BEST EVER? The LOADED 2026 Texas Longhorns Offense Could Be SPECIAL | How Sark Built His Title Contender

What if Texas finally pairs star power with staying power? We dive into the 2026 offense with clear eyes and full context, asking how Arch Manning’s late-season leap, a loaded portal class, and Steve Sarkisian’s scheme could push the Longhorns toward their most explosive attack in decades. We map the difference between paper potential and weekly execution, set realistic benchmarks against the Colt McCoy and Vince Young years, and explain why the 2020 Alabama model is the smarter comparison than the outlier fireworks of LSU 2019.

From there, we unpack the backbone of the roster build. Sark’s transfer strategy wasn’t just about stacking five-stars; it was about filtering for character to protect culture. Cam Coleman’s early grind and leadership signal the standard, while passing on the Jordan Seaton drama underscores a line the staff won’t cross. We talk records that could fall with an improved line, deeper skill positions, and an expanded postseason that turns good seasons into great stat lines—if chemistry clicks by September and holds through an SEC gauntlet.

We also pivot to hoops for a reality check. Texas boasts an elite offense but a defense that bleeds points, and Sean Miller isn’t sugarcoating it. We break down the Georgia loss, preview a bruising matchup with Florida’s top-ranked rebounding unit, and outline the simple defensive tweaks that could turn bubble stress into bracket danger. The theme across both programs is balance: talent plus toughness, scheme plus culture, highlights plus habits.

If you’re ready for a thoughtful, hype-proof look at where Texas stands and what it will take to turn potential into proof, queue this up now. And if you enjoyed the show, tap follow, drop a rating, and share it with a Longhorn who needs both the optimism and the guardrails.

Transcript

Setting The Stakes For 2026

SPEAKER_02 0:02

We all know that this Texas offense is going to be special in twenty twenty six, but just how special could it be? Welcome into another edition of the Texas Longhorns on SI podcast. I'm your host, Matt Galatson, and joining me as always is my co-host, Zach Demitt. Zach, we all know that this uh Texas offense in 2026 is getting a ton of pub thanks to the additions of Cam Coleman, Hollywood Smothers, uh Relique Brown, Melvin Ciani, everything that they've done to acquire talent, plus Arch Manning, Ryan Wingo, and the host of players that they do have returning as well. And it kind of brought up the discussion, you know, between the two of us recently, and we decided to talk about it on the pod. How special can this Texas offense really be? Could it actually be the best Texas offense that we've seen since Colt McCoy uh took Texas to a national championship, or maybe even better than that? That is that is something that I want to discuss here. And look, obviously, we don't want to put too many expectations on this team. I mean, we saw what happened last year with preseason number one. Arch Manning is the Heisman favorite and all these things, and it didn't really work out that way, at least for the first few weeks before it bounced itself out at the end of the season and they really started hitting the ground running. But the fact remains, there is so much talent on this offense. There's an elite player at every position, they're gonna have six new starters or something like that on the offensive side of the ball. And it kind of feels like an offense that if Steve Steve Sarkeesian could put it on paper what he wanted, this would be it. So, I mean, could it be the best Texas offense ever? I I'm we're gonna go through it here in a in a sec, but I think it really does have a chance to be up there with the best, with Colt McCoy, with Vince Young, and some of those other offenses that we've seen here in the last 25-30 years.

SPEAKER_03 2:38

Yeah, I agree with

Arch Manning’s Growth And Floor

SPEAKER_03 2:40

you. Um, I I don't think you know it necessarily will be the best uh Texas offense ever, but certainly in potentially the discussion when you just look at it on paper. Uh, but as the cliche goes, you know, championships and games aren't won on paper. So we just got to see how things play out. You never know what kind of injuries could happen. I think the potential is the potential is definitely there. Um, and it all starts, as I've said before, and you know, it seems pretty simple, but it really just comes down to it. I think it all starts with Arch Manning getting off to a better start than he did last season. It can't get much worse than the way that he started last year. Um, or uh it was just the non-conference play um production was not what she wanted it to be. It's pretty crazy to see the way that he elevated his game as the as the season went on. Um, you know, it wasn't all perfect and flashy and you know, things like that. But even in the losses to like Georgia, um and uh you know, not Ohio State as much. That was that was a pretty rough one for the most part. But you he's you saw some flashes at the end of that game. But against Georgia, I think he made some good throws, uh, made some good plays. It was just Texas's defense, couldn't stop uh the Bulldogs in the second half, and obviously that onside kick uh just completely flipped all momentum. It really wasn't Arch struggling, you know. That wasn't really the reason why Texas lost that game, in my opinion. It wasn't perfect, of course, but uh seeing the way he played in Athens compared to the way he played in Columbus was night and day. Um, and so it all starts with the way that he uh, you know, he's growing. Um, of course, he uh underwent offseason, you know, foot surgery and things like that, but he should be good to go. You know, you don't have any concerns about that at all. So um I think you know, with the way that he starts this season, uh, this upcoming season this fall, uh building chemistry with the new guys, uh an improved offensive line, when you combine all those things together, um, and then all you know, overall just the talent of the group, um, I think there's certainly a chance it could be one of the best. Uh saying it's going to be the best uh is just in my opinion, simply a stretch at this point in the offseason. We just don't know. Well the spring game, uh I I can see Archmane and Cam Coleman connecting for like three touchdowns, and people are going to drink the Kool-Aid um until they pass out. Uh, and I don't blame them, but uh, I just think that uh give it some time. You know, even that first game against Texas State uh for the season opener, it may look really good, it may look really, really good. But we'll have to wait and see until they host Ohio State in week two to really you know know if the hype is you know warranted with it being the best Texas offense ever. So uh

