Even though the Georgia Bulldogs have proven to be the biggest hurdle for the Longhorns since they entered the SEC, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian hasn't turned his attention to the Dawgs quite yet.
Over the bye week, as No. 11 Texas prepares to take on No. 5 Georgia, Sarkisian is instead focusing on his team itself, sharing that the Horns have a lot of self-improvement to do before they can even think about the Bulldogs.
"We've got to dig into the things that are causing us issues, in all three phases right now. We've got to look at how people are attacking us in all three phases right now." Sarkisian said in a mid-week press conference. "We've got to make sure we've got enough tools in our toolbox to combat that stuff. As much as I want to get a head start on Georgia, we've got to look at ourselves first.
Texas has inward-facing week ahead of bye week and Georgia game
Over the last few weeks, the (now No. 11) Longhorns have been one of the least consistent teams in the country.
Blowing out the Oklahoma Sooners just to go into overtime against the Kentucky Wildcats and Mississippi State Bulldogs and then defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores simply doesn't make sense.
“As much as I want to get a head start on Georgia, we got to look at ourselves first.”#Texas HC Steve Sarkisian says the staff plans to use the bye week to study their own team as they prepare for the #Horns final three games. pic.twitter.com/JtLuqMBJsn
— OnTexasFootball (@ontexasfootball) November 4, 2025
Sarkisian was entirely correct when he said that his team needed to look at themselves and their problems that continue to lead to them shooting themselves in the foot, before they ever turn their attention to another program, even if it's the Bulldogs.
While yes, Sarkisian and his staff will eventually have to focus on Georgia, adjusting and fixing the problems that their own team has must be the top priority.
What has plagued the Texas Longhorns this season?
Beyond the pressure that quarterback Arch Manning has felt throughout almost every matchup this season, one of the biggest problems that the Longhorns have struggled to get under wraps is penalties.
So far this year, the Horns have committed 73 penalties, resulting in a loss of 595 yards. In other words, Texas is losing 66.1 yards per game simply by committing simple errors. This is an increase of 1.7 yards lost per game from the 2024 season.
If Texas can get a handle on its penalties and continue to improve its protection of Manning, the Longhorns could stand a chance in their top-five matchups against the Bulldogs and eventually the Texas A&M Aggies.