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    Jeff Howe
    The first official Texas depth chart of the 2026 season was released a few hours before Saturday’s season opener against Texas State.
    Here’s who Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorn coaches plan on featuring in the first game of his sixth season on the Forty Acres:
    OFFENSE
    QUARTERBACK
    1. (16) Arch Manning (6-4, 222, Sr.-2L)
    2. (9) Karle “KJ” Lacey Jr. (6-0, 188, Soph.-SQ)
    3. (6) Dia Bell (6-3, 206, Fr.-HS)
    RUNNING BACK
    1. (2) Hollywood Smothers (5-11, 196, Sr.-TR) — OR — (0) Raleek Brown (5-9, 193, 5YSr.-TR)
    2. (5) Derrek Cooper (6-1, 212, Fr.-HS)
    RUNNING BACK
    1. (11) Michael Terry III (6-3, 229, Soph.-SQ)
    2. (21) Ryan Niblett (5-10, 189, Sr.-1L)
    3. (31) James Simon (5-11, 208, Soph.-SQ)
    WIDE RECEIVER (Z)
    1. (8) Cam Coleman (6-3, 204, Jr.-TR)
    2. (18) Sterling Berkhalter (6-3, 196, 5YSr.-TR)
    3. (13) Kohen Brown (6-0, 202, Fr.-HS)
    WIDE RECEIVER (H)
    1. (3) Emmett Mosley V (6-2, 199, Jr.-1L)
    2. (4) Jermaine Bishop Jr. (6-0, 166, Fr.-HS) — OR — (17) Daylan McCutcheon (5-11, 183, Soph.-1L)
    WIDE RECEIVER (Z)
    1. (1) Ryan Wingo (6-2, 214, Jr.-2L)
    2. (7) Kaliq Lockett (6-2, 181, Soph.-SQ)
    3. (14) Chris Stewart (6-0, 184, Fr.-HS)
    TIGHT END (Y)
    1. (83) Spencer Shannon (6-7, 260, Sr.-2L) — OR — (15) Michael Masunas (6-5, 259, 5YSr.-TR)
    TIGHT END (H)
    1. (81) Nick Townsend (6-3, 250, Soph.-1L) — OR — (85) Emaree Winston (6-1, 245, Soph.-1L)
    3. (87) Will Randle (6-4, 249, Sr.-SQ)
    LEFT TACKLE
    1. (74) Trevor Goosby (6-7, 325, Sr.-2L)
    2. (77) Andre Cojoe (6-6, 339, Sr.-1L)
    LEFT GUARD
    1. (56) Dylan Sikorski (6-4, 335, Jr.-TR) — OR — (50) Laurence Seymore III (6-2, 316, 5YSr.-TR)
    CENTER
    1. (62) Connor Robertson (6-4, 316, 5YSr.-3L)
    2. (76) Jackson Christian (6-5, 308, Soph.-SQ)
    RIGHT GUARD
    1. (73) Brandon Baker (6-4, 315, Jr.-2L)
    2. (58) Devin Coleman (6-5, 340, Soph.-SQ) — OR — (75) Jaydon Chatman (6-4, 330, Sr.-2L)
    RIGHT TACKLE
    1. (71) Melvin Siani (6-6, 317, Sr.-TR)
    2. (79) Jonte Newman (6-4, 310, Soph.-TR)
    DEFENSE
    JACK
    1. (1) Colin Simmons (6-3, 246, Jr.-2L)
    2. (99) Richard Wesley (6-4, 258, Fr.-HS)
    DEFENSIVE TACKLE
    1. (93) Hero Kanu (6-5, 309, Sr.-1L)
    2. (15) Justus Terry (6-5, 289, Soph.-1L)
    3. (33) Myron Charles (6-4, 312, Soph.-SQ)
    DEFENSIVE TACKLE
    1. (88) Maraad Watson (6-3, 333, Jr.-1L)
    2. (97) Alex January (6-5, 308, Jr.-2L)
    NOSE TACKLE
    1. (95) Ian Geffrard (6-5, 375, Sr.-TR)
