Texas is in danger of missing CFP this season
By Joe Rutland
Entering the 2026 college football season, the Texas Longhorns talked a lot about coming out with a different culture and different attitude from last season.
Steve Sarkisian, who has a winning record as Texas’ head coach, emphasized in public comments about how much improvement the Longhorns have made. Star quarterback Arch Manning looked good in preseason workouts and that was supposed to give Texas fans and followers hope for a great season.
Texas has lost two games in a row, first against the Oklahoma Sooners at the Red River Rivalry and, second, to the unranked Florida Gators 27-24 in front of a packed house on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. Global Sports Report’s college football sports desk has been keeping track of the stories coming out of this game.
The Longhorns are now 4-2 overall, 1-2 in a very competitive Southeastern Conference.
Texas was supposed to come out this week against the Gators with marked improvement. Sarkisian told media members during the week that Manning had looked great in practice.
Well, all those good vibrations went out the door.
The Longhorns jumped out to a 17-3 lead over Florida and had a really impressive first drive on offense. Punt returner Ryan Niblett added a touchdown on a punt return, too. Things were trending in the right direction for a Texas win.
Then, the wheels fell off. Manning looked like a lost puppy dog in the pocket when, in his fourth season as a college quarterback, he should be more polished. The Longhorns’ offense was anemic, inept, and getting whacked by the Gators’ defensive front line. Texas’ offensive line looked awful.
We’re not through with the offense just yet. As a reminder, Sarkisian is the team’s offensive coordinator without being called that at all. Sark makes the play calls on offense from the sidelines. He’s the man with the offensive plan in his hands.
That offense sucks right now. No rhythm, no structure, and an inability to move the ball downfield in an orderly fashion. Yes, the offense shows signs of life on a drive here and there, but the offense must be consistent across four quarters.
A play that encapsulated the Texas offense’s lameness occurred when, on a key play with the Longhorns driving down the field and on the wrong end of a 27-24 score, Manning took the snap. He got caught up in traffic in the Texas backfield, thanks to Florida’s defensive push, and lost the ball.
He turned it over, Florida recovered, made a key first down, and that was it.
Early on, this game was shaping up to be a great day to cheer on their team for Texas fans.
Instead, the Chomp-Chomp of Florida fans ruled this game.
Don’t be surprised if Texas does not get an invitation to the College Football Playoff. They aren’t a playoff team. Hell, even when the CFP expands to 24 teams in 2027, the Longhorns might not even get in with this motley crew.
I should state for clarity purposes that, yes, I am a journalist. I’ve also been a Longhorns fan since I sat in my father’s grandfather’s house in Austin as a 5-year-old watching Texas play football on TV.
So, my commentary about Texas’ play is weighted between both worlds.
After the game, I posted this on X: “You spent all that money. You spent all that time talking big.
You wanted us to believe that this was the year. No, no, no. Instead, you come out, have no real offense, defense looks lost, special teams stink, and now you are 4-2 overall, 1-2 in SEC, and you let Florida totally run all over your ass at home, at DKR.
“This is not a title-winning team. This is an underperforming team. Arch, buddy, you just had your NFL Draft position lowered even further. Sark, this was a disgusting performance. Muschamp, that defense didn't come through. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.This was a game where you were supposed to come out and really deliver after getting beat by Oklahoma. This was awful.”
The heat on Sark’s seat right now just got hotter. Manning is playing himself into a second-round NFL Draft position if he does not come back and play next season for Texas. Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp did his best to have his defense ready to answer the call. It’s tough to do it consistently when the defense is on the field for 40-plus minutes in a game.
I would not be surprised if some Texas boosters were not holding court in a WhatsApp message group. They gave this football program a hell of a lot of money. They wanted Texas to be among those big-time SEC schools like Alabama or Georgia. Sark has shown, at times, that he can hold his own against those types of teams.
Again and again, though, offensive ineptness issues are aimed at Manning. That’s fair. He’s very mid as a quarterback, nothing really outstanding week after week to make people truly excited. Manning is not able to make the reads that a fourth-season quarterback should be able to make at this point.
The tower at the University of Texas is lit up in burnt orange when the Longhorns win a football game. Tonight, though, a shadow casts its pall over the tower, Sarkisian, Manning, and the entire Longhorns football program.
They better get their stuff together, or their record just might be .500 when this season ends.