Sarkisian: This is just the beginning for Arch Manning, Texas passing attack

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian wants to make sure people read the entire book before figuring out if it’s good. The book is Arch Manning and the Longhorns’ passing game, and the 14-7 loss to Ohio State was just the first chapter.

Sarkisian spoke with reporters on Monday and gave an honest assessment of how he called the game for Manning, and how his talented young quarterback executed the plan. As with any game, there were positive and negative takeaways, and Sarkisian said he spoke with Manning directly at halftime to make adjustments.

“It was about how we could recognize coverages a little bit better. and the plan about the things we were going to go to in the second half, and he was really receptive. I thought he understood,” Sarkisian said. “We were a more efficient offense in the second half.”

The numbers agree. Manning had 26 yards on 5 for 10 passing in the first half, and then put up 144 in the second half, completing 12 of 20 attempts. Manning said the halftime chat was helpful because it allowed him to “see what Sark saw.”

“We watched some film, and then I lit rip a little more in the second half,” Manning said. “Our defense pretty well, but our offense needs to play better, and that starts with me.”

Sarkisian thought Manning may have pressed a little bit, forcing some throws that weren’t available, and also missing throws when his fundamentals and technique broke down. Remember, this was Manning’s third start of his career and first in a big-game environment like it was at Ohio Stadium against the defending national champions.

“The game can mount on you a little bit, and you feel like you have to make a play,” Sarkisian said. “It was a very tight game, but he’ll learn as we go, especially because he’s got a great defense, and we’re really good on special teams, so he doesn’t have to force things. I think he started to play football in the second half the way he’s capable of playing.”

Unlocking the quarterback run game with Manning was something Sarkisian said he wished he had done earlier in the game. He said sometimes it takes a solid hit to provide the jolt that brings a player to life, and while Sarkisian doesn’t want a defender teeing off on his quarterback, absorbing a hit could have put Manning in a focused mindset.

“Sometimes when you get hit, you realize, oh man, we’re playing football,” he said. “When a quarterback goes through training camp in a black jersey and he’s not being touched, sometimes it’s a little easier to get hit when you’re running forward rather than sitting back and waiting to get hit in the pocket.”

He said that’s why he called the first play to move Manning in the pocket, hoping to simulate some of that, but he also thought Manning could have taken the first hit earlier in the game and “got it out of the way.”

It’s an aspect of his offense that he’ll never use exclusively, but with Manning’s athletic ability, it’s something he’s going to take advantage of and use in the right spots. Don’t expect the Longhorns to go back to the days of Darrell Royal and the wishbone offense.

The Texas run game looked great Saturday

Texas outgained the Buckeyes by almost 100 yards on the ground, racking up 166 yards on 37 carries for a 4.5 yards per carry average. Sarkisian was especially pleased with the return of CJ Baxer, who had 65 total scrimmage yards on 15 touches. He ran the ball 10 times for 40 yards and caught five passes for 25 yards, hauling it in every time he was targeted.

While the Longhorns struggled to run the ball last season against physical defenses like Georgia and Ohio State, they were able to move the line of scrimmage regularly and get runners into open pockets for nice gains Saturday.

“A year ago, I felt, for lack of a better term, we were probably too cute against those teams,” he said. “We wanted to get back to a physical brand of football that we’ve built around here. We have the style of offensive line to run the ball right at teams, and I thought we had some opportunities for some bigger runs.”

He said to break those long runs, blocking has to be better on the perimeter, particularly from his wide receivers. He also said there needs to be a little more backside protection to the last defenders can’t chase down ball carriers.

Quintrevion Wisner, the only returning running back in the Southeastern Conference with more than 1,000 yards last season, led all runners with 80 yards.

What Texas will do to prepare for SEC play

To be clear, Sarkisian and the Texas coaching staff respects their next three opponents: San Jose State, UTEP and Sam Houston. However, the focus on getting the team ready for the SEC schedule is more about improving the team from an internal standpoint than about preparing for those specific non-conference teams.

In a 16-14 loss to Central Michigan, San Jose State threw the ball 45 times in an offense that’s “run and shoot at its finest,” Sarkisian said. Spartans quarterback Walker Egat completed 24 of 43 passes for 306 yards with a pair of touchdowns and two interceptions against the Chippewas.

The Spartans are coached by Ken Niumatalolo, who joined the program in 2024 after racking up 109 wins at the Naval Academy in 15 seasons, becoming the winningest coach in program history there.

He said that in order to beat San Jose State and stay on track, the players must be coachable and the reserves need to be prepared to perform.

“San Jose State is a dangerous team,” he said. “Each individual needs to work at their craft and get better. There are a lot of guys who didn’t play Saturday that are going to need to play, and they are going to grow and develop over this time. To play well against San Jose State, we need to get better internally so that we play our best football on Saturday.”