Steve Sarkisian Thinks Texas Longhorns Need To Improve 'Mental Intensity' To Close Games

The Texas Longhorns advanced to 9-1 this past Saturday, but they didn't make it look easy by any means.

On the bright side for the No. 7 Texas Longhorns, they survived and advanced again this past weekend.

That is the name of the game in college football for those teams hoping to make it to the College Football Playoff. While the Longhorns currently aren't in the top-4 and likely won't be until the final rankings roll around if it does happen, they simply just need to win out and chances are, they will get the nod to make their College Football Playoff debut. However, winning out is a lot easier said than done.

For starters, no team in the country is just going to roll over because you want to make the playoff, that remains especially true if you're Texas. In fact, regardless of how good a team is, everyone gets up even more when they take on Texas. 

However, the Longhorns have consistently shown a tendency to not be able to match each opponent's intensity, especially when they build a lead. In three out of their last four games, Texas has built a 20-point lead in the first half but only ended up winning by seven or fewer points. 

Head coach Steve Sarkisian addressed the matter again on Monday when speaking to the media, citing the lack of mental intensity from the players and motivation by the staff. 

“The fourth quarter, we didn’t play very good football, and that starts with our ability to continue to motivate the players to have the right mental intensity," said Sarkisian.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian  / © Ricardo B. Brazziell, Austin American-Statesman

Sarkisian also addressed the players maintaining their mental edge throughout the game to ensure more collapses don't happen.

'We did things out of character, said Sarkisian. "We have to do a better job of keeping our mental intensity, our focus, and continuing to play the brand and style of football that got us that lead. For a team that has been so good in the fourth quarter all year, for us to get outscored 20-3 in the fourth quarter I would say is out of character and I would say is unacceptable.”

Texas' final two games of the regular season are against Iowa State and in-state foe Texas Tech, both of whom always give the Longhorns a run for their money. Especially the Cyclons, whose defense Sarkisian raved about, crediting them as being innovators.

“Naturally, teams in the Big 12 gravitated toward that style of defense," said Sarkisian. Now in our conference, this is going to be our third straight week of facing that same structure of defense.” — “What Iowa State does is they play it at its most purest form. They really stick to it. They believe in it.”

If Texas slips up again, they will make the decision easy for the playoff committee but if they are able to play a complete game, there are only a handful of teams in the country that can compete with them.