Jump to content

  • Texas Longhorns News

    A place for any Longhorn Fan to get the latest news from the On Texas Football team.
    Show all categories
    Jeff Howe
    AUSTIN, Texas — It's fair to call Steve Sarkisian’s matchup against the opposing defensive coordinator the top in-game battle to watch in every Texas game.
    However, it's crucial that Sarkisian wins his battle against Mississippi State on Saturday (6:30 p.m., ESPN). Not just to help the 11th-ranked Longhorns build on what went right in last Saturday’s 34-27 win over Ole Miss, but to set the tone for November.
    “Zach Arnett is a guy who I have a ton of respect for as a defensive coordinator,” said Sarkisian, whose historic Alabama offense averaged 6.8 yards per play and racked up 499 yards in a 41-0 rout of the Bulldogs in 2020, Arnett’s first season as Mike Leach’s defensive coordinator. “They pose a ton of threats with the multitude of defenses that they throw at you and the athleticism that they play with.”
    No. 11 Texas (5-2, 2-2 SEC) will be on the road for three of its final four regular-season games, including back-to-back trips to No. 23 Missouri and No. 15 LSU. While the Bulldogs appear to be dead in the water with injured quarterback Kamario Taylor ruled out for the rest of the season, the Longhorns haven’t played well enough to overlook anyone left on their schedule.
    That’s especially true on offense.
    It’s good that the win over the Rebels saw Texas set season highs against a Power Four opponent in points, total offense (419 yards), rushing yards (207) and yards per carry (4.9). Now the Longhorns need to at least match their most recent performance to establish some much-needed consistency.
    Specifically, the Texas will attempt to establish the run and stick with it against a Mississippi State (4-3, 2-3 SEC) run defense that’s been solid through seven games.
    Even with Raleek Brown coming off a 157-yard performance against Ole Miss, including three of Texas’ eight rushing plays of 20 yards or more this season, the Longhorns can’t expect to plow through a Bulldog defense that’s the nation’s No. 46 unit against the run (124.8 yards per game allowed). Mississippi State is also a top-50 defense in yards per carry allowed (3.66, tied for No. 44 in FBS); rushing attempts of 10 or more yards allowed (20, tied for 14th); rushing attempts of 20 or more yards allowed (four, tied for No. 19 in the country) and rushing touchdowns allowed (five, tied for 13th).
    The challenge for a Texas offensive line coming off its most noteworthy performance of the season is keeping the offense on schedule and limiting negative plays against a defense that’s had trouble creating them. The Bulldogs are tied for 83rd in the country in tackles for loss (35 total and five per game), 91st in line yards per carry allowed (rushing yards attributed to the opposing offensive line using weighted yardage) and 124th in stuff rate (the percentage of an opponent’s rushing attempts stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage).
    With 42 carries against the Rebels (including sacks and kneel-downs), the Longhorns improved to 25-2 under Sarkisian when recording 40 or more official rushing attempts, including 14 consecutive wins in 40-carry games. It’s not a coincidence that Texas controlled the late stages of the game on the ground in its two wins over top-10 opponents (Ole Miss and a 24-23 win over then-No. 1 Ohio State on Sept. 12). The Longhorns ran the ball on 13 of their last 14 plays from scrimmage against the Rebels, ending a 6-play, 80-yard drive with a touchdown and an 8-play, 44-yard drive with a field goal.
    The best way Sarkisian can help Andre Cojoe settle in during his first career start, get Arch Manning into a rhythm, maximize the play-action deep shots he wants to dial up and keep the offense on schedule is to be patient with the running game. The Longhorns don’t need to match their production on the ground from the Ole Miss game against Mississippi State, but the rushing attack must be effective enough for Sarkisian to trust it for four quarters.
    TEXAS WIDE RECEIVERS vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE CORNERBACKS
    According to Pro Football Focus, Manning has been pressured on 80 dropbacks this season (tied for No. 35 in FBS and tied for the sixth-most in the SEC). He’s been blitzed 109 times through seven games, including 18 times on 33 dropbacks against the Rebels.
    After Florida blitzed Manning 18 times in 28 dropbacks two weeks ago, he’s been blitzed at a 59-percent rate in the last two games. Arnett has blitzed three of the seven Power Four quarterbacks the Bulldogs have faced on more than 30 percent of their dropbacks: Minnesota’s Drake Lindsey (48 percent), Missouri’s Austin Simmons (31.7 percent) and Alabama’s Keelon Russell (55.6 percent).
