Texas Longhorns Look To Get Run Game Back On Track

The Texas Longhorns haven't run the ball as well as they'd like to recently.

Oct 26, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores linebacker Randon Fontenette (2) shoves Texas Longhorns running back Jaydon Blue (23) out of bounds during the second half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Coming off a bye week, the Texas Longhorns' offense has a lot of things to work on, and arguably the most important one is getting the ground game up and running once again.

Over the past two games, the Longhorns have had their two worst rushing performances of the season back-to-back. In their 30-15 loss to Georgia, they ran for just 29 net yards on 27 attempts (1.1 yards per attempt), though that was mostly due to seven sacks on quarterback Quinn Ewers. Then in their 27-24 win over Vanderbilt, they rushed for 104 yards on 34 attempts (3.1 yards per attempt), which isn't as bad, but certainly not good.

Understandably, the Longhorns know they need to do a better job on the ground going forward.

“I’ll say, you know, we’re running outside zone pretty good right now. The other run schemes are not working like we want to,” running back Jaydon Blue said. “A lot of that goes with us at the running back position, we have to be a lot better. We have to help Quinn out so that teams know that we’re just not throwing the ball.

“When we run the ball efficiently, Quinn could sit back there, you know, and dial ’em up on defense. I think its just all with us being efficient in the run game.”

That said, Texas knows that leaning too far in one direction usually ends poorly. While the Longhorns would love to get the ground game going, balance is what they're looking for above all.

"I don't ever want to feel like we just need to force feed the run game, because that might be detrimental to us as a team when we're pretty effective throwing the ball too," head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "We're just continuing to strive for that balance. But again, we got a ton of confidence in all parties involved that we can be a very good run team the second half of the season."

Luckily, this week's game is a perfect opportunity to get the run game back on track against a Florida team that allows 162 rushing yards per game, second-most in the SEC. When kickoff rolls around at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, expect the Longhorns to ground and pound.

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