The Texas Longhorns (3-2) have their backs against the wall as they head into Red River on Saturday. The Longhorns face a de facto College Football Playoff and SEC Championship elimination game against the Oklahoma Sooners (5-0). It will be the first of seven potential elimination games for Texas, should they advance another week.

At this juncture, the playoff discussion seems premature. The Longhorns so far have no-showed in their only two Power Four matchups against Ohio State and Florida. And they have shown little to no signs that any of it will improve. For Texas, it feels in many ways like it must have felt for Florida a week ago.

The Florida Gators (2-3) had their game of the year in Week 6. Coming off a bye, the Gators had lost three consecutive games to the likes of South Florida, LSU and Miami. At no point did it look like that Florida team was capable of beating a quality team. That is, until Saturday.

Florida head coach Billy Napier, who had been criticized for unimaginative play calling, opened up the playbook and the Texas defense had no answer.

Prior to the game, Napier was on the coaching hot seat. His team's 1-3 start was unacceptable, but a fourth loss could put his job in jeopardy. Napier coached like his job was on the line, and won, against a talented Texas team. He did so by exposing the Longhorns' strength, its defense.

Sarkisian's job is not on the line, but his team's season is one loss away from significant disappointment. The Longhorns are staring down a 3-3 start. It would be the first time the team had failed to secure four wins through six games since the 2017 season. The Longhorns' season is in peril, and Sarkisian needs to coach like it.

Realistically, an 8-4 season might be the mark to aim for, given who Texas has lost to so far and who remains on its schedule. In addition to Oklahoma, the Longhorns still have to face Vanderbilt, Georgia and Texas A&M, all of which might be playing better football than Texas right now. Throw in tough road matchups with Mississippi State and Kentucky and not many more games will be easy for Texas.

Despite the harsh reality of Texas' tough start, Longhorns fans do not want to hear about resetting expectations. The goal at Texas is not to win games, but to compete for conference titles and contend in the College Football Playoff.

Sarkisian doesn't have the talent to overpower teams. Like Napier, he needs to bring a higher level of creativity to save his team's season. Will Texas employ more presnap motion this week? Will it break out plays Sarkisian has not put on film? That's what it could take to win on Saturday.

Texas was great in 2023 and 2024, but its past greatness is not going to shelter itself from criticism in 2025. The Longhorns need to win now. They'll look to secure a big upset over the Oklahoma Sooners in Dallas.