Texas Longhorns Not Stressing About Fumbles: 'We've Had Moments Like This'

The Texas Longhorns continue to lose the ball in crucial moments and must be vigilant if they want a chance at winning against Texas A&M.

Texas Longhorns running back Jaydon Blue (23) fights for yardage against Kentucky Wildcats defensive lineman Kahlil Saunders (92) in the first quarter during the first half of an NCAA college football game at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas, Saturday, Nov 24, 2024. / Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns secured victory in their final home game of the season on Saturday against Kentucky, blowing past the Wildcats 31-14. Now they will move their attention to Texas A&M in a matchup that will ultimately decide whether the Longhorns will make the SEC Championship in their first year as conference members.

It will have to be the most poised performance that Texas has ever given, as the environment of Kyle Field in College Station and its packed bleachers full of Aggie fans that sincerely hate everything that the Longhorns stand for will most likely be the toughest one yet.

And if there's one thing that Texas needs to clean up before making the trip this weekend, it's making sure to hold on to that ball for dear life despite the pressure.

Losing the turnover battle has been a magnified point of concern for the Longhorns this season, especially when it comes to fumbles. Texas has suffered 18 fumbles, recovering just half of them, in comparison to eight interceptions thrown. Against Kentucky, Texas fumbled the ball five times, but was able to recover three of them.

What especially has Longhorn fans concerned is the fact that the team's second-best running back for most rushing yards has contributed four fumbles this season. Junior Jaydon Blue has had a fumble in each of Texas' last two matchups, with his other two occurring against Mississippi State earlier in the year.

However, he has remained one of head coach Steve Sarkisian's most reliable offensive players to get the ball down the field, going hand-in-hand with sophomore running back Quintrevion Wisner.

"I'm never one just to shut a guy completely down that we know we're going to rely on," Sarkisian said during post game press conference following the win against Kentucky. "I think Jaydon got some great opportunities there [and] was really effective for us, and he was a good change up to what Trey was doing. We've had moments like this in the past."

Blue has had eight total fumbles in his 214 career touches as a Longhorn, which calculates to one fumble per 26.7 touches, according to Eric Henry of 247Sports. But he also leads the team in rushing touchdowns with six, accumulating 555 rushing yards this season, making him a key playmaker when he maintains control of the ball. Blue will need to practice carrying around the ball this week in order to avoid any future slips.

On the other hand, the Texas defense continues to do its part in helping the team force turnovers in its favor, whether it be forcing a fumble or catching an interception. Junior defensive back Michael Taaffe understands how crucial winning the turnover battle is, mentioning how Sarkisian reiterates it every week at practice.

"The ball is the biggest stat in the game of football," Taaffe said. "We start with it every Friday morning with Coach Sark. Who won the turnover battle, and what was the score of that game? And it's almost 90 percent on all SEC games this whole year. Whoever won the turnover battle wins the game. That's what we pride ourselves on in the defense."

Looking ahead to Texas A&M, the Aggies have forced six fumbles and recovered three of them along with catching 12 interceptions. Texas has forced 11 fumbles, recovered seven of them, and has caught 17 interceptions. However, Sarkisian should be far from comfortable with those numbers and needs to have both sides of the ball primed for whatever the Aggies have in store this weekend.

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