If you can sit there and truthfully say that you have been completely happy with the Texas Longhorns through the first four games of the season, then you may have been drinking a bit too much of the burnt orange Kool-Aid.
A shaky offense and, at times, an... undisciplined... defense have kept the Horns from truly looking like the best team in the country, despite being ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 Poll for the last three weeks.
One of the biggest flaws in Texas's game has been its inability to get out of its own way. That has manifested in a lot of penalties being called against the Longhorns so far.
In his game preview press conference to kick off Red River Rivalry week, head coach Steve Sarkisian addressed Texas's penalty problem.
"What we need to minimize is some of the decisions that get made that lead to the penalties," Sarkisian said during Monday's press conference. "Last week, in the bye week, we were very intense for two days, and it was game-like situations... You've gotta make them feel the effect of some of those penalties... You've gotta put them in those intense situations."
The issue truly reared its head in Texas's win over Tennessee in Week 4, the Horns' first road game of the season, when they were called on 11 penalties for 115 yards. It was the first "intense situation" the Longhorns had faced where the crowd was not almost entirely on their side. Well, this week will be more of the same.
Texas cannot afford 5-plus penalties in Red River Rivalry
Of course, Texas is about to play in one of the most emotion-filled, stress-filled games of the season as the Horns take on the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry.
So far this season, the Longhorns have averaged 6.25 penalties per game, basically handing their opponents 62.5 yards per game. Against a team like Oklahoma, which boasts one of the stingiest defenses in the country, Texas cannot afford to give up that many yards.
Currently, that has Texas ranked 54th in all of FBS for penalties per game (6.25), 90th in penalty yards per game (62.5), and 123rd in yards per penalty (10).
Sarkisian expressed that he thinks since he and his staff have spent the last week and a half, thanks to the bye, focusing on correcting this massive flaw, the Horns will see a reduction in flags called against them.
"If we keep coaching and the players are coachable, we can clean some of this stuff up," Sarkisian said. "It's been a point of emphasis... Generally, we get what we emphasize, and we've been emphasizing [penalties]."
Up to this point, there has been a lack of discipline on both sides of the ball, and it has resulted in the No. 1 team in the country also being one of the most penalized teams. Hopefully, the "emphasis" that Sarkisian and the Horns have placed on the matter pays off on Saturday.
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