Why Steve Sarkisian Doesn’t Plan on Simplifying the Playbook Anytime Soon

Texas may have walked out of Neyland Stadium undefeated, but its offense didn’t exactly make things easy.

Other than their first and last drives against Tennessee, the Longhorns simply stalled, unable to consistently move the chains the way Steve Sarkisian would’ve preferred.

With a bye week separating Texas from Oklahoma and the rest of its eight-game SEC slate, Sarkisian has the opportunity to address those issues. But simplifying his playbook is far from the solution he has in mind.

“I don’t think now is the time to simplify,” Sarkisian said. “I think now is the time to trust what we do.”

Texas Must Execute

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning looks to throw during the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas on Sept. 12, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

For Sarkisian, Texas’ problems haven’t come from any one position or player. Instead, he believes the Longhorns haven’t consistently executed what they’ve already shown they can do in practice.

That was evident against Tennessee.

From the end of Texas’ opening touchdown drive until late in the fourth quarter, Sarkisian said the Longhorns “did not play very good offensive football.” Rather than point fingers, Sarkisian placed blame on the entire offensive unit.

“I’d love to say it was this or that, (but) it literally was us taking turns not doing the things that we had practiced to do,” Sarkisian said. “I’d love to say it was just the right tackle, the right guard, the center, the left guard or the tight ends, but it was like each play somebody else was taking their turn. We’ve got to get that rectified.”

The biggest concern may have been Texas’ inability to execute on early downs.

Steve Sarkisian said here that Texas needs to be more efficient on first-and-10. So I looked it up how they're doing.

Texas has 16 negative-yardage plays on first down this season — third-most in the FBS and tied for most in the Power 4, per @TruMediaSports.

Against Tennessee,… https://t.co/tJXuyCO4PL
— Sam Khan Jr. (@skhanjr) September 28, 2026

Sarkisian himself pointed to five drives in which the Longhorns took a negative play on first-and-10, putting the offense behind schedule and eventually creating difficult third-down situations.

“Nobody wants to be in that situation,” Sarkisian said. “The offensive line doesn’t. Harder to block those pass rushers. The quarterback doesn’t. The receivers don’t because they’re getting now a variety of coverages. I can promise you the play caller doesn’t, either. And so we’ve got to be more efficient on first-and-10, and that starts with just doing what we practice doing.”

During Monday’s team meeting, Sarkisian showed the offense examples of plays they had properly performed in practice and compared them to similar situations against Tennessee.

The difference wasn’t what Texas was being asked to do. It was whether the Longhorns actually did it.

Texas Turns to Bye Week for Answers

Now, Texas has a well-timed bye week to figure out why that execution hasn’t carried over to Saturdays.

That doesn’t mean tearing apart an offense that has shown flashes of what it’s capable of. For Sarkisian, the focus is on getting his players to trust what they’ve been taught and avoid trying to do too much.

“I think we need to settle down a little bit as a team, not try so hard, and just do the simple,” Sarkisian said. “If we can do that, that’s not going to make us perfect, but that at least is a starting point to start moving in the right direction in a positive way.”

Texas has two weeks before they head to the Cotton Bowl, and while Oklahoma is currently unranked, fans know rankings often mean nothing when it comes to rivalries.

If the Longhorns want to keep that spot atop the rest of the college football world, they’ll have to make sure the offensive mistakes Sarkisian saw in Knoxville don’t make the trip with them.

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