Jeff Howe

Sark on Wingo: "He's going to be a good weapon for us."

Sark said the offense's goal is to have an explosive play rate of 20 percent or more. Seven explosives on 67 snaps (a 10.4-percent explosive play rate) didn't get it done.

The courage Jack Endries showed catching ball down the field, knowing he'd get popped, is one of the things that stood out to Sark regarding the transfer tight end's debut.

Sark said the defense needs to practice more of the second tackler getting to the ball and trying to strip it. Ohio State's game plan when throwing the ball wasn't conducive to playing a lot of balls in the air, so Texas needed to force fumbles to create turnovers.

On balancing out being aggressive on defense and not leaving the cornerbacks vulnerable in coverage, Sark said they were mindful of Jeremiah Smith all day. He said they got lucky on the fourth-and-1 when Ohio State failed to convert (Max Klare dropped a pass) and Kobe Black was one-on-one with Smith.

Sark didn't elaborate, but he said guys who didn't play against Ohio State will be needed on Saturday against San Jose State.

Texas respects every opponent, including San Jose State, but Sark said a lot of the focus this week will be on the team working on itself and getting better.

Sark said Texas got "too cute" running the football in big games last season. He wanted to get back to running the football between the tackles and being physical. He felt like, for the most part, that happened, but he showed the team on tape where they left some bigger gains on the table if all 11 guys on offense had done their jobs.

"I was very pleased," Sark said regarding how the running game unfolded.

Part of Arch's growth, Sark said, is learning to trust that the route is developing accordingly, even if the look isn't exactly what it looked like in practice.

The way Texas coaches quarterbacks to read crossing routes and Arch getting off kilter in how he read it led to some of the mechanical issues everybody saw, like throwing the ball with a sidearm delivery. Sark said that that's not Arch's style.

As he mentioned after the game, Sark said he probably should've gotten into the quarterback run game earlier and more often.

"I feel like sometimes when you get hit, you realize, 'Oh man, we're playing," Sark said of how Arch needed to get the first hit out of the way early in the game to settle in.

Sark is really hammering home how important it was for Texas to maximize field position in the Ohio State game. That goes for the offense and defense.

Sark said Arch is a better athlete "than he probably gave himself credit for," and said the trust Arch has in his legs will help him.

Sark on Arch: "All in all, I think he started to play football in the second half."

Sark has a lot of respect for Ken Niumatalolo and the job he's done at San Jose State. With that said, "this week is really about us," he said.

Sark: "We've got a ton of potential. Now, we've got to make that come to life."

Sark: "I thought Manny Muhammad competed his tail off against a great player in Jeremiah Smith."

Sark: "All in all, I was proud and happy for Cedric Baxter."

He mentioned the two penalties on Ohio State's touchdown drive and the penalty against Liona Lefau that negated a safety that really hurt.

The timing of the penalties was a huge issue, Sark said.

Sark liked the running game. He thought Texas started making plays in the passing game as the game went on.

Sark is running down the list of the good things the defense did on Saturday. One disappointing thing was that Texas ended a streak of 24 consecutive games with a turnover forced.

Sark's message to the team was that the Ohio State loss won't define who the Longhorns are in 2025.