Football Frauds: Texas Longhorns 'Bleed Out' Of Legit Championship Picture

We had to suffer through two things Saturday afternoon in Austin that we should no longer put much faith in.

Texas’ loss to OU ruined its bragging rights with a rival. But this one to Florida all but wrecked the entire season and continued a downward spiral into one of the most disappointing years in school history.

Fire Sark. Keep the Tower dark. Turn Bevo into flank steak. Revoke McConaughey’s minister’s license. After this one, nothing is too drastic on the Forty Acres.

Ranked No. 1 after a scintillating comeback win over Ohio State just a month ago, Texas now has two losses before Halloween and is trending more toward Alamo Bowl than Championship Game.

“We didn’t play good football today,” said head coach Steve Sarkisian. “Kind of bled out.”

Texas held halftime leads in both of the identical 27-24 losses, but were outscored in the second half by a combined 37-14. Oklahoma was coming off a 23-point loss; Florida a 19-point blowout at home. But against the ’Horns both teams played harder, for longer.

Texas was in control against the Gators, leading 17-3 and driving past midfield in the second quarter. Florida turned to a backup quarterback making his first start, and it felt like one more score would be an early TKO.

But on 4th-and-1 from the 50, Sark got too cute. Instead of a simple power run with Arch Manning behind a bevy of blockers, Texas faked a reverse, pulled a guard, ran a dive play … and got stuffed for no gain.

The game turned - and the season ended - right there.

The Gators took possession and scored before halftime, then dominated the second half. Texas’ experienced defense surrendered scoring drives of 15 and 14 plays as Florida went on a 27-7 run spanning the most of three quarters.

And, same as it did against Oklahoma, the offense went stagnant. Florida’s defense entered ranked last in the SEC after coughing up 45 and 38 points in its last two games. But it held Texas under 300 yards and sacked Manning five times, including the game-sealing strip-sack with 1:58 remaining.

Sark makes $11 million per season in Austin because he’s a supposed quarterback whisperer and offensive genius. But Arch clearly isn’t improving, and in four games against FBS opponents this season, the Longhorns haven’t scored more than 24 points.

Sark. Arch. Repeated Top 5 recruiting classes. Unlimited budget. None of it has materialized into anything resembling a National Championship team. I'm aware that other supposed "powers'' also lost this weekend. Still, after Saturday’s debacle, I say this year’s dream season is officially a nightmare.