Five optimistic hopes for Texas' bye week

All things considered, this bye has flown by.

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We’re now just three days away from Steve Sarkisian’s first press conference of the year ahead of an SEC opponent.

The questions that will bombard Sark about what occurred during the bye will be endless. You can almost guarantee he’ll skirt around a few of them with coach-speak answers about health and the ability of his star quarterback.

Still, a reporter—and you fans—can dream of a world where this bye week goes down as the best in Longhorn history. Every problem is solved, every game from here on out is a win, and suddenly the Longhorns are champions.

Before you get too excited, let’s review some of the most optimistic hopes from this bye week and where the Longhorns will be prioritizing their effort and focus moving forward.

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Sam Houston was the beginning of Arch Manning’s season

The nice thing about this bye’s timing is that it allows Texas players to move on from the out-of-conference schedule easily. By the time they hit the locker room in The Swamp, the Ohio State game will already be more than a month in the past.

The hope is that Arch Manning takes a similar approach and that Sam Houston marked the true start of his season. As our own Eric Nahlin would say, it wasn’t a slump buster—it felt like opening day.

He made a good point: if that had been the first game of the year, how obnoxiously optimistic would you be about the rest of the season? We can’t just erase the rough three weeks beforehand, but what if Arch can? If he carries the confidence he showed against Sam Houston through the bye, Texas’ offense may have more layers than we expected.

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The injuries really aren’t an issue

As much as we can speculate that everything will be fine with the health of the Longhorns, we can’t just ignore the numbers. Two starting RBs, a WR, a backup OT, a starting DT, and four defensive backs have dealt with injuries since the beginning of the year. Only a few of them even played against Sam Houston.

As much as we want to trust Sark when he says they’ll be back by Florida, you’d still like a definitive answer. Starters Quintrevion Wisner and Alex January haven’t played since Ohio State. How are they doing?

Will CJ Baxter be healthy? That injury against UTEP had all of us holding our breath.

If the team is mostly healthy, and only one or two players are questionable for this game, it will be a miracle at this point in the season. Plus, getting a certain WR back into the mix would be a huge boost…

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Emmett Mosley is finally ingrained in this offense

Ian Boyd explained Mosley’s addition to the drop-back passing game as one of the three keys to this bye week. I couldn’t agree more.

While Texas has the obvious speed and downfield playmaking of the three starting receivers, they’ve lacked an underneath target outside of Jack Endries, who has been quieter in recent weeks. When Texas has to take a snap and drop back without the frills of RPO and play action, who can get open by themselves?

By the numbers this season, Manning has struggled the most in short passing between 0 and 9 yards. He averages more yards per pass behind the LOS. He’s not throwing turnover-worthy passes like he does in the intermediate game, but there’s little being added between the line of scrimmage and the first-down markers. That’s where Mosley comes in.

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Clarity on positional battles

I’m an avid fantasy football player. One of my core philosophies when building dynasty teams is not having too much depth. I don’t want to tear my hair out every week trying to pick the right starter. Why would I want five players for two flex spots when I can narrow it down to two better players and avoid the headache?

That’s how it feels with certain Texas position groups: RB3, TE2, fifth OL, EDGE4. On one hand, it’s good that three (even four for EDGE) players can slot into those roles, but if they’re all at the same confidence level, how can you be assured in who you give the eventual nod to?

The hope is that the past few weeks of tape, plus this bye, help players separate from desperation flexes into true No. 2s. It doesn’t really matter who, but Texas is better when the snaps go more consistently to the best players.

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An offensive scheme tailored to the team’s strengths

Against San Jose State and UTEP, it felt like Sark was trying to show off as much of his offensive bag as possible. At times, it strained Manning, his playmakers, and the offensive line. There are only so many run schemes this line can execute. There are only so many throws Manning can realistically connect on.

Sarkisian is hopefully using this time to lock in on his three biggest strengths: the best defense in the country, a QB who can threaten with his legs, and an offense capable of explosives on any play.

It’s OK if Texas is only a 24 PPG offense. If turnovers don’t pile up, it’s hard to see anyone consistently putting more than 21 on this defense. The playbook needs to tighten up and emphasize more efficient early-down run concepts—read options, inside zone, duo—that help the struggling Connor Stroh at LG. Winning early downs lets Manning settle into games sooner, take the hits he craves, and open up the deep ball.

The plan, at least for the next two games, has to emphasize Arch’s legs as a floor-raiser while finding points through explosives around midfield. A defense like Oklahoma will have the edge on power runs near the goal line, and Manning’s red-zone decision-making may be shaky. The playbook has to be tailored directly to this team’s strengths.