Steve Sarkisian taking it on the chin from fans before first game is even over

Oh boy. It took less than four quarters for the Longhorn fanbase to once again turn to blaming Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian for the struggles of the offense.

As quarterback Arch Manning took over the offensive reins, it was against none other than the Ohio State Buckeyes, the defending National Champions and the team that kicked Texas out of the College Football Playoffs last season.

Once again, Sarkisian found himself fumbling to find the secret play call to make the Buckeye defense give up significant yardage or points.

Texas found itself within the 5-yard line, just like it did during the CFP semifinals, and the Horns failed to cross the goalline, yet again. Sarkisian, who called for a tush push-esque attempt, immediately took the brunt of the blame.

After three consecutive plays within the 5-yard-line, the Longhorns managed to reach the 1-yard-line before the Buckeyes forced a turnover on downs, the second time they had done so in the game.

This time around, Sarkisian wasn't the only person on the sidelines receiving the blame. After all of the preseason hype, fans didn't hold back from bashing on Manning right alongside his head coach.

With less than four minutes left in the third quarter, Manning had only managed to earn 38 yards through the air, completing just nine of his 15 pass attempts. Meanwhile, he earned a relatively impressive 34 yards.

The Texas running game also didn't live up to the expectations set before it, eking out just 85 yards between Quintrevion Wisner, who led the entire SEC in rushing last season, and CJ Baxter, who took his place as RB1 after suffering a season-ending knee injury last summer.

At the end of the third quarter, Ohio State only led Texas 7-0, but the Buckeyes continued to look like the more established unit as Sarkisian and the Longhorns repeatedly failed to come up with answers.