    Although Mississippi State’s pass defense is putrid (No. 129 in FBS, allowing 267.4 yards per game; 69 completions of 10-plus yards allowed is tied for 106th; 27 completions of 20-plus yards allowed is tied for 117th), the Bulldogs have one of the SEC’s top cornerback tandems in Jett Jefferson and Kelley Jones, who rank first and fifth in the conference in passes defended, with nine and seven, respectively. If Arnett feels Mississippi State’s only chance to survive is to do what the Gators did and get to Manning before he can get rid of the football, the Texas wide receivers must win one-on-one battles, especially when the Bulldogs are in man coverage.
    According to PFF, Jefferson and Jones only play a quarter of their snaps in man coverage. While nine targets against Jones in man coverage have resulted in only four completions and 47 yards, four of the seven catches Jefferson has allowed in man coverage have been touchdowns.
    JELANI McDONALD vs. FLUFF BOTHWELL
    After injury limited him to one carry in Mississippi State’s 56-23 loss to Alabama on Oct. 3 and forced him to miss the team’s 31-0 road loss to LSU on Oct. 17, Bothwell returned to action and recorded his fourth 100-yard game of the season (111 yards on 17 carries) in a 23-15 loss to Oklahoma last Saturday.
    Jeff Lebby’s Veer-and-Shoot offense naturally creates vertical seams in the running game and a lot of one-on-one opportunities for running backs to win against opposing safeties. That puts the spotlight on McDonald to keep Bothwell from getting loose, which he can do if he builds on last week’s 12-tackle performance, with an interception and a pass breakup.
    McDonald had a career-high 14 tackles in last season’s win in Starkville. He should be in line for another double-digit tackle game, especially if Will Muschamp continues to line him up as the middle safety in a three-high shell. The Longhorns utilized their three-safety look on roughly one-third of their snaps against Ole Miss, a defensive structure that only works if McDonald properly diagnoses what the offense is doing, primarily when it comes to fitting the run properly.
    Since the Bulldogs love to crank up the tempo offensively, McDonald getting lined up quickly and dissecting what’s happening in front of him at a breakneck pace will be a battle in and of itself. Then, McDonald will try his hand at wrapping up Bothwell, who ranks seventh in the SEC in yards after contact (382 total yards and 4.2 yards per attempt) and eighth in missed tackles forced (25).
    CJ Vogel
    Depth on Display for the Texas Defense this Weekend?
    ***
    Texas is set to host Mississippi State on Saturday without their starting quarterback Kamario Taylor.
    The Bulldog offense was quite literally limping into the game this week to begin with, but now with Taylor officially sidelined, it feels like a significantly tall task to find a way to put points on the board against this Texas defense.
    Las Vegas tends to agree with me as well. The line at the moment sits with the Longhorns favored by 21-points, the largest point spread of the season vs. a P4 team for Texas. 
    If – and I understand this is a big if – Texas is able to take care of business offensively, it is likely the need to play the core group of starters the entire game won't be there for 60 full minutes. 
    On Thursday morning, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was asked about the depth of a few positions, with the underlying question of are the second and third stringers closer to the field this deep into the season?
    Starting in the secondary, Sarkisian says he there are some guys to watch.
    "I think naturally, you know, getting Kobe (Black) back healthy, 100 healthy is going to be big for us," Sarkisian said. "I think Jonah (Williams) has been making strides. I think Toray Davis has been making strides for us there. All those guys kind of in that in that circle. I think Smoke Matthews is a guy that's continuing to grow, and he's found a more of a niche on special teams.
    Sarkisian added that Texas is getting a healthier version of Xavier Filsaime each week in practice as well. Filsaime has not logged a snap in 2026 despite playing in ten games a year ago with two starts
    At linebacker, Texas is coming off of a game against Ole Miss where Rasheem Biles and Justin Cryer played 100% of snaps. All 85 defensive snaps for the Longhorns had Biles and Cryer on the field.
    "Naturally in most defenses really good linebackers stay on the field. If we get to a point to where we can rotate some of those guy. we will do so," Sarkisian said. "Obviously, the temperatures have dropped. We're not playing at 105 degrees out there anymore. It's a little more you know 70–75º degrees and that should allow us to play 10 to 12 more snaps and feel confident in doing so."
