The Longhorns' Biggest Issue Could Be Their Downfall In SEC Play

With what seems like an uptick in penalties across the SEC, the Texas Longhorns could struggle in their first conference game of the season

Nov 19, 2022; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian reacts after a penalty during the first half against the Kansas Jayhawks at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns have been plagued by a problem worse than a stuttering offense this season, one that they can directly control, and a hot-button topic that head coach Steve Sarkisian has been directly battling since the season's start: Penalties.

In his weekly pre-game meeting with the media, Sarkisian commented on what appeared to be an uptick in penalties across the SEC games from the past weekend, including their rivals, Texas A&M, who combined for 22 penalties with the Auburn Tigers in their game.

Already dealing with their own penalty issues, the Longhorns could see an even greater increase in their own problems if they continue to play the way they have to start the season.

Have To Play Clean Football

The Longhorns enter conference play as the ninth most penalized team, despite only playing four games so far this season. However, they are second in average penalties per game at 7.75, which trails only the Aggies, who lead the conference with 9.5. Moreover, they are second in the SEC in penalty yards per game, at 78.25, which trails only the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who are first with 85.40.

"Yeah, a couple of things stood out to me. I thought there were a lot of penalties this weekend." Steve Sarkisian said that from watching the SEC teams play during their bye week. "You want to know the truth? You know, I felt like there's a lot of penalties. I don't know if we're calling things a little tighter, or teams are a little sloppy."

What Sarkisian says is actually backed up by a recent article from Axios.com, which shows the SEC as the most penalized conference from 2021 to 2024. So, while the data doesn't support the numbers from the past weekend, it does seem that the SEC calls their game tighter, or teams play sloppier, much to Sarkisian's point.

"I know what our penalty situation has been this year." Sarkisian continued. "So you know, we're looking inward, right for the first four weeks, and this weekend gave me a chance to look outward and see what else was going on around the country... It sure felt like a lot of penalties this weekend, so us continuing to try to drive that number down and play cleaner football, I think, is important."

It will be important for the Longhorns, as they rank 122nd in penalties around the country, averaging two more calls this year than they did last year en route to the college football playoffs. Fixing it will be critical because the games only get tougher from here on out.

The Longhorns travel to Gainesville to take on the Gators Oct. 4 at 2:30 p.m. CT