Skip to main content
Texas

A complete game from Texas' receiving corps bodes well for the Longhorn offense going forward

by: Evan Vieth13 hours ago
ut_vs_vanderbilt-0750
Emmett Mosley V (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Texas had its best offensive game of the season against Vanderbilt today.

[Sign up for Inside Texas TODAY and get the BEST Longhorns coverage!]

Arch Manning was clinical, completing 25 of 33 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns. Manning hit his spots in the short passing game, found receivers in the intermediate, and avoided hits throughout the day. Maybe take the offensive line to a steak dinner during the by.

But what can’t go under the radar in a game where Manning and the line shone and the defense fell apart late was the impressive advancement of the level of impact from Texas’ wide receivers.

That position had been a talking point all season. The idea of Texas lacking a WR1 heading into the year came to fruition early, when Manning struggled to hit open receivers, and when he did, they’d often drop passes. It continued to feel that way after Kentucky, but for the last six quarters of football, it’s clear Texas has found a rhythm with its pass catchers.

It all starts with Ryan Wingo, who, for the second straight game, has taken a first-play screen pass for over 65 yards. This time, he housed it.

But what was most impressive was that Wingo wasn’t able to do much the rest of the game. It wasn’t his fault. He dislocated his finger the next time he was targeted.

For the majority of the game, Texas was playing without its receiver, who had over 250 yards in the last five quarters of football.

But Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian kept with the 11-personnel look, spreading out the defense and relying on different wide receivers to step up.

That came to fruition with Emmett Mosley, who was targeted 10 times, catching seven passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s a good player, he does exactly what you tell him to do,” Manning said about Mosley. “He grinds. He’s smart. He makes plays.”

Mosley’s contributions are a fairly new wrinkle in this Texas offensive system. He started the year injured, not really playing significant snaps until last week against Mississippi State, where he broke out with two touchdowns. Now, it’s clear Manning has a weapon that can be his primary target, one able to find soft spots in zones and win one-on-one downfield.

“He’s subtle. I compare him to Keenan Allen,” Texas CB Malik Muhammad said about Mosley. “He’s got strong hands, he’s a good route runner, and he’s willing to block too. He’s a smart receiver, and he’s got savvy.”

Outside of Mosley, Texas saw four more receivers combine for 107 yards of offense, even getting the likes of Ryan Niblett and Daylan McCutcheon involved. McCutcheon had his own injury that sidelined him for part of this game, meaning Texas operated without two of its top five receivers.

While it was still a quiet game for TE Jack Endries, Texas has clearly found a successful system for passing the ball. It felt like everything went right for this offense in the first three quarters of this game, and Texas has clearly grown up as the season has gone on.

“I could feel early in the season that we weren’t very mature yet offensively. We weren’t mature enough at quarterback, and that’s fair, and Arch will tell you that, and where he is today is not where he was a month ago. We’re a lot more mature on the offensive line. We’re a lot more mature at running back,” Sarkisian said. “I felt like we shifted from ‘Hey, let’s try to slow things down. Let’s play to our defense, to the strength of our team,’ to now we need to be more in attack mode offensively. And I thought we did that today. I thought we spread the field a little bit more. I thought we got the ball on the perimeter. I thought our guys are getting more comfortable playing with the ball in space and creating explosive plays, and that, hopefully, over time, is going to help us in the run game.”

Texas will need a healthy Wingo and the rest of this group to have their A-game out of the bye, when Texas will try to take down an SEC powerhouse in Georgia at their home.

You may also like