OTF Premium Burning Question Revisited: Did Texas start to form an identity on offense against Tennessee?

[Jeff Howe]

It’s time to revisit On Texas Football's “One Burning Question,” where we ask a question about the Texas Longhorns heading into a game.

Entering Saturday’s 20-17 win over No. 14 Tennessee, the burning question was:

Will the Longhorns start to form an identity on offense against the Vols?

In short, no.

Texas lacked the consistency needed to string together successful possessions and didn’t capitalize on opportunities to put Tennessee on the ropes. The Longhorns were out-gained by the Vols on the ground (70-61), lost the turnover battle (2-1), went 3-for-12 on third down and had more three-and-outs (six) than scoring drives (four).

Yet amid the trash heap of forgettable moments, Texas did some things well. Well enough that if they build on them during the bye week, the Longhorns could come out of the Red River Shootout against Oklahoma on Oct. 10 (2:30 p.m., ABC) with a clearer sense of who they are and what kind of team they can be offensively.

It’s unrealistic to think every call Steve Sarkisian makes will work. Still, one of the most frustrating things about the offense’s performance in the SEC opener is that when the Longhorns weren’t beating themselves and trusting proven concepts, Jim Knowles and the Vols couldn’t handle Sarkisian’s attack.

For starters, Sarkisian’s opening script was executed to perfection, with Raleek Brown's 9-yard touchdown run punctuating a 7-play, 75-yard drive on the offense’s first possession.

After Arch Manning connected with Ryan Wingo on an 8-yard, high-percentage pass on the first play from scrimmage, two tough, between-the-tackles runs (one by Brown and another by Derrek Cooper) set up Manning’s 43-yard play-action bomb to Emmett Mosley V. Two plays later, Brown reached the end zone with help from Connor Robertson and Brandon Baker, who walled off their defenders to create an alley, and Ryan Wingo, who’s second-level insert block (lined up stacked behind Melvin Siani at the snap) got Brown loose.

“To get the ball in that environment and to go seven plays, 75 yards, to take the lead 7-0 on the road, I thought, was really big for us about owning the environment, owning the arena,” Sarkisian said Monday. “I've never been to a game where the opposing fans were all in their seats by the time we took pregame warmups. That was a different environment.

“That was a really cool way to start,” he added. “From that point forward, until about the second-to-last offensive drive, we did not play very good offensive football. I'd love to say it was this or that. It literally was us taking turns not doing the things that we had practiced to do.”

Texas mounted four scoring drives against Tennessee: the game-opening touchdown drive; a 10-play, 62-yard drive in the second quarter for a field goal (a 22-yarder by Gianni Spetic); a 6-play, 48-yard drive in the third quarter for another field goal (a 44-yarder by Spetic) and an 8-play, 60-yard drive in the fourth quarter for a touchdown (Brown’s 4-yard rushing touchdown with 5:41 left in the game).

Even though a clunky goal-to-go sequence and a delay-of-game penalty on third-and-2 forced the Longhorns to settle for field goals on two of those possessions, the offense was humming on those four drives:

— Total Plays: 26

— Total Offense: 230 yards

— Yards Per Play: 8.8

— Arch Manning: 11-for-13, 184 yards

— Rushing Offense: 15 carries, 46 yards (3.1 yards per attempt) and two touchdowns

— Sack-Adjusted Rushing: 13 carries, 56 yards (4.3 yards per carry) and two touchdowns

— First Downs: 12

— Third Down: 2-for-4

— 10-Plus-Yard Plays: 7

— 20-Plus-Yard Plays: 3

What worked for Texas on those possessions:

— Sarkisian leaned mostly on duo and insert as the primary running game concepts, ditching long-developing plays and running the ball without pulling linemen.

Baker and Siani caved in the front side of the line on Brown’s 4-yard touchdown run, clearing a path for Emaree Winston to lead Brown into the end zone. The only negative play on 13 non-sack rushing attempts was a 3-yard loss when the Vols’ penetration swallowed up Cooper for a 3-yard-loss on a zone run behind the right side of the line.

— Most of Manning’s completions on those four drives came on hard play-action passes set up by positive rushing plays, quick throws to stationary targets or screens and other quick throws to the perimeter.

The football moved through the air when Sarkisian stuck with those calls and Manning pulled the trigger at the right time. The Longhorns found themselves behind the chains in a world of trouble when some combination of long-developing pass plays, poor pass protection and communication breakdowns didn’t give Manning enough time to find an open man before Knowles’ pressure got home.

— Texas either avoided stubbing its toe and made plays to recover from its mistakes on the four scoring drives.

