Texas HC Steve Sarkisian does a deep dive analysis into Longhorns’ third-down struggles against Georgia
Horns were 2-for-14 on third down against Bulldogs and 1-for-5 on fourth down
Breaking down what happened Saturday against Georgia, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian had a grim-but-honest offensive assessment.
“We just did not have great execution Saturday night,” Sarkisian said Monday. “Most notably, we didn't have great execution at critical moments.”
That included a dreadful showing on third down.
No. 5 Texas had converted 50% of its chances on third down in the first six games. That’s an astonishing rate and one of the best in the nation. But against the Bulldogs, the Horns were 2-for-14 on third down and 1-for-5 on fourth down.
It’s darn near impossible to play winning football with such low conversion rates.
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“We need to extend drives,” Sarkisian said. “And two of (14), obviously, is unacceptable, especially for the standard around here. So we’ve got to find ways to convert those makeable third downs. Third-and-6 or less, we should be hitting that at a really high rate. Third-and-7-plus, I get it, it’s difficult. But six or less, we should be converting those at a high rate.”
Texas did well on third-and-short. The Horns were 2-for-3 on converting when it was third-and-four or less. But the offense faced an average distance of 6.5 yards on third down most of the night.
Quarterback Quinn Ewers threw incomplete passes twice on third-and-9. Then, he was sacked for a 15-yard loss and lost the football on a third-and-5. On the next possession, he was sacked on third-and-7. Then on third-and-5, Ewers was intercepted on a pass intended for Matthew Golden. The next drive, third-and-11 resulted in a sack.
The first half was a total disaster.
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Texas is no longer undefeated and, come midday Sunday when the polls are updated, will no longer be ranked No. 1. Neither of those things matter to coach Steve Sarkisian, though. Nor should they matter to Longhorns fans. Texas (6-1, 2-1 SEC) is still in contention for the SEC championship game and the 12-team College […]
“Honestly, I don't mind third-and-medium,” Sarkisian said. “You know, third-and-four to six, that’s a decent sweet spot for us. I just didn’t love our execution in some of those situations. I didn’t love the timing with the routes with the quarterback. I didn’t love some of the protection that we had for the quarterback. I didn’t love some of the decision making.
“So it was all kind of everybody kind of took their turns in those situations.”
While the offense got moving in the second half, Texas still struggled on third down.
Quintrevion Wisner got only three yards on the ground on third-and-4. Ewers’ pass to Golden was broken up. Wisner got corralled again for two yards on third-and-5. Ewers didn’t convert his first third down until there was 8:25 left in the game on a three-yard pass to Ryan Wingo on third-and-2.
Ewers did hit an 18-yard pass to Gunnar Helm on third-and-3 just before the two-minute timeout. But by then, the Horns were in desperation mode.
“Again, it got away from us a little bit there as the game started to stretch and the lead started to stretch, and we got a little bit one dimensional,” Sarkisian said. “We tried to kind of use the run game as an offset to the past game, but ideally, we have balance and that balance usually comes at the end of the game.
“What does it look like from a balance standpoint?,” he continued. “I think so many people think balance is you’re balanced all game long. You know, I’ve done a lot of my time is studying some of the best play callers in the sport. And Bill Walsh, to me, is an icon of play calling. And if you ever watch those old 49ers teams with Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, John Taylor, Roger Craig, Tom Rathman, a lot of times they came to throw, and then that led to the run. And every game was a little bit different.
“We try to do what’s in our best interest to attack a team, but we just didn't get enough balance the other night at the end of the game, but I think a lot of that was a byproduct of the turnovers and the score going the way that it did.”
