There’s nothing new about the Texas fan base being frustrated this year, but when former Longhorns chime in on social media, that says something.
The Longhorns walked into Kroger Field as a 12.5-point favorite over the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday night, and left barely scoring that many points in regulation, defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 16-13 in overtime.
While a struggle-bus win against Kentucky is almost a rite of passage in the Southeastern Conference—see Georgia’s 13-12 victory last year—it also validated concerns over Texas’ offense that have percolated all season.
Texas had just 179 yards of total offense to the Wildcats’ 395 and managed just eight first downs. The Wildcats also had nearly 20 more minutes in time of possession than the Longhorns. Luckily, the defense limited the Wildcats’ opportunities to score, but watching Arch Manning complete 44 percent of his passes with an average of 4.9 yards per completion and running backs unable to make up much more on the ground was hard to watch.
First off, you know it’s bad when members of the Charlie Strong teams are talking. But at least the 2016 Texas team had running back D’Onta Foreman with over 2,000 yards rushing and quarterback Shane Buechele with nearly 3,000 yards passing in a 5-7 season.
Right now, Texas ranks 64th out of 136 FBS in team passing efficiency, 77th in passing offense (218.7 yards per game), 79th in scoring offense (26.7 points per game) and 92nd in red zone offense (80 percent conversion rate). It’s the 11th-ranked offense in the Southeastern Conference, while Kentucky’s is 14th.
“O line please block,” wrote 2015-2017 Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson.
“Sark gotta make a tough choice real real soon !!” wrote 2015-2018 Texas defensive tackle Charles Omenihu.
“This Texas offense man….” wrote 2008-2011 linebacker Emmanuel Acho.
“And when I said we weren’t strong enough to move the LOS…” wrote 2016-2021 Texas offensive lineman Tope Imade.
While Texas’ offensive line has been shaky through the first six games, the hope was that it had turned a corner after last week’s performance against Oklahoma. But the blame can’t solely be placed on the unit, because even when given ample time, quarterback Arch Manning missed out on converting key opportunities.
This is also while Texas has one of the best defenses in the nation. It ranks third nationally in scoring defense (11.3 points per game), fifth in run defense (83.3 yards per game).
“DEFENSE!!” wrote 2018-2022 Texas linebacker Demarvion Overshown.
“Defense wins games,” wrote 2018-2022 Texas defensive tackle Keondre Coburn.
Acho also chimed in again, “Texas has a national championship defense with a barely bowl eligible offense. Whatever it takes though, HOOKEM!”
With the win, Texas is now 5-2 with a 2-1 SEC record and will play Mississippi State (4-3, 0-3) at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday in Starkville.
