Grades Heading Into The Bye Week/ Texas Longhorns LIVE 121

Texas Longhorns LIVE 121 — Grades Heading Into the Bye Week Hosts: Matthew Miller & Tommy (Thomas Bresee) | TexasVOCFB Sponsor: FanDuel 0:00–1:22 — Intro & Texas–Oklahoma line Texas –9.5 vs Oklahoma (opened ~4.5 in the offseason; jumped five points). Tommy: Fair. OU defense is good enough that you can’t hang a huge number on them. Georgia needed John Mateer mistakes to cover; take those away and it’s closer to a 14-point game, which matches the old line. Rivalry tax applies. Miller: Georgia was ~13-point favorite on a neutral. Neutral-field Texas ≈ that Georgia number. Line checks out. 1:22–5:13 — Tennessee recap (Texas 20, Tennessee 17 at Neyland) Messy, both D-lines ate the O-lines. Should have been controlled by half; penalties and miscues kept it close. OL worst game of the year. Left too much on Arch; he started 9-of-10, 127 yards, then the INT and it unraveled (indecision/hesitation that disappeared late last year is back). Bottom line they repeat: winning in Neyland is hard. Tennessee fans called the atmosphere one of the weaker ones they’ve seen and Texas still found a way. Toughest September slate in CFB; two massive wins (Ohio State + Neyland). Not pretty, but the W is the W. This bye is the last real jump. If they don’t look better coming out of it, fan concerns are validated — the product vs OU will look a lot like the rest of the year. 5:13–10:00 — Sark has to play to Arch, not the other way around Miller wants more designed QB runs (they’ve basically had one true designed run all year; the rest are Arch calling his own number). Arch likes it and is good at it. Team is not built for 20 dropbacks and 10–12 long-developing routes. Need more short game + Arch in the run game. Ego has to go; Sark’s “Mac Jones / exact scheme” QB is the third-stringer (D’Abel ≈ Bryce Young face-value). Sark’s job is win games at Texas, not maximize Arch’s NFL starter window. Let him color outside the lines like late last season (Michigan, A&M). Add Cam Coleman, Relique Brown, Hollywood Smothers, a slightly better OL and you have last year’s late-season offense. Bye week is the window to flip it, then blend schemes once Arch gets confidence. Upcoming Florida / Ole Miss / Mississippi State stretch will force them to outscore people; Florida’s offense is “impossible to fully defend.” September was about setting up the season (4-0 = great shape). October is about taking a stranglehold (4-0 in the next four and November looks manageable except LSU). 10:00–14:47 — Defense is elite; SEC pecking order Defense is “downright awesome.” Not tiptoeing: this can be a top-5 unit. Best defenses in the country right now live in Austin and Athens. From Ohio State halftime onward they’ve been nearly flawless except one late Tennessee drive. Muschamp’s calls have worked. Chat (Artistically Incredible): Texas top-3 SEC? Florida, Georgia, Alabama look better. Hosts: Alabama/Florida haven’t played real defenses. Texas would likely beat Alabama; Keelan Russell is more capable than Faison Brandon of carrying it. Florida offense is top-10 but can they score 30 on this Texas D? Georgia is the only team they haven’t seen play bad football. Perception vs reality: early-season narratives overrate the teams that “look good” and underrate the 4-0 team that doesn’t look like a No. 1. Worst case Texas is 4th in the SEC and still in the CFP; best case they’re the best team in the league. Most impressive two-win résumé in the country right now: 1-point win over Ohio State + road win at Neyland. 14:47–22:23 — Execution vs scheme; WR usage Struggles have largely been player execution, not Sark being a bad play-caller (he’s still top 5–6 in the country). If you want a new OC you’d better hire one of the four best. Counter: maybe they can’t execute this offense. Sark adapted late last year; he has to again. Simplify: Ryan Wingo short/intermediate, Cam Coleman deep. Cam has 20 targets, 208 yards, 4 TDs — all vs bad teams; zero TDs vs Ohio State/Tennessee. He’s roughly where AD Mitchell was at this point of that year but hasn’t had the statement game yet. Arch has to throw the post when the safety sits in the box; the INT was a great play by the DB, not a “throwing into double coverage every time” problem. Emmanuel Acho point they endorse: a lot of guys have to play up to reputation — Arch, Cam, both tackles. Suggestion from chat/hosts: 5–7 rollouts a game (Bo Nix-style, get him moving right). Easy to install. 