Blalock: Fumbles won’t fly — Texas needs to minimize offensive mistakes to maximize potential

Last Saturday’s matchup between Texas and Ohio State reminded fans across the country exactly why they dedicate their precious Saturdays to watching college football.

It was chaotic, dramatic and, for Longhorn fans, exhilarating in the highest degree.

On the other hand, Texas’ performance also contained one of the worst first-half breakdowns I have ever witnessed as a college football fan — and head coach Steve Sarkisian knows it’s a problem.

“Our ball security is awful right now,” Sarkisian said blatantly on Monday. “That’s not something that we take pride in at all.”

Texas fumbled the ball four times against Ohio State. Receivers dropped multiple passes that could’ve turned into big plays, such as junior wide receiver Cam Coleman bobbling the ball right into the hands of Ohio State safety Jaylen McClain.

Faults that would otherwise be considered unacceptable were ultimately outweighed by Texas’ valiant comeback, but that doesn’t erase the fact that they happened. The Buckeyes came up with the ball defensively without even doing the dirty work.

Luckily, Texas has one more home opportunity against UTSA to right its wrongs before Southeastern Conference play commences. Winning decisively won’t be convincing enough — the Longhorns need to win cleanly for this weekend’s matchup to be considered successful.

And a clean victory won’t necessarily be a walk in the park.

The Roadrunners haven’t turned the ball over yet this season, but they have forced five turnovers on the defensive side of the ball. While their personnel isn’t typically regarded in the same category as that of Texas, their ball control could pose problems for the Longhorns if they aren’t careful.

Additionally, Texas has made somewhat of a habit of making avoidable mistakes against lower-ranked opponents. A recent example would be senior quarterback Arch Manning throwing an end zone interception less than 10 seconds before halftime against Texas State.

These mistakes might not alter the game’s outcome, but they promote poor tendencies. And the last thing the Longhorns can afford right now is to establish bad habits.

It’s going to be another hot one at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, and fans likely won’t stay to watch the Longhorns drop passes and use their star running backs as a crutch on the way to a sloppy nonconference win.

They’ll want to see big plays and big stops, with as few errors as possible.

If playmakers like junior wide receiver Ryan Wingo continue to bobble the ball, Texas should deploy the next-man-up mentality. There is no reason for talented younger receivers like sophomores Kaliq Lockett and Daylan McCutcheon and freshmen Jermaine Bishop Jr. and Kohen Brown to sit on the bench and watch the players in front of them on the depth chart drop passes.

Not many teams have the kind of depth the Longhorns have within their wide receiver room, and it’s safer to test different options out at home than it will be in Knoxville next weekend against Tennessee.

Texas fought hard for its 24-23 win — it wasn’t luck that propelled the team to triumph, and I don’t want my criticism to undermine the remarkable nature of the Longhorns’ last-minute victory. But winning in a chaotic comeback fashion isn’t a foolproof method, and it’s not a great thing to get in the habit of before conference play starts.

Texas simply can’t afford to make some of the mistakes it made this past weekend again in the future.

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