​Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian watches his team against Ohio State Buckeyes in the first quarter of their game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on Aug 30, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co A year after finishing 134th in the country in total penalties with an average of 8.3 per game for 69.7 yards, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian spent the offseason prioritizing a clean up in that department.The ship appeared to be headed in the right direction in the season opener against Texas State as Texas was flagged just four times for 35 yards. For reference, being called for four penalties was the season low last year, while 35 yards would slot in as the second fewest number of penalty yards.The offense was flagged for three of the four penalties for a total of 21 yards — a spot foul holding on wide receiver Emmett Mosley, encroachment on tight end Nick Townsend, and a false start by linemen Jaydon Chatman.The defense was flagged just one time, a questionable pass interference call on defensive back Kade Phillips.“I really thought he was in pretty good position. It’d be worth taking a look at the film,” Sarkisian said after the game.Not too shabby of a start.But, numbers often don’t tell the full story with penalties. Context such as type of penalty, down and distance, and time of game, for example, often determine the impact as much as frequency. Whether reoccurring and how preventable also factor into how egregious a penalty is.The holding penalty on Mosley and false start by Chatman proved to have little impact. Though both set the offense back, they did not derail the drive — quarterback Arch Manning went on to throw a red-zone interception 50 yards from the holding call on one drive while the other resulted in a Longhorn touchdown.The other two penalties had more of an impact, though they mattered minimally in determining the final score. Facing 3rd and 10 on their second offensive drive of the game, the Texas State needed a first down to settle in. Seeing man coverage across the board with both safeties dropping back, Bobcat quarterback Brad Jackson opted for a go route on the outside part of the field.Kade Phillips was called for PI on this third and long, a call the announcer immediately disagreed with pic.twitter.com/wwh7RP0vBA— Jacob Neidig (@jneidig_2) September 8, 2026Phillips was on an island and was beaten by a step, against a slightly under thrown ball. This exact scenario puts a defensive back into an almost guaranteed position to commit pass interference or give up a big play. It’s hard to turn your head and make a play on the ball without any contact when trying to catch up to a wideout and the ball is under thrown. Sure enough, Phillips made slight contact with the wide receiver as he slowed down to catch the pass and was flagged.Phillips made a relatively strong play on the slightly under thrown ball. His timing wasn’t perfect, but he got his head turned around and made a play on the ba