The most pivotal moment came on the fourth-quarter touchdown drive, with the Tennessee defense sacking Manning for an 8-yard loss on the first play. But Winston and Trevor Goosby opened a lane over the left side of the line on the next snap, springing Brown loose for a 10-yard gain. From there, with the offense recovering from second-and-18 to face third-and-8, Manning hit Wingo down the seam for 18 yards and a first down, one of four first downs the Longhorns picked up on the drive.

No college football offense is perfect. Still, what Texas must avoid, by building on the things the offense does well, are possessions that destroy the fabric of complementary football.

There were three drives in the Tennessee game when the Longhorns could’ve mashed the gas and cruised to a win:

— A second-quarter drive from their own 43-yard line after Faizon Brandon left the game with an apparent shoulder injury. Texas led, 10-3, with 12:38 remaining in the half.

— Another possession in the second quarter, this time with 10:17 on the clock and the ball at its own 38-yard line.

— With 4:50 remaining in the game, the Longhorns had the ball at the Vols’ 41-yard line after Alex January sacked Brandon, forcing a Tennessee turnover on downs.

What happened on those three drives?

— A two-play drive that ended when Kayin Lee intercepted Manning’s attempt to hit Cam Coleman on a post route at the 4-yard line.

— A three-and-out that started with a 12-yard loss when Manning couldn’t handle a high snap from Robertson.

— A three-and-out that ended on third-and-8 from the Tennessee 40-yard line, with Arion Carter and Tyree Weathersby converging on Manning for the Vols’ sixth sack of the game.

With three chances to pull away, the Texas offense gained 16 yards on eight plays, didn't record a first down, punted twice and lost their fifth turnover of the season. When the Longhorns needed to execute, they couldn’t protect the quarterback and failed to run and protect the football.

After 60 minutes, Texas had enough on its four scoring drives to overcome a litany of self-inflicted wounds and failed attempts to execute. The Longhorns must eliminate the extended lulls that have plagued the offense through four games before a stretch of eight consecutive SEC games begins against the Sooners in Dallas.

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[Jeff Howe]

It might be hard to see because of the erratic nature of the offense right now, but there are things Texas does well.

There are things Sark can build on that the offense might eventually be able to hang its hat on.

The main problem right now is there's no middle ground offensively. The Longhorns either look like a well-oiled machine or the engine seizes up and they go nowhere fast.

[Alex Butler]

I believe in Arch and Sark. It’s clear that Jeff Traylor and UTSA found something to expose us in that fame with the all out blitz attack forcing pressure and taking away consistent run game. The silver lining is we have seen that approach now and won without making adjustments. Now we have time to have our defense simulate similar situations and come up with workable solutions. Once we pop a couple of big plays taking advantage of the space vacated. Part of my thinks that Sark is playing the long game and baiting teams to be super aggressive then lowering the boom more and more this season. Almost like a screen play he’s drawing the defensive coordinators in thinking the book is out on them then pulling the rug out from under them. 

[Realist Horn]

Jeff, do you know how many times this question has been asked during the Sark era? Heck, this year everyone thought they found an identity the last 3 drives of the Ohio State game. Nope. Last year, it was the offense we saw against Oklahoma....nope. That's the issue with Sark thus far, his offense is so inconsistent no one can tell you what the identity is. 

[GoHorns1]

Sark talks about trusting one’s training. Sark needs to trust Arch and let Arch be Arch, time to cut him loose.

[John F.]

Ngl I legit thought this was the shortest OTF article ever 

[BigMac]

Having been a part of some championship teams, I can tell you that we want to be playing our best when the playoffs roll around.  If we can get a little better each week that's what we need.  How do eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.  

 

[Red Five]

1 hour ago, Jeff Howe said:

It might be hard to see because of the erratic nature of the offense right now, but there are things Texas does well.

There are things Sark can build on that the offense might eventually be able to hang its hat on.

The main problem right now is there's no middle ground offensively. The Longhorns either look like a well-oiled machine or the engine seizes up and they go nowhere fast.

This is exactly what I texted a friend earlier. See, the first three quarters of tOSU vs. the fourth quarter. We either look god awful or we move the ball quickly and score.

Against Tennessee our offense was hot garbage except for two drives. 

[Cajunhorn]

So if he scripts the first 10 drives instead of just the first drive we’ll score 70?

[NothinButDaHorns34]

I reeeeeeally hope they can figure something out with this by week.

[Nate C]

To give Sark and Arch some credit, Ohio State and Jim Knowles in 2/4 games to start the season isn’t exactly easy. We have to play Venables next too which is also tough. 

[VaHorn]

This is a little frightening