Measuring Against Texas Legends

SPEAKER_03 5:25

but certainly in the discussion, I think I think the potential is all there. Uh but long way to go until we really know the answer to that one. But the potential is certainly there.

SPEAKER_02 5:35

Yeah, I mean I I I think that it obviously this is a ton of projection on our part, right? Like we're we're we're kind of lending toward the the Kool-Aid drinking, so to speak, uh, with with you know, kind of pumping up the offense in this way. But you know, when you when you look at the personnel and you look at what Steve Sarkeesian likes to do offensively, um, it kind of lines up a little at least a little bit with in in terms of talent from position by position. It could line up a little bit to you know uh the 2020 Alabama Crimson tight offense, which was Steve Sarkeesian, arguably Steve Sarkeesian's best offense that he's ever had. Mac Jones threw for 4,500 yards uh and let's see how many touchdowns. Mac Mac Jones threw for uh threw for 4,500 yards, he threw for 41 touchdowns, he had four interceptions. Najee Harris ran for almost 1,500 yards and 26 touchdowns. Uh, he had 30 touchdowns from scrimmage. Devontae Smith won the Heisman that year. He had 1,856 yards receiving and 23 touchdowns. They also had John Mechie go for 916 yards and six scores, and Jalen Waddell had 591 yards and four yards. Dude, what a receiving core. Oh my goodness. And and you know, they also had an elite offensive line. And I there there are certain things that Texas has that stack up to what Alabama had that season. Uh Arch Manning and Mac Jones, like maybe he will have a Mac Jones type year. Hollywood Brown and Relique, or sorry, Hollywood Smothers and Relique Brown, uh, both are immensely more talented than what they had at the running back position last year. And, you know, Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo, Emmett Mosley, that may not be Devontae Smith, John Mechie, and Jalen Waddell, but it's pretty dang close. Like that that's a really, really good receiving core right there. So the the opportunities are there. And you know, if you kind of look at the and we're not saying that it's going to be that level of production either. We're talking about in terms of the Texas Longhorns, you know, is it could it be the best of the of in in program history in that sense? Which no Texas offense has ever come close to what that Alabama offense did in 2020.

SPEAKER_03 8:03

Right.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

Like 2008, 2009, Colt McCoy teams were a very uh prolific offense. Most of it came through the air. The running game was kind of up and down. Colt McCoy had to run the ball a lot in that offense for that for them to be successful on the ground as well. And Vince Young, it was a very balanced attack. He didn't light it up necessarily through the air. He put he had a ton of yards on the ground, he had a ton of yards through the air, but like it's not like he threw for 4,000 yards and and ran for 1,500. Like he, you know, he it was it was a it was

