Notes and Quotes from Sark’s 10/30 Presser

It wasn’t necessarily the prettiest football game ever played, but the Longhorns still dominated the BYU Cougars on Saturday in a 35-6 victory at Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial stadium. Within the win, there were some lessons to be learned as red zone efficiency continues to be lackluster, offensive turnovers remain and more. Here’s everything Steve Sarkisian had to say regarding the win, the upcoming Kansas State game and more: 

• Sarkisian started off by saying that “Our [Texas’] versatility continues to kind of shine through…” and mentioned limiting explosive plays, keeping BYU to just 2 of 13 on 3rd down, and having 3 defensive red zone stops were all keys to the victory 
• Sarkisian: “We can’t afford 2 turnovers [on offense] every week” and mentioned Texas’ red zone struggles yet again. “We are going to need to perform better in all 3 phases.”
• Injury update: QB Quinn Ewers, S Jalen Catalon, and DE Ethan Burke are all still “week-to-week” 
• Everything regarding Maalik Murphy: Sark said he is still the “assumed starter,” mentioned aspects such as tempo, eye movements and ability to be comfortable with certain schemes as keys for creating his game plan for Kansas State, and that his “newness” can be seen a bit as practice can’t be perfectly imitated
• Regarding the red zone again and not being able to get touchdowns within it, Sarkisian stated: “I think we are playing efficient offensive football between the 20’s…”, and adds that the struggles in the red area have been frustrating for him 
• When asked about the College Football Playoff rankings coming out on Tuesday, Sarkisian stated: “We have to focus on what we need to do Saturday, and play our best football”
• Regarding the Big 12 currently, Sark commented: “I think our league is probably a little stronger than people were giving them credit for… our league is tough… you’ve got to be on your toes week in and week out”
• When asked about Kansas State’s toughness, Sarkisian stated: “They play well in all 3 phases… I think this game is about toughness… It’s 2 teams believing in running the ball… they’ve got a multitude of scheme and run game to go along with the toughness”
• Lastly, my favorite quote from the day came when coach Sark was asked about using his gut versus analytics/”the book” to make his 4th down decisions: “Last time I checked, President Hartzell and CDC didn’t hire a book to be head coach. They hired Steve Sarkisian” and added that he trusts his gut more. 

Twitter: @Rswantkowski