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Texas football's passing offense approaching another major test

Joe Cookby: Joe Cook4 hours agojosephcook89
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Ryan Wingo (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

The Longhorns faced quite possibly the only defense comparable to their own in week one against Ohio State. Following that game, Steve Sarkisian almost marveled at how skilled players like Caleb Downs and Davison Igbinosun were at disguising their coverages within Matt Patricia‘s defense and making reads difficult for Arch Manning in his first road start.

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Sarkisian saw completely different styles of defense across the rest of Texas’ non-conference slate. No matter the look, the defenses deployed by San Jose State, UTEP, and Sam Houston had the primary goal of not letting anyone sneak behind the defense, though the Bearkats notably failed in that effort with Ryan Wingo.

Pressure wasn’t the main goal of any of those teams, as evidenced by the 3.0 sacks recorded against Texas in four games. Rather, their goal was to play the run as honestly as possible and then dedicate numbers to coverage.

That trend is likely to continue on Saturday. The Gators do have Tyreak Sapp, a preseason third-team All-SEC selection, but he may be the only player with pressure on his mind. For Sarkisian’s offense, that means making the most of opportunities when they present themselves in the passing game against a secondary that tries to muddy the picture and make big plays tough to come by snap after snap.

“Excellent defensive front,” Sarkisian said Monday. “Sapp is a heck of a player and had a great year last year. They have really good depth on the front. They’re big. They are not the most ‘play on the edge, penetrating defense.’ They two-gap you and they do that intentionally because they play with a lot of split safety looks.”

Split safety looks from Florida defensive coordinator Ron Roberts‘ defense means one side of the field could be running a Cover 2 concept while the other side is playing Quarters. Or, it could be Quarters on one side and Man on the other.

No matter what is called, the Gators are going to work to disguise their approach and limit explosive plays. Recall that a UTEP source told Inside Texas after the Longhorns defeated the Miners, and after Manning struggled mightily, that “people are going to sit in a three-deep safety look and make Arch throw to win all season.”

Florida might not march out the Flyover that has given Sarkisian fits, but Roberts and company are undoubtedly going to try to play two-high looks against Manning and force Texas to execute against seven or possibly eight pass defenders playing different schemes.

After all, that was the regular course of action for Florida against LSU. The Tigers rushed 25 times for 96 yards and scored one offensive touchdown against Florida in Baton Rouge in September. LSU notched a paltry 10 first downs and just barely eclipsed 200 yards passing.

Florida tried a similar approach against Miami. While the Carson Beck passing attack was generally stifled, the Mario Cristobal pound-your-head-against-the-wall-until-it-works approach netted 184 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 46 carries.

Florida lost both those games due to its own moribund offense. However, it’s safe to say Texas doesn’t have the O-line play of the No. 3 Hurricanes. So if the run game for the Longhorns encounters adversity no matter who is toting the rock, pressure will fall on the Texas passing attack to move down the field and punch through two-deep looks.

All hope is not lost as Texas enters the Swamp. Even with all his struggles, Pro Football Focus lists Manning as a perfect 21-for-21 for 177 yards on screen plays, good for 8.4 yards per attempt. With DeAndre Moore back on the field and Emmett Mosley V potentially making his Longhorns debut, that could be part of the Texas offense that encounters newfound efficiency compared to when other receivers are on the field.

Passing against seven or eight defenders is not easy, especially in front of 90,000 fans and in a place Texas hasn’t ventured to since 1940. There is a workaround that’s a staple in Sarkisian’s offense, however.

Throw it over all 11 defenders.

Texas is currently T-16 in pass plays of 30+ yards with 10 on the season. Those types of plays take a variety of forms. On throws where the intended receiver is 20 or more yards down the field, Manning is 10-for-19 for 407 yards and five touchdowns with one interception per PFF. Those plays don’t happen in a vacuum, but it does signal hope that throwing bombs can be a remedy for Texas’ recent offensive woes.

One of those 10 completions came against Sam Houston and was hauled in by Wingo.

For Manning, that type of connection was a long time coming. He had hit Wingo before, even last year. But the connection hadn’t arrived quite how he would have liked it in 2025 until SHSU came to town.

“I thought it was good,” Manning said Monday. “We connected with Ryan two weeks ago. Gotta continue to take that when it’s there and not force it.”

Texas undoubtedly needs to get the run game going against a stout Florida defensive front. If it can’t then Manning’s continued development in the pass game is an essential element for Texas’ championship aspirations.

When Texas struggled running the football in 2024, it could still rely on the Quinn Ewers short and intermediate air attack. The Longhorns controlled the game against a strong Michigan defense with 36 passes compared to 32 runs. A couple of leaky runs, including the epic Silas Bolden hustle play, gave Texas a generous box score rushing total against Oklahoma but the real hay was made passing. Throwing the football was how Texas competed in games against Georgia (twice), Arizona State, and Ohio State.

The 2025 offense does have a different shape, to be sure. But what was true last year and what remains true this year even with a different quarterback is that for Texas to contend for championships, it will have to generate both efficient and explosive pass plays.

Florida will provide the types of looks and the type of talent the Longhorns will have to conquer to remain in contention. Showing an increased level of prowess against defenses designed to make downfield life difficult would alleviate several of the primary concerns about Texas, its offense, and Manning himself as Sarkisian’s program enters SEC play.

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