What's working and what needs to change when Texas runs the football

AUSTIN, Texas — As is the case with virtually every aspect of the Texas offense, Steve Sarkisian’s running game is at a crossroads.

In last Saturday’s Red River Shootout loss to Oklahoma, the Longhorns final numbers were pedestrian: 122 yards on 13 carries, with the longest coming on a 16-yard run by Derrek Cooper in the second quarter.

When considering Texas (4-1, 1-1 SEC) faced a stout Sooner front, however, the running game was more effective than the raw numbers indicate.

Texas finished the game with 132 yards on 30 non-sack rushing attempts, matching Georgia’s non-sack rushing yards (132 yards on 25 carries) in its 41-13 dismantling of Oklahoma on Sept. 26. Only the Bulldogs averaged more sack-adjusted rushing yards per carry (5.3) against the Sooners than the Longhorns (4.4) this season, with Oklahoma’s season-high in 10-plus-yard rushing attempts against a Power Four foe coming against Texas (four).

Immediately after the loss, Sarkisian described the running game as “a little hit and miss for us today.” The Longhorns have “been OK” running the football through five games, Sarkisian said, openly questioning whether his current schemes can generate the consistency he wants on the ground.

But after Sarkisian reviewed the rushing attack on film ahead of Monday's meetings and practice to start the week of preparations for Florida coming to town on Saturday (11 a.m., ABC), he felt Texas “ran it pretty good” against the Sooners.

“What you're hoping for is that you can find consistency and then, ultimately, pop one,” Sarkisian said. “I think historically, when we've ran the ball well against OU, we've popped a couple runs that have created a 40, 50, 60-yarder. All of a sudden, your number goes from 125 yards rushing to 175 or 200. We just didn't pop that big one Saturday, but I actually thought, from an efficiency standpoint, we were pretty good against a defense that thrives on negative plays in the run game.”

The Longhorns had success against Tennessee utilizing duo, insert and zone concepts. Jim Knowles’ defense created a lot of penetration up front, which blew up Texas’ counter and power schemes, but Sarkisian eventually got the running game untracked.

Against Oklahoma, the Longhorns found success through their zone running game. Ultimately, the result might've been different if Sarkisian had stuck with it, which could've kept the offense from spiraling in the second half (the Longhorns’ first five second-half possessions included three three-and-outs, a four-play drive that ended with a punt and a two-play drive that ended with an interception).

After analyzing 28 of Texas’ 30 non-sack rushing attempts against the Sooners (two Arch Manning scrambles were omitted), here’s what worked and (maybe more importantly) what didn’t:

— The Longhorns ran the ball well out of 11 personnel. Using Emmett Mosley V as the motion man (either as an escort blocker or to get the defense flowing away from the play) helped open things up. Texas ran the ball for 93 yards (5.2 yards per attempt) out of 11 personnel. Three of the Longhorns’ explosive runs (the aforementioned 16-yard run and an 11-yard run by Cooper and a 14-yard run by Hollywood Smothers) came with 11 personnel on the field.

— Texas didn’t get the bang for its buck running the ball out of 12 personnel. Two-tight end sets generated 25 rushing yards on eight attempts, none longer than five yards. Right now, Nick Townsend is the only tight end who can be considered a two-way threat as a blocker and a receiver. Any tight end combination that doesn't include Townsend makes the offense more predictable (even though Michael Masunas and Spencer Shannon were effective in their roles).

— Sarkisian’s counterpunch to defense wanting to take away the wide zone is one of two things: either the Longhorns are running more mid zone, which means the running back’s aiming point is the B gap between the guard and tackle, or Cooper’s feel for where the crease will develop and ability to hit it hard is just that good. The running back’s tighter aiming point forced Brent Venables to adjust. That's when Cooper creased a couple of off-tackle runs late in the first half. Regardless, Cooper needs more carries. Cooper’s violent twitch with the ball in his hands is something the running game hasn't had since CJ Baxter showed flashes of it late in the 2023 season. 

— Texas had four mid-zone runs for 21 yards (5.3 yards per attempt) on Saturday without split flow from the tight end. Three basic inside zone runs netted one yard and two outside zone runs (without split flow) went for 17 yards (including Cooper’s 16-yarder). Sarkisian still calls a lot of split-zone runs (the tight end blocks back across the formation to seal the backside), with 11 of those going for 46 yards. The Longhorns ran split zone out of 11 personnel with mixed results (gains of five, nine and seven yards and negative plays that lost three and five yards, respectively), but split-zone runs out of 12 personnel didn’t set the world on fire (five for 22 yards)

— Sarkisian called one counter run on Saturday and it was one of the offense's best plays of the game. It was on the fourth-quarter drive that ended with Gianni Spetic’s missed field goal. Still, Brandon Baker’s kickout block and Masunas' block to get a piece of Owen Heinecke, who shot a gap while hunting a negative play, got Smothers free for a 14-yard gain. It was a well-executed, tendency-breaking play the offense needed while trying to mount a game-winning drive.

— Sarkisian might want to look at running the ball more often out of the pistol. The Longhorns averaged 5.4 yards per attempt out of the pistol; it was 6.8 yards before Cooper was stuffed on an ill-fated crack-toss. The pistol might make the running game less predictable than the running back set to one side of the quarterback in the shotgun (especially since Manning rarely pulls the ball at the mesh point to run it, eliminating a threat for the defense).

— There’s a tendency to put the blame entirely on the offensive line when the running game isn’t clicking on all cylinders. Kyle Flood’s group had its issues, especially on a third-and-1 in the third quarter, when Cooper got stuffed after the Sooners caved in the right side of the line. Still, a few of the runs Sarkisian wanted to see pop might've popped if the wide receivers had collectively blocked better. There were numerous instances when a minimal gain could've turned into the 20-plus-yard run Sarkisian likely needed to stay dedicated to the running game if a block had been held a little longer or if the wideouts and won more battles against Oklahoma's defensive backs.

— Texas is 24-2 under Sarkisian when recording 40 or more official rushing attempts in a game, including wins this season over Ohio State and UTSA. When Sarkisian makes it a point to run the football, the Longhorns can do it effectively enough to stick with it. For an offense that currently has the highest rate of three-and-out drives in the SEC, a running game that can set up manageable third downs and move the chains (according to CFBStats.com, the Longhorns have the sixth-best rushing offense in the SEC on third-and-3 or less, with 86 yards, 14 first downs and three 10-plus-yard runs on 16 attempts) would be a godsend.