BYE WEEK – The Longhorns Clean Up The Mistakes

[Sirhornsalot]

The Texas Longhorns are on their single bye week of the 2026 season during Week 5, following a 20-17 win over Tennessee. The Longhorns will take on OU in their next game, set for the State Fair Grounds in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl next week. This game will have an unusual 2:30 pm start.

Current Status

• • Record: 4-0 overall
  • Ranking: No. 1 in the nation
  • Last Game: Defeated Tennessee 20-17 in Knoxville on September 26, 2026

Next Game

• Opponent: Oklahoma Sooners (Red River Rivalry / Red River Showdown)
  
  • Date: Saturday, October 10, 2026
  • Time: 12:30 PM / 2:30 PM CT
  • Location: Cotton Bowl in Dallas
  
  Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian addressed several critical mistakes following the No. 1 Longhorns' narrow 20-17 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. [1, 2]
  During his press conference, Sarkisian focused on eliminating the following errors as the team heads into a bye week before the Red River Rivalry: [1]
  
  1. "Unacceptable" Post-Play Celebrations
  
  Sarkisian strongly criticized "look-at-me" individual celebrations that actively hurt the team. The most notable incident involved star defensive edge Colin Simmons, who recorded five sacks but drew a costly 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for a crude celebration (mimicking urinating on the field) after a third-down sack. Instead of forcing a Tennessee punt, the penalty extended a Volunteers drive. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  • • Sarkisian's Stance: He briefly benched Simmons to address the behavior and later stated to the media, "We've got to do a better job of celebrating with one another. The moment you start to demean the opponent, the flags come out." He also directly addressed an unpenalized, inappropriate end-zone celebration by transfer running back Raleek Brown. He emphasized that such actions are unacceptable and will be cleaned up moving forward. [
  • 2. Painful Team Penalties
  • Texas played an incredibly sloppy game, racking up 11 penalties for 115 yards. This included an edge-facemask penalty with 30 seconds remaining that gave Tennessee a desperate window to try for a game-winning or game-tying play. Sarkisian emphasized that these self-inflicted wounds nearly derailed a game Texas otherwise had firmly under control. [1]
    
    3. Special Teams Execution (Onside Kick)
    The Longhorns nearly let the game slip away when they failed to secure a late drop-kick onside kick attempted by Tennessee's Jackson Ross, which skipped past wide receiver Ryan Wingo. While Sarkisian noted the team has to execute better in hands situations, he also formally challenged the legality of the play with the SEC. The SEC subsequently confirmed that the play was incorrectly officiated and should have resulted in a five-yard penalty and a re-kick because the kicker illegally changed his lateral position after the ball was set.

 

[Baron]

The Texas Longhorns are on their single bye week of the 2026 season during Week 5, following a 20-17 win over Tennessee. The Longhorns will take on OU in their next game, set for the State Fair Grounds in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl next week. This game will have an unusual 2:30 pm start.

Current Status

• • Record: 4-0 overall
  • Ranking: No. 1 in the nation
  • Last Game: Defeated Tennessee 20-17 in Knoxville on September 26, 2026

Next Game

• Opponent: Oklahoma Sooners (Red River Rivalry / Red River Showdown)
  • Date: Saturday, October 10, 2026
  • Time: 12:30 PM / 2:30 PM CT
  • Location: Cotton Bowl in Dallas
  
  Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian addressed several critical mistakes following the No. 1 Longhorns' narrow 20-17 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. [1, 2]
  During his press conference, Sarkisian focused on eliminating the following errors as the team heads into a bye week before the Red River Rivalry: [1]
  
  1. "Unacceptable" Post-Play Celebrations
  
  Sarkisian strongly criticized "look-at-me" individual celebrations that actively hurt the team. The most notable incident involved star defensive edge Colin Simmons, who recorded five sacks but drew a costly 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for a crude celebration (mimicking urinating on the field) after a third-down sack. Instead of forcing a Tennessee punt, the penalty extended a Volunteers drive. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  • • Sarkisian's Stance: He briefly benched Simmons to address the behavior and later stated to the media, "We've got to do a better job of celebrating with one another. The moment you start to demean the opponent, the flags come out." He also directly addressed an unpenalized, inappropriate end-zone celebration by transfer running back Raleek Brown. He emphasized that such actions are unacceptable and will be cleaned up moving forward. [
  • 2. Painful Team Penalties
  • Texas played an incredibly sloppy game, racking up 11 penalties for 115 yards. This included an edge-facemask penalty with 30 seconds remaining that gave Tennessee a desperate window to try for a game-winning or game-tying play. Sarkisian emphasized that these self-inflicted wounds nearly derailed a game Texas otherwise had firmly under control. [1]
    
