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Halftime Thoughts: Texas Trails Florida 19-7

Eric Nahlinby: Eric Nahlin10/04/25
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Steve Sarkisian (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

The biggest issue is Texas is getting beaten, often badly, on both lines. Florida RB Jadan Baugh has not been a one-man wrecking crew, he has lanes to run through and Texas is missing too many tackles. He is excellent, we knew that coming in, but he’s had it too easy today. I’m not surprised to see the Texas O-line have issues but Texas can’t win this game if the DL doesn’t tighten up in a hurry. The Gators O-line is winning the day.

The Texas defensive rotation is probably too deep. This is a game you play your starters and your sub-package personnel and that’s it.

Billy Napier is calling a good game. Florida has 263 yards with :41 seconds left in the half. The embattled coach is aided by the fact the run game is working which he’s used to set up DJ Lagway with some easy reads and throws. I imagine that’s how he thought this season would go. Lagway hasn’t been perfect but he hasn’t needed to be. 

Arch Manning has made a couple of throws but he’s still late too often. The long play to Parker Livingstone was late. If PL gets that earlier it’s probably a touchdown and certainly not an injury. Even the touchdown to Tre Wisner was late. Let the ball go. Nothing better is going to materialize.

The Texas O-line is the achilles heel in both the run game and passing game. Pass protection has been morbid. A couple of “errant throws” have been Arch getting hit while throwing. At least two by my count.

Given this information, Sark is not calling a good game. There hasn’t been much quick or designed to slow down the pass rush. It’s been a lot of “this play will work if he has a good pocket.” Just as I type that, Manning misses a wide open Emmett Mosley with a rusher in his face. The pocket isn’t there today. 

At left guard, Texas swapped out Connor Stroh for Nick Brooks. Brooks hasn’t been good enough to play this season yet the second he comes in they ran behind him for nothing. Odd. Then they bring Stroh back in and he gets crushed for a sack.

Ha ha, and now a punt block. Team meltdown. Marshall Landwher, who has been in the program forever, has to take the inside threat there. That falls on coaching but he certainly knows better. Everybody knows better in that situation.

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