The Longhorns rank 54th in penalties per game, and the SEC opener spotlighted many of those issues.
We've seen that penalty. But the Texas Longhorns' pattern of drawing flags extends beyond their star pass rusher's vulgar mind slip.
No. 1-ranked Texas committed 11 penalties for a whopping 115 yards against Tennessee in Knoxville to open SEC play.
As the Longhorns head into the bye week, coach Steve Sarkisian is marking the team's discipline as a top need for improvement.
"We’ve got to find ways to clean up the penalties," Sarkisian said on Monday. "Now it’s 19 penalties in the last two weeks, and we can control a lot of them. Some of them we can’t. We can control a lot of them. So again, we’ve got to get back to the emphasis as a coaching staff."
Colin Simmons and running back Raleek Brown forfeited 15 yards on an inexcusable unsportsmanlike conduct flag, and elsewhere Texas committed self-inflicted miscues that were one of the only ways the Volunteers stayed within striking distance early in the game.
"That's not who we are as a team, and that behavior is unacceptable," Sarkisian said. "I've met with the team about it. I've met with Raleek individually, so we'll handle those things internally. I don't want to take our stinger. I don't want to take away the excitement of the game, but the moment you start to demean an opponent, the flags are going to come out."
One time when the penalty markers didn't come out, however, was on Tennessee's final sequences, the onside kick recovered near midfield that gave the Vols a shot at a game-winning Hail Mary.
The SEC later announced that the kick should have been called for a violation.
"A drop kick is permissible, but a free kick must be made from the kicking team's restraining line which is the 35-yard line on a kickoff, unless relocated by a penalty," the conference said in a statement. "In addition, after the ball is ready for play the kicker may not change his lateral position between the hash marks. That spot can change only after a timeout or on an subsequent kick."
Needless to say, the Longhorns still had things go their way. But double-digit flags in total didn't make it a smooth ride getting to 4-0.
Texas ranks No. 54 in the country with 6.3 penalties per game, and down at No. 90 with those flags accounting for 62.5 penalty yards per contest.
With time to prepare for the always-emotional Red River Rivalry next weekend in Dallas, Sarkisian must press his team on the widespread mental lapses that are keeping the Longhorns from dominating opponents like their talented roster is capable of.
"It's been a good start to the season," Sarkisian says in review. "To be 4-0, we got a lot of meat left on our bone. As we go, we know what's coming after the bye."