    2. (90) Josiah Sharma (6-4, 341, Soph.-SQ)
    END
    1. (40) Lance Jackson (6-5, 274, Soph.-1L)
    2. (19) Zina Umeozulu (6-5, 272, Jr.-1L)
    WLB
    1. (3) Rasheem Biles (6-1, 222, Sr.-TR)
    2. (18) Kosi Okpala (6-3, 235, Fr.-HS)
    MLB
    1. (28) Justin Cryer (6-1, 241, Sr.-TR)
    2. (14) Brad Spence (6-2, 249, Sr.-1L)
    SLB
    1. (14) Brad Spence (6-2, 249, Sr.-1L)
    2. (92) Colton Vasek (6-5, 252, Sr.-2L)
    CORNERBACK
    1. (8) Kade Phillips (6-0, 191, Soph.-1L)
    2. (11) Samari Matthews (6-1, 197, Fr.-HS)
    FIELD SAFETY
    1. (6) Kobe Black (6-2, 202, Jr.-2L)
    2. (2) Derek Williams Jr. (6-2, 199, Sr.-2L)
    BOUNDARY SAFETY
    1. (4) Jelani McDonald (6-2, 201, Sr.-3L)
    2. (9) Jonah Williams (6-3, 210, Soph.-1L)
    CORNERBACK
    1. (5) Bo Mascoe (5-11, 199, Sr.-TR)
    2. (24) Warren Roberson (6-0, 189, Sr.-2L)
    NICKEL
    1. (29) Graceson Littleton (6-0, 182, Soph.-1L)
    2. (17) Xavier Filsaime (6-1, 193, Jr.-2L)
    SPECIAL TEAMS
    PUNTER
    1. (43) Mac Chiumento (6-4, 228, 5YSr.-TR)
    2. (45) Mikey Bukauskas (6-2, 210, Fr.-HS)
    KICKER
    1. (44) Gianni Spetic (6-3, 221, Sr.-TR)
    2. (49) Jake Collett (6-0, 182, Fr.-HS)
    KICKOFF
    1. (44) Gianni Spetic (6-3, 221, Sr.-TR)
    2. (49) Jake Collett (6-0, 182, Fr.-HS)
    SNAPPER
    1. Trey Dubuc (6-1, 213, Sr.-TR)
    2. Trott O’Neill (6-1, 224, Fr.-HS)
    HOLDER
    1. (43) Mac Chiumento (6-4, 228, 5YSr.-TR)
    2. (45) Mikey Bukauskas (6-2, 210, Fr.-HS)
    KICKOFF RETURN
    1. (21) Ryan Niblett (5-10, 189, Sr.-1L) — AND —  (0) Raleek Brown (5-9, 193, 5YSr.-TR)
    PUNT RETURN
    1. (21) Ryan Niblett (5-10, 189, Sr.-1L)
    2. (4) Jermaine Bishop Jr. (6-0, 166, Fr.-HS)
    Jeff Howe
    It’s time to tackle “One Burning Question,” an On Texas Football in-season feature where we’ll examine a significant question facing the Texas Longhorns entering a game.
    On Sunday, we’ll revisit the question to see whether Steve Sarkisian’s team answered it successfully.
    This week, with No. 5 Texas hosting Texas State in the 2026 season opener on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ESPN), the question is:
    How will the Texas pass defense fare in its first test under Will Muschamp?
    Had his reasons for moving on from Pete Kwiatkowski and bringing Muschamp back to the Forty Acres to run the defense. Arguably the most significant reason why Sarkisian pulled the trigger on the most notable staff change of his tenure after the Longhorns were officially left out of the College Football Playoff, however, was Kwiatkowski’s inability to tie his fronts and coverages together consistently.