    Additonally, Sarkisian mentioned Brad Spence was getting more time at edge this week alongside Lance Jackson, Zina Umeozulu, Colton Vasek and the rest of LaAllen Clark's room.
    I think that speaks to Texas planning for life without Colin Simmons for another week at the very least.
    Additionally, Sarkisian said Thursday that he expects to get freshman edge Richard Wesley back on the field in "the next couple of weeks."
    But when it comes to the depth and some of those twos and threes that have yet to see a ton of time this year, this is a great opportunity on Saturday to keep the workload light for the starting defense and stack much needed depth for the remainder of the 2026 season, plus whatever postseason comes as a result.
    "Sometimes the games dictate when we can roll guys in there more," Sarkisian said. "We haven't had that luxury. We've been in so many tight games this year, but we're going to have to find a way and a time to get some of these guys in there."
    Jeff Howe
    Whether Trevor Goosby comes back to Texas for another season in 2027 or enters the NFL draft, the Longhorns know they’ll be without their All-American candidate at left tackle for the rest of the 2026 season.
    Goosby’s patellar tendon injury means Andre Cojoe, who played 62 snaps at left tackle in Saturday’s 34-27 win over Ole Miss, is the next man up for No. 11 Texas (5-2, 3-2 SEC).
    Much like Will Muschamp’s conundrum of doing multiple things to make up for Colin Simmons’ absence, the Longhorn offensive line can’t replace Goosby with one player. With that said, there are three things Steve Sarkisian and Kyle Flood can do to help Cojoe hold serve and allow the offense to build on a performance against the Rebels that included season highs in total yards (419), rushing yards (207), yards per carry (4.9) and points against a Power Four opponent.
    1. Lean into Cojoe’s ability as a run blocker
    Cojoe moved people on Saturday and his ability to cave in or seal the backside of Texas’ stretch runs opened cutbacks for Raleek Brown. Cojoe and Dylan Sikorski got a lot of work together in camp while Goosby was dealing with a knee injury (bone bruise). Their familiarity paid off in the win over Ole Miss; according to Pro Football Focus, the Longhorns rushed for 148 yards (9.9 yards per attempt) on A-, B- and C-gap runs to the left.
    2. Get Jordan Coleman more snaps
    Sarkisian shouldn’t hesitate to use the jumbo package with Coleman as the sixth offensive lineman beyond goal-to-go runs inside the 5-yard line. Four of the seven snaps Coleman has logged this season have ended with a rushing touchdown, including two on Saturday (Michael Terry III's 2-yard run in the second quarter and Arch Manning’s 1-yard keeper in the fourth quarter).
    The win over the Rebels proved again that when the Longhorns get their hats on opposing defenders, they can move people and create creases for the backs. Coleman (356 pounds) and Cojoe (339 pounds) give Texas a large surface to run behind.
    Plus, the more snaps Coleman gets, the more ready he’ll be if something happens to Cojoe or Melvin Siani (Coleman made strides at left tackle with the first-team offense during spring practice while Goosby was out, recovering from shoulder surgery).
    3. Keep prioritizing the quick passing game
    Sarkisian dialed up screens to get Manning into a rhythm and to get the ball to his playmakers in space early in the game. But the highest percentage of Manning’s pass attempts against Ole Miss were thrown up to nine yards beyond the line of scrimmage (36.7 percent, according to PFF).
    Although one of Manning’s interceptions came within this depth, he was 7-for-11 for 77 yards. Manning was 5-for-6 for 56 yards on pass attempts to the middle of the field up to nine yards beyond the line of scrimmage, including first-down throws to Emmett Mosley V (23 yards), Cam Coleman (12 yards), Jermaine Bishop Jr. (11 yards) and Michael Masunas (10 yards).
    The quick game can increase Cojoe’s margin for error as the blindside pass protector, which should lead to fewer plays like the strip-sack that led to a Rebel touchdown. Establishing the quick game can also force the defense to tighten things up in coverage, which should then open up the deep shots Sarkisian likes to take (although leaving a tight end and/or running back in to help will be required, especially when the Longhorns face top-quality edge defenders from Missouri and LSU).
