The Longhorns upset last season’s national champions, the Michigan Wolverines, on Saturday by dominating inside The Big House.
Both sides of the ball demonstrated their tenacity and hushed a crowd of over 100,000 Michigan fans dressed in maize and blue, with the Texas offense generating 389 total yards and the defense forcing three turnovers and one sack.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, however, believes that everyone on his team still has a lot of potential to unleash.
During Monday’s media availability, Sarkisian stated that he wants to see more stamina displayed until the clock runs out rather than giving up points late in the game, something he believes his players should focus throughout the season.
“We need to step up our killer instinct,” Sarkisian remarked. “We need to be more relentless in the fourth quarter.”
Texas limited Michigan’s offense to just two field goals, 204 passing yards, and 80 running yards until conceding a touchdown with two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Sarkisian stated that he did not feel the same level of toughness was communicated in the fourth quarter, which is disheartening given that he knows his team is more than capable of playing a full game of football.
“The game just felt like we played three quarters,” Sarkisian explained. “I want to give our opponents 60 minutes of anguish. And we have a roster that can handle that.”
When asked what being physical looked like on Monday, junior safety Michael Taaffe mentioned several instances where his teammates made statement plays against Michigan, including senior linebacker David Gbenda’s tackle for loss and defensive lineman Vernon Broughton pressuring Wolverines quarterback Davis Warren. Taaffe himself made four total tackles and a QB hurry.
Taaffe also detailed what it feels like to use those deadly instincts, putting Sarkisian’s idea of being the villain into action.
“When you talk about imposing your will, I think you got to take the breath out of another opponent,” Taaffe told him. “You have to impose your will on a team to where they don’t think they have life anymore.”
Taaffe, in his fourth year with the program, is all too familiar with the sensation of a solid first half being overshadowed by a second-half, even fourth-quarter, comeback. Last season, Texas finished three games with one score between a defeat and a win.
This year, Taaffe intends to establish leadership and confidence in the Texas secondary, allowing it to channel and retain its competitive instincts throughout all four quarters against any opponent.
“Too many times in the past four years that I’ve been here, we have let teams crawl back in the second half,” Taaffe told the crowd. “But it’s only a matter of pride in yourself that makes you want to take their soul. You want them to understand that when they go to bed, they think about the Texas Longhorn defense.”
According to junior quarterback Quinn Ewers, the team’s success against Colorado State and Michigan so far may be attributed to strenuous practices since they began training in the offseason.
“The way we practice allows us to bring out that physicality,” Ewers explained during the media availability. “And, usually, the most physical team in the game wins.”
Texas now hopes to bring the best version of themselves back to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium to face UTSA this weekend.