    Other than the 2024 season, when Jahdae Barron emerged as an All-American en route to winning the Jim Thorpe Award, with a healthy Andrew Mukuba further elevating a secondary that was the defense’s Achilles’ heel in 2023, Kwiatkowski never found the front-to-back synergy at Texas that he had when Chris Petersen paired him with Jimmy Lake at Washington a decade ago.
    Things came to a head last season in SEC play.
    The Longhorns allowed 92 completions of 10 or more yards in eight conference games, with Vanderbilt’s 94 preventing Kwiatkowski's defense from falling to the bottom of the SEC in that category. The 32 completions of 20 or more yards Texas surrendered tied Mississippi State for the league's second-worst mark.
    Kwiatkowski’s unit intercepted 16 passes in 2025 (the second-most in the SEC), including nine in conference play. Still, the Longhorns were saddled with the SEC’s second-worst pass defense in league games (280.8 yards per game allowed).
    Only Sarkisian knows which straw broke the camel’s back. When push came to shove, the opportunity to hire Muschamp, whose specialty is the secondary, superseded the changes needed to make it more conducive for Kwiatkowski to return for a sixth season.
    There was more than one way to interpret Sarkisian declaring Muschamp as the head coach of the defense upon his hiring. One of the most significant changes is that while Kwiatkowski handled the defensive front and left the back end to his defensive pass game coordinator (Terry Joseph for four seasons and Duane Akina in 2025), Muschamp is responsible for calling fronts and coverages on game day.
    One message coming from one voice could be what the Longhorns need to field a championship-caliber defense. The 2026 season isn’t conducive to succeeding on defense amid communication breakdowns, with Texas set to face the best regular-season slate of quarterbacks the program has had to deal with since Muschamp’s first season with the program in 2008, when the Longhorns faced two eventual Heisman Trophy winners (Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Baylor’s Robert Griffin III) and five other quarterbacks who went on to play in the NFL.
    The run of difference-making signal callers begins on Saturday, when Texas goes up against Texas State’s Brad Jackson. With a pair of 1,000-yard wideouts at Jackson’s disposal in Beau Sparks (1,200 yards last season) and Chris Dawn Jr. (1,007 yards in 2025), the Bobcats will test the Longhorns more than a typical Group of Six offense in an opening game.
    Texas handling the Texas State passing game comfortably won’t signal that Muschamp’s defense is destined to dominate its competition. It would, however, be a massive step in the right direction and should give Muschamp’s unit a shot in the arm ahead of Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith and the Ohio State aerial attack coming to town.
    An offseason in which the defense showed flashes of being the havoc-causing unit capable of making more plays when the ball is in the air than it gives up is in the books. On Saturday, it’ll be time to see if Muschamp’s second tour of duty in Austin has the potential to be as successful as his first and whether Sarkisian’s call to bring him back was the right one for the Longhorns.
    Jeff Howe
    It’s time for the 2026 debut of "Who Has the Edge?," an On Texas Football in-season feature that looks at how the Texas Longhorns stack up with their opponent.
    This week, it’s Texas State, with the Bobcats making the short drive up Interstate 35 for No. 5 Texas' season opener at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ESPN).
    WHEN TEXAS RUNS THE FOOTBALL
    Exiting the game healthy and keeping penalties to a minimum are two significant boxes the Longhorns can check on Saturday. So too is putting a better product on the field when running the football.
    Steve Sarkisian overhauled the offensive line and reloaded the running back room after last season’s lackluster ground output. The offseason moves were in response to Texas finishing in the bottom half of the SEC in rushing offense (10th with 4.19 yards per attempt and 11th with 137.77 yards per game), which is why the ground attack won’t get a grace period from the masses.
    The Longhorns also need to execute when trying to pound the rock on critical downs; the Bobcats ranked 114th in FBS last season in rushing yards allowed on third down with three or fewer yards to go, allowing 4.73 yards per attempt (tied for 105th in FBS), with 29 of the 37 times Texas State faced such situations resulting in first downs.
