Why Steve Sarkisian Remains Confident in Texas Longhorns After Ohio State Loss

“We said, coming into this game, (it) would serve as a really good measuring stick of where we were at, where we needed to improve, and the things that we were good at,” Sarkisian said.

He added that the Longhorns played well in a high-stakes environment at The Shoe and credited the Buckeyes for their disciplined game.

“You know, zero turnovers, only two penalties (and) they took advantage of their opportunities when they got them, so credit to them,” Sarkisian said. 

Regarding his perspective on how the Longhorns played defensively, Sarkisian stated that Texas played an overall good defensive game. However, the two major defensive errors, a pass interference and a face mask call, led to Ohio State’s first touchdown drive.

In terms of the Longhorns’ offense, he thought their initial plan was good, but it wasn’t panning out. Throughout the game, Manning threw 17-for-30 for 170 yards; however, 132 of those were in the fourth quarter alone, applauding Ohio State’s secondary for their heavy pressure on the quarterback.

“When we were playing physical football, quite frankly, we just didn't quite have rhythm in the passing game yet,” Sarkisian added. “We had a couple of opportunities there to move it (but) that didn't happen… (so) we finally, kind of, woke up and started moving the ball.”

However, Sarkisian noted that Texas wasn’t able to capitalize on its opportunities in scoring position. Despite the Longhorns driving inside the Buckeyes’ 10-yard line twice in the second half, they were met with fourth-down stops both times.

“You know, this is the first game of a long season,” Sarkisian said. “We've got an opportunity here, over the next month, to really clean some things up and to get ourselves in a great frame of mind to get ready for SEC play.”

He added that two areas the Longhorns need to clean up heading into the remainder of the season are finding a passing rhythm and working on the ability to score when opportunities arise. 

“(However) those are things that are fixable for us,” Sarkisian added. “And I feel confident in that.”

His words prove true — this is the first game of a long season for the Longhorns. In the coming weeks, Texas will take on the San Jose State Spartans (Sep. 6), UTEP Miners (Sep. 13) and Sam Houston State Bearkats (Sep. 20), before facing Florida (Oct. 4) in the first game of their eight consecutive SEC game stretch. 

As Texas takes the next few weeks tending to their offensive shortcomings, Sarkisian appears confident the Longhorns will work out all of their kinks as they continue down their road in the national championship campaign.