Saturday’s 38-7 win over San Jose State was a comfortable one. Arch Manning had five total touchdowns, Parker Livingstone and Jack Endries had big games. And the playcalling appeared to put the offense in better positions.

But, no Tre Wisner, no Ryan Wingo or DeAndre Moore, and CJ Baxter and Jerrick Gibson struggled to run consistently. If Texas wants to get back to Atlanta for a SEC title shot and the College Football Playoff for a shot at a national title, you must figure this out.

This week is UTEP and next week is Sam Houston. Two weeks to essentially figure it out before Florida on the road. Better hustle.

Texas Longhorns News

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Texas wide receiver Parker Livingstone redshirted last year after suffering a foot injury his senior year of high school. Now, through two games in 2025 in his first real action as a Longhorn, he has six receptions for 175 yards and three touchdowns. “I’ve been saying it all along. I just don’t know if you […]

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Tre Wisner is battling a leg injury and needs to win soon.

“He’s got a leg injury that we held him today, and we just didn’t think it was the right thing to do to kind of force the issue with him,” Sarkisian said after the game. “I wanted Christian to play more. I wanted Jerrick to get opportunities. And so it worked out for us that way.”

Furthermore, Sarkisian went on to say he won’t “rush to push guys out at this juncture of the season.” He also said the staff will continue to rehab his injury and keep monitoring it this week.

Texas cannot get to where it wants nor achieve what it wants to achieve without Wisner in the backfield. The lone 1,000-yard rusher in the country has to be a factor and help Manning out by opening up the offense.

Probably my favorite 2-play stretch for Arch Manning on Saturday.

Pressure comes on both, and he stands in the pocket to find Jordan Washington, then climbs and escapes to hit a wide open Emaree Winston.

55 yards on back to back plays. pic.twitter.com/5EjtwnwF0X

— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) September 9, 2025

Ryan Wingo has to figure things out as well.

“I just think he’s pressing a little bit,” Sarkisian added. “Ryan is one of – if not the most conscientious kids on our roster. He works really hard. Like nobody practices harder than this guy.

“He wants to do right. He’s in the right spots. He wants to make all his plays. Sometimes, not trying so hard is the best avenue. He’ll get there.”

Arch Manning is also confident Wingo is going to respond to this early season adversity.

“Ryan’s a really good player, and he’s going to make a lot of plays for us this season. I’m not worried about a drop. I told him, ‘Look, I don’t care. No one cares. Let’s keep going.’ And he’s going to do just that. That’s the type of player he is.”

If the run game can’t pick things up, the offense will struggle.

I don’t think this is very controversial to say: if the run game cannot be more of a factor, Arch Manning isn’t good enough right now to carry the Longhorns.

Now, Manning can certainly get better and be a dude down the stretch. No question. But, for now, defenses are going to continue to show exotic blitz looks pre-snap, show blitz and drop seven or eight into coverage, and come after him heavy on third downs.

Wisner, Baxter, Gibson, and Christian Clark really need to work together as a unit and run the football with some punch. Manning being your third-leading rusher is not going to fly down the stretch of the 2025 season.