesn't think his team appeared rattled despite committing a whopping 14 penalties for 119 yards, which served as a major factor in the final outcome of the game.
“I don't think we were jittery at all," Sarkisian said. "But for whatever reason, we jumped offsides again."
The early stages of the game saw the Longhorns get flagged for a handful of pass-interference calls. Late, it was untimely false starts and holding flags that crushed Texas on some potential game-changing plays, including a holding call on offensive lineman Christian Jones that negated a 33-yard run from quarterback Quinn Ewers.
It's okay for a coach to admit that his team felt jittery, as it's hard to argue otherwise against 14 penalties. But Sarkisian feels these mistakes are easily adjustable.
"We had some procedural issues, offensively. We had holdings, offensively. We had pass interference, defensively. So there are things that are very correctable that we can get fixed and will get fixed.”
Luckily for the Longhorns, their bye week couldn't come at a better time to right these wrongs and make a late-season run toward the Big 12 championship, something only reachable if Texas wins out.
The Longhorns will visit the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday, Nov. 5.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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