    EDGE: Texas
    WHEN TEXAS STATE RUNS THE FOOTBALL
    Even with Brad Jackson and his team-leading 17 rushing touchdowns back behind center, the Bobcats are going through a rebuilding year in the backfield.
    Leading rusher Lincoln Pare (1,128 yards, 5.4 yards per attempt and five touchdowns) exhausted his eligibility in 2025. Greg Burrell (671 yards, 6.7 yards per attempt and three rushing touchdowns in 2025) was dismissed from the program in April. Running backs coach and program legend Barrick Nealy stepped down in July to spend more time with his family.
    Even with college football’s biggest offensive line paving the way, GJ Kinne and Texas State don't have reliable, proven ball carriers. That's not where the Bobcats want to be against a Texas run defense that was stout in camp and has more than enough mass to match the Bobcats’ offensive trench beef.
    EDGE: Texas
    WHEN TEXAS THROWS THE FOOTBALL
    If Arch Manning is on, this is where the game can get away from the Bobcats.
    The offense wasn’t clicking on all cylinders in camp. Still, Sarkisian praised their ability to create explosive plays, which Manning connected on when targeting Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo down the field.
    Whether Trevor Goosby plays or not, the Texas offensive line should be much better in pass protection and give Manning more time to operate than he had last season. Manning was one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the country (pressured on 165 dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus, which was the sixth-highest total in FBS), which shouldn't be the case in 2026.
    DonTerry Russell, Texas State’s top returning pass rusher, is reportedly a game-time decision. Even if Russell plays, the Bobcats will likely have to send multiple defenders at Manning in their quest for negative plays and turnover opportunities.
    At best, that’s a roll of the dice. Manning was one of the best quarterbacks in college football last season when opponents blitzed him, completing 57.8 percent of his passes for 1,550 yards and 13 touchdowns, with just two interceptions.
    EDGE: Texas
    WHEN TEXAS STATE THROWS THE FOOTBALL
    Not only do the Longhorns have to deal with Jackson and a pair of 1,000-yard receivers (Beau Sparks had 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns on 84 catches while Chris Dawn Jr. caught 65 passes for 1,007 yards and four touchdowns), but they’ll be going against an offensive line that was an elite pass-blocking unit in 2025. With 6-foot-7-inch, 327-pound tackle Sully Burns (No. 57 on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List) back to lead the Bobcats in the trenches, Texas State was tied for No. 16 in FBS in pass-blocking efficiency rating (91.0), according to PFF, allowing only 69 pressures (tied for 20th in FBS) on 448 opportunities.
    With that said, we’ve yet to see how Will Muschamp will unleash Colin Simmons and Rasheem Biles, who was one of the nation’s best pass-rushing linebackers last season.
    Expect an experienced, explosive Bobcat offense to make plays against Muschamp's defense. For Sarkisian and Muschamp, the Longhorns will hopefully continue the camp trend of the defense making more plays (five interceptions in two scrimmages) than it gives up.
    EDGE: Texas
    SPECIAL TEAMS
    Both teams are breaking in new punters. Hopefully, we see more of Texas State’s Tom Flintoff than Mac Chiumento, who will kick to Sparks (72 yards on 13 returns last season) when he’s called upon.
    Something to monitor when the Bobcats punt is whether they gamble and kick to Ryan Niblett. Also, could Jeff Banks shake things up and decide to come after Flintoff, a freshman from Australia, early?
    Gianni Spetic is the more experienced transfer kicker in the game. He was solid in the team’s two camp scrimmages. Still, it’ll be good for Spetic to attempt a field goal on Saturday rather than have his first try in a Texas uniform come under the lights against Ohio State.
    Dylan Cunanan was 23-for-32 in two seasons at Toledo, including an 8-for-11 mark in 2025 (long of 46 yards). Field goals won’t keep Texas State in the game, but the Bobcats lining up for three will give one of the 11 Longhorns on the field a chance to fill Ethan Burke’s shoes as the team’s next field goal-blocking specialist.
