In college football, especially if you compete in the SEC, a win is a win, but not all wins are created equal no matter who the team is.
After its narrow overtime victory over Kentucky on the road in Lexington this past weekend, this is exactly the case for Texas as it improves to (5-2) overall and (2-1) in the SEC. Despite the excitement surrounding their thrilling overtime victory in a game they could have easily lost, there is a lot to be concerned about going forward if you support the Longhorns.
Here are 3 troublesome signs from the Longhorns’ narrow escape over the Wildcats.
1. The offense is still not fixed this late into the season
After showing signs of promise last week against Oklahoma, Texas’s offense looked just as bad, if not worse, than it did against Florida 2 weeks ago. Despite Kentucky being the second-worst defense in the entire SEC, Texas punted the ball on 4 of its first 5 drives of the game. This continues to be a disturbing trend for the Longhorns, who have punted 6 times or more in 2 of their 3 SEC games despite having one of the most talented offenses (on paper) in the nation.
A major culprit behind the Longhorns’ offensive problems is the lack of a consistent run game and their inability to generate explosive plays to make defenses pay for how they are defending them. After rushing for 94 yards on 22 carries against Oklahoma, Quintrevion Wisner was a no-show against Kentucky, rushing for a measly 37 yards while averaging 3.1 yards per carry.
This trend must be stopped ASAP, as Texas is 7-1 when Wisner rushes for 79 yards or more and he can single-handedly open up Arch Manning’s play-action and RPO game, which is when Texas is at its best. But, when you average 1.7 yards per a carry and can’t convert on third-and-inches in the fourth quarter, not even a great play caller like Steve Sarkisian can consistently overcome it.
At the end of the day, this must get fixed immediately if Texas wants a realistic chance to run the table.
2. Arch Manning and the entire passing game must start producing
After generating 4 explosive plays in the Red River Rivalry, with 2 coming on the ground and 2 from the passing game, Texas was only able to generate 2 explosive plays via the air against Kentucky’s low-rated defense. As a result, Manning was hit 8 times and sacked 3 times by a defense that came in with only 7 total sacks on the season.
Texas’s star signal caller simply must be more accurate and get his talented receivers more involved, as he has completed less than 60% of his passes in 2 of the Longhorns’ 3 SEC games. As a result, star wide out Ryan Wingo has only 1 explosive catch on his résumé while tallying less than 75 yards receiving in every SEC game this season.
Combine this with Manning’s early season go-to guy Parker Livingstone having only 76 total receiving yards in SEC play and it easy to see why Texas will not win too many games in the SEC, let alone on the road, without drastic improved production in the overall passing game.
3. Texas must play better on the road
For the third time this season, Texas had a horrendous performance on the road. The only difference this trip is it was able to escape with a victory unlike its trips to The Horseshoe and The Swamp. Through 3 road games this season, Texas is only averaging 14.6 points per game, 285 total yards per game and a pedestrian 188.3 passing yards a game.
This road formula must be fixed immediately by Sark and his staff as it’s due to rear its ugly head with trips to Starkville and Between the Hedges in Athens left on the schedule. The Longhorns must find a way to bring their offense on the road as they won’t be able to beat Georgia and will struggle mightily against Mississippi State if they continuously try to win on the road by only playing great defense and special teams.
It might sound simple or cliché but it’s true — Texas must find ways to run the ball and stop the run while staying ahead of the chains consistently if it wants to win its remaining 2 road games. Unfortunately for Longhorn Nation, things are trending in the wrong direction for Manning and the boys as they simply haven’t been good or consistent enough to be a participant in the College Football Playoff this season.
Kendrick E. Johnson writes for various national outlets such as High School on SI, Yardbarker, ESPN Andscape and MMA Weekly. He is an independent print journalist, sports television reporter and multimedia journalist who has covered the NBA Finals, NFL, NCAA football, MLB, NHL, WWE and over 75 world championship boxing and UFC Fights nationally. Johnson has also covered every prep sport possible in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and all across the great state of Texas. He’s done numerous 1-on-1 interviews with some of the biggest names and personalities in sports from Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry and Shaq on the basketball side to Jon Jones, Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford on the combat sports side and John Cena, Jey and Jimmy Uso and Charlotte Flair in WWE.
