No. 7 Texas and now-unranked, swooning Florida will each try to get back on the winning track when they square off Saturday afternoon in a Southeastern Conference clash in Austin that carries a heightened amount of urgency for both teams.
The Longhorns (4-1, 1-1 SEC), fresh off back-to-back uneven league performances and a 27-24 loss to rival Oklahoma this past Saturday in Dallas, can’t afford a second straight setback if it wants to stay in the race for a SEC championship. The loss to the Sooners dropped Texas from the top spot in the Associated Press rankings after a four-week run atop the poll.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning threw for 260 yards and three TDs in defeat but also suffered two interceptions in the fourth quarter, one that was returned for a score and another that set the table for the Sooners’ game-winning, walk-off field goal. The Longhorns also surrendered a blocked punt that was recovered for a touchdown, allowed Manning to be sacked six times and had 13 three-and-out possessions.
The Longhorns have not performed up to expectations on offense and coach Steve Sarkisian has been criticized for his play-calling and the team’s overall habit of making mistakes. Texas ranks 79th in total yardage and 59th in scoring offense.
“You can go through ebbs and flows of rhythm and scheme and tying it all together and the personnel and all those things,” Sarkisian said Monday. “Clearly, we’ve been just a little bit off. I think we’re close, and that’s the encouraging part.”
In the Longhorns’ defense, they are one of nine FBS teams to have faced three squads ranked in the top 40 in both scoring and total defense.
“Our job is to work our way through this lull,” Sarkisian explained. “We’re always getting held to the standard of what we can be, and that’s our job to work through this lull that we’re in to be as explosive of an offense that we can be.”
Florida (4-2, 2-2), which lost conference games in blowout fashion to Missouri two weeks ago and then 38-19 at home against South Carolina last Saturday, is scuffling to regain the identity and swagger that produced victories in its first four games.
The loss to South Carolina caused the Gators to fall from the AP rankings. Aaron Philo passed for 227 yards with a touchdown against the Gamecocks, with Bailey Stockton catching eight of Philo’s throws for 127 yards and a score. Jadan Baugh had just 15 carries for 59 yards but did score his NCAA-best 12th rushing touchdown for Florida.
“We’re a work in progress; sometimes our progress is dysfunctional,” Gators first-year coach Jon Sumrall said Monday. “And we have a long way to go to get to where we need to be as a football team. We’re gonna keep showing up, our guys are, there’s gonna be no woe is me. We gotta pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, move on.
“This is a challenging league week in, week out. We have to be more prepared, more ready for those challenges.”
Texas and Florida have played five times, with the Longhorns holding a 3-1-1 edge in the all-time series. The Gators’ one win was last year at home, a 29-21 decision that has often been cited as the result that kept Texas out of the College Football Playoff.
