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Steve Sarkisian on fourth-and-goal decision vs. Ohio State: 'If I could do it all over again, we probably sub'

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh08/30/25griffin_mcveigh
Steve Sarkisian
Steve Sarkisian (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Redzone issues from as season ago for the Texas Longhorns carried over into the 2025 opener against Ohio State. Head coach Steve Sarkisian attempted to punch in a score via a Arch Manning quarterback sneak on the one-yard line. Ohio State got the stop, one of the few fourth down stuffs from the Buckeyes.

After the game, Sarkisian explained his mindset on the play, going quickly because he did not want to give Ohio State a chance to substitute. At the same time, Texas did not get the right personnel into the game. It’s one Sarkisian admits he would do differently if given the chance.

“I think they got under us pretty good and kind of took Arch’s legs out from them,” Sarkisian said via On3 | Rivals’ Inside Texas. “Hindsight is 2020, if I could do it all over a gain, we probably sub and they put their big guys in, we put our big guys in, and see if we can get it in the end zone.”

A critical moment in the game, the score would likely have been tied had Manning gotten in for a touchdown. Ohio State was not able to immediately capitalize as a quick three and out came from the offense. Finding a way to get a few yards was the Buckeyes’ goal, more than anything.

Luckily for Texas, there is still plenty of season ahead of them. Sarkisian should have a couple games to get issues corrected before starting SEC play against the Florida Gators on Oct. 4.

Arch Manning criticizes own play against Ohio State

The highly anticipated opener between Ohio State and Texas didn’t go exactly how the Longhorns would have liked it, though they had a chance late. But for Arch Manning and company it’ll go down as a hard-fought loss.

Manning opened up on the contest afterward, admitting he bore a lot of blame for the loss. The good news, though, is that he thought many of the mistakes were self-inflicted. Clean them up and all the sudden the team will be right there in contention.

“Ultimately, not good enough,” Manning said during his postgame press conference. “Obviously you don’t want to start off the season 0-1. They’re a good team. I thought we beat ourselves a lot, and that starts with me. I’ve got to play better for us to win.”

On3’s Thomas Goldkamp contributed to this report