Following Texas football's wrenching 27-24 home loss Saturday to Florida, a deflated Steve Sarkisian said "everything" about his program would undergo an audit of sorts over a long, hard weekend of watching film.
On Monday, in his first meeting with the media since evaluating the film, Sarkisian gave some hints about what he saw. The Longhorns' coach criticized himself for some "crappy" play-calling. He slammed the coaching staff and team for falling short in the game's critical moments, when "we were clearly not at our best." And he said "we need to see a better version of Arch Manning" while confirming the beleaguered quarterback remains the team's starter.
So, what exactly does Sarkisian plan to change about his No. 19 Longhorns (4-2, 1-2) following two straight losses entering Saturday night's showdown against No. 7 Ole Miss (5-1, 3-1)?
Based on what Sarkisian said, everyone will have to wait until the Rebels roll into Royal-Memorial Stadium to find out.
"Obviously, without disclosing game-planning and different things, yeah, I think there'll be adjustments made to what we do," Sarkisian said. "You're always striving to make improvements on the journey of a season, and some adjustments are more subtle than others."
The least subtle adjustments involve replacing one starter with another, but Sarkisian didn't disclose any upcoming personnel moves.
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The Texas defense doesn't have many issues, even if the Longhorns still don't have a takeaway in SEC play and may have to face Ole Miss and Heisman Trophy candidate Trinidad Chambliss without All-American edge rusher Colin Simmons. The Longhorns lead the SEC in total defense with an average of 257.3 yards of offense allowed per game.
There's plenty of questions for everyone when it comes to the offense since Texas ranks in the bottom quarter of the SEC in virtually every offensive category. But what changes would Sarkisian and his staff make to the starting units, if any?
Sarkisian said Manning remains the starter over KJ Lacey behind center, and he said last week that no backup linemen have practiced well enough to push for more playing time. Freshman receiver Jermaine Bishop Jr. keeps getting an uptick in snaps, but Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo and Emmett Mosley V remain locked in as the three starting wideouts. And at running back, injuries to starter Hollywood Smothers and freshman Derrek Cooper limit the options alongside Raleek Brown.
So, Sarkisian was asked Monday, is it realistic to expect different results without major changes?
"Well, I hope it's realistic," Sarkisian responded. "That's our job, right? My expectation is that we will see better results."
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This article originally published at Steve Sarkisian evaluated 'everything' after Texas football loss. Are changes coming?.