ESPN analyst Greg McElroy says Texas’ offensive line deserves more blame than quarterback Arch Manning for a 27-24 home loss to Florida that dropped the Longhorns to 4-2 and put their College Football Playoff hopes in jeopardy.
On Always College Football, McElroy pointed to a front that allowed five sacks in Austin. “People are going to blame Arch Manning,” he said. “No, Texas’ offense has problems for sure. And it’s much more than the play caller, the quarterback.”
Why isn’t McElroy blaming Arch Manning?
McElroy argued Texas’ point total overstated what its offense did Saturday. The Longhorns led 17-3 in the second quarter, but Ryan Niblett’s 63-yard punt-return touchdown accounted for seven of those points before Florida scored 24 straight.
“Seven of Texas’ first 17 points were on the Ryan Niblett punt return,” McElroy said. “So that kind of tells you, all right, you thought 24 points, not bad. Not a bad performance offensively. Well, seven of those were on the punt return, right?”
He then tied the loss to the short-yardage plays Texas couldn’t finish.
“Texas ran for just 99 yards. They allowed five sacks. They failed on both fourth-and-1 and fourth-and-2, one losing a yard on a Hollywood Smothers carry, the other losing three on an Arch Manning run.”
The fourth-and-2 stop came near midfield with Texas trailing 20-17 in the fourth quarter, and Florida turned it into a touchdown.
Texas offensive line under scrutiny
McElroy didn’t soften his verdict on the blockers in front of the second-year starter.
“It’s the fact their offensive line’s just flat-out not great,” McElroy said. “I hate to break it to you. That’s the truth.”
Florida entered having allowed 83 points across back-to-back losses, and backup Tramell Jones Jr. was making his first career start. Still, the Gators controlled the line of scrimmage, and Texas ran just 50 offensive snaps, the fewest of Steve Sarkisian’s tenure.
Manning nearly saved the afternoon anyway. His 62-yard completion to Emmett Mosley V on fourth-and-7 set up a 9-yard touchdown pass to Cam Coleman that cut Florida’s lead to 27-24 with 4:21 left.
“And then with 2:32 on the clock and the football, Texas, they’re sitting there at the 46-yard line,” McElroy said. “He was sacked, lost the fumble. Florida runs out the clock.”
Linebacker Myles Graham came free on a blitz for the strip-sack, and Kanye Clark recovered at the Texas 39.
What’s next for Texas?
Texas entered the Red River Rivalry ranked No. 1 before falling 27-24 to Oklahoma on Oct. 10, and Sarkisian didn’t rule out changes after a second straight loss.
“We’re not playing great offensive football right now, so everything is being evaluated,” Sarkisian said. Asked whether that included benching Manning, the Texas coach replied, “Everything means everything.”
Paul Finebaum had already taken aim at Sarkisian over Texas’ results. Ole Miss at Texas kicks off Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, a week after the Rebels routed No. 13 Missouri 31-3, and the Longhorns still face road trips to LSU and Texas A&M.
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