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3-2-1: Post-OSU takes and looking ahead to San Jose State

by: Evan Vieth09/04/25
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Jack Endries (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Back in the day, teachers used to give us thinking exercises to help us visualize whatever task it was.

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Thankfully, instead of analyzing Hamlet or cell structure, we get to talk football as adults. Isn’t this the best time of the year?

It wasn’t the best week of the year for Texas football, as the players had to carry the weight of a loss at Ohio State that felt oh so attainable. Here’s a great chart to show just how close this game was:

Basically, Texas got beaten while being the more successful team down-to-down compared to Ohio State. We all know football isn’t played on stat sheets; penalties, turnovers, and exterior factors play their part. But Texas knows there was meat left on the bone after Saturday’s game.

With five days between that game and two days separating us from football in DKR, here are three things we know, two things we don’t know, and one thing we don’t want to know heading into the San Jose State game.

1st Thing I Know: The defense is elite, and they aren’t even close to their peak potential

We saw glimpses of how elite Texas’ defense could be on Saturday. OSU’s offense averaged under four yards per play and barely eclipsed 200 total yards. They converted just one explosive play all game. Texas’ defense, for the most part, locked down an offense that isn’t elite but has traits that would scare any team in the nation.

And still, this is far from the finished product. Texas saw minimal returns from Colin Simmons and Anthony Hill, two of the nation’s best defensive players entering the year. They combined for just eight tackles, none for loss or sacks. Part of that might’ve been scheme-related, at least in Simmons’ case, but that won’t happen every game. The stars will show up.

Texas also kept some extremely talented players off the field. Derek Williams played just 12 snaps, Lance Jackson seven, Colton Vasek four, and Justus Terry none. Not to mention Jonah Williams is getting healthier. A unit that went 18-deep against OSU may be closer to 24-deep later in the season.

2nd Thing I Know: The offensive line blocked well, but not in the run

I tend to avoid rash judgments about a line before rewatching the tape, so I hadn’t talked about it much until now. After rewatching, it’s odd how starkly different the two sides operated.

In the passing game, Texas often gave Arch Manning extremely clean pockets. Of the few blitzes OSU sent, Texas picked them up well (outside of the final play). Trevor Goosby was fantastic, and Brandon Baker held his own on the outside.

But in the run game, Texas got bullied up front. Wasn’t that supposed to be the strength? In my red zone article yesterday, I saw three offensive linemen make key mistakes in run fits within just six plays. They were manhandled at the LOS. The problem is, Texas faces teams with NFL-level talent sooner rather than later. Look at Florida and Oklahoma’s DL depth charts—it’s scary. That concerns me going forward.

3rd Thing I Know: Texas operated very well in the portal

It was a great day for the portal additions. Jack Endries looked like the surest hands on the roster. Four transfer defensive tackles played well, especially Hero Kanu and Cole Brevard. Jack Bouwmeester looked like the nation’s best punter, dropping three inside the 20 with a net of 46 yards. Wouldn’t he have been great a year ago?

Emmett Mosley will get healthy, and Brad Spence will get his chance as time goes on. Outside of swing offensive linemen—which would’ve been nice Saturday—I think Texas did a good job of not over-investing and clogging position groups. They filled needs and found very good players.

1st Thing I Don’t Know: Anything about this receiving corps

Do you feel confident making any take with this group? When Manning is missing a third of his throws, it’s hard to. Ryan Wingo needs to be more involved, but there were times when Arch simply didn’t give him the chance.

Same goes for DeAndre Moore, who was open far more than you’d expect from someone with one catch all day. Parker Livingstone had a great game, and that’s the kind of stat line you’d love to see in big games from him.

The next three weeks will be good for all three, and also Mosley as he gets healthy, plus the development of players like Kaliq Lockett and Daylan McCutcheon.

2nd Thing I Don’t Know: How much of a leash does the offense get in September?

I feel confident Sark will use September to rest key defensive players. No way he overloads returning starters and stars. I can count eight guys who should be on pitch counts. Texas still won’t miss a beat without them.

But what about the offense? You can say that about the defense because they’ve proven their worth, but do we have confidence in the offense? Every single player on that side needs to step up, not just Arch Manning.

Receivers have to get more open, running backs need to hit explosives, and the offensive line must overpower lesser defenders if they have any hope of matching up with SEC ones. Endries may be the only guy you feel confident in resting.

It’s a double-edged sword, as this young unit needs more in-game reps, but you don’t want to risk injury. You also want the younger playmakers behind them ready to go. How quick is Sark to pull starters if Texas is up big, say halfway through the third quarter Saturday?

1 Thing I Want to Know: How does Manning respond?

I miss when college football fans gave teams at least until conference play before harsh judgments. Maybe that was never the case, as with much nostalgia.

Either way, Manning got spooked last Saturday. His demeanor has been different in the two times we’ve talked to him since. The entire CFB world is calling him a bust.

But there are still anywhere from 11–15 games left in 2025. If Texas goes 5-0 over the next six weeks, no one will remember Ohio. Texas will be back in the top three, and Arch will be a fan favorite again.

So how does Manning respond? Does he fire up a well-scripted drive for a touchdown and then keep making awe-inspiring plays, like he did against lesser teams last season? Or is he still shaky, making ill-advised throws with poor mechanics? If it’s the latter, we’re going to need some uncomfortable conversations.

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