Texas football landed on the wrong side of history Saturday. The Longhorns become the first No. 1 team in 35 years to lose their opener. Steve Sarkisian then got blasted by a player from his USC past during the 14-7 loss to Ohio State.
“Coach Sark” drew his critics who watched the marquee afternoon showdown. Including former USC safety Su'a Cravens. Who called out Sarkisian's play-calling during the game.
“Sark might be an overrated play caller … I’m just saying lol,” Cravens posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Cravens and Sarkisian clearly never saw eye-to-eye while with the Trojans. Trojan fans unfortunately recall how truncated Sarkisian's stay became due to off-the-field issues. Clay Helton eventually replaced Sarkisian with nine games left in 2015.
Cravens, now a broadcast analyst in the Los Angeles region, clearly watched Texas run the ball more than pass. Even with Arch Manning making his 2025 start.
Ex-USC player quiets hype involving Steve Sarkisian, Texas star
Quintrevion Wisner carried the offensive load with all eyes on Manning. The running back carried the ball 16 times and tallied 80 rushing yards. Manning mania quieted down, however.
Manning completed 17 passes out of 30 attempts. But didn't surpass the 100-yard mark until the fourth quarter. He racked up 170 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Manning's performance prompted a message from Cravens.
“This is why you wait until you actually have a couple games worth of film on a QB before deciding he’s this year’s Heisman Trophy winner,” Cravens posted on X. “They build you up to fail when they create unrealistic expectations and having that last name obviously adds to the pressure.”
But he dropped this big prediction for the now 0-1 Longhorns.
“Texas will be fine and Arch will bounce back, but media members need to relax a little,” Cravens said. “The eye in the sky never lies and we didn’t see next year’s 1st overall pick on the field today, at least not at QB!”
Ohio State entered the famed Horseshoe at No. 3. The Buckeyes will now make a case for the top after dethroning the nation's top-ranked team when the Week 2 rankings come out.
