The Texas Longhorns may have defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes, claiming the No. 1 spot in the national rankings as their own, but Steve Sarkisian's squad still looked far from good enough to bring home the ultimate prize: the National Championship trophy.
Two turnovers (which very easily could have been four), nearly 375 allowed yards, and numerous dropped pass attempts marred an otherwise spectacular victory over the Buckeyes.
And, despite now being ranked as the No. 1 team in the country, Sarkisian and the Horns still have a long way to go before they are playing the quality of football that wins championships.
"We are not perfect; we've got plenty of things to work on," Sarkisian said in a press conference on Monday morning. "We were really just kind of getting in our own way... The ranking doesn't matter. If anything, all the ranking does is put a bigger bullseye on you. How we perform is what matters the most."
Texas can thank its defense for Buckeyes not earning more points off turnovers
While Ohio State only officially forced two turnovers, Texas's ball security was abysmal against the Buckeyes. Wideout Emmett Mosley IV would have had a turnover if Cam Coleman hadn't jumped on the ball, and return specialist Ryan Niblett muffed a punt that nearly resulted in yet another recovery by Ohio State.
"Our ball security is awful right now, if you want to know the truth, and that's not something that we take pride in at all," Sarkisian said. "We take pride in our ability to take care of the ball, so we have got to improve our ball security."
Of course, the Buckeyes were only able to produce 10 points off of the two turnovers that Texas allowed, with the defense stepping up to the plate on numerous occasions to minimize the damage done by giving up the ball.
Had Texas lost the ball on the two other potential turnovers, and had the defense not answered the call when it had to, the Horns very easily could have seen themselves down by 38 points going into the 4th quarter instead of the 20-point deficit they overcame.
While the rest of Texas's schedule may not hold a candle to the talent and threat that the Buckeyes brought to the 40 Acres in Week 2, ball security has to be of the utmost importance moving forward.
The defense is going to grow weary of having to answer for the offense's mistakes, and it's already exhausting enough for a defensive unit to take the field when the team is failing to produce anything of substance on the offensive side of the ball.
Protect the rock, that's something you learn at a very young age, regardless of the sport, and it's something that Sarkisian has to continue to instill in the minds of the Longhorns.
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