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AUSTIN, Texas — Steve Sarkisian knows the Texas offense must create more explosive plays than it did in the non-conference portion of the 2026 schedule. The No. 1-ranked Longhorns enter their SEC opener against No. 14 Tennessee on Saturday (11 a.m., ABC) with nine 20-plus-yard plays from scrimmage. Texas A&M has generated only seven 20-plus-yard plays from scrimmage, the only SEC offense that’s been less explosive than Texas (3-0). The issues have been most noticeable when going to the air. Things just haven’t clicked when Arch Manning has pushed the ball down the field. The Longhorns have completed six passes of 20 or more yards this season, which also ranks 15th in the conference. According to Pro Football Focus, Manning is 3-for-11 on pass attempts of 20 yards or more beyond the line of scrimmage through three games. Sarkisian likes that his squad has shown signs of playing more efficient situational football than it did last season. The Longhorns are second in the SEC with a 56.3-percent conversion rate on third down and were 10-for-11 in the red zone with nine touchdowns and 4-for-5 on fourth down before last Saturday’s 30-6 win over UTSA (4-for-5 in the red zone with two touchdowns and 0-for-2 on fourth down). Still, Sarkisian knows he and the Texas staff can’t throw in the towel on trying to hit big plays down the field. “If we're not going to get the explosives because people are deploying people in a way to try to minimize those, you have to be efficient on third down and in the red area to maximize those opportunities,” Sarkisian said during his weekly news conference on Monday. “On the flip side of that, we have got to continue to exhaust ourselves as a staff to find those explosives, to create opportunities for explosives and then, hopefully, the players — put them in position to trust why and when we're calling those explosive-type plays to take advantage of them.” Thankfully, while big plays have been hard to come by on offense, Will Muschamp’s defense has helped the Longhorns win the explosive-play margin in each of the team’s first three games. Texas’ official in-game statistics feed tracks big plays, which are running plays from scrimmage that gain at least 10 yards and pass completions of 15 yards or more. The Longhorns were plus-7 against Texas State, plus-2 against Ohio State and plus-9 against UTSA. Muschamp’s defense is tied for 38th in FBS in 10-plus-yard plays (29) and 20-plus-yard plays allowed (nine) from scrimmage and is coming off a performance in which none of the Roadrunners’ 14 pass completions went for more than eight yards. After surrendering two 12-yard runs on UTSA’s second possession (a 13-play, 59-yard drive that ended with a field goal), the Longhorns didn’t allow another 10-plus-yard gain on the ground for the rest of the game. The irresistible force meets the immovable object in Knoxville on Saturday, with Muschamp’s defense trying to stymie the Volunteers’ rushing attack, which is currently the best in the SEC (298.7 yards per game). Tennessee (3-0) leads FBS with 29 10-plus-yard runs from scrimmage, while the Vols’ nine 20-plus-yard runs are tied for ninth-most in the country. A quarterback who ran Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense at Oklahoma in 1999, Josh Heupel’s veer-and-shoot offense has the trademarks of the system Art Briles made famous (Kendal Briles and Jeff Lebby run their versions of the veer-and-shoot at South Carolina and Mississippi State, respectively). Heupel, who coached alongside Kevin Wilson with the Sooners for five seasons (2006-10), has developed one of the top rushing offenses in the SEC in Knoxville; the Vols led the league in rushing offense in 2023 and 2024, finishing no worse than eighth in the conference since Heupel took over the program after the 2021 season. The struggles Texas has had trying to hit big plays through the air might continue on Saturday against Jim Knowles’ three-safety defense, which is designed to take away the deep ball. Tennessee is tied for 29th in FBS in 10-plus-yard pass completions allowed (18); only Penn State has allowed fewer 20-plus-yard completions than the Vols (two). On the flip side, there isn’t enough evidence to show Tennessee can lean on freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon’s ability to connect on deep balls. The Vols have 18 pass completions of 10-plus yards this season, the fewest in the SEC; only Texas and Texas A&M have fewer 20-plus-yard completions than Tennessee’s eight. Ultimately, Sarkisian’s commitment to running the football and the Longhorn offensive line winning at the point of attack could determine which side wins the explosive-play battle. Although Texas is in the middle of the pack of SEC offenses in rushing attempts that have gained at least 10 (17) and 20 (three) yards, the Volunteers have allowed the most 10-plus-yard (17) and 20-plus-yard (six) runs in the SEC (tied for 116th and 121st in FBS, respectively). The Longhorns’ willingness and ability to sustain a ground attack could come down to the health of key cogs who appeared on Wednesday’s SEC availability report. Jordan Coleman's absence means Sarkisian and Kyle Flood must find someone else for the six-offensive lineman package Texas rolled out for the Ohio State game. If Nick Townsend misses his second game in a row, the Longhorns will be without their top lead blocker and tone setter when they want to pound the rock. According to PFF, only six SEC players have forced more missed tackles than Hollywood Smothers (11), whose 140 rushing yards after contact rank 11th in the conference. If Smothers can’t go or is limited, Sarkisian will look to Raleek Brown and Derrek Cooper to carry the load. Even if Smothers is cleared for Saturday’s game, Sarkisian could turn to Manning as a threat on designed quarterback runs. Sarkisian wants Manning to be smart when he’s on the move. He's also “fearful of making a living going down that road." Nevertheless, Manning’s running ability can benefit the quarterback and the offense as a whole if he's unleashed. “There will be designed runs and we've had designed runs in previous weeks; we just haven't called them,” Sarkisian said. “You use them when you think you need them most.” View full news story

Intel or not, opposing coaches aren't stupid enough to believe Lane's lies. He does it for attention. Media loves Kiffin for it, but he's a big game loser. Golding has something like four times the number of top ten wins in six games, and Kiffin has been a head coach for over ten years.

I could be wrong, but I like to think that opposing coaches have the intel/sources to know if someone is faking an injury despite what the reports to the public say.

Looks like the first time Kiffin didn't put stupid stuff on his report. He always scammed the report while at Ole Miss. He did it last week. Maybe the SEC told him fines were coming, or maybe he was fined for last week.

Teams still have 8-9 sec games left……

My goodness , carnage league wide

Florida most healthy team in SEC thus far

I’m a season ticket holder looking for 2 tickets for the Tennessee game this weekend. Any leads are much appreciated!

Is the number match?

I would. Then go join the spurs as a late first or second rounder and replace Luke Kornet as Wembys backup in a great spot. He is a better version of former Boston College big Quinten Post who has carved out a nice career thus far in the NBA.

Finally got it.

Spurrier was the ultimate gimmick coach. I remember the story when he went to the Redskins and didn't know that offense and defense had to practice together because they didn't have enough players to practice separately. Given that he played in the NFL, that seems far fetched, but when you're fixated on gimmicks, you get squirrelly.

Or 🖕🏼😂

Prayers to you and your family.

I'd be surprised if Matas plays in the NBA for more than a few years. NBA goobers just don't like offensive post play any more. Things will change, but probably not soon enough for Matas. If Matas can learn to move his feet defensively and defend the rim from decently, he'll have a chance.

You’re back!

Two years!

Prayers man!! Had a similar situation not too long ago with my Father-in-law. This groups prayers were certainly needed and very helpful. She’ll be in my prayers tonight!!