Texas football heads into its last stretch of the Southeastern Conference starting with Missouri this Saturday.
Panic about the Longhorns has subsided after they got on their first win streak since September, and the passing game has looked much better. The run game still has much to be desired, though.
While the run game has shown flashes of what it can be, it hasn’t been consistently explosive out of the running back room yet. Through eight games, Texas is averaging 134.6 rushing yards per game and just 3.6 yards per carry, which puts the program in the bottom half of the country in rushing offense.
Against Ole Miss, it seemed like the rushing game finally woke up, as the Longhorns rushed for a season-high 207 yards. Fifth-year Raleek Brown had a standout performance, recording 157 yards on 23 carries. He also recorded Texas’ longest individual rush this season after breaking off a 47-yard run in the fourth quarter to help the Longhorns secure the win.
It was the kind of performance Texas wanted, helping the Longhorns play complementary football.
That momentum failed to last, however. Against Mississippi State, a mere seven days later, the run game was virtually nonexistent. Texas recorded just 60 yards on 32 attempts, averaging a measly 1.9 yards per carry. The offensive line struggled with inconsistency and couldn’t create running lanes.
The lack of a reliable, consistent run game put an unnecessary offensive burden on senior quarterback Arch Manning, as opposing defenses will know to devote more attention to the pass rush. It also makes the short-yardage situations significantly harder.
To get those 20-plus explosive runs, head coach Steve Sarkisian believes his offense must establish the short-yardage run game first.
“I think (what’s important is) being consistent, executing, having a good plan and then ultimately playing with a real sense of physicality,” Sarkisian said. “There’s going to be some tough yards in there, and we have to go get the tough yards and not worry so much about the home-run runs.”
With senior Hollywood Smothers now ruled out for the season after suffering an MCL tear, Brown will be the definite starter for the Longhorns. The Longhorns will reach into their depth, utilizing freshmen Derrek Cooper and Michael Terry III, who have flashed immense potential.
Texas has depth in the room and guys that can make plays, but the question is whether the coaches and offensive line can put them in positions to succeed. Sarkisian knows there is room for improvement and noted the importance of leaning into the team’s physicality.
“We’ve got to commit to who we are, we’ve got to do better at who we are, and we have to do it more consistently with the right amount of physicality,” Sarkisian said. “It’s a line of scrimmage league. It’s big boy football, and forget what emblems are on anybody’s helmet. … Everybody plays a physical brand of football, and so we have got to attack our run game. It’s got to come with us this week when we go on the road.”
Establishing a consistent run game on the road in a hostile road environment against Missouri is the perfect opportunity for Texas to prove that it isn’t a one-dimensional offense.
Texas takes on the Missouri Tigers Saturday at 11 a.m. in Columbia, Mo.
