Texas Longhorns new-look offensive line passes first test Saturday versus Ohio State despite losing 14-7
You’re probably going to question the headline after seeing the game Saturday. But, the Texas Longhorns’ offensive line was better than expected. Replacing four starters, Kyle Flood’s unit did an outstanding job against the defending national champions.Arch Manning was rattled at times, looked flustered early on, and was inconsistent. But he was only sacked once […]
You’re probably going to question the headline after seeing the game Saturday. But, the Texas Longhorns’ offensive line was better than expected. Replacing four starters, Kyle Flood’s unit did an outstanding job against the defending national champions.
Arch Manning was rattled at times, looked flustered early on, and was inconsistent. But he was only sacked once and the Texas run game was excellent despite only mustering seven points.
Texas ran the ball 37 times for 166 yards – averaging 4.5 yards per carry – on the road against the defending national champions. That will play all season long.
The Texas offensive line was not the problem on Saturday.
The Longhorns ran the football ran 21 times for 113 yards in the second half. Two red zone trips resulted in zero points when Steve Sarkisian and the offensive staff opted to go for it on fourth down. But, the new group made up of Connor Stroh, Brandon Baker, DJ Campbell, Trevor Goosby, and Cole Hutson were excellent.
Hutson especially. First ever start at center and he was able to give Manning good snaps all afternoon and more than held his own against a fast and physical Ohio State front seven.
The run game operated well – utilizing a gap-scheme strategy as opposed to what we saw last year from Sarkisian’s offense. In 2024, there was quite a bit of inside and outside zone. On Saturday, the offensive line found success with the gap-scheme power, counter, and trap.
Overall, Texas’s offensive line held up well Saturday.
The new faces up front fared well in yardage totals, but stalled in red-zone execution and critical moments throughout the contest. Texas outgained Ohio State 336 to 203 yards and for the most kept Manning’s jersey clean. This is all you can ask for if you’re Steve Sarkisian.
Texas will now take on three non-conference opponents as a nice tune-up before SEC play begins October 4 in the Swamp versus Florida and DJ Lagway.
With games coming up against San Jose State, UTEP, and Sam Houston, I would like to see this offense get more comfortable in its own proverbial skin. Run the football with purpose, be physical at the point of attack, and let Manning settle in and get in rhythm.
If this happens, I don’t see why Texas can’t win 10 or 11 games in 2025. All is well, everyone. It’s just Week 1 and we’ve got 11 more for the Longhorns to look like the team everyone expected to see against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
