What we want to hear from Steve Sarkisian's post-Oklahoma, pre-Kentucky press conference

Last week’s version of this article was quite negative, as one could suspect after a loss like Texas suffered in Gainesville.

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There seemed to be nothing you could positively take away from that game, maybe outside of a few glimpses of Arch Manning magic. We called for multiple things—mostly on the lines of accountability and plans for the offensive line—and it seems like all of those questions got answered on the football field.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian acknowledged his shortcomings as a coach and showed up with a reinvigorated squad in Dallas on Saturday. The energy and physicality difference was striking; it was clear Sarkisian put the pressure on his players to step up, and they did.

We also got the answers we needed from the offensive line. What was the plan at LG? A pretty good full game from Nick Brooks. How do you deal with R. Mason Thomas? They seemed to have figured it out.

The optics surrounding this program are much more positive after this win. You still have two losses, but you’re not facing a team like Oklahoma at the end of the week. Any road game in the SEC is tough, but you won’t say no to playing against Kentucky at this point in the season.

The first thing we want to hear from Sarkisian is what, in his opinion, led to the shift in success in the second half.

Texas entered the tunnel at halftime with a little bit of momentum thanks to Malik Muhammad’s interception, but the Longhorns were still down three. Its offense had found little success outside of one drive that nearly found them in the end zone.

But the third quarter was dominant. Texas had the ball for 13 of 15 minutes of playtime. Oklahoma ran just four plays. Texas’s offensive line was moving the pile, and Quintrevion Wisner was running wild.

What was that halftime speech like? What got his guys so ready to play and perform at that level out of the break? How can we make sure that happens for the rest of the season?

Secondly, what is the CJ Baxter timeline?

At this point, I think we know the truth of this RB room: it’s all Wisner and Baxter. When Texas is playing its most important games the rest of the way, they will be taking almost all of the RB snaps.

But that has to come with Baxter on the field, which he wasn’t on Saturday. He suffered a leg injury against UTEP on the first play of the game and has yet to see action since.

They likely won’t rush him this week, but is there a clear chance that he can play at Mississippi State two weeks from now?

Lastly, we want to hear who he hints at taking a second-half leap.

Sarkisian is a coach who usually backs up what he says and thinks about his players in press conferences. He’s practical about who he praises and brings up when asked to name young guys he’s excited for or players he’s most impressed by in practice.

Texas has quite a few options on this front. Offensively, multiple pass catchers are still looking to break through into the rotation at either TE or WR, namely true freshmen Daylan McCutcheon and Nick Townsend.

On the defensive side of things, the EDGE rush group remains deep, but you wonder if Sarkisian wants to prioritize Lance Jackson and Brad Spence, who had elite games on Saturday. Similarly, who is in and who is out of this secondary?

The five starters are obvious, but what lies behind is an intriguing question. Kobe Black played just five snaps on Saturday after a poor performance in Gainesville the week prior. This may be injury caution, but Warren Roberson played a great game in limited snaps. There’s also true freshman Kade Phillips, who played a lot against Florida.

We saw Xavier Filsaime play a number of snaps lined up at STAR in this game, likely a response to the speed and style of offense Oklahoma plays with. Is that somewhere they feel comfortable with him playing, or is there a chance Wardell Mack breaks through at some point?

It seems like Derek Williams is healthy and ready to fully contribute the rest of the year, but is there room for Jordon Johnson-Rubell, a special teams stud who’s had a few impressive plays in out-of-conference games?

Just from a quick count, Texas has had 26 players appear in three or more games and register over 40 snaps on the year. With the potential additions of the likes of Mack, Lavon Johnson, Justus Terry, or Melvin Hills to that group, Texas could be 30-deep on defense by the end of the season.