David Pollack claims Texas 'didn't look like a Sark offense' in loss to Ohio State

On Saturday, Texas‘ offense looked lackluster in its low-scoring 14-7 loss to No. 3 Ohio State. On the See Ball Get Ball podcast, college football expert David Pollack reacted to the Longhorns’ offensive performance in the loss.

“Arch definitely deserves to be the story a little bit too to talk about because too many misses,” Pollack said. “Too many misses for Arch on easy stuff. Easy crossers, the Wingo one late that would have given him a chance on third-and-5. Gotta hit that. Wingo, early, throwing at his feet in the red. Texas had opportunities, but I’m shocked at the way the offense ran like this. This, to me, didn’t look like a Sark offense.

“I didn’t see all the fun shifts and motions until the fourth quarter, when he went reverse screen. Then, I was like, ‘OK, that that’s an offense that put me in conflict multiple times.’ He said the pregame presser, ‘We’re gonna sling it. I want Arch to sling it.’ I didn’t feel like they slang it. I feel like they were very conservative early in this football game, and almost protected him a little bit more, probably, than they needed to.”

Texas’ offense especially struggled during the first half against the Buckeyes. The Longhorns amassed just 79 total yards of offense in the first half.

They bounced back in the second half, racking up 336 total yards in the game. Alas, it was too little, too late. Even when Texas successfully moved the ball in the second half, it failed to find scoring opportunities, only getting into the end zone once all afternoon.

Part of Texas’ struggles were due to quarterback Arch Manning, who is Texas’ full-time starter for the first time this season. In the loss, only completed 17-of-his-30 pass attempts for 170 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing an interception.

For reference, Texas’ offense never scored fewer than 14 points in a single game last season. It was a far from promising start from the season. Nonetheless, head coach Steve Sarkisian isn’t running from the fact. Instead, he’s owning up to his mistakes and focusing on the future.

“We’ve got to score more points at the end of the day. If we can hold a team like that to 14, we’ve got to find a way to score 15,” Sarkisian said after the game. “… We’re going to be fine. We’ve got work to do as a team and as an offense, but ultimately, I’m getting on the plane knowing we’re going to be a good football team.

“We didn’t win tonight. That’s the life of a competitor. We went for it in a tough place against a good team. But we’ll get back on the horse and we’ll play good football this season.”