Saban-Era Bama As A Template

SPEAKER_02 8:35

closer to 3,000 yards passing, and I think he had a thousand yards rushing, and he had a bunch of touchdowns. Whatever. The point is, if you look at the Texas record books, I think that there's a chance that some of some of these records could be broken. Like the all-time best season in the history of Texas football throwing was Colt McCoy in 2008. He threw for 3,859 yards and 34 touchdowns. I feel like that's a I feel like that is a number that Arch Manning could very realistically break this year, especially considering he's probably going to be playing more games if they get to a national championship. Like those games count towards the record books. He'll have 16 instead of uh I believe he I believe Colt McCoy had 14 that year because of the SC the Big 12 championship and the uh national title game, but or I guess that was 2008, so the uh he didn't even make it to a Big 12 championship game that year. That was Oklahoma, I guess. So uh he had 13 games that year. So Arch Manning will have three games more than than uh than Colt McCoy should he you know make it that far and have three extra games to try to break those records. Um and if you look at the receiving numbers, like uh Jordan Shipley in in 2009 had 116 receptions and he had uh 1,485 yards that season. Uh Kwon Cosby in 2008 had 92 receptions for uh 1,123 yards. So, like those are records that theoretically could be broken. I don't know if the Jordan Shipley one's gonna get broken, but maybe as a team they will be able to so you see where I'm kind of going with this. Like it there's there's avenues in which it could be the most prolific offense in the history of Texas football. Maybe not all the way around, maybe not in every category that you know uh they won't rush for the most yards and throw for the most yards ever in both categories. But I think that when it comes to total offense, this uh this offense does have a have a really good chance to do something special and break records. And and yeah, the schedule is gonna be tough. It's gonna be really, really tough. It's one of the hardest schedules in the entire country, but they are stacked up at every position you need to have an extremely prolific offense. And I think it could be the best offense in college football next year. I think it's gonna be a top five offense. I just do.

SPEAKER_03 10:59

Yeah, I'm with you there. Um, of course, with this new era of college football, you you could potentially get you know an SEC championship or an appearance in the SEC championship. You lose that game potentially. Okay, maybe you host a first round game, you have the quarterfinal, you have the semifinal, you have the national champion. That's potentially five postseason games um extra. And I mean, you're just you're just asking to break records at that point if you're Texas. So um, yeah, by the numbers, the records uh argument is certainly there, um, just because of the sheer amount of games they've been playing. Um, I do think that there's something to be said about uh just looking back with Colt McCoy and Jordan Chipley and those those offenses, the kind of chemistry that those guys were able to build because they stayed in the program for so long. Uh that's not that's not a luxury that many teams have at this point. Um, you know, Sark talked about it yesterday that they're already diving deep into making sure that the culture and the chemistry is being built in February instead of beginning it in June or so. And so uh he's making sure that's a priority, but it's uh you just can't, you know, create years of chemistry out of thin air, it's just not a reality. So I think that uh

Records, Schedules, And Playoff Math

SPEAKER_03 12:20

those teams didn't maybe maybe didn't have as much talent. Is Cam Coleman as talented as Jordan uh or is Jordan Shipley as talented as Cam Coleman? Probably not. Cam Cam Coleman is it's just you know, but the fact that we uh we still feel so confident that Jordan Shipley's record won't be broken says so much about what him and Colt were able to do, uh, chemistry-wise. Same with Kwan Cosby. Cam Coleman's talented, more talented than both those guys, and that's really, really saying something, not disrespect to those guys. Uh he's just an absolute freak. So um it's you know, I think as a whole, the uh the team will be able to get close to those numbers, especially if they have multiple postseason games. Um, but yeah, maybe some individual records will be a little bit tougher to be broken. I do think Arch, though, has has a great chance uh for his individual records to get get near Vince and Colts because let's face it, uh he's not uh he's not gonna throw for 114 yards against Texas State like he did against UTEP. He's probably not gonna throw for 132 yards against some of these lower SEC teams like he did against Kentucky. Uh against Ohio State, he threw for 170. Uh, you know, he'll definitely get more than that, in my opinion, but it'll still be a tough matchup against Ohio State uh in Austin. But I don't think he'll look as bad as he did in that game. Uh so you just look at some of these games uh from last season where the numbers were just, you know, really not what you'd expect, especially against, you know, in that UTEP game. Uh, those numbers will go way up for Arch Manning and non-conference play. That'll boost his stats. And then you add on multiple postseason games, who knows what his numbers will look like. Uh at the end of the day, it was so impressive what he was able to do. Uh, the back half of SEC play, you know, his his only two interceptions, one of them came on a missed holding call against Georgia. The other one came uh on a drops pass from Parker Livingston, and that was it. He really stepped up his game. So if he's playing like that next season uh from start to finish, uh I think he'll get close to breaking some individual records, um, and then the team as a whole may be able to do the same.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

Yeah, and I I'm really glad that you bring that up, Zach, because I just want to run through his game log real quick before we move on to our next segment. He had games last year. Ohio State, he threw for 170, UTEP, you like you said, 114, OU just 166, Kentucky 132. And Texas AM, he only threw for 179. So he had a bunch of games where he he didn't really uh light up the stat sheet throwing the football. Uh, in part, you know, with the with the AM game, especially it's because they were running the ball so well. Yep. But if you look at the the best passing season in the history of Texas football, it was, like I said, Colt McCoy, 3,859 yards. Arch Manning last year, even with that amount of struggle in those games and in the in the not lighting the stat sheet on fire in those games, he still had the 10th best season in the history of Texas football individually. He threw for 3,163 yards, which is 10th all time in a single season. That's less than 700 yards behind Colt McCoy's record.

