On standard downs, Texas has the third-worst success rate of any SEC offense.
In college football, standard downs are characterized as being favorable toward the offense because the defense can’t assume run or pass. Passing downs are defined as second-and-7 or longer, and third-and-5 or longer. When an offense is far enough away from the sticks, they’re more likely to throw it to make up the yardage. Everything else is considered a standard down. Texas has a 49.3% success rate on those plays. It sits in the same realm as Clemson and Washington State on the national stage.
Plenty has been made about Arch Manning’s struggles to truly take off as the Texas quarterback, but too much of the blame for the overall offensive shortcomings has fallen at Manning’s feet.
“I don’t think Texas has been able to run the ball consistently, which is going to put you in a lot of bad down-and-distance situations, so that’s going to put more pressure on the quarterback,” Nick Saban said Friday during his regular appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.
Texas has a rushing success rate this season of 48.6%, which is better than only 4 other SEC programs. The bigger issue on the ground is that Texas hasn’t been able to generate enough chunk plays to keep defenses honest. They’re dead last in the SEC in explosiveness and have only 1 run all season longer than 19 yards.
“When we had a player that was struggling, or when we lost, I always wanted to be the most technical I could be so the players could actually see (that) if I just did this correctly, we could have success. Rather than putting a lot of pressure on them to get it right, I really wanted to be technical, in terms of corrections,” Saban said. “That’s what I would be really trying to emphasize.”
Saban also disagreed with the notion that Texas should bench Manning to try and produce a spark.
“You only bench a guy when you feel like he’s not committed to doing things the way you want them to do it, or what he’s doing is really having a tremendous adverse (impact) on the team,” Saban said. “And when you bench somebody, you really better make sure the guy you put in for him is better than he was or you just create more parties for yourself.”
Manning’s Total QBR this season ranks third-worst among qualified quarterbacks. One of the guys below him is battling a concussion. The other already lost his starting job. It has not been smooth sailing to begin the Manning era.
The eighth-ranked Longhorns (2-1) will look to change that on Saturday when they host Sam Houston. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
