It’s not as big as it was a few weeks ago, but the Texas Longhorns-Ole Miss matchup on Saturday will still have plenty at stake.
The stakes aren’t just winning and staying alive in Texas's College Football Playoff hunt; they're also a proof-of-concept game for head coach Steve Sarkisian.
The now-sixth-year head coach is enduring his most embattled time on the Forty Acres, amid a two-game losing streak that threatens to implode the very season many expected him to win big in.
As calls to relinquish his offensive play-calling duties grow, Sarkisian remains steadfast in his belief that he is the man for the job. Saturday could have massive implications for that going forward if the result goes the other way.
Sarkisian Isn’t Wrong
Over the past three seasons, whenever the topic of changing offensive coordinators has come up in front of Sarkisian, his response has had a common thread: he got the job because of his success at Alabama as the offensive coordinator, during which the Crimson Tide put up historic offensive numbers en route to Nick Saban’s sixth national championship in Tuscaloosa.
He said as much last year, when asked after his team’s overtime win at Kentucky.
“No, because that’s why I got hired,” Sarkisian said. “I was a really good offensive coordinator. I believe in what we’re able to do. Every year, we have to continually evolve. There’s going to be years where we’re better on offense than we our on defense. There’s going to be years where we’re better on defense than we our on offense.”
That is true. Without his success at Alabama, where he genuinely helped reboot his career after his tenure at USC ended, Sarkisian wouldn’t be in the position he is today. Texas wanted an offensive mind and coach whose resume includes developing NFL quarterbacks.
Yet he is wrong to think that reasoning should keep him from eventually giving up play-calling duties if it is provably holding his program back from reaching its potential.
That’s not to say that Sarkisian is fully to blame for all of the Longhorns’ issues this season. Nor is his play-calling. The continued inability to establish a running game, despite heavy offseason investment in the offensive line and at running back, wasn't part of his vision for success.
Nor was his starting quarterback turning the ball over on decisive drives in back-to-back games versus opponents that Texas was favored to beat.
However, as much as Sarkisian and football coaches at all levels preach accountability, two straight seasons of offensive underperformance bring the inevitable closer: a change.
Luckily for Sarkisian and co., his own destiny is still in his hands. Yes, the first seven games of the season haven’t gone as many expected.
The Longhorns once again find themselves with their backs against the wall just past the regular season’s midway point and enter a stretch where every game is a must-win to make the College Football Playoff.
Sarkisian can’t do it all by himself; it will still ultimately come down to his players executing on the field. Yet, a win on Saturday will be his first chance to right the ship for the rest of the season, and it could shape the rest of his Texas tenure.
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