Steve Sarkisian Emphasizing 'Balanced Offense' for Texas vs. Vanderbilt

The Texas Longhorn offense had trouble both with the pass and the run against Georgia.

Oct 19, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian encourages his team in the third quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Patzke-Imagn Images / Brett Patzke-Imagn Images

After a tough 30-15 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs, head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns offense are looking to rebound against a gritty Vanderbilt team that showed up in this week's AP poll for the first time since 2013.

The Texas offense only amounted to 259 total yards on offense, a far decrease from the previous season-low in yards (389 yards against Michigan). It was also a season low in points despite the three turnovers the defense helped provide for the team.

One of the glaring problems that the offense showed against Georgia was the run game, as 29 yards on the ground was the season-low by a wide margin (previous season-low was 177 yards against Oklahoma). But with that being said, this was the first game all season that Texas had to crawl back in a game.

"We're always at our best when we have balance," Sarkisian said Thursday.

Texas currently averages 166 yards on the ground this season which is sixth in the SEC. The Longhorns also average 295.7 yards through the air which is fourth in the SEC. These stats show that Texas has been more successful than most SEC teams in balancing their offense, that is, until the 'Horns started trailing in a game.

"I think the run game kind of got the spotlight put on it because of the way last week went," Sarkisian said. "We had 38 yards at half. And I don't care how we got those 38 yards, nothing was really good, the run game nor the pass game."

Sarkisian mentioned how Texas was forced to abandon their run game once they got down 23-0 at half. Despite that, Texas found balance in its first drive in the second half when it scored for the first time on the night. In the eight-play touchdown drive, the Longhorns ran the ball four times and threw it four times for 55 yards. Despite the next drive ending in a turnover on downs, Texas went 64 yards with five passing plays and four running plays.

"I thought in there, there was a few runs that got going for us, but the reality of it is, we need to play better offensive football," Sarkisian said. "And part of playing better offensive football is finding that balance and running the football with effectiveness, trying to find some explosive runs."

And with Vanderbilt coming up, who allows 116.3 yards per game on the ground, which is bottom-five in the SEC, Sarkisian is confident that the run game will get its style back.

"I think the runners are ready to go," Sarkisian said. "They've been challenged all week predicated on how last week went."

Sarkisian said the run game has "something to prove" with the physicality. He mentioned how everyone needs to be more physical for the run game to improve, specifically the offensive line who allowed Georgia's defense to ten tackles for losses.

Furthermore, the Vanderbilt game will also prove to see the future plans of running back Jaydon Blue who did not get a handoff for the first time this season last week.

The game will start at 3:15 p.m. CT on SEC Network. Texas is currently favored by 18.5 points by ESPN.

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