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Despite a win, there remain stats where Texas has to get out from the bottom of the FBS

by: Justin Nash2 hours ago
ut_vs_ou-1141_offense
Texas offense (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

This Texas Longhorns team after seven weeks has people confused, and there are mixed emotions on how people feel Steve Sarkisian‘s team will finish 2025. With two losses on the road, the Longhorns sit at 4-2 and can only afford one more defeat in order to retain the remote possibility of making the College Football Playoff. The Longhorns will need to correct some of the following stats to reach that goal.

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Starting with the penalties, Texas has been one of the worst teams in the nation when it comes to getting flags thrown. At 8.0 penalties/game, the Longhorns sit 122nd out of 136 FBS teams. Penalties were key in the loss at Ohio State where a massive flag on third down gave OSU a first on a drive that later resulted in a touchdown.

Now the Longhorns did put out an acceptable game versus Oklahoma with only four penalties. However, the biggest culprit for flags remains the offense, and specifically the offensive line. The offense is responsible for 34 of the 48 penalties, a 71% share of the team’s accumulated violations. The penalties that Texas saw on Saturday leads to the next area Texas needs to improve.

The Longhorns are still struggling on early downs. Fourteen of the 34 penalties have occurred on first down, and 10 have come on second down. This is putting Texas in a situation where it leads the nation in plays where the down and distance is 2nd and 15 or longer.

The Florida game saw Texas’ second most plays from 2nd and 15 or longer. San Jose State was the game with the most. Texas cannot expect to keep getting to 2nd and a mile and have success in the SEC.

Sitting at 4-2, the Longhorns are heading to Kentucky and Mississippi State, two games where the Longhorns should be favored to win. While Mississippi State has put up a really good fights versus Tennessee and Texas A&M, the Longhorns should have two games where they can really work to get the kinks in the early down penalties settled.

If the Longhorns can get out of their own way, the 2025 outlook should improve.

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