This key issue may be the difference in winning and losing for Texas HC Steve Sarkisian

Turn on any college football game on any random Saturday, and you’ll see players doing things that are questionable. These things don’t necessarily show up in the box score, but they definitely lead to losses.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is looking hard for prime examples to show the second-ranked Longhorns (2-0). Football IQ will play a critical role in Texas’ success this season as much as X’s and O’s.

“I think it’s huge. It’s a great point that you make. That’s what I show on Friday mornings. I show those blunders that go on around the country, that this isn't what we do,” Sarkisian said Monday, pounding the table for emphasis. “This is not Longhorn football.

“But you need to see what else is going on around the country and take pride in the way we go about our business.”

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Start with last Saturday’s Houston-Oklahoma game. Late in the fourth, a Houston punt returner let a punt bounce inside his own 15-yard line and roll all the way to 5. Hidden yardage is critical. On the next play, the Sooners crashed through and tackled the Cougars’ ballcarrier for a safety.

What about on the next drive as OU wanted to kneel and run out the clock. An OU lineman was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for taking off his helmet. It led to a fourth-and-23, OU had to punt and Houston got one more shot on offense in a four-point game.

“We deserved to lose,” OU coach Brent Venables said twice during his post-game TV interview.

Texas has played mostly clean football in its first two games. The Horns have been flagged for 10 penalties — four of those belong to offensive tackle Cam Williams. One of Williams’ holding calls took a touchdown off the board at Michigan.

To Williams’ credit, he regrouped after the opening drive Saturday and played a solid football game. The rest of Texas’ offensive line did, too. Center Jake Majors was named the SEC’s co-offensive lineman of the country. It’s the second week in a row a Longhorn has won that award.

“And I'm not saying we're perfect,” Sarkisian said. “I'm sure we'll make some mistakes along the way, but if I can keep showing living examples of those things. I do think it's helpful for our guys to say what's acceptable and what's not in our program, and so we do take a lot of pride in that.”

It takes all 11 players on the field doing what they should be doing every week — and knowing what not to do.