Steve Sarkisian makes embarrassing excuse for Texas Longhorns failures following devastating loss to Florida Gators
Steve Sarkisian makes another gaff after a tough loss for Texas.
Losing in the SEC is one thing. Losing a game you were heavily expected to win, and then making excuses about it is a separate issue that the Texas Longhorns simply can’t deal with this season – or any season, for that matter.
That didn’t stop Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian from making a head-scratcher of a statement following the team’s embarrassing 29-21 defeat at the hands of the Florida Gators.
Texas Longhorns HC Steve Sarkisian makes ridiculous excuse following shocking loss to Florida Gators
During media availability on Monday, the Longhorns coach made a comment that plenty of people on social media are laughing maniacally at right now. Sarkisian brought up the difficulty of playing on the road at Ohio State and at Florida as an excuse for the team’s loss to a struggling Gators this past weekend. The Longhorns also lost in Columbus against Ohio State to start the season.
“Take the other 135 teams and have them go play at Ohio State and at The Swamp and see how they do.” — Steve Sarkisian via David Eckert
Even if there is some truth to this statement, you just cannot say that out loud as the coach of the Texas Longhorns when your team laid an absolute egg on both sides of the ball against Florida. The Gators played well, no doubt, but Texas consistently shot themselves in the foot and never got their running game off the ground on offense. Quarterback Arch Manning wasn’t comfortable for most of the game, either.
The Longhorns defense allowed D.J. Lagway to play one of the most impressive games of his college career through the air. Meanwhile, the offense for Texas lacked any sort of efficiency.
Key Stats from Texas-Florida matchup
- Longhorns ran for only 52 rushing yards versus Gators
- Arch Manning was sacked six times by Florida defenders
- Texas was penalized ten times for 70 yards
The Longhorns are running out of excuses fort not getting the job done. Even then, their head coach is lacking a bit of accountability, and that sort of mantra can rub off on your players as well.
“Texas has been one of the most disappointing teams this season. After starting the season
ranked as the number one team in the country, the team is now unranked in the AP top 25 after a huge loss on the road to an unranked Florida Gators team. After the loss, head coach Steve Sarkisian said at a press conference that if the other 135 teams played at Florida or at POhio State they would also lose. The problem with that is, not every other team has Texas’s NIL budget, infrastructure, talent, and expectations. The quote is a spineless excuse from a head coach who prides himself on saying “this is why kids come to Texas” after they win a big game. The excuses must stop and Texas must look in the mirror when it comes to addressing these tough losses and turning this season around.” — Brentley Weissman, A to Z Sports
The environment was fantastic for Florida. it was raucous, and their fans deserve a ton of credit. That is to be expected in The Swamp, but an SEC head coach attempting to use that as fuel to excuse your team’s performance can’t happen. That’s plain and simple truth at this level of college football.
Arch Manning’s performance didn’t change his coach’s views on him
Sark also discussed the performance from quarterback Arch Manning against the Gators. He felt like he fought through plenty of pressure and played hard. Sarkisian believes that Manning earned more respect from his teammates with the performance, even in defeat.
“I found out he’s a tough dude, he fought his a** off on Saturday. This guy has a lot of courage and toughness, and I think he gained a lot of respect from his team. Does he need to play better? Sure. We need to play better around him? Sure.” — Sarkisian on Arch Manning’s performance vs. Florida
Only time will tell if Sark and his staff can turn this around. Playing in the SEC, that task is way easier said than done. The Longhorns will have to deal with multiple top ten teams, with a handful of ranked opponents in general, on the schedule, too.
There is no time to breathe. Rather, Sarkisian has to rally the troops and prevent any sort of loss like this from happening again – or the Longhorns will put together an excruciatingly frustrating campaign for the fan base.
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