    EDGE: Texas
    COACHES
    Sarkisian is 12-0 at Texas against non-Power Four opponents, winning those games by a combined score of 536-95. The Longhorns haven’t allowed a Group of Six opponent to score more than 10 points since a 41-20 win over UTSA on Sept. 17, 2022 (the week after a last-second 20-19 loss to No. 1 Alabama), a span of eight games.
    Whether that streak continues will largely hinge on the matchup between Kinne’s offense and Muschamp’s defense.
    Muschamp hasn’t been an in-game defensive play-caller since 2020 (his last season as South Carolina’s head coach). That gives Muschamp, who spent the last five seasons in various roles on Kirby Smart’s Georgia staff, an edge on Kinne, who doesn’t know what to expect on Saturday.
    Sarkisian is facing a new defensive coordinator for the second consecutive season opener. Needless to say, Matt Patricia’s Ohio State defense, loaded with future NFL draft picks, was a much tougher challenge than the one Texas will get from Texas State’s defense, led by Will Windham.
    Previously the defensive coordinator for Major Applewhite at South Alabama, Windham's approach is the opposite of what Sarkisian wanted when he hired Muschamp. Kinne ditched a high-risk, high-reward style of play in favor of Windham, an experienced play-caller who wants to confuse opponents with active, multiple fronts and simple coverages on the back end (front multiplicity and coverage simplicity are how Windham has described his defensive style). 
    Unfortunately for Windham, his debut for the Bobcats is against an offense eying a fast start to a season it enters with national championship aspirations.
    EDGE: Texas
    SCORE PREDICTION
    Texas 41, Texas State 14
    Jeff Howe
    AUSTIN, Texas — Justin Cryer earned the opportunity to be a significant piece of what Steve Sarkisian believes is a championship-caliber puzzle because of the work he’s put in since joining the Texas program in January.
    Cryer will wear the green dot on his helmet as the Longhorn defender who will receive in-helmet communication from Will Muschamp when he’s on the field in Saturday’s season opener against Texas State (2:30 p.m., ESPN). According to Sarkisian, that happened because the 6-foot-1-inch, 241-pound Cryer “immersed himself to the process and the schemes” after transferring to Texas from Florida State, establishing himself as a leader and key defensive cog for the Longhorns before logging his first snap in burnt orange.
    “This guy is very, very smart,” Sarkisian said. “He's a really good communicator and it's not just communication with the players. He's a really good communicator with the coaches. He can talk and say exactly what he sees. Half of communicating is listening, right? His ability to listen to a call from Coach Muschamp, maybe a reminder, and then relay that communication to the defensive front or the other 'backers or the DBs, I think all of that is really important.
    “He's earned that because he's immersed himself in the scheme,” he added. “I think he knows it as good or better than anybody.”
    Cryer’s ability to operate efficiently within Muschamp’s scheme will be tested against a Bobcat offense led by Brad Jackson, one of the top returning dual-threat quarterbacks in the country.
    As an inside linebacker, Cryer should face more run/pass conflicts than any other Texas defender on Saturday. The design and function of GJ Kinne’s balanced, up-tempo offense (Kinne played for Gus Malzahn and Chad Morris at Tulsa and was with Chip Kelly in the NFL for three seasons, all of whom have influenced Kinne's offensive ethos) will keep Cryer on his toes.
    Cryer’s biggest challenge is the role he’ll play in defending Jackson, who finished seventh in the country in total offense in 2025 (305.2 yards per game). Jackson completed his redshirt freshman season with 3,968 total yards (3,224 yards passing and 744 yards rushing), breaking a program record that Barrick Nealy (who led Texas State to the then-Division I-AA semifinals in 2005, with Tom Herman calling the offensive plays for David Bailiff in San Marcos) held for two decades.
