In the third quarter of Texas’ 35-13 win over Mississippi State this season, the Longhorns faced a fourth-and-8 at the Bulldogs' 31 yard line. Steve Sarkisian thought about it and decided to kick the 49-yard field goal. Bert Auburn’s kick hit the upright and doinked through for the three points. But Mississippi State’s Mario Craver was offside on the play.
Sarkisian made the unconventional decision take the points off the board and go for it instead on fourth and three.
As soon as the offense trotted back out on the field, I got a text from a friend saying, “take the damn points!”
What happened instead was Arch Manning floated a pass out to the right sidelines that sailed over Isaiah Bond’s head and Texas turned the ball over on downs.
“I’m never going to apologize for us trying to stay aggressive because our players appreciate us being aggressive,” Sarkisian said after the game. “It wasn’t us going rogue. It was something that we believed in that hey, this was the number of where we were going to go and that number came up and so we went for it.”
Texas was leading 14-6 at the time and the turnover on downs could have led to a change in momentum. Had Mississippi State scored, the whole tenor of the game could have changed. But the opposite is true too. Had Texas converted and scored a touchdown on that drive instead, the Horns would be up 21-6 and on their way to controlling the game.
Sarkisian has shown he is not afraid to go for it on fourth down in an attempt to keep the ball and steal momentum. He had probably the most inventive short-yardage play of the season in the SEC Championship game.
Sark loves going for it on fourth down. We learned this week just how much he loves going for it on fourth down when Inside Texas posted details of Sark’s contract extension. It turns out that the corporation Sark created to deal with the business expenses is titled none other than “Fourth and Short, Inc.”
The one thing about the evolution of analytics on the sport is that we’re learning more and more about how some of the old “tried and true” beliefs in how the game should be played aren’t always all that true.
It turns out that going for it on fourth down (and succeeding) is critical to success and the NFL coaches who prioritize 4th downs are being rewarded for their audacity.
Sark, who was approached by several NFL teams this year, already knows the value of being aggressive.
2024
33 attempts (13th best in the country)
18 conversions (18th best in the country)
54.55 conversion percentage (61st in the country)
2023
31 attempts (23rd best in the country)
19 conversions (11th best in the country)
61.29 conversion percentage (33rd best in the country)
But the Sark we’ve come to know over the past two seasons is a change for the Sark who first arrived in Austin. At some point between his second and third seasons, he decided he needed to be like my favorite cheer and “be aggressive! B-E aggressive! B-E A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E aggressive!”
2022
22 attempts (78th best in the country)
12 conversions (68th best in the country)
54.55 conversion percentage (49th best in the country)
2021
20 attempts (79th best in the country)
9 conversions (91st best in the country)
45.00 conversion percentage (92nd best in the country)
But while Sark has dedicated himself to being more aggressive on fourth down, those numbers tell us he is not nearly as successful in his gambling as other teams. Texas’ 4th down conversion percentage has been middling at best. In fact, in 2024, the 54.55 percent of conversions was 61st best in the country (out of 134 teams). That percentage would have been middling in the NFL as well, tied with Cleveland. Any time you are being compared to the Browns, it’s not a good thing.
In fact, while Sark dialed up one of the most iconic 4th down plays in Texas school history this year …
It has also seen its season end in the playoffs on a failed fourth down play each of the last two seasons.
Sark does a deep dive on himself and the program after each year. This year it would serve him and the team well if he does a deep dig into those short yardage plays. Lest anyone has to endure another play like this (even though it wasn’t on fourth down).
I’m sorry to put y’all through that again. It was just a reminder that while the Texas Longhorns are going to be one of the best teams in the country – there is room for improvement and just like everything else in the program, it starts with the head coach.
TWEETS OF INTEREST:
Arch Manning has an absolute hose of an arm.
Just imagine what he could do if those marshmallows were stale.
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This bodes well for Texas’ new-look secondary.
If Muhammad can come even close to being the shutdown corner that Jahdae Barron was this past season, then it will be a big, big factor in Texas staying as one of the best defenses in the country – again.
I’m already on record as saying that as exciting as it will be to have Manning under center, it will be the defense that carries the Horns next year.
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The Texas men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are doing their thing at the SEC Championships this week.
After the first two days (out of four), both the men and women are leading the team standings.
Women
Texas- 238
Florida- 140
Texas A&M- 130
LSU- 126
Tennessee- 120
South Carolina- 118
Auburn-115.5
Kentucky- 115
Georgia- 104.5
Alabama- 86
Arkansas- 85
Missouri- 84
Vanderbilt- 56
Men
Texas- 176
Georgia- 158
Tennessee- 153.5
Florida- 152
LSU- 132
Alabama- 118
South Carolina- 110
Kentucky- 102
Auburn- 63
Missouri- 62.5
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The polls are unanimous for the Texas softball team.
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Texas Tech football just got a whole lot richer.
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Am I crazy to think that Milroe would be an incredible success in the NFL … as a running back?
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This is the definition of working smarter – not harder.
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Speaking of psyching out basketball fans … this is not a smart way to win votes for Seattle’s mayor.
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What a brilliant business plan.
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This is surely a sign of the apocalypse.
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If you don’t already have one of these as part of your emergency preparedness kit, then what are you doing?
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