Texas has reached the bye week with an unbeaten record and the No. 1 ranking in the country, but the most important question hanging over the Longhorns is hard to miss: where are the explosive plays?
Steve Sarkisian’s team has already stacked up an impressive early resume, with wins over two ranked opponents, including Ohio State, and a 20-17 road victory over Tennessee to open SEC play in one of college football’s toughest settings. That all matters. So does the fact that four games are enough to show Texas has a problem that needs attention before the Red River Rivalry.
The Longhorns have not consistently generated chunk gains on offense, and that has kept the unit from building rhythm. According to SEC StatCast, Texas has an explosive-play rate of just 11%, which ranks 111th nationally. Through four games, the Longhorns have only five completions of at least 25 yards and just three rushing plays of at least 20 yards.
That number is especially striking given the talent Sarkisian has to work with. Arch Manning has Ryan Wingo, Cam Coleman and Emmett Mosley V at receiver, and Texas also has multiple dangerous options in the backfield. Even so, those pieces have not been turned into the kind of big plays that can flip a game in a hurry.
The Tennessee game put the issue on full display. Texas finished with 262 total yards, only 61 rushing yards and 20 points. The defense gave the Longhorns enough support to get out of Knoxville with the win, but the offense spent long stretches stuck in place.
Sarkisian has made it clear he does not plan to scale things back. His belief is that Texas needs to run the offense it already has with more consistency.
That means cleaner protection, faster decisions from Manning, better ways to get the ball to the team’s most explosive players and a running game that starts to move. Texas does not need to turn into a 50-point machine overnight, especially with a defense capable of carrying plenty of the load.
Still, that formula gets riskier as the schedule stiffens. Oklahoma is next on Oct. 10, then come Florida and Ole Miss. The margin for error is only going to get tighter, and Texas cannot count on the defense to cover every offensive slip.
The first month has already given Texas plenty to feel good about. The bye week is about making sure the offense catches up. If the Longhorns can start turning more of those chances into explosive gains, they’ll head into the second half of the season looking a lot more complete.
In Other News...
Hero Kanu Sends Clear Message On Colin Simmons Controversy
The postgame conversation around Colin Simmons did not linger long inside the Texas locker room, at least not if Hero Kanu had anything to say about it. The Longhorns defensive lineman stepped up to defend his teammate after a controversial celebration against Tennessee, framing it as a split-second mistake in the heat of competition rather than anything deeper about who Simmons is away from the field.
Kanus response fit with the broader tone from the program, where Steve Sarkisian has made it clear he would rather see celebrations shared by the whole team than spotlighting one player. For Texas, it is a small but telling reminder of how quickly a moment can become a talking point, and how important it is for teammates to close ranks when the noise starts building around one of their own. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Defense Could Expose Oklahoma Where It Hurts Most
Texas heads into the rivalry game with a defense that has earned the right to believe it can make life difficult for Oklahoma in several places at once. The Sooners have had trouble generating steady pressure on the quarterback, their run defense has been uneven, and their offense has not found much rhythm on the ground, which gives the Longhorns a chance to dictate the game with toughness and field position.
The bigger concern for Oklahoma is how often its offense has put itself in precarious spots, especially with John Mateer at the controls. Turnovers have been a recurring issue, and if Texas can keep forcing hurried decisions while also taking away the Sooners already limited rushing answers, the game could tilt quickly toward the Longhorns in a matchup where hidden mistakes tend to matter just as much as headline plays. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Must Solve A New Backcourt Problem As Camp Opens
Texas opened camp with an immediate hit to its backcourt depth after guard Mikey Lewis went down in practice and the Longhorns had to start adjusting on the fly. Lewis had already undergone surgery, and while the staff still has time to sort out roles before the season settles in, his absence changes the early rhythm for a team trying to establish itself in the guard rotation.
The good news for Texas is that teammates Joe Sterling and Bo Ogden are stepping forward with the right kind of response, offering support while also signaling they are ready to absorb the minutes Lewis leaves behind. For a team that needs its perimeter pieces to settle quickly, the next few practices will matter a lot as Texas figures out how to keep the backcourt organized without one of its key options. [Read more 🡒]