AUSTIN, Texas — Perhaps it was fitting that the 2023 season ended for the Texas Longhorns against the Washington Huskies with an inability to score a touchdown in the red zone.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian’s offense struggled all season to score touchdowns in the red area, finishing 120th nationally in red-zone touchdown rate at 50.8 percent, finding the end zone on just 31 of 61 attempts while settling for 18 field goals. Eight of those touchdowns were scored by wide receiver AD Mitchell, now with the Indianapolis Colts.
It wasn’t just the final possession of the Sugar Bowl that stands out as a defining moment for Texas in the red zone, either, after the Longhorns ran four plays and failed to score from the Sooners’ one-yard line early in the fourth quarter of that 34-30 loss in the Cotton Bowl.