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Steve Sarkisian identifies where Texas must improve in the second half

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh01/02/24griffin_mcveigh
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Steve Sarkisian (© Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK)

We seem to have a game on our hands in New Orleans. Texas and Washington head into the halftime break tied at 21, setting up to be another great College Football Playoff semifinal. If any side has had some frustration though, it’s Steve Sarkisian after some self-inflicted wounds.

Sarkisian knows if Texas is going to have success in the second half, those will have to go away. He also wants to make sure his team is not playing frantically, having a bit of a cooler demeanor. You could see a difference once the Longhorns got settled into the game.

“We got to quit getting in our own way,” Sarkisian said during his mid-game interview with ESPN. “We had some unforced errors with some penalties and different things. I thought we settled down a little bit once we got going. But we got to stay out of these third and longs and get into third and manageable situations.”

Texas will walk into the locker room with six penalties for a total of 36 yards. A couple of holding calls have gone against the offensive line, while an illegal block was called against cornerback Ryan Watts down in the Washington red zone.

For the most part, Washington has been able to play clean football. Their one mistake was a big one though, muffing a punt to give Texas the ball back. They were able to capitalize and at the time, the score was knotted back up at 14.

Sarkisian might not be a defensive guy but some changes will need to occur there too. Michael Penix Jr. is currently averaging 18.2 yards per attempt, a truly absurd number. He has been playing at an elite level and thus far, Texas has been just a step behind the Washington offense.

Fixing the self-inflicted wounds should help, especially with Sarkisian wanting to get ahead of the sticks. Texas’ offense is at its best when they are in a rhythm, both on the ground and letting Quinn Ewers drop back to pass. If the penalties stay away, Sarkisian will think his team can really get it rolling.

Texas is clearly the one who needs to make second-half adjustments, with Washington having a ton of success. If Sakrisian can figure some things out in the locker room, the Longhorns might be making a short drive to Houston for the CFP national championship game vs. Michigan.