Texas has just been stunned by the Florida Gators. The Texas Longhorns came in with every advantage on paper against a Florida team playing its backup quarterback, and they walked out with more questions than answers about Arch Manning and Steve Sarkisian’s offense.

The concerns about Sarkisian as a play caller were already on the table this week. That conversation was about the big picture: what this Texas offense could be over the next five years, and whether the Longhorns will ever win a national championship with Sarkisian calling plays. This performance against Florida drags that question out of the future and right into the present.

Arch Manning is going backward in this offense

Look at who Texas was facing. This is a Florida defense that let LaNorris Sellers throw for 300 yards and has allowed virtually every other SEC quarterback to hit that same number. That is the defense Manning couldn’t solve. I hate to say it, but this has to be the final nail in the coffin.

Manning is making true freshman mistakes, and this is his fourth year in the system and his second year as the starter. It’s inexcusable. He goes through his progressions, holds on to the football, and takes sack after sack. How many times does that have to happen before we stop making excuses for it?

And you may say, Tegan, the offensive line has to share some of that blame. Not at this point. When a quarterback with four years in the same system keeps holding the ball against a defense that has been carved up all season, that’s on the quarterback. He is actively regressing.

That’s the part that stings for Texas. Nobody expected Manning to be a finished product in his first season as a starter. But the whole pitch was that the extra time learning behind the scenes would pay off with a quarterback who was ahead of the curve. Instead, the Longhorns are watching a guy who looks further behind than he did a year ago.

Florida found something in the backup quarterback theory

With that being said, credit to Florida, because the Gators earned this one.

Florida rallied around Tramell Jones and put together an incredible performance. This is the definition of the backup quarterback theory. When you know you have a backup in, every position group has to compensate for it, and you get a rejuvenated effort across the board. That is exactly what Florida got.

Jaden Baugh was ridiculous, which helps. But, Jones made as many plays as he needed to, and that’s all you can ask of a backup in this spot. He didn’t have to be a hero. The rest of the roster made sure of that.

Think about that contrast for a second. One team was supposed to be limited by its quarterback situation and played free. The other team was supposed to be carried by its quarterback and got dragged down by him instead.

Texas has a make-or-break problem it needs to figure out

Here’s where I land. This loss didn’t create the questions about Sarkisian’s offense or Manning’s development. It confirmed them, and it confirmed them against an opponent that should have been the perfect place to get things right.

Florida just made its stand as a team of the future. Texas, meanwhile, is a program with every resource in college football that suddenly can’t trust the most important position on the field. That’s brutal.

Until Manning proves he can play on time and Sarkisian proves he can build an offense that doesn’t stall against a defense like this one, I’m not buying Texas as a serious contender. This was the game that should have shut the critics up, and instead it handed them all the evidence they need.