    To help a struggling or unproven pass protector, an offensive coordinator can do one of three things: lean on calls to force the quarterback to rid of the ball quickly, keep extra blockers in to help with protection or put more receivers out into the route. Expect Sarkisian to look at all of those options to compensate for losing an NFL-caliber prospect at one of the most important positions on the field.
    Jeff Howe
    Forget the SEC championship, the College Football Playoff or anything besides No. 19 Texas hanging on for a 34-27 win over No. 7 Ole Miss.
    The Longhorns stopped the bleeding from a two-game losing streak.
    It wasn’t pretty.
    Texas (5-2, 2-2 SEC) tied the Steve Sarkisian-era single-game record with 14 penalties and set a new single-game high with 121 penalty yards.
    A 24-3 halftime lead evaporated in the second half. The Rebels scored 21 points to tie the game while the Longhorns were mired in an all-too-familiar lull, with five consecutive possessions ending in a fumble, three punts and an interception.
    For the second time in SEC play, the hands team couldn’t recover a late-game onside kick. The botched recovery made this Texas' third conference game decided on the last play.
    Nevertheless, the Longhorns overcame their second-half struggles to get a much-needed win. The offense ended the game with a pair of scoring drives and the defense, although things got leaky in coverage, forced a punt, blocked a field goal and intercepted Trinidad Chambliss for the third time on three of Ole Miss’ (5-2, 3-2) last four possessions.
    ***
    Sarkisian, to his credit, was committed to the run down the stretch and it paid off. Raleek Brown and Michael Terry III carried the ball on the first five plays of a 6-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to regain the lead in the fourth quarter.
    Other than a short pass to Ryan Wingo on the first play of the Longhorns’ last drive, Arch Manning was involved in two plays: his 1-yard touchdown run (on a bootleg that was wide open, similar to his first touchdown, both of which were good calls by Sarkisian, since Manning hasn't been the ball carrier in those situations) and a 2-yard scramble on the play before Gianni Spetic’s 33-yard field goal.
    With 207 yards on 42 official rushing attempts, Texas improved to 25-2 under Sarkisian when recording at least 40 official rushing attempts in a game. Although the 40-carry mark includes plays like sacks and kneel-downs, it reflects a dedicated effort to run the football.
    That’s what Sarkisian did to get the offense in gear in the fourth quarter.
    ***
    Brown’s 157 yards (6.8 yards per carry) is the best yardage day by a Longhorn since Tre Wisner went for 186 yards in the 2024 regular-season finale against Texas A&M. Wingo’s 111-yard performance included a 50-yard touchdown catch from Manning.
    Their efforts made Saturday’s win the first Texas game with a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver since Jonathon Brooks and Xavier Worthy did it against TCU on Nov. 11, 2023.
    Even though the offense mustered just 19 net yards in the third quarter, the Longhorns finished the game with 419 total yards (5.8 yards per play). Since joining the SEC, Texas is 9-0 when it records at least 400 total yards.
    ***
    Brown’s ability to read zone runs and hit open cutback lanes helped Texas avoid a third consecutive loss. Brown ran with vision and violence, two things he hasn’t shown consistently as a Longhorn.
    ***
    When Texas needed some thump in the running game, Terry delivered (41 yards and a touchdown on eight carries). Terry’s two explosive runs (12 yards and 19 yards) on the 80-yard touchdown drive made him the big, physical back between the tackles the Longhorns figured they'd miss with Derrek Cooper not yet back to 100 percent.
    ***
    Rasheem Biles was all over the field. It’s hard to believe he was credited with only four tackles (one tackle for loss, two pass breakups, and four quarterback hurries).
    Biles’ fourth-and-goal interception was one of the game's pivotal plays. He also pressured Chambliss on a critical third down in the first half, forcing a rushed throw that fell incomplete as the Rebels settled for a field goal.
    On a day when Will Muschamp manufactured pressure with the absence of Colin Simmons, Biles pressured Chambliss and was around the ball on critical downs.
    ***
    Along with Biles, Justin Cryer (five tackles, an interception and a pass breakup) came up big for the Longhorns. Chambliss tested the Texas linebackers in coverage and they were up for the challenge.
    ***
    Muschamp deserves a lot of credit for Chambliss’ rough start. He dialed up different pressures, but showing blitz and then dropping defenders seemed to throw off Chambliss’ timing in the first half.
    ***
    Things are by no means fixed on the Forty Acres.