22:23–26:36 — GRADES heading into the bye They grade units only (not individual positions). Offense: C- Arch: 7 TD, 3 INT, 63.5% (completion % close to what they want; on-target % is fine once you add drops). Zero rushing TDs in the official line because they won’t design runs. Cam Coleman underused vs good teams. Ryan Wingo leading the team in receiving — expected, most consistent WR. Emmitt Mosley 1 catch for 43. Tight end room has no receiving threat until Nick Townsend is back. Need more Relique Brown / Hollywood Smothers in the passing game out of the backfield. Defense: A-range / “awesome” (they don’t put a letter on it the same way because they’re not nitpicking as hard). Top-5 potential. Secondary can still tighten. Coaching: Mixed. Sark still a top play-caller, but has to adapt to personnel this week. Muschamp side is rolling. 26:36–end of grades section / into concerns — OL & center Center job should be up for discussion now that Cole Hudson is eligible. If he’s even 10% better, play him. Dylan Sikorski has been the surprise second-best OL and has center experience; could slide him and play Hudson or Warren Seymour at guard. Seymour has been the biggest bright spot among offensive transfers. 41:34–54:14 — Biggest concerns the rest of the way Penalties — Miller’s No. 1. 124th in offensive penalty yards (bottom 15). Theme of the entire Sark era; hasn’t improved. You can out-talent three of four CFP opponents and then a back-breaking penalty costs the title. OL penalties are actually way down (3 this year, 1 on a starter vs 43 last year) — that’s a win. The dumb ones are PIs, special teams, and one of the dumber penalties they’ve ever seen. Sark already talked to Colin Simmons and Relique Brown. Rushing: 3.6 YPC, 89th. Backs are getting extra yards after contact vs what Baxter/Wiseman would have gotten, but no explosives because the OL isn’t creating holes. Too much duo/inside zone; maybe go back to more outside zone. Need designed Arch runs to freeze LBs and open lanes. Explosive-play margin matters more than turnover margin for winning games. 5.1 yards per play, 83rd. Live in the 30–60 range, not 80+. Explosives + Arch playing free fixes this. Third-down defense (39th) — Tommy nitpicking. They give up some long third downs (Ohio State started 5-of-first-8 with 8.5 to go). 10% better and it’s a top-10 D. Looked better vs Tennessee. OL “good but misses too much.” Will be a good unit, not a “they whiffed again” unit — but you may have to face Miami/Georgia/Notre Dame in a row in a title run. Have to be elite down the stretch. Is the pass rush bailing out the secondary? If Colin Simmons doesn’t get home vs a sturdy OL (Florida is the one they name), are there more holes in coverage than we think? Coverage should improve; may not be an issue by the time it matters. Special-teams mistakes / penalties putting them behind the chains in a one-score CFP game. Overarching theme they keep returning to: Sark is trying to make Arch the 12-year NFL pocket passer. Right now Arch is “a golden retriever in a 750-square-foot apartment.” Play to the player you have for this season. 54:14–1:06:05 — Arch, historical comps, closing message Arch played through a foot that later needed surgery last year (which foot is still secret; they guess right foot from mechanics). Fully healthy now. They never thought Arch was Sark’s perfect scheme QB; D’Abel is. Manning name made people assume Mac Jones processing would appear immediately. He’s still going to be a long-time NFL starter; he’s just not that guy for this exact offense yet. Fun comps: Quinn Ewers 20 yards and in + Arch’s deep ball = the QB they want. Shane Buechele would have ripped this offense. Vince Young would have transferred. Sam Ehlinger understood it but couldn’t make the throws. Message they want people to leave with: You’re 4-0. Almost nobody else who played Ohio State and Tennessee is. This was probably the worst month of offense you’ll see. Sark is too smart not to go back to what worked late last year. You shouldn’t have to score a ton this year because of the defense. Guaranteed points exercise: Miller 31, Tommy 28. Florida is the one offense that might push 30. Playoff: Win OU and they’re a lock in their minds (don’t see 4-3 in the last seven). SEC could put 6–8 in. Georgia looks like No. 1 on the eye test until they play somebody good. Florida under the new staff is a “Nick Saban / Kirby Smart-level psychopath” situation — terrifying and a playoff team with a friendly remaining schedule. Proof Billy Napier was the problem. Sark tightrope: 90% of what he’s done since he got the job has been excellent. Calling plays and being HC is a lot (last guy to walk that rope had Jameis Winston). If there’s no title, the “just hire an OC” call will come. Sign-off: Like/subscribe. Possible Thursday 6:30 p.m. ET show (no game, so no best bets); otherwise next Tuesday. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.