A tough offensive day for Steve Sarkisian, Arch Manning and the top-ranked Texas Longhorns only got tougher after one particular sequence in the third quarter of its season-opening game against the defending-champion Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday.

After being held in check for much of the first half, Manning and the Longhorns finally began to move the ball against the Buckeyes defense, putting together a nice drive down to set up a 1st-and-goal from the Buckeyes' 9-yard line with 13:34 remaining in the third quarter.

But once the Longhorns were in scoring range, Sarkisian became oddly conservative, dialing up four straight run plays, including a tush push on fourth down, against a Buckeyes defensive line that had proven to be largely formidable all game long.

Manning was stood up on the play, and the Buckeyes took over possession.

College football fans let Sarkisian hear it after the Longhorns were stuffed. One Twitter user even referenced Texas's College Football Playoff loss to the Buckeyes in January, in which the Longhorns faced a 1st-and-goal from the Buckeyes 1-yard line but couldn't tie the game.

Things went from bad to worse when Manning was picked off on the next Texas drive, leading to an Ohio State touchdown just a few plays later. Should the Longhorns be unable to mount a comeback, Sarkisian will almost certainly be asked about the goal-line sequence from the third quarter.


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Steve Sarkisian Ripped by Fans for Play-Calling on Goal Line vs. Ohio State .