Steve Sarkisian, Texas paid ultimate price for Arch Manning mistake

Steve Sarkisian came so very close to taking the Texas Longhorns to the national title game for a second year in a row. Again he came up short in the College Football Playoff.

Arch Manning is going to be the biggest talking point of the postmortem on this Texas season. Sark has some explaining to do.

Texas fans have two reasons to turn their anger towards the head coach. First, he stuck with Quinn Ewers at quarterback and that decision ultimately came back to bite him. Ewers' fumble on fourth-and-goal effectively ended the game when it was returned for a touchdown. His interception on the following drive sealed the deal. Fans wanted to see Manning get a chance to lead the offense and that never game.

I understand the reticence to make a QB change. That's a huge decision, especially benching a veteran like Ewers. If Ewers' performance had been worse, it would have been an easier choice. But the starter was not terrible. He just wasn't great. Making the change to Manning would have taken a lot of courage, but it might have made the difference. Sometimes, those decisions are the ones that win championships. Not making the choice could let a title chance slip away.

Steve Sarkisian failed to utilize Arch Manning at the goal line

Second, Sark didn't utilize Manning in his role as a package quarterback as much as he could have. Just before half time, he backup converted a key fourth down at midfield with his legs. He gained eight yards to give the Longhorns an opportunity to tie the game with a touchdown. That was his only carry of the game.

On an earlier fourth-and-three, Manning wasn't used and Texas failed to convert. Then with the game on the line late in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns ran five plays with goal to go. Manning didn't participate in any of those.

Even if Sarkisian didn't want to make a full-blown quarterback change, he could have better utilized the unique weapon that he had for short yardage and goal line situations. He failed to do so.

There will be should have, could have, would have conversations around Texas over the coming days. Sarkisian won't be able to escape it, if it's not already eating him up inside his own head.