AUSTIN (KXAN) — Between injuries in the backfield and issues on the offensive line, Texas has struggled to run the ball this season with any consistency. It took the team four games to have a running back get into the end zone, and in the team’s 29-21 loss to Florida on Saturday, the Longhorns were stopped in their tracks for a season-low 52 rushing yards.
As a coach who prides himself on running the ball, something he’s proved his commitment to during his 5-year tenure with great success, Steve Sarkisian said there’s a combination of things that need to happen to flip the script. No Texas running back has a run of more than 18 yards, and for not “majoring” in the quarterback run, as he puts it, Arch Manning leads the team in rushing yards.
“It’s not working, that’s for sure,” Sarkisian said. “It just hasn’t hit. We’ve been Rolodexing running backs, and I think that’s been a little bit of an issue. There’s rhythm and timing to running the ball. Do we need to block better? Yes. Do we need to game plan better? Break more tackles? Yes. All of those things add up.”
A preseason injury to CJ Baxter last season led to the emergence of Quintrevion Wisner, but Wisner has had injury issues of his own this season. Saturday was his first action since the season opener against Ohio State on Aug. 30, and he hasn’t had a chance to build any rhythm or chemistry with an inexperienced offensive line this season. The same goes for Baxter, who has missed the past two games with a hamstring injury. While the younger runners — Jerrick Gibson, Christian Clark and James Simon — have benefitted from the extra playing time, the Longhorns are going to need Baxter and Wisner to start churning.
To go with finding a rhythm in the backfield, there also needs to be stronger play at the line of scrimmage. That means better blocks at the point of attack, sustaining those blocks for the backs to hit the holes and having enough poise and discipline to cut down on penalties. All of those have been problems for the Longhorns this season.
Texas had six presnap penalties against Florida, five false starts and a delay of game. All but one of those false start penalties came in the second half, turning manageable down and distances into low-percentage conversion attempts.
“The guys that we have are more than capable,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got to coach better and we’ve got to play better.”
It starts Saturday against No. 6 Oklahoma, the best defense in the Southeastern Conference so far.
“A lot of times when you have that lead runner, he starts to find a rhythm of the timing of the blockers,” Sarkisian said. “We don’t have that right now. We have to fight to get there as fast as we can.”
Think about some of those lead backs throughout Sarkisian’s tenure at Texas. Bijan Robinson for two seasons, Jonathon Brooks and Wisner — all of them had great No. 2 runners behind them like Roschon Johnson and Jaydon Blue, and the offensive line was as connected and experienced as any unit Texas put on the field. That’s simply not the case right now, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get there.
“We’ve been spotty from a consistency standpoint, the run game, and that’s what we’re fighting for, you know?” Sarkisian said. “It’s easy to put our hands in the air and say we can’t run it and throw it every down; I just don’t believe in that. That’s not who we are, so we’re going to continue to work at this thing, and hopefully we’re better on Saturday. We’ll find out.”
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