SPEAKER_03 15:36

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

So if he just plays, you know, if he plays at a high level all year next year, and he, you know, it it it didn't it doesn't even have to be 300 plus necessarily every single game, but if he doesn't have a couple of those stinkers like he had against UTEP and Kentucky, then I feel like he's gonna shatter that record, especially if they go deep in the playoff. I feel like he's gonna go for you know 4,000 at least. Uh and you know, could he if he does that, does he

Chemistry Versus Talent In Modern CFB

SPEAKER_02 16:05

break the passing touchdown record? Maybe. Uh you know, but we'll see. It like what like we said, it's a lot of projection. It's just a fun conversation to have, you know, because it's it's such a loaded offense. One thing I'm pretty sure of though, Zach, is it's it's not gonna beat the 2019 LSU offense. Do you know the numbers for the 2019 LSU offense? I'm gonna read them real quick just so everybody can be like, oh my god. Uh Joe Burrow threw for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns with just six interceptions. Okay. They also had a 1,400 yard rusher in Clyde Edwards Hilaire. They had a they had Jamar Chase uh catch um 84 passes for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns. Justin Jefferson had a had 111 catches for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns. And Terrence Marshall also had 671 yards and 13 touchdowns. Uh let's not forget, too, uh Joe Burrow also ran for 368 yards and five touchdowns. So he had 6,000 yards of total offense just by himself. Arch probably isn't gonna do that. I've heard some people say that he's gonna reach get close to those numbers. I that ain't gonna happen. No, but there's no way in terms of the Texas record books, I think he has a really good shot. Right. Um, speaking of the portal editions, by the way, Zach, um Steve Sarkeesian came out and talked about his portal strategy. Texas obviously finished with one of the best portal classes in the country this past year or this past cycle. And he talked about what his his idea was and how he wanted to assemble this portal class. And coming up after this break, we're gonna tell you exactly what he said about that yesterday uh on this episode of Texas Longhorns on SI Podcast.

SPEAKER_00 18:00

This episode of the Texas Longhorns on SI Podcast is brought to you by Custom Built Trailers of Mississippi. Custom Built Trailers is the largest in-stock trailer dealer in Mississippi with a variety of options to choose from. From flatbed goosenecks to bumpy pool equipment trailers and car haulers to enclosed trailers and basic utility trailers. We do a little bit of everything. And if we don't have exactly what you're looking for in stock, we can typically have your custom-built trailer built in 7-10 working days. 0% financing options are available, and we also deliver out of state. So give Custom Built Trailers of Mississippi a call at 601-722-9581 today and let us take care of your hauling needs. Custom Built Trailers of Mississippi. If we don't have it, we'll be glad to build it.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

Like I mentioned, Texas had one of the better uh portal classes in the country this past cycle. Uh some had them finishing in the top two or three,

Portal Strategy: Character Over Headlines

SPEAKER_02 19:10

some have them finishing in the top five. Regardless, it is considered an elite portal class by every standard. They filled a ton of needs, especially on the offensive side of the ball with elite talent, and they seem primed to contend for a national title as a result. Um what's interesting, though, is that there's this narrative flying around that all Texas did was go out there and throw money at all the best players and and try to just you know assemble the Avengers of college football, basically. And they and they pretty much did assemble the Avengers of college football when you look at them from position by position on offense. But uh it wasn't all just about the money. That is a complete, you know, complete misnomer. They they they had to let go of some key players, as a matter of fact, including Parker Livingston, Trey Weisner, uh, Bo Barnes, got guys that were probably going to have a big role on this team in 2026 in order to you know have the funds to go chase after some big players. And it wasn't, but it it wasn't all just about the best players for Sark either. Yesterday, during his media availability, he revealed what his portal strategy was uh going into this thing, and he said, We didn't sacrifice character for talent when we went into the transfer portal. These guys have connected much better and much sooner with our team than we ever have previously. And I think that that's very important to point out because there's teams out there who are just going and signing as many good players as they possibly can. Like that's kind of Texas Tech's mentality. And to Joey McJoy McGuire's credit, he made it work last year and they got to the college football playoff, but it was more than just about acquiring talent for Sark, and I think that that's incredibly important going forward as they continue to you know delve into this new day and age of college football where this is going to be a thing every transfer cycle.

