Sarkisian hoping all the Christmas tree lights are blinking at Mississippi State

AUSTIN (KXAN)–The No. 22 Texas Longhorns hit the road for the fourth straight time when they play at Mississippi State (4-3,0-3) at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday.

The Longhorns are looking for their third straight win since their 29-21 loss at Florida to open SEC play. One constant for this Texas offense has been its inconsistency. In their win over Kentucky, like the Oklahoma game, they managed to do it despite just one offensive touchdown. Head coach Steve Sarkisian took to a holiday analogy, trying to describe their struggles moving the ball and putting points on the board.

“I want us to play free, go play football the way we know how to play,” said Sarkisian. “We need to execute better than we have in the run game and the pass game, but we need to play cohesively as a unit. Remember when you’d go to Grandma’s house, and her Christmas tree would light up, and there would be one blinking light on the tree that you couldn’t get your eyes off of. Let’s make sure all our lights are on, and let’s not be that blinking light on Saturday.”

Texas will take on Mississippi State, led by veteran quarterback Blake Shapen (1,523 yards, 67% completion rate, 9 TDs, 5 interceptions), who did not play in last year’s Texas win over the Bulldogs, but he has faced the Longhorns from his days at Baylor.

Texas will be without its leading tackler in safety Michael Taaffe after having thumb surgery earlier in the week.

“You never want to lose Michael Taaffe; his intent and the way he goes about it is unparalleled,” said Sarkisian. “He’s very active at practice and at walk-throughs, he’s a great sounding board for our younger players on what that looks like.”

You can see the entire interview with Sarkisian on Texas GameDay, 2 p.m. Saturday on KBVO.