After now-No. 5 Texas fell to the now-No. 2 Georgia in a 30-15 stomping on Saturday, the Longhorns will have to snap back and readjust from their errors to take on No. 25 Vanderbilt.
This is the first time Vanderbilt has been ranked in the AP Poll since 2013 and the first time in the regular season since 2008. The Commodores have held an impressive season in a conference where they are usually overshadowed, going 5–2 and beating Kentucky, who nearly beat the same Georgia powerhouse in its second conference game, and a victory against the at-the-time No. 1 Alabama squad.
“We got to get up off the mat,” said head coach Steve Sarkisian. “We got to get back to work the way we know how to do it, which we will do. We’ll fight like crazy, and we’ll make this a 12-round fight for this season. (We’re) looking forward to the opportunity to go do that, to prove what we’re capable of. As far as this week’s game, it’s a very good Vanderbilt team.”
Saturday’s loss stemmed from the lack of offensive success and inconsistency in the offensive line, which gave up seven sacks. In Monday’s press conference, Sarkisian said the team needs to become a “cohesive unit” and that the team is ready to grow rather than sulk over the loss.
“I was proud of our guys today, they were all coachable,” Sarkisian said. “A lot of the time after a tough loss, pride can get in the way from getting coached, and I didn’t feel that today. I felt a lot of guys wanting to get better.”
Texas players believe that their mistakes weigh heavier with the loss and acknowledged that they must hold themselves and their teammates accountable to succeed this week.
“Well, first thing, I got to look in the mirror first and realize what I did wrong,” junior defensive back Michael Taaffe said. “‘Okay, why did I do this? Why’d I go inside this block? Why did I miss this tackle? Why did I give this coverage? What did I do wrong?’ Now I get that out of the way. Now I can just start encouraging my guys.”
Last season, Texas went 12–1 in the regular season, with its only loss coming from Oklahoma in October. However, the disappointing rivalry matchup was followed by a dominant winning streak that took the Longhorns all the way to a Big 12 Championship and to a College Football Playoff appearance.
Fifth-year center Jake Majors and other veterans on the team know that they can either try to recreate this winning run by moving on from the loss or reminisce on last week’s mistakes, which according to Majors, can lead to more losses.
“We’ve learned from mistakes like that in the past, and this week is a good testament to our leadership, to see how we treat this week,” Majors said. “Are we going to dwell on what happened or are we going to get back to work to beat Vandy?”
