Steve Sarkisian discusses what happened on final drives by Texas and Oklahoma

In a back and forth contest, the success or failure of decisions made at the end of the game are crucial to determining the outcome. That held true Saturday, as Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian elected to call his offense a certain way in an effort to ensure his team had an opportunity at a field goal in what was a 27-27 game.

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Hindsight shows that three points wasn’t enough as Oklahoma had 1:17 to drive down the field and score the game-winning touchdown. Even so, Sarkisian wouldn’t change how he called the offense.

“I would have handled that drive exactly the same,” Sarkisian said Monday. “The first down call, we had an RPO call which we had been effective with during that drive and had been really effective all day with them. Their safety did a good job and Quinn (Ewers) got stuck in the middle of pulling the ball. The window wasn’t there for the throw and we took a sack.”

“At that point, now in my mind, we we’re trying to go score and make that the last possession of the game. What I felt like was really important was we’ve got to make sure we get a field goal out of this because we’re playing 2nd-and-long football.”

The second down play was a quick pass to Xavier Worthy that netted three yards and set up what was officially a 3rd and 10 on the Oklahoma 35-yard line.

Sarkisian called a run play to move closer to the line to gain, and Jonathon Brooks picked up six yards. After attempting to draw the Sooners offsides, Sarkisian called a timeout and sent Bert Auburn on the field on fourth down for a 47-yard field goal he would convert.

His decisions have been scrutinized, but Sarkisian wouldn’t alter them.

“Coming off that 3rd-and-long, I knew just where Bert was at,” Sarkisian said. “I watched pregame. I knew exactly what we needed to get to. The yard marker was really critical for us to get the lead in the game. We throw a pass, it’s incomplete, and now you’re out of field goal range and you can’t make that kick from there. Predicated on the defense, I wouldn’t have changed a thing as it pertains to that drive.”

With a 30-27 lead, the Longhorns then needed to stop Dillon Gabriel, or at least limit the Sooners to three points over the final 1:17. Instead, Gabriel went 75 yards in 1:02.

The first play was a pass to Drake Stoops that gained 11 yards. Sarkisian said it sprung loose due to a missed tackle.

The second play was a completion to Jalil Farooq that gained 16 yards.

The third play was another completion to Stoops, this time for 28 yards. Sarkisian said the two safeties were playing a different coverage than other defenders.

“We didn’t have very good pass-rush lanes, and Gabriel was able to really step up in the pocket and give the illusion he was going to run,” Sarkisian said. “That forced Jaylan Ford to have to try to come up, and then he finds Stoops behind him for about a 30-yard gain. In reality, it all started with we weren’t on the same page from the coverage standpoint.”

Pass interference on Terrance Brooks moved the Sooners to the Texas six. On first down, Gabriel rushed and reached the Texas three. Then, on 2nd and 3 with 20 seconds left, Gabriel found Nic Anderson for the game-winner.

“We felt like we had a great call and we just didn’t execute it,” Sarkisian said.

David Gbenda admitted after the game there was a miscommunication that allowed Anderson to get open. It ultimately was the back-breaker of the final few minutes where more plays went Oklahoma’s way than Texas’

Updates on Jake Majors and Ryan Watts

Sarkisian provided an update on cornerback Ryan Watts and center Jake Majors. Watts did not play versus Oklahoma and Majors left early due to a leg injury.

“Jake and Ryan, I’ll probably know more on those guys as we get into next week,” Sarkisian said. “We’re going to hold those guys this week and try to get them as healthy as we can. I think next Monday I’ll have a little better picture of what they’ll look like from an availability standpoint for Houston.”

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What does the bye week look like?

Without an opponent to prep for this week, Sarkisian explained what his program’s schedule looks like.

“Today, we did more of a recap of the game, a recap of where we’re at as a team, (and) what we need to do moving forward so that everybody’s on the same page,” Sarkisian said. “They did a pretty extensive lift and stretch and stride to kind of get their bodies back.

“We’ll practice Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We’ll place a real premium on our twos and threes to make sure they get the reps they need to keep their football physicality to where it needs to be, but also, with our ones, working on some of those issues we talked about and having a real sense of focus there.”