One Analyst Was Very Surprised at Sarkisian's Decisions vs Ohio State

"Arch definitely deserves to be the story a little bit too, to talk about because too many misses,” Pollack said, according to On3. “Too many misses for Arch on easy stuff. Easy crossers, the Wingo one late that would have given him a chance on third-and-five. Gotta hit that. Wingo, early, throwing at his feet in the red. Texas had opportunities, but I’m shocked at the way the offense ran like this. This, to me, didn’t look like a Sark offense."

Manning finished the game going 17-30 with 170 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception. The young quarterback came alive in the second half, as did the rest of the Texas offense.

“I didn’t see all the fun shifts and motions until the fourth quarter, when he went reverse screen. Then, I was like, ‘OK, that’s an offense that put me in conflict multiple times.’ He said in the pregame presser, ‘We’re gonna sling it. I want Arch to sling it.’ I didn’t feel like they slang it," Pollack said. "I feel like they were very conservative early in this football game, and almost protected him a little bit more, probably, than they needed to.”

Perhaps Sarkisian was floating a more conservative game plan against the Buckeyes in an effort to ease Manning into his regular role as the full-time starter, or perhaps he was trying to establish a more physical persona to the Longhorns with a more emphasized run-game.

The Longhorns didn't exactly look like themselves in the team's Saturday matchup, but there were glimpses of production in the second half of the contest. The team will have a chance to find better footing on Saturday in a favorable matchup with San Jose State for the first home game of the season.

Perhaps Sarkisian and Manning will bounce back in this weekend's game against the Spartans and establish that this is a team that can produce on the offensive end. In all likelihood, Saturday's game will be a good opportunity for Manning to settle in as quarterback and demonstrate why he could be one of the best quarterbacks in the country.