Texas Bye Week Review: Steve Sarkisian Has Been "The Right Guy" For The Horns
Steve Sarkisian is leaning into the "All Gas No Brakes" mantra early as Texas' head coach. Much like the slogan, that's how Texas' season has gone.
No, that's not a compliment, either.
The Longhorns (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) start fast, execute ealy and jump out to leads before halftime. Then, they fall asleep behind the wheel, can't reach the pedal and crash in the second half of games.
It's "All Gas" early, "No Brakes" late.
Texas has potential. Sarkisian is fielding a roster of players that mostly weren't recruited for his system, yet somehow is able to average 41.6 points pe game. The offense is potent, but can is sustain the likes of second half collapse?
With the Longhorns on the bye week, Sark will have time to figure out what changes must be made to have success moving ahead. Texas hits the road for a two-game road trip to Baylor and Iowa State before closing out the season with a tad easier schedule.
Can they rebound and make the Big 12 Championship in Arlington?
Biggest Surprise Player: DB Anthony Cook
Cook last season was a depth piece behind the likes of former starter Chris Adimora. With a change at defensive coordinator, Pete Kwiatkowski allowed an open competition for starting reps at the nickel spot.
Cook won the job and has flourished ever since.
The senior defensive currently has 28 total tackles, two pass breakups, a sack and a fumble recovery since moving into the starting role. His breakout game against TCU propelled the Horns to their first win in Fort Worth since 2014.
"Anthony has stepped up, and in my opinion he's continued to play better week in and week out," Sarkisian said earlier this month. "You're seeing his growth — obviously, the sack-fumble was a huge play. And his ability to tackle, setting an edge, the versatility he provides.”
Biggest Letdown Player: The offensive line
Let's just lump them all together. None of them deserve to be called out or praised for a group effort.
Texas is tied with West Virginia for most sacks allowed in the conference with 16. Sure, they rank third in run offense, but how much of that is based of blocking and not the talent in the backfield? As a whole, the group has been inconsistent.
Credit, Texas lost perhaps its best player in Denzel Okafor against TCU for the remainder of the season. Offensive line coach Kyle Flood has also been forced to try different formations due to injuries, primarily having senior Derek Kerstetter play nearly every position in the trenches.
The biggest concerns are the inconsistencies in the second half. The team falls apart in the third quarter and can barely stand by the start of the fourth. This — along with open-field tackling at times — has been the biggest let down.
MVP: RB Bijan Robinson
Is there any other choice?
Robinson has come as advertised thus far into his Longhorns career. Sarkisian is a man of his word, feeding the sophomore the football at least 20 touches in six of his seven games on the year.
The results? Wow might be the only word at this point.
Robinson ranks third in rushing yards this season, trailing just Syracuse's Sean Tucker and Michigan State's Kenneth Walker III. He's come off back-to-back games of over 135 rushing yards and has scored 13 total touchdowns this season.
Meanwhile, runs like this only happen for the lucky few. Robinson is one of those names for a good reason.
The Heisman hype has cooled because of Texas' losing streak, but keep in mind that Robinson is the first player this season to tally over 100 yards against the Cowboys' defense. This is now a trend, and one that should have the runner perhaps win college football's highest award come December.
Breakout Player: WR Xavier Worthy
Again, is there another choice?
Early buzz from fall camp was that the freshman from California was going to have a role in the offense. When Troy Omerie was ruled out with a knee injury, Worthy's reps increased.
So long as Casey Thompson is the quarterback, Worthy is Texas' No. 1 target. Not only is he the most talented pass-catcher on the team, there's a valid argument that he's already one of the conference's best players, regardless of position.
This season, Worthy leads the offense with 29 catches for 542 yards and six touchdowns. He made his mark in the Red River Showdown, scoring a 75-yard touchdown on the opening drive and later tying the game late on a 31-yard score.
The 6-foot-1 target has the size, speed and hands most college coaches would dream of a veteran possessing. Outside of quarters where he completely disappears, he's the next big name in Austin.
What to Fix?: Finishing Games
The reason Texas is beyond frustrating to talk about is even the fact that they've underachieved for the last decade. It's rather knowing how good the program could be in 2021 if they just could close out games.
It's the same story every Saturday. The Horns are driving behind Thompson and Robinson. Defenses can't stop Sarkisian's wizardry when it comes to calling plays and the defense finds a way to create turnovers.
Enter halftime, exit momentum. Maybe Sarkisian should leave his players out on the field?
Texas has allowed over 600 yards of offense in the past two games during the final 30 minutes. They've been outscored 54-17 in that same span and are now 0-2 against teams from the Sooner state.
“The promising part for us is we’re plenty capable of competing at a very high level, which we’ve done for two straight weeks against two top-10 teams,” Sarkisian said. “I don’t think it’s about our ability to coach, execute or play. … Now, it’s about our ability to sustain that and to do it at the critical moments.”
Texas could very well be 6-1 with its one loss coming to an SEC program. Instead, if they can't finish games following the bye week, they very well could be 4-5 when facing Kansas on Nov. 13.
Updated Prediction: 8-4
I said at the start of the season that Texas could see nine wins with ease. If the offense could pick up on Sarkisian's system, they might have a chance to win 10. Yes, the offense is clicking, but its coming in bursts.
That's going to cost them at least one more game.
The Horns should win at least four more games. They should handle Kansas and West Virginia without a second thought. Meanwhile, Kansas State has its moments of where they look to be great and other where an early mishap costs them the game.
The question is which game will the Horns lose next: Baylor or Iowa State? The Bears have impressed defensively under Dave Aranda, but the offense has been the conference's biggest surprise. With new coordinator Jeff Grimes, Baylor ranks fourth nationally in average yards per play (7.26) and ranks 16th in scoring offense.
In Ames, Brecce Hall still is one of college football's more dangerous runners and Cyclones' defense ranks seventh nationally in rushing yards per play (2.7).
Offensive line play, inconsistent tackling and perhaps injuries should likely have Texas losing one game. Expect a bowl game and top five finish in the conference, but plenty must be fixed in the coming days if fans expect to be playing in the Big 12 Championship.
And part of that comes from other teams' blunders as well.
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