The Texas Longhorns' 2026 season dreams and accomplishments could go nowhere fast. Back-to-back losses to Oklahoma and Florida have the Longhorns backed into a corner ahead of a pivotal SEC showdown with Ole Miss, which could leave Texas all but out of College Football Playoff contention.
The shortcomings of what was once the nation’s No. 1 team have been on offense. For the second year in a row, head coach Steve Sarkisian’s unit is vastly underperforming given its talent and offseason investment. That underperformance includes starting quarterback Arch Manning, who has turned the ball over in consecutive games.
Yet while all the attention naturally goes to Manning’s struggles in his second season as the starter, Sarkisian faces a much bigger problem in the coming weeks than Manning’s.
The Biggest Issue
In each loss this season, Texas has built early leads before giving them up in the second half. The offense, in particular, failed to play a complete game in both losses despite strong starts against the Oklahoma and Florida defenses.
Even Sarkisian has acknowledged this issue, crediting his initial game script for the offense, which the team seemingly thrives on, before entering the dreaded “lull” once both sides settle into the game.
“It used to be the other way around, where we wouldn’t start games very good. And then it was like we’d make these great adjustments and play better in the second half,” Sarkisian said. “Now we’ve actually started pretty good. Now we need to be better in the second half. … That’s our job to get them in a space of really understanding what we’re trying to do to start the second half, and then executing those things at a high level.”
Sarkisian specifically reflected on the Red River Rivalry, where Texas went to the locker room at halftime with a 17-7 lead and got the ball to open the third quarter. A strong drive, whether it ended in a touchdown or a field goal, could have made all the difference.
A touchdown, especially, could’ve been a deathblow to a Sooners team whose lone score at that point came from a blocked punt. Instead, Texas kicked off the second half with the first of four straight drives that ended in punts.
Fast forward a week, and Texas leads 17-10 at halftime, but they squander it on the second-half opening drive. Florida marched 69 yards on a staggering 15-play drive to tie the game.
With the team desperate for momentum, or at least a brief rest for the defense, the offense didn’t manage a first down before punting.
The offensive lulls make it clear that the Longhorns are struggling to make the in-game adjustments needed to put opponents away in the second half.
Texas makes it look competent when working off the play-call script that Sarkisian and co. built and repped all week leading up to kickoff. Yet once they go off script, they don’t have the adjustments to sustain that success.
Manning's performance may be part of that, as may Sarkisian's play-calling. Yet it highlights the bigger issue: Texas is failing to finish games, or at least doesn’t know how right now.
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