SPEAKER_03 21:07

I was muted, sorry about that. Uh yeah, I I this has been Sark's um you know mentality, I think, ever since he stepped foot on campus. And it's it's you know good that he's reiterating that fact too, that we're we're not gonna sacrifice character for talent. You've heard them, you've heard him say that for a few seasons now. Um, but in in pursuit of a national championship, some programs might stray away from their their beliefs and their and their core values. Uh, and it's clearly that he's not doing that with this staff and with this portal class. Um, of course, we don't know what those conversations are like with some of these new players. Uh none of them uh have even spoken uh to the media yet, really. Uh if if I can't think of any that have about you know why they chose Texas. We don't really know necessarily what their personalities are like quite yet. Um, so you just but you just trust that these guys really fit the culture and really fit um what these uh what these coaches are looking for from a personality perspective, uh, because you can have all the talent in the world. It doesn't mean anything if you're clashing in the locker room with guys, um, if you're an off-the-field issue. Um, we've seen it before when there's been off-the-field issues, and you know, John Tech Cook most uh most notably, when there's off-the-field issues, they don't there's no there's a zero tolerance for that, and uh you know, they'll they'll get rid of you right away. Um and so uh any sort of uh sign that a player could be giving you issues in that regard, uh whether it's off the field or just you know, complaining about not getting the ball or complaining about lack of playing time, uh it really hasn't really worked out uh if if under this staff, if if that's gonna be something that you're gonna be dealing with as a player. So um, you know, you love to see that the mentality isn't changing despite the pursuit of a national championship, uh, because you know you may you may sacrifice some of those things if you if you're so desperate to win. And obviously, Sark and this staff realize that they're approaching territory where

Cam Coleman’s Work Ethic Ripple

SPEAKER_03 23:20

um it's championship robust. It was championship robust last season. Uh it's kind of been championship robust for the past three years, you could argue. So certainly this year, especially with the way things went last season, starting out preseason number one. Um, it's easy to kind of maybe forget some of those values. So um I like I like to see that from Sark, you know, not only in transfer portal recruiting, but in high school recruiting too. That's always been a big thing. Um, because some of these guys, uh you see it sometimes with high school recruiting. Um some of these guys maybe have uh a big head on their shoulders, um, and they but they haven't proven anything yet. And just because they're a five-star, uh, they may think that uh they're gonna, you know, come and be be a major contributor right away. And if you have that kind of attitude, uh it's clear that Sark and the staff, you know, may not uh may not see eye to eye with you, and you know, they'll they'll look they'll look some they'll look elsewhere. So uh I I love that strategy. Um I love I love that those these values and and the mindset that this that the staff has. I think it'll bode well uh for this team as the season goes on because you'll see this culture, I think, um, really, really show itself uh once the fall begins.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

Yeah, and I think that a good uh example of this, well, there's a couple of good examples. The first one I'll point to is Cam Coleman. Uh like we talked about it kind of in the in you know earlier, it was like you know, people assumed that it was all just about money for Cam Coleman. In reality, it wasn't. Like what he was going to get a bunch of money no matter what picked him, so you no matter who picked or who he picked. So you you're gonna have to make a competitive offer one way or the other. Uh, but you know, what Sark said was that that really caught my ear yesterday about Cam Coleman was the biggest thing that came out of it for me was what an awesome individual. This kid is an awesome kid. He hasn't disappointed since he arrived. And uh we talked a little bit about this yesterday, but he also said, I think that one thing that has been unique once he's arrived, you got to remember Ryan Wingo and Emmett Mosley are both coming off injuries, so they're not able to do things that Cam's been required to do from a fundamental standpoint, from a workouts with Coach Becton from skill development standpoint. And for a guy of his caliber, he could say, Well, those two guys aren't working today, maybe I'll take a step back and maybe I don't need to work today. It's been the total opposite. This guy is going for it. And he also said he came in here with real intentions and real reason of understanding. He wants to compete for a national championship, he wants to put himself in the best position to get ready for the NFL. We talked about that yesterday. But that is a good indicator of me of it, it wasn't just about going and getting the best receiver and the biggest difference maker in the portal. It was making sure that he's going to come in here and want to compete for a national championship and not compete for a paycheck. And that is really, really important. And then another well, actually, first of all, that also kind of reverberates around the roster as well. Like if people see Cam Coleman, who's making, you know, the there I've seen reports of two to three million dollars, uh, various reports of how much he's gonna get. The guy of his caliber with that kind of paycheck coming in and working harder than everybody else, that's going to reverberate around the roster and inspire other players to do the same so that they can get to his level. And I think that that's really important aspect of a national title contender. The other uh example, really good example of this is a guy that Texas didn't pursue. And that's Jordan Seaton. Like they pursued him at the beginning, and then they realized it was going to be kind of a mess, and they were going to have to spend a ton of money, and there was gonna

The Jordan Seaton Decision

SPEAKER_02 27:00

be all this uh hoop law surrounding it. And like we saw the videos of him driving around with police escorts and like you know, contact my uncle with any business inquiries and like all this stuff. And that's not to say Jordan Seaton's a bad kid, but they were like, you know what? We're not gonna deal with this. We're gonna go out and we're gonna get Melvin Ciani, who's on par as a player, maybe not, maybe doesn't have the ceiling of an NFL draft pick as Jordan Seaton does, but this guy's going to come in, be happy with playing right tackle, and be a starter for us from day one, and we feel really great about his character. So those are two examples on opposite kind of opposite ends of the spectrum on how Texas approached this thing, and and that's different than a lot of other schools have done it, quite frankly.