    “You don't get over 700 yards rushing on accident,” said Sarkisian, who acknowledged that defending Jackson requires accounting for three things.
    The game plan starts with preparing for Jackson’s ability to get the football out quickly to Beau Sparks (84 receptions, 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns last season) and Chris Dawn Jr. (65 catches for 1,007 yards and four touchdowns in 2025). It also means dealing with intricately designed quarterback runs, with Jackson’s prowess as a scrambler (his 391 yards gained on scrambles tied for the ninth-most in FBS, according to Pro Football Focus) adding another degree of difficulty.
    Whether he’s trying to stop Jackson from gaining yards with his legs or protecting the middle of the field as a pass defender, where the Longhorns will be most vulnerable to play-action passes and Jackson’s ability to manipulate the eyes of defenders at the mesh point, Cryer will be under the microscope from the jump. If Cryer, who allowed 13 receptions for 105 yards (8.1 yards per reception) and a touchdown on the 20 times he was targeted last season, according to PFF (a 41.5 season-long coverage grade was the third-worst among the 42 Seminole defenders who recorded at least one coverage snap across Florida State's 12 games), holds his own against one of the most potent offenses in the country (the Bobcats tied for 21st in FBS with 70 plays from scrimmage of 20 or more yards and averaged 6.68 yards per play last season, tying Ole Miss for No. 15 nationally), it’ll send a signal to opposing offense to think twice before immediately identifying him as the path of least resistance when trying to move the football against the Longhorns.
    TEXAS SAFETIES vs. TEXAS STATE WIDE RECEIVERS
    It’s a safe bet that Kinne and Jackson will force Cryer to make plays in space. The same is true for the Longhorn safeties, who will likely find themselves in one-on-one situations against Sparks and Dawn, the Bobcats’ 1,000-yard receiving tandem.
    Whenever Jelani McDonald, Derek Williams Jr., Jonah Williams or Kobe Black find themselves all alone against one of Jackson’s downfield threats, the goal should be to minimize the damage. Above all else, that means stopping the ball where it’s caught and limiting yards after the catch, a category in which Sparks (558 yards after the catch) and Dawn (535) ranked seventh and ninth among FBS wide receivers last season, respectively, according to PFF.
    TEXAS OFFENSIVE LINE vs. TEXAS STATE DEFENSIVE LINE
    After an offseason chock-full of talk about the Longhorns running the football more effectively and efficiently than they did in 2025, it would be a welcome sight to see Kyle Flood’s group lean on the Bobcats’ defensive front. Although Texas State made a coordinator change on defense, with Will Windham coming over from South Alabama, and attempted to bolster their defensive front through the transfer portal, the Bobcats allowed 164.9 yards per game (91st in FBS) and 4.24 yards per attempt (71st in FBS) last season, while opponents recorded 74 rushing attempts of 10 or more yards in 13 games (tied for 28th in FBS).
    The Texas ground game needs to make a statement out of the gate that 2026 will be different when it comes to pounding the rock. A revamped running back room must do its part. Still, Longhorn fans would feel a lot better going into the Ohio State game (and beyond) if the new-look offensive line can generate a consistent push and clearly win the line-of-scrimmage battle against Texas State.
    Jeff Howe
    AUSTIN, Texas — Hopefully, the season opener against Texas State is the sloppiest game No. 5 Texas plays in 2026.
    While Steve Sarkisian doesn’t question the effort, intent or physicality he'll see against the Bobcats, he’s not expecting the Longhorns to be a finished product. After watching a few of the games during college football’s limited Week 0 slate, Sarkisian knows his club won’t be perfect on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ESPN).
    “You see guys jumping offsides, you see formations, you see personal foul penalties after a catch that's a little bit of a different rule, you see 12 guys on the field — you see some of the stuff,” Sarkisian said on Monday. “To me, the situational masters piece of how important those special situations are in early Week 1, Week 2 type games, those are the things that we're really trying to focus in on to make sure that we don't have those lapses. Only 10 guys on punt return or 12 guys on defense. Hard count, we jump offsides. Those little things are the things that we're really trying to focus in on.”
