Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian really just wanted to talk about Arkansas on Monday
He didn’t want to talk about the Longhorns’ possible path to the College Football Playoff. And he referred to this weekend’s Arkansas game as “scary” since it’s sandwiched between Saturday’s disappointing 35-10 loss at Georgia and next week’s showdown with Texas A&M.
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As for the topic of Texas (7-3, 4-2) underachieving this season?
“According to who,” Sarkisian sniped when asked that exact question during his weekly press conference.
MORE: Why the fourth quarter at Georgia was a ‘disaster’ for UT’s playoff push
How about the media? Or Sarkisian’s fellow coaches? After all, Texas did top the Associated Press and US LBM Coaches preseason polls.
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“I guess that’s (on) who voted us No. 1,” Sarkisian rebutted.
OK, so let’s talk about Arkansas. The Razorbacks (2-8, 0-6) are trudging through a year that has featured a midseason coaching change and no SEC wins to date.
Texas Longhorns wide receiver Ryan Wingo (1) drops a pass during the game against Georgia at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 in Athens, Georgia.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
However, Arkansas does possess a potent offense that’s averaging 34.1 points and 470.0 yards per game. Five of the Razorbacks’ conference losses have been by six points or less.
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“The record might not show they’re having a great year, but in reality, all their games are close with the best teams in the country,” Texas edge rusher Ethan Burke said. “They’re still really talented, and Arkansas is always going to give everyone their best fight.”
After surprising drops against Georgia, can Texas receivers rebound?
Defensively, Arkansas is allowing 245.3 passing yards per game. That ranks 106th nationally and second-to-last in the SEC. As the Texas running game continues to struggle, the Arkansas secondary may be something that Texas wants to exploit. The Longhorns, however, just dropped the ball against Georgia. Literally.
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Texas settled for a field goal on the game’s opening drive after sophomore Ryan Wingo dropped a third-down pass that would have given the Longhorns a first down inside the Georgia red zone. Later in the first half, Texas was forced to punt after a three-play sequence that featured Wingo being unable to come down with a tough catch and drops by tight end Jordan Washington and wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr.
According to Pro Football Focus, Texas was credited with five drops against Georgia. Texas quarterback Arch Manning was given by PFF an adjusted completion percentage of 82.1% (a metric for passes that were deemed to be on target), which was much better than his actual percentage of 62.8.
For the season, PFF has Texas down for 19 drops. Last season, Texas had 29 drops in 16 games. There were just 14 drops over UT’s 14-game campaign in 2023.
Texas Longhorns receiver Emmett Mosley (3) celebrates a first down during the game against Georgia at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 in Athens, Georgia.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
“(We’ve got to) just catch the ball,” said running back CJ Baxter, who had one of those drops against Georgia. “I don’t think it’s much to that. Just catch the ball, fall back on techniques to catch the ball.”
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For his part, Manning hasn’t lost any confidence in his receivers, he said. The quarterback’s advice to them? “Just move on,” he said.
“There’s been countless times where I have not thrown them a good ball, and they’ve bailed me out,” Manning told reporters. “And so you’ve just got to move on, learn from it and keep going. They’re not trying to drop the ball. I’m not trying to throw a bad ball. We’re all human, we make mistakes.”
MORE: How Longhorns’ offensive evolution failed against Georgia
Texas receivers have lacked consistency since offseason overhaul
Texas entered this season having lost Matthew Golden to the first round of the NFL draft as well as valuable pass catchers like tight end Gunnar Helm and receiver Isaiah Bond. Still, UT receivers coach Chris Jackson said in July that he believed “we have four guys that are locked in, both in run game and passing game, very versatile guys that can play multiple positions.”
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Texas wide receiver Parker Livingstone (13) attempts to catch a pass against Mississippi State defensive back Kelley Jones during the first half Oct. 25, 2025 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.
Justin Ford/Getty Images
Through 10 games, Wingo leads the team with 40 receptions, 655 receiving yards and six touchdown catches. Those numbers are somewhat comparable to the leaders in those statistical categories through the first 10 games of Sarkisian’s first four years at Texas:
• 2021: 49 catches (Xavier Worthy), 831 yards (Worthy), 11 TDs (Worthy)
• 2022: 46 catches (Ja’Tavion Sanders), 584 yards (Worthy), 9 TDs (Worthy)
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• 2023: 59 catches (Worthy), 757 yards (Worthy), 9 TDs (Adonai Mitchell)
• 2024: 37 catches (Helm), 493 yards (Helm), 8 TDs (Golden)
No Longhorns rank inside the top 10 in the SEC in receiving yards per game (Wingo is 12th at 65.5 ypg). No Longhorns rank inside the top 20 in the SEC in receptions per game (Wingo is 21st at 4.0 catches). Wingo and fellow receiver Parker Livingstone are two of the 13 SEC players with five touchdown catches this season, though.
Just four Longhorns have recorded 20 receptions this season, and newcomer Emmett Mosley V is averaging three catches in the six games since he made his debut Oct. 4. The Longhorns have also struggled to replace Helm; 102 of transfer tight end Jack Endries’ 169 receiving yards this season came in UT’s first two games.
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“I think our receivers have grown,” Sarkisian said. “I was frustrated early in the season for the lack of continuity with Arch and all of the receivers. I think he found his stride probably with Parker the earliest, then he and Ryan kind of found their stride, and then DeAndre and then Emmett. I really wish we could have found all that throughout training camp. We just didn’t. I think they’ve grown better together.
“Nobody wants to drop the ball. Nobody goes out there and breaks the huddle and says, ‘Hey, I’m going to drop this ball and I feel good about it.’ They’re all trying really hard. I think there’s some fundamental things we can keep working on with them, but I think it’s also them trusting their ability to go out and do it and do it in critical moments.”