SPEAKER_03 27:44

Yeah, that's that's a good point about Jordan Seton. I kind of forgot about that. Um, yeah, it's not not saying he's a bad guy. I don't know the guy, I've never even seen him in any interviews, so I can't make any of those um, you know, statements like that. But from an outside perspective, it seemed like there was some distraction surrounding his uh entire portal recruitment. Um, because this guy knows that every program in the country is gonna be gonna be coming after him. So maybe he um, you know, that that affected the way that maybe he was seen from outside perspective, and and maybe uh uh that along with the high price tag he was probably asking is is what uh you know likely prevented Texas from backing out of that um you know, that recruitment. So yeah, it's things like that. Uh it makes it makes a difference because he didn't really see that with Cam Coleman. Of course, you know, Cam Coleman, the hype, uh the hype was already there. He didn't have to do anything. He just had he just had to be available in the portal and the hype was gonna follow him. Um with Jordan Seaton, though, it seemed like things took a turn where uh he was visiting one program and all of a sudden, oh, now he's on a flight to visit another one. It was just back and forth, back and forth, these these quick developments didn't seem like he was really uh necessarily committed uh with any interest to a specific program during that process. It was kind of all over the place. And so maybe maybe that that uh that's what potentially got Texas out of the running there. And and I kind of I kind of liked the way things worked out because he would have been a huge price tag, not saying he would have been like a problem in the locker room, because like I said, I don't know the guy's personality, uh, but it seemed like there was just a lot of uh potential distractions there that you didn't really really know how to deal with. So Lane Kiffin, LSU, uh Lane Kiffin's kind of already somewhat of a distraction on his own. Let him deal with that. Uh and I think that LSU will be very good because Jordan Seaton uh is is on that roster, but it wasn't really it wasn't really something Texas needed to be dealing with, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_02 29:44

Yeah, absolutely. And Lane Kiffin is is is going about this thing a completely different way, and that's okay. We'll see what ends up happening at LSU, we'll see what ends up happening happening at Texas. They face each other next year, so we'll see how that ends up. But I'm

Confidence Check For 2026

SPEAKER_02 30:00

very confident in what Texas did in the portal on both sides of the ball, and you guys should also be very confident in what you're going to see on the field next year in terms of talent and in terms of chemistry and in terms of culture. This team seems like they are certainly on the right path.

Pivot To Texas Hoops

SPEAKER_02 30:18

Uh, changing gears real quick over to basketball to close out the show. Zach, uh, Texas did not have the best game on Saturday. They their their six-game win streak was snapped by the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens. Georgia won 91 to 80. Uh, it was a rough outing for Texas in terms of defense. Um offense seemed to play pretty well, uh, all things considered. They were 57% from the field, uh, 50% from three. Uh Dalen Swain had 21. Modus Voikatis led the team with 22, Jordan Pope had 17, but you also had zero from Camden Heidi, uh, from Cam Heidi. You had four from Tramon Mark, and the bench scoring wasn't really there either. Kendall Weaver had nine, but outside of that, it was pretty vacant from the from the reserves on the bench. And Georgia came out and lit it up. And they're a fantastic offensive team. There was a at one point in the season, they were the best offensive team in the country, I uh if I remember correctly. Uh, they had five guys in double figures, they had 60% from the field, 55% from three. And uh Sean Miller was not happy about it, was he?

