Steve Sarkisian has pushed Texas’ run game forward, but the Longhorns are still nowhere close to where they need to be.
That was the mission last year: make the ground attack functional enough to round out the offense and lighten the load on quarterback Arch Manning. Sarkisian attacked the issue by bringing in help on the offensive line and adding firepower in the backfield.
The portal additions of Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers were supposed to change the shape of the offense, and they have helped. Freshman Derrek Cooper Jr. has also chipped in. Texas is getting more production out of the running backs than it did before.
Still, the numbers say the Longhorns remain stuck well short of the standard expected from a team trying to compete at the highest level. Excluding sacks on Manning, Texas is averaging just 4.30 yards per carry this season. That works out to a first down about every three plays, but it also ranks 122nd among FBS teams.
That placement is hard to ignore when there are only 138 FBS teams in the country. Texas sits 16th from the bottom in rushing efficiency, which is not remotely close to where a program with these ambitions wants to live.
The gap becomes even clearer when compared with the teams setting the pace nationally. Louisville leads the country at 7.02 yards per carry, with Georgia at 6.64 and Indiana at 6.60.
The problem does not stop there. Manning is taking too many hits, and the offense has not done enough to protect him.
This season, Manning has been sacked 2.40 times per game, 12 times total. That ranks 107th in the FBS and leaves Texas buried in the lower half of the national numbers.
Some of that falls on Manning himself, whether it is missing pressure or holding the ball too long. But the responsibility does not sit with him alone. The offensive line, tight ends and running backs all have to do a better job of keeping him upright.
The elite teams are showing what that kind of protection looks like. Notre Dame, ranked No. 2, is giving up just 0.33 sacks per game.
Georgia, Miami and Ole Miss are all allowing only one sack per game. Even Oklahoma, widely seen as one of the more sack-prone teams in the country, is giving up 2.20 sacks per game.
In Other News...
Florida Just Got A Needed Recruiting Boost After That Ugly Loss
Floridas Week 6 loss to South Carolina stung on the field, but the Gators needed something positive quickly and got it on the recruiting trail. Five-star wide receiver Easton Royal, the No. 1 receiver in the 2027 class, flipped his commitment from Texas to Florida shortly after the defeat, giving the program a jolt at a time when the margin for good news felt pretty thin.
Royals decision matters beyond the headline because he is one of the most coveted prospects in the country and is expected to wrap up his recruitment soon. For Texas, it is a notable miss in a class that had been building momentum, while Florida gets a major boost as it tries to steady itself after slipping to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the SEC. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Has A Discipline Problem Sarkisian Can't Ignore
The loss to Oklahoma brought Texas back to a familiar and frustrating theme: the Longhorns again hurt themselves with flags at the worst possible moments. They were penalized eight times for 61 yards, and the numbers fit the broader concern Steve Sarkisian has been trying to push to the front of the conversation. Even with a modest dip in penalties per game from last season, the Longhorns have not shaken the kind of mistakes that can swing a tight rivalry game.
Sarkisian has already pointed to penalties as the biggest issue the staff has to clean up, and he described the problem as a mix of effort-based plays and mental miscues. That makes the fix harder than simply preaching discipline in practice, because the issue is not coming from one place or one player group. Texas can outplay an opponent in stretches and still leave the door open if it keeps layering avoidable mistakes on top of itself. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Must Fix One Frustrating Problem After Red River Loss
The Red River loss left Texas with more than a blemish in the rivalry column. It also put a spotlight on the kind of offensive inconsistency that has followed the Longhorns at times this season, even with plenty of individual talent on the roster. Senior offensive lineman Trevor Goosby and coach Steve Sarkisian both pointed to the same basic task afterward: put the disappointment behind them and get the unit executing better.
Sarkisian also owned the responsibility for the offenses struggles, a notable admission from a coach who knows the standard in Austin does not leave much room for uneven Saturdays. The Longhorns have shown enough ability to suggest the ceiling is still there, but the next stretch will be about turning that talent into steadier production. For Texas, the frustration is not just the loss itself, but the feeling that the offense still has to prove it can hold up when the stage gets biggest. [Read more 🡒]