    3. Special Teams Execution (Onside Kick)
    The Longhorns nearly let the game slip away when they failed to secure a late drop-kick onside kick attempted by Tennessee's Jackson Ross, which skipped past wide receiver Ryan Wingo. While Sarkisian noted the team has to execute better in hands situations, he also formally challenged the legality of the play with the SEC. The SEC subsequently confirmed that the play was incorrectly officiated and should have resulted in a five-yard penalty and a re-kick because the kicker illegally changed his lateral position after the ball was set.

1. I guess this is what happens when you have a large turnover in the portal. Culture takes a hit.
2. Other than the Simmons penalty Arch committed the two worst with the illegal forward pass infractions.
3. I wonder what the SEC would have done had they cost Texas that game with the erroneous onsides kick call?

I don't think there will be too much coaching going on this week since the coaches are all out on recruiting trips.

 

[PTA]

2, His complaint was that the LOS marker was not stationary during the play.

 

[63_Texas_1]

2, His complaint was that the LOS marker was not stationary during the play.

I saw that. I posted that right after it happened to see if anyone else saw it. Arch looked to his left and the person holding the marker. The person was 2-3 yards down field.

 

[Baron]

2, His complaint was that the LOS marker was not stationary during the play.

I didn't see that, but if its true its just another strike against this officiating crew. They had a terrible game. I hope we don't see them again.

 

[Baron]

To expound further on #1. Sark had a chance to reassure everyone that this wouldn't happen again in the post game press conference, but he seemed to gloss over what Simmons did. Maybe Sark is the problem here. The longer I watch the more warts I see.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

1. I guess this is what happens when you have a large turnover in the portal. Culture takes a hit.
2. Other than the Simmons penalty Arch committed the two worst with the illegal forward pass infractions.
3. I wonder what the SEC would have done had they cost Texas that game with the erroneous onsides kick call?

I don't think there will be too much coaching going on this week since the coaches are all out on recruiting trips.

1. Chemistry does take some time. We saw that last year. But we're getting there.
2. Agree completely. I can understand doing it once. But not twice.
3. I know, right? I don't think they would have stripped the win from Tenn and handed it to Texas though.

 

[NEOkHorn]

To expound further on #1. Sark had a chance to reassure everyone that this wouldn't happen again in the post game press conference, but he seemed to gloss over what Simmons did. Maybe Sark is the problem here. The longer I watch the more warts I see.

There are absolutely warts but it is nearly impossible for a coach to guaranteee it won’t happen again. This is a generational, societal, and media driven thing. Watching some post game analysis by other networks, the majority mentioned his actions then glossed over them bc he had 5 sacks.

My hope is that there were more direct consequences in the individual conversations with players that he referenced. Not sure the answer bc we see an increasing “look at me” in every part of society. Sad to me and makes me thankful I’m not coaching any more bc it’s rampant at every level.

 

[Kmed]

There are absolutely warts but it is nearly impossible for a coach to guaranteee it won’t happen again. This is a generational, societal, and media driven thing. Watching some post game analysis by other networks, the majority mentioned his actions then glossed over them bc he had 5 sacks.

My hope is that there were more direct consequences in the individual conversations with players that he referenced. Not sure the answer bc we see an increasing “look at me” in every part of society. Sad to me and makes me thankful I’m not coaching any more bc it’s rampant at every level.

More gloss - that was 5 1/2 sacks, mister.

I kid, I was pretty freakin’ embarrassed after I saw what he actually did. And I agree that just about everyone moved on pretty quick

 

[UTfish]

Simmons is considered a "dog" by his teammates, but marking his territory like one is going too far. Agree, it was embarrassing.