SPEAKER_03 31:29

No, he wasn't. Uh, he met with the media today. Um, you know, I was I was on that Zoom call listening into what he had to say. Uh, he was kind of previous pre previewing the Florida game tomorrow night, which I'll talk about in a second. Um, but it he hasn't been shy when it comes to you know lighting his team up uh with some public criticism this season, and a lot of people uh have liked that from him. And I think it's actually been to the team's benefit this this year because uh when whenever he's done that, it seems to have kind of lit a fire under these guys, and it's kind of been uh a factor in my opinion and why they were able to turn the season around and why they're even in a contention for a spot in March Madness at this point. Um, but yeah, earlier today he said uh you guys have the numbers, but this is probably the worst defensive team that I've ever had. It's disappointing because it's one of the best offensive teams, but we get very little help on defense. And what he means by very little help on defense is that um our defense isn't creating turnovers, it's not creating uh blocks, it's not creating potential fast break opportunities where your offense is able to get easy points. I mean, it says a lot about what this yeah what this team's offense uh is capable of. That despite all of that, they're still uh number six in total offense, according to Ken Pom, which is on par with Michigan, Alabama, Illinois, Purdue. That's better than Duke's offense. That's that's pretty crazy. Duke does have the number two defense, though, where

Elite Offense, Troubling Defense

SPEAKER_03 33:00

Texas has the one uh number 118 defense, uh, according to Ken Pom. That is the that's the worst defensive rating among the top 50 teams in Ken Pom's ratings. So that that that has to be on par with, you know, I don't have Sean Miller's been coaching for a long time. I don't have all the numbers pulled up right now. That has to be on par with some of the worst that Sean Miller has coached, I could imagine. So um it's just if this team can even play uh average defense for the rest of the season, um, and then headed into March, there's a lot of reason to feel confident about what they could do when it comes to potentially pulling an upset or something like that. Uh, because if you can just play average defense and let your offense continue to be elite, especially with the way this team is constructed offensively with Dalen Swain, Tramon Mark, Montespoke, Titus, Jordan Pope, all being able to score on their own. Um I I think I think there's some upset potential there for Texas to knock off a higher seed, but that's not going to mean anything if they can't defend worth the licks. So uh yeah, the Georgia game, just kind of recapping that really quick. You know, the Longhorns dug themselves way too deep of a hole, uh, fell down like 18 in the first half. They cut it to single digits before the halftime, went down by like 10 at halftime, I believe. Um, and then eventually tied the game in the second half with like a few minutes to go. And then Georgia just came back alive. They were they were hitting some tough shots. I'll I'll give the Bulldogs credit, but also there was just some, you know, horrible, uh horrible defensive uh, you know, rotations, communication moments. Um, and it was just not a good showing once again for the Longhorns in that regard. Uh the offense still like looked pretty decent, but it was just some major turnover issues in the first half that got them into that hole. Because if they hadn't gotten down uh by so much, uh this is a game that probably could have been won. Yeah, I know the final score was 11, but it was a close game within the last few minutes, which is crazy to think because Texas looked like they're about to get blown out of the water, but the offense kept them in it, uh, which says a lot about what this team can do. Um, so against Florida tomorrow, it's gonna be really, really tough. The Gators lead the country in rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game. Uh that that is an incredible stat. So um the the Longhorge is gonna have their hands full. Um Titus is gonna have his hands full. Um you know, the Gators have multiple guys that are just absolutely huge. Alex Hondon, uh Ruben Chinyleo, um Thomas Hauck. He's he's he plays more of a four. Uh he can play you know a three as well, and he he just does it all for the Gators. Um, so they're they're really scary, number seven in the country right now. Uh, it's hard to win back-to-back titles, but they certainly could do it this year. I actually I feel very confident about that. So they're defending national champions for a reason. Um, but yeah, the defense has to just play at least average, and the Longhorns can compete with anyone because uh, as we've seen, you know, I know there's a double-digit loss to Georgia, but the game was actually pretty close. But Texas hasn't even they haven't really in any uh any of their SEC losses except for the Tennessee game, they haven't gotten blown out in any of these games. It's been competitive. They've beaten beaten some ranked teams, so if they can stay competitive with

Sean Miller’s Tough Message

SPEAKER_03 36:15

Florida Um and potentially give themselves a chance in the second half, um, I think you know fans will feel confident, but you know, obviously you want to come out of there with a win and not another loss. Uh, but yeah, you got to fix the defensive issues, um, or you're not gonna be able to do anything in March, and you even put yourself in danger of missing out on March Madness because if you go 0-4 in these final four games, you're gonna be right back on the bubble, and it's gonna be some nervous uh people in that building uh on selection Sunday.

