Texas has crashed from No. 1 to No. 19 in the AP Poll after consecutive 27-24 losses to Oklahoma and Florida, leaving the Longhorns at 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the SEC. Arch Manning has taken much of the heat for Texas’ offensive collapse, but Brian Kelly believes the blame goes higher. The former LSU coach is calling out Steve Sarkisian for failing to get the best out of his star quarterback, despite his reputation as one of college football’s brightest offensive minds.

Speaking on SiriusXM College Sports Radio, Kelly questioned Sarkisian’s play-calling after Texas suffered consecutive regular-season losses for the first time since 2021. The Longhorns squandered a 17-7 halftime lead against Oklahoma and a 17-3 advantage against Florida. Yet Sarkisian, who called plays in both defeats, insisted there was “not a chance” he would surrender those duties.

“I think it’s on the play caller,” Kelly said, according to College Sports on SiriusXM’s X post. “I think the play caller takes a lot of the responsibility. Look, he’s your quarterback. They’re not going back. I mean, they’re not going to bench him unless there’s just a total meltdown.”

And Sarkisian isn’t considering a quarterback change. After the Oklahoma loss, he defended Manning by pointing to his four wins over top-10 opponents in his previous 13 starts. He has since reaffirmed Manning as Texas’ starter ahead of Ole Miss, leaving KJ Lacey as the backup despite mounting criticism.

But defending Manning doesn’t excuse Sarkisian’s struggling offense. Against Florida, Texas managed just 272 yards, 99 rushing yards and two third-down conversions. Seven of its 24 points came from Ryan Niblett’s 63-yard punt-return touchdown, meaning the offense itself produced only 17. And it wasn’t an isolated failure. Texas has scored more than three touchdowns just once in six games while averaging only 135 rushing yards per contest.

Manning hasn’t been blameless either. He has thrown for 1,295 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 64% of his passes, ranking 11th among SEC quarterbacks in passing yards. He threw two fourth-quarter interceptions against Oklahoma, including a pick-six, and lost a late fumble against Florida. But against the Gators, he also completed 70% of his passes without an interception. Texas still managed only 13 first downs and held possession for less than 22 minutes.

And that’s what makes Kelly’s criticism so damaging. Sarkisian coached Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and helped Mac Jones become a Heisman finalist during Alabama’s 2020 national championship season. He also won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant that year. Yet with Manning, one of the country’s most celebrated quarterback prospects, Sarkisian is struggling to produce an offense that can consistently move the ball.

“Look, Josh Heupel is doing it at Tennessee, playing great defense, running the football, and he’s played two freshman, redshirt freshman quarterbacks,” Kelly said. “And so you can’t tell me that you can’t fit this offense to Arch Manning. And maybe there has to be a meeting in the middle there. And, look, Coach Sarkisian is an outstanding play caller. He understands the game. He’s proven, seasoned.”

“But sometimes there has to be that sit-down conversation to say, look, we’re going to do what you can do and execute. This is about accuracy and higher completion percentage and if we can run the ball with more effectiveness. If you add those two things to the Texas offense, they’re going to win the rest of their football games.”

Kelly’s argument becomes more relevant considering Manning’s protection issues. Texas allowed pressure on 41.8% of his dropbacks over the last three games, up from 25.4% in the first three. With the rushing attack struggling too, Sarkisian has yet to find a reliable way to ease the burden on his quarterback.

Sarkisian insists Manning can improve, acknowledging that coaching him requires both encouragement and “tough love.” “The player is in there, and it’s our job to get it out of him,” he said. But with No. 7 Ole Miss visiting Saturday, Texas cannot afford another offensive breakdown.

Kelly believes better accuracy and a stronger running game could help the Longhorns win out. But if Sarkisian cannot get either working, questions about Manning’s future could quickly turn into questions about the coach who was supposed to develop him.