    For a Texas squad that finished the 2025 season ranked 134th in the country in penalties per game (8.3), getting off to a clean start is hugely important, especially with No. 1 Ohio State coming to town for a game on Sept. 12 with major College Football Playoff implications at stake. The same can be said for Texas State, whose seven penalties for 61.4 yards per game last season ranked 104th and 106th in FBS, respectively.
    Other than limiting penalties, which would be a long overdue, welcome sight for the Longhorn faithful, here are a few other statistical categories to monitor when Texas squares off with the Bobcats.
    TURNOVERS
    The focus on takeaways throughout the offseason has centered around Will Muschamp’s defense forcing the issue and creating havoc. When it comes to the opener, however, the attention shifts away from the defense and to how well Arch Manning and the offense can protect the football, something the Longhorns did at an elite level last season.
    Only four FBS offenses committed fewer turnovers than the nine charged to Texas in 13 games, one of which was a special teams miscue in the Citrus Bowl. While the offense turned the ball over six times in two camp scrimmages, the Longhorns should find better fortune against Texas State.
    The Bobcats tied for 106th nationally with 12 takeaways last season. That’s one of the reasons why GJ Kinne hired Will Windham off Major Applewhite’s South Alabama staff to run Texas State’s defense, even though the Jaguars recorded five fewer takeaways in 2025 (15 in 12 games) than they did in Windham’s first season as defensive coordinator, tying for 43rd in FBS with 20 turnovers forced in 13 games.
    Turning the football over is a sure-fire way to let an inferior opponent hang around longer than they should. The better the Longhorns are at protecting the football, the quicker Sarkisian can get the starters out of the game.
    PLAY DIFFERENTIAL
    Paired together, third-down conversion percentage and time of possession paint a good picture of how well a team controlled a game. The play differential (the difference between the number of plays run on offense and the number of plays defended) between two teams does the same thing.
    And with the elements being what they’re expected to be on Saturday, total snaps are arguably more important than the aforementioned metrics.
    It’s also an area where Texas struggled last season. The Longhorns had a season-long play differential of minus-47 (minus-3.6 per game), which ranked 14th in the SEC; it got worse in conference play, with Texas’ minus-79 play differential (minus-9.9 per game) ranking last in the league.
    The defense forcing turnovers and/or getting off the field on third down are significant factors in how the play differential plays out. But the offense also has to sustain drives, which the Longhorns should be better equipped to do in 2026, thanks to a revamped running game and an offensive line (with help from Michael Masunas as an in-line blocker) better built to control the line of scrimmage.
    QUARTERBACK RUSHING YARDS
    Manning finishing the game with as close to zero rushing yards as possible would be a great outcome for the offense. It would mean he avoided getting sacked and, instead of using his legs to escape the pocket and keep the offense on schedule, Manning has more (and more viable) options to check the ball down to with Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers in the backfield.
    The fewer hits Manning has to absorb against the Bobcats, the better everyone will feel heading into the Ohio State game. Brad Jackson’s legs, on the other hand, can put stress on the Texas defense in multiple ways.
    According to Pro Football Focus, Jackson rushed for 391 yards on scrambles (No. 9 in FBS) and gained 478 yards on designed runs (No. 23 in FBS). The Bobcats’ signal-caller was one of only seven FBS quarterbacks to rack up at least 450 yards on designed runs and scramble for at least 350 yards (Jackson’s 58 rushing attempts on scrambles were the second-most in FBS, according to PFF).
    Whether it’s Justin Cryer, Derek Williams Jr. or another Longhorn defender, Kinne would be smart to look for the path of least resistance (i.e., limiting the number of times his offense challenges Rasheem Biles, Colin Simmons or another proven playmaker) when targeting Texas players to put in a run/pass conflict.
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