Texas’ defense is staring at a major test Saturday, and it comes straight at the point of attack.
No. 7 Texas heads to Faurot Field with Missouri running back Jamal Roberts sitting atop the SEC rushing leaderboard. Roberts has piled up 1,005 yards on 190 carries and scored nine total touchdowns, making him the centerpiece of a Missouri offense that has leaned on him heavily with Ahmad Hardy sidelined for part of the season.
Roberts showed that again in Missouri’s win over Arkansas, when he ran for 138 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian made it clear Thursday that Roberts changes the way Missouri can operate.
“He is where their offense starts,” Sarkisian said. “A lot of the stuff they do, to your point, in the passing game comes off of it.”
That said, Sarkisian also warned that selling out against the run can open the door for Missouri’s passing game.
“If you overcommit to the run, they’re going to find easy completions,” Sarkisian said. “And they, they hunt easy completions.
They’re looking for quick outs. They’re looking for hitches.
They’re looking for glance RPO throws things of that nature.”
Texas will have to manage that challenge while dealing with some injury questions on defense. Edge rusher Colin Simmons and defensive backs Graceson Littleton and Kade Phillips are all listed as questionable on the Longhorns’ latest injury report.
Even with those concerns, Texas has already proven it can slow down productive backs. In Week 4, the Longhorns held Tennessee’s DeSaun Bishop to 34 yards on 11 carries. A few weeks later, they limited Florida’s Jadan Baugh to 91 yards on 25 carries.
Sarkisian said the formula for stopping the run starts with fundamentals.
“I think any time you want to stop the run, A is you got to be disciplined in your gap integrity,” Sarkisian said. “… And then, you got to tackle really well, and it’s not always about the one person tackling. I think it’s multiple white hats to the ball to get runners on the ground.”
Texas is allowing 104.2 rushing yards per game, while Missouri is averaging 167.5 yards on the ground per contest. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. Saturday.
In Other News...
Texas Fans Have Two Fresh Reasons To Be Furious Vs Missouri
The first half in Columbia gave Texas fans two separate reasons to stew, and both came in the kind of moments that can swing a tight SEC game. Early on, officials let a clear forced fumble by Texas safety Jelani McDonald stand as Missouri ball after ruling the play dead too quickly, even with video showing the ball was out before the whistle. The Longhorns thought they had a takeaway, but the review did not change the call.
Steve Sarkisian then added to the frustration late in the half by letting the clock keep moving without using a timeout to set up a field goal try. In a game where every possession mattered, the sequence left Texas without the turnover it wanted and without a chance to put more points on the board before halftime. [Read more 🡒]
USC Just Got Pulled Into A Fascinating Arch Manning Debate
Jayden Maiavas decision to stay at USC and bypass the 2026 NFL Draft gives Lincoln Riley another season to build around a quarterback who already knows the system, and it also keeps the Trojans in the middle of the broader national quarterback conversation. With USCs offensive talent and Rileys reputation for developing passers, the program is once again being viewed as a destination that can appeal to elite talent if the opportunity ever opens up.
That is why NFL Network draft scout Daniel Jeremiahs recent suggestion about Arch Manning caught attention around college football, even if it was framed as speculation rather than anything concrete. If Manning were to enter the transfer portal, USC would make sense on paper, but for now it remains exactly that: a hypothetical rooted in fit, not a move that has been made or even confirmed. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Suddenly Has A Defensive Front Problem Fans Feared
Late in the third quarter against Missouri, Texas had to navigate a familiar kind of stress on its defensive front when Hero Kanu went down with an injury. He eventually returned in the fourth quarter, but even a brief absence from one of the Longhorns most important interior defenders was enough to underline how thin the margin can be up front when the game gets physical and the rotation gets tested.
Alex January, Josiah Sharma and Zion Williams are the next men up if Texas needs help inside, and that is where the concern lingers for a defense already dealing with enough disruption. Kanus role has mattered all season, and any setback for him forces the Longhorns to lean harder on depth that has not had nearly the same runway, which is exactly the kind of front-line issue teams hope to avoid this late in the year. [Read more 🡒]