The then-No. 4 Texas Longhorns opened the season with a strong 52-0 victory over the Colorado State Rams in Austin on Saturday to open the 2024 season.
While it’s hard to put much weight into a game that was over at halftime, certain factors are worth examining. In this piece, the first of a weekly rendition, the third down and redzone performance of the Texas offense will be assessed.
Last year, Texas performed poorly in each of these critical areas. Worse, they played pivotal roles in both of losses. Against Oklahoma, Texas had a red zone interception AND was unable to score with a 1st and goal from the 1. The Longhorns lost by four. In the Sugar Bowl against Washington, the offense was unable to score in the red zone to end not only the game, but the season.
Given the third down and red zone woes from last season, it is vital that Texas improves on them this year.
Third down
6-for-12 (50.0 percent)
Against Colorado State, Texas converted its third downs at a rate of 50 percent. This represents an improvement compared to a year ago — last year, Texas converted only 38.4 percent of third down attempts, which was 70th in the country.
On Saturday, Texas was much more successful when they were able to keep third downs to short distances. While this may seem obvious, it’s important to note given that Texas faced multiple 3rd and 10-plus situations against the Rams. The lone turnover on the day occurred on a 3rd and 13 when redshirt junior quarterback Quinn Ewers climbed the pocket, considered running, then tried to throw the ball away, only to have it tipped to a Colorado State player.
“I’d love Quinn to make better decisions in that situation of the game, a 3rd and 13, just possessing the ball and getting three points out of it,” Sarkisian said on Monday of the turnover that occurred on a play from the Rams’ 25-yard line.
Avoiding self-inflicted wounds that put the Horns behind the chains are another area of emphasis for Sarkisian to improve on third downs and in the red zone. Against Colorado State, the first drive stalled after the two opening plays went for 28 yards when senior center Jake Majors was called for a false start and Texas only gained two yards on the next three plays, leading to the game’s only punt by the Longhorns.
Keeping third downs to manageable distances to afford head coach Steve Sarkisian the option to use the run or pass, consequentially opening the playbook to every personnel package, is another area of emphasis as Texas faced an average down and distance of 5.9 yards with six third downs of four yards or less with the Longhorns converting four of those opportunities.
One potentially worrisome note from Saturday was the inability for Texas to consistently run for first downs on third and short near the red zone. Early in the game, facing a 3rd and 3 at the CSU 24, Texas opted to run the ball up the middle with sophomore running back Tre Wisner, but was stopped short of the line to gain and then had to settle for a field goal when Majors was flagged for a snap infraction on 4th and 1.
Three drives later, the Longhorn offense was once again stopped after running the ball on 3rd and 3 at the CSU 26 when junior running back Jaydon Blue was stopped for a two-yard gain before converting the fourth-down opportunity with a 13-yard run. Lastly, Texas was stopped at the goal line on 3rd and 1 while trying to punch the ball in with freshman running back Jerrick Gibson. Redshirt freshman quarterback Arch Manning scored on the next play on a quarterback sneak.
Texas has yet to solidify their short-yardage package. There remains a question of whether the ball carrier will be Blue, Wisner, or even Gibson. Regardless of who is carrying the ball, the veteran offensive line cannot not be stopped on third and short, especially in scoring territory.
Red zone
7 attempts. 7 touchdowns.
It doesn’t get much better than that — Texas was perfect in the red zone as all seven drives ended in seven points. Against the Rams, the Longhorns were not afraid to use the run or the pass in the red zone with four passing and three rushing touchdowns.
Notably, Texas was able to score its first touchdown running power with Wisner for a three-yard score and junior right tackle Cam Williams and a host of his teammates combined to help Gibson score on a five-yard run during which the physical freshman back kept his feet moving enough to allow his teammates time to pull and push him into the red zone.
Texas also benefited from some improvisation by the quarterbacks.
In the first half, Ewers threw a no-look pass to wide receiver Matthew Golden to record a passing touchdown close to the goal line.
And in the second half Manning shoveled a pass to senior wide receiver Silas Bolden for a five-yard score after exiting the pocket under pressure and looking to scramble.
Finding a wide receiver to replace the red-zone production of AD Mitchell was also a priority for the staff after Mitchell recorded eight touchdowns in the red zone. In the win over the Rams, junior wide receiver Isaiah Bond showed a flash of that type of ability — the skill to win against one-on-one coverage, using a strong release to create separation on his inside release, then running such a crisp route pivoting outside that he had time to adjust his helmet before catching an easy touchdown from Ewers.
This performance represents a significant improvement in red-zone performance. Last year, Texas ranked 87th in the country by scoring on 80.3 percent percent of red-zone trips. It gets worse — if you exclude field goals, Texas ranked 120th in the country with a red-zone touchdown rate of 50.8 percent. The red-zone performance against Colorado State was quite literally twice as good as it was last year.
All in all, Texas performed at a very high level in key areas of the game. The game this past Saturday set a foundation of enriched play in two critical places where the Longhorns struggled last year.