Five thoughts on the day after Texas’ 55-48 loss to Oklahoma

Expecting a boring Red River Shootout would be foolish. The game always delivers. Heartbreak, bliss, momentum changes, and severe heart pain all in the span of four quarters, for both sides, nearly every year.

Texas ended up on the unfortunate side of the result on Saturday, keeping the Golden Hat in Norman for another calendar year. Steve Sarkisian learned pretty quickly about this rivalry. Only first-hand experience can do so.

The “shootout” nickname lived up to the hype as well. 103 total points were scored, something we should have expected with Sarkisian and Lincoln Riley running the show. Both teams were unstoppable on offense at one point or another.

With time to digest, and honestly, recover, a rewatch of the extended highlights brought out some more thoughts than just initial reactions. More than 24 hours after the end of the game, here are five next-day thoughts on Texas’ Red River Shootout loss to Oklahoma.

Marvin Mims and Xavier Worthy are the two best WRs in the Big 12

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From a stats perspective, Xavier Worthy is the best wide receiver in the conference. Nobody has more yards, yards per reception, or receiving touchdowns. Marvin Mims is right there with him, ranking fifth, second, and tied for seventh in the same stats.

The numbers aren’t as glowing for the Oklahoma star but there is no doubt about how important he is to Lincoln Riley’s offense. Some of the clutch catches he made Saturday afternoon single handily kept the Sooners in the game. Both of Williams’ touchdown throws were to No. 17 as well.

For Texas, think about where the offense would be without Worthy. With Troy Omeire out for the season and Jordan Whittington now hurt, who knows who would be producing next to Joshua Moore. Getting X into the 2021 recruiting class has saved Sarkisian’s offense.

Watching Mims and Worthy duel it out was a lot of fun. Both will continue to shred the Big 12 the rest of the season too. We’ll have to wait another year before they can duel it out in another Red River again. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll get treated to one in Arlington.

Offensive line recruiting has never been more important

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CJ Vogel of The Football Brainiacs put it best on Sunday afternoon.

I mean, pick your offensive lineman to pick on. Christian Jones was the lowest-rated Texas player according to PFF, Jake Majors was getting steamrolled up the middle, and Andrej Karic looked half a step off all night.

Getting elite bodies from the high school ranks has never been more important for the Longhorns. A total rebuild is needed at all five positions.

Cole Hutson and Connor Robertson on the inside is a good start, but a big name to center the future of the offensive line around is needed. Think Devon Campbell or Kelvin Banks, maybe even Cameron Williams.

Malik Agbo and Earnest Greene are another two names still in the pool. Both will be in Austin this upcoming weekend for official visits for the Oklahoma State game.

Landing at least one of those names is the absolute bare minimum. Landing two is probably necessary and three would be a minor miracle. You’re up Kyle Flood.

Defensive line pressure?

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Dogging on the offensive line throughout the next week is going to be easy. And trust me, it will continue. But the other side of the line scrimmage has been just as big of a problem.

There seems to be no real pass rush threat on the outside. Texas has tried moving Alfred Collins to the jack position but he is clearly better on the inside. The three transfers of Ray Thornton, Ovie Oghafuo, and Ben Davis combined for zero quarterback pressures. Jett Bush is still somehow, someway getting snaps as well.

Oklahoma had Casey Thompson running for his life all afternoon. Caleb Williams was only scrambling when there was a poor snap or the coverage downfield was great.

Joseph Ossai is greatly missed. Nobody on the roster was ever going to replace him and help from the outside has not fully come through yet.

Getting home to a true freshman would have caused a few more mistakes, possibly putting the game on ice early. Any quarterback who has all day will be able to tear through Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense.

Not enough rushing attempts

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Last week, Gary Patterson was complaining about how many carries Bijan Robinson was getting. He thought 35 carries were too many for a running back apparently looking to stay in college for four years.

Steve Sarkisian must have agreed with him, only handing it off to Robinson 20 times. Especially with how big of an early lead Texas had, getting the ball to No. 5, who has been nothing but reliable all season, would have been a game killer.

Even more mind-boggling, neither Roschon Johnson nor Keilan Robinson got carries. The two played a combined six snaps, never giving the run game any kind of different looks.

Sarkisian needs to get back to running the ball next weekend. With how bad the offensive line looks in pass protection, bringing back #DontCareGotBijan is crucial.

Steve Sarkisian is going to be alright

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All losses are bad losses. Ones, where you get dominated from start to finish in Arkansas, are not much better than blowing a 28-7 first-quarter lead against Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. But you can still take away positives from the losses.

If the previous coaching staff was still in charge, Oklahoma wins by a lot more than a touchdown. Sarkisian and his (offensive) staff came firing and truly played like it was any other game on the schedule. Everybody looked ready to go and fired up. A complete 180 from Fayetteville.

Sarkisian is going to be fine as the Texas head coach. 3-2 is not good — far from good. A few adjustments are going to be needed over the next few weeks and even after the season is over But everything somehow feels different. There’s no doubt in my mind Sarkisian is one who can bring back the consistency from the Mack Brown era.

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