    Sarkisian must resolve the team’s third-quarter woes (I still don’t know why he gets away from things that work early). The kicking game is still way too feast-or-famine. Penalties remain a problem. Manning had moments of brilliance mixed with critical mistakes and the offense left points on the field. Ole Miss had 162 of its 364 total yards (44.5 percent) in the fourth quarter.
    Still, the Longhorns deserve credit for pulling it together and executing well enough, long enough to win. While this team shows no signs of getting off the rollercoaster any time soon, Saturday’s win was one in which their stretches of good play outweighed the bad.
     
    Jeff Howe
    It’s time to tackle “One Burning Question,” an On Texas Football in-season feature where we’ll examine a question facing the Texas Longhorns as they enter a game.
    On Sunday, we’ll revisit the question to see whether Steve Sarkisian’s team answered it successfully.
    This week, with No. 19 Texas (4-2, 1-2 SEC) welcoming No. 7 Ole Miss (5-1, 3-1) to Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday (6:30 p.m., ABC), the question is:
    With the season on the line, can the offensive line come through?
    There have been times throughout the first six games of the season when the offensive line has done its job. While the flashes have been few and far between, Kyle Flood’s group makes things happen when they’re on the same page and execute Sarkisian's calls.
    The fleeting moments of quality trench play aren’t what Texas fans had in mind when Sarkisian and Flood set out to rebuild the offensive line after the 2025 season. Considering how the Longhorns overcame a rough start to the transfer portal cycle and landed two players targeted by other SEC programs (Melvin Siani and Dylan Sikorski) and added depth when Laurence Seymore was granted another season of eligibility, the situation up front is worse than it was last season.
    Traditional statistics tell an unsavory story.
    Texas is tied for 121st in FBS in sacks allowed (2.83 per game), is tied for 135th in tackles for loss allowed (7.8 per game) and is on pace for the program’s lowest output in points per game (30.2) and yards per play (5.45) since 2017. The 362.3 yards per game (No. 92 nationally) the Longhorns are averaging is on pace to be the worst season for total offense on the Forty Acres since 2014 (Shawn Watson’s offense averaged 337.3 yards per game).
    Texas enters Saturday’s game against the Rebels ranked 101st nationally in rushing yards per game (136) and 120th in yards per carry (3.64). The Longhorns haven’t run the football with this little success since the 2002 offense averaged 135.5 yards per game on the ground, an average buoyed by Cedric Benson’s 1,293-yard sophomore season.
    Advanced statistics don’t put the Texas offense in a flattering light either.
    Line yards per carry measures an offensive line's effectiveness through weighted yardage. The offensive line is credited with 120 percent of the negative yards on running back carries stopped behind the line of scrimmage and 100 percent on carries that gain 0-4 yards.
    Texas is 115th out of 138 FBS offensive lines.
    The Longhorns are 97th nationally in stuff rate, which calculates the percentage of rushing plays stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage.
    Power success rate is the percentage of third- and fourth-down runs with two or fewer yards to go that result in a first down or a touchdown. Texas is No. 98 in the country, with 69.4 percent of its runs moving the chains or reaching the end zone in those situations,
    The offensive line isn’t solely to blame for the offense’s struggles. Still, things won’t improve if an ailing backfield that could be without Hollywood Smothers (shoulder) on Saturday doesn’t have room to operate and the quarterback (whether it’s Arch Manning or KJ Lacey) is under constant duress.
    The group can’t fade in the second half as they did in last Saturday’s 27-24 loss to Florida. After racking up 114 yards on 18 non-sack rushing attempts in the first half, Texas netted just 14 yards on seven non-sack rushing attempts after halftime. Those seven carries included Smothers losing three yards on third-and-1 on the offense’s first possession of the third quarter, Raleek Brown getting dropped for a 2-yard loss on the first play of the next series and Manning losing three yards while trying to run for a first down on a fourth-and-2 at the 8:30 mark of the fourth quarter.
    There’s a chance Sarkisian and Flood will make personnel changes for the Ole Miss game. They could stand pat and hope Saturday is the day when everything comes together.
    Regardless, if the Longhorns can’t move the chains and limit the time that Trinidad Chambliss and the Rebels’ potent offense are on the field, things could get out of hand.
    The offensive line is out of time to figure things out. It’s now or never for a unit that’s fallen woefully short of the most measured preseason expectations through six games.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.