Change is needed in Austin.
Short and long term. Some might be temporary and some might be permanent.
But after a second straight embarrassing loss for Steve Sarkisian and his Texas Longhorns program… this one, a 27-24 defeat in Florida, unclassified, it’s time to look in the mirror and realize that the current operation is not working.
The call to play is not enough. The quarterback’s play isn’t good enough. The vaunted roster construction is not good enough.
For one of the most expensive teams in sport, led by one of the highest paid coaches, this is completely unacceptable. Sarkissian was given the keys to a Lamborghini this season and he drove it into a ditch. On Saturday, Texas became the first top 10 team since 2003 to take a double-digit lead in consecutive weeks against an unranked opponent. The Longhorns looked in control with a 17-3 lead in the first half, only to let Florida slowly come back and capitalize on Texas’ anemic offense.
Texas is now 4-2 with games remaining against No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 16 Mississippi State, No. 13 Missouri and No. 22 LSU. His playoff chances dropped to 43 percent, according to CBS Sports projections, following the loss to an unranked and reeling Florida team that had lost its last two games by more than 20 points and was playing against its backup quarterback. Missing the 12-team playoffs for the second straight season, given all the investment in this program, would be egregious for Sargsyan.
In the short term, Sargsyan needs to seriously examine the shortcomings of his offense. Arch Manning appears closer to being benched than a No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, as some predicted before the season started. He’s still capable of making a “wow” play here and there, usually when the odds are most stacked against him, but his confidence seems shaken and his game is holding back an offense that should be considerably more explosive with players like Ryan Wingo, Cam Coleman and Hollywood Smothers. Manning doesn’t appear capable of guiding Texas toward its preseason goal of a national championship.
“Arch, you don’t know what you’re going to get,” one SEC head coach told CBS Sports. “Whether it’s Good Arch or Dazed and Confused Arch.”
A salty Sarkissian said that after the game everything would be evaluated, including even the quarterback position.
“We will evaluate everything,” Sargsyan said. “I don’t know how many times I have to say it. We’re going to evaluate everything from an offensive standpoint. It’s part of the game.”
Will Sargsyan abandon the offensive game? He should, given the results. Before Saturday’s loss to Florida, Texas had managed just 3.66 yards per carry (117th best in the nation) and had the worst three-and-out offensive series rate in the SEC at nearly 29 percent. Sargsyan has a reputation as one of the country’s elite offensive minds, but this year’s lackluster on-field results don’t live up to the hype.
But the biggest question, especially for this season, is who do you really trust on the coaching staff to do better? Quarterbacks coach AJ Milwee? Kyle Flood, offensive line coach/offensive coordinator in name only? These guys feel like they are a big part of the problem and not a potential solution. As I wrote earlier in the week, Sark’s loyalty to longtime assistants like Milwee, Flood and special teams coordinator Jeff Banks has been an obstacle. All of their respective units have been concerning, and it’s staggering that Texas can’t better develop former five-star QB recruits such as Manning and Quinn Ewers.
Frankly, Texas needs to clean up its offensive coaching staff and bring in new ideas and energy to help the offense evolve. This is an offseason move, however, and should be a requirement of Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte if Sarkisian wants to remain the Longhorns’ head coach (Sarkisian’s $50 million buyout is feasible enough, especially at a school like Texas, that Del Conte would have the leverage to issue such an ultimatum). Significant changes must be made to the way the list is constituted, developed and managed. There also needs to be changes in how Sark holds himself and his team accountable. It’s clear from Del Conte’s strong statement earlier this season that this is already an area he is monitoring closely.
If Sarkisian is willing to truly change his ways and bring in a true offensive coordinator that he equips to succeed, there is a path to success in 2027. If the stubborn coach doubles down and doesn’t want to fire his friends, Del Conte needs to think long and hard about whether Sark is the right man to finally take this program to the top of the mountain.
The 2024 season was a disappointment.
The 2025 season was even worse.
And now the situation is moving in a more precarious direction.
Will Sark be able to stop the bleeding and get Texas back on track?
He will have to change to do this.
Ohio State can survive Sayin’s injury
The Buckeyes suffered a significant injury when Julian Sayin hurt his arm in the fourth quarter of a 19-14 win over No. 5 Indiana. Ryan Day, Ohio State coach said after that Sayin will be absent “several weeks” but provided no details.
Let’s start here: Losing your starting quarterback is never a good thing.
But Ohio State finding a way to hold off the Hoosiers on Saturday gives it enough of a margin that it can survive the coming weeks and still be in the expected playoff field. The Buckeyes’ playoff chances have improved to 89.4 percent, according to CBS Sports projections.
If Sayin is out next month, for discussion purposes that would include next week’s bye week, a road trip to USC and home games against Oregon and Northwestern. If Ohio State can go 2-1 in this stretch, that will be pretty good as they head into the final stretch of the season.
Can Ohio State go 2-1? Absolutely. Even without Sayin, the Buckeyes remain one of the most talented teams in the country. It starts with star receiver Jeremiah Smith, who could become the first receiver-only player to win the Heisman Trophy since Alabama’s DeVonta Smith in 2020 (Colorado cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter also won in 2024). The defense looks elite under defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, holding opponents to an average of 13.4 points per game.
True freshman Luke Fahey understandably looked overwhelmed as he came to Sayin’s aid. He went 0 for 2 in his limited action against the Hoosiers. If Day chooses to stay with Fahey, it will be about limiting what he has to do himself. With a defense playing this well, you don’t have to score 40 points every game. Let Fahey be a game manager who prioritizes not making big mistakes, who plans plays to get Smith open and leans on your running game.
It might not look pretty, but there is enough talent around Fahey that the Buckeyes will still be in the playoff race next month.
What Schiano’s win means in struggling Big Ten coaches clash
The two Big Ten coaches in the hottest seats met Saturday in College Park, Maryland. In a game both coaches desperately needed to win, Greg Schiano’s Rutgers program defeated Mike Locksley’s Maryland team, 37-30.
It wasn’t a pretty matchup, to put it mildly, between the Big Ten’s bottom two denizens, but Schiano picked up a key victory as he fights to keep his job. A win against Maryland doesn’t guarantee he’ll survive, nor would a loss have ensured a dismissal given Rutgers’ significant financial woes, but it at least keeps him on track for a potential 2027 return.
Meanwhile, Locksley fell to 2-20 in Big Ten games since 2024. After recording 4-8 consecutive seasons in 2024 and 2025, Locksley needed to at least reach the 7 win mark in 2026 if he wanted to remain the head coach of the Terrapins. While that’s still technically possible, everyone around the program knows that’s not happening with the way the team is playing under Locksley.
Maryland AD Jim Smith has preached patience to fans, so don’t be surprised if Locksley survives the weekend despite the 2-5 start to the season. Industry sources continue to reiterate that the question is when, not if, Maryland will move on from Locksley.
At this point, no Power Four program has fired a head coach, which may help schools like Maryland, Florida State and others considering a change not feel the urgency to act. A year ago, it was the opposite, when UCLA and Virginia Tech unleashed what became a layoff frenzy as the programs feared falling behind in their coaching searches.
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