SPEAKER_02 36:45

Yeah, absolutely. And and I don't know how much of a factor this has played in their defensive efforts, Zach, and maybe you can uh you can call me an idiot or you can say, Yeah, you're right, uh, you know, whatever. I I I I'm not sure, but it seems like having a very undersized point guard who doesn't match up well, especially in the SEC on the defensive end of the court, is is playing one is is a big factor. And then the other factor is that they have basically no uh they're completely outmatched almost every game that they play at the four position because Cam Heidi is not capable of defending against these bigger, you know, four guys in the SEC. So both of those things are playing a factor, but also it's you know, defense in college basketball is also very, very much about uh team effort. And and I feel like maybe the effort is definitely there on the offensive side of the ball, and it's been there for quite a while now on the offensive side of the ball. It just feels like there's it it almost feels like there's so much spent on on that side that it that it's starting to affect them on the defensive side, and like how do you balance that out? I don't know. You definitely don't want to sacrifice the number what like number five, it was a top ten offense, I think it was number five at one point, I'm not sure where it is, number six offense in the country. You don't want to sacrifice something that elite, but at the same time, it's like if if you can't stop anybody, then it almost does you no good, too, no good to a certain extent. I mean, like I think back to the you know the Steve Nash Phoenix Suns, and they were so good offensively, and some like there were there were some seasons where they could uh play pretty well defensively, and there was other seasons where they just couldn't stop anybody. And it's like, okay, how do you balance that out if you're Sean Miller? It's really tough. Maybe this, you know, maybe him getting so heated and getting under them and you know getting on their ass is gonna uh kind of inspire them to play a little bit harder on the defensive side of the ball. But when you're only eight deep, it's a little hard to keep that effort going the entire time. So uh we'll have to see how it goes. But it it feels like all of that stuff is kind of an amalgamation of why this defense is starting to struggle.

SPEAKER_03 39:00

Yeah, you're right in the money, especially when you mentioned uh you didn't mention him by name, but Jordan Pope. Uh he he's he liability is just maybe a strong word, but maybe it's not. He he's defense is not his strength. He's undersized, he's not overly athletic at all. Um I he's a great shooter, in my opinion. Point guard is not even really his natural position, if you're gonna ask me, but that's what Sean Miller has been making him do this season, and it's been working out. So they don't have another one, so yeah, exactly. They

Florida Preview And Matchups

SPEAKER_03 39:30

have no other option, really. Um, and so uh I I think Jordan Pope, he's gonna get me. I mean, think about who they're gonna be playing here soon in Arkansas, Darius Acuff, who just had uh oh, you know, 49 points as a true freshman on the road in Tuscaloosa last week. Uh you're asking Jordan Pope to guard him. No, probably not. So uh it's gonna be really, really, really, really tough. Uh whenever you we whenever you have an undersized point guard who's not overly athletic. I love Jordan Pope. I think he's a great offensive player and he's an excellent shooter, but um, yeah, that that is an issue for sure. And you mentioned uh being overly extended uh on the defensive end after you know some of these offensive possessions because Texas has a pretty slow tempo on offense, despite how despite how efficient they've been. And so when you have these long, uh mentally draining possessions that end in the last second shot at the at the shot clock buzzer, yeah, that that's gonna be kind of tough because you're not scoring quick and then getting back on defense. So um, yeah, I I agree with you there. And it it would be a quite a shame uh if an offense this elite misses out on March Madness. Uh, I I don't know, you know, when I'll have to I'll have to do some research on that. I don't know when the last time a potential top 10 offense missed out on the tournament. You know, that that seems almost unprecedented. Um, so we'll have to wait and see what happens there. Uh, but yeah, you just have to be at least an above average or at least an average or slightly below average defense, and this team uh I think can do some uh some good things in March, make a little bit of noise, uh, but they're not even gonna get a chance to potentially do that if they don't fix things even a little bit these last four games.

SPEAKER_02 41:10

Yeah, and and we'll see what happens. Uh, you know, it's it's it's not exactly easy sledding coming up, uh, Zach mentioned. Uh Texas will be facing off against the Florida Gators tomorrow night uh at the Moody Center, at least the game's at home, right? Um, so we'll see what happens there. And then they have back-to-back road matchups against Texas AM uh on the uh on February 28th, and then Arkansas at Arkansas on March 4th before they close the season at the Moody Center against the Oklahoma Sooners. So pretty, pretty tough stretch stretch coming up. Hopefully they can get the defense rectified during that time frame. But if not, you know, who knows what's gonna happen? Because all four of those teams are certainly capable of beating them uh if if they don't show up defensively, so we'll see where it goes. But that is going to do it for this episode of the Texas Longhorns on SI podcast. Uh make sure to uh to like, rate, and subscribe uh our uh for our podcast and comment below on YouTube to uh to let us know what you think. Uh it really helps us out with the algorithm and everything like that, so we really appreciate it. Uh make sure to follow us on every major social media platform. Uh we are on X at Longhorns on SI, at Tik on TikTok and Instagram, and uh and Facebook at Texas Longhorns on SI. Zach is on X at Zach Demit7. I am on X at Matt Galatson. Uh but most importantly, be sure to tell somebody you love them, and we will catch you in the next one.