Week 1 is in the rearview mirror, and the Texas Longhorns have a 1-0 record to their name, but now, it is time for them to hunker down and prepare for Goliath to come to town.
In Week 2, the Horns are set to face the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes, who claimed their own blowout victory over a true cupcake opponent to start the season.
Even with Texas's 59-7 victory over Texas State to kick off the season, there is a lot of room for the Longhorns to "play better," as head coach Steve Sarkisian said after the win.
So, with that being said, here are the biggest lessons that the Horns need to learn before they take the field next Saturday to try to take down the Buckeyes:
4. Running backs are Texas's biggest offensive weapon
Yes, the Longhorns scored four touchdowns and earned 360 yards through the air, but the biggest improvement on the offensive side of the ball was the running back room (benefited by a much-improved offensive line).
Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown did exactly what they were brought here to do: produce.
Brown earned two rushing touchdowns on just 11 carries, tacking on 74 yards to the Horns' rushing total. Smothers averaged 7.0 yards per carry and had a receiving TD. Even James Simon earned 19 yards and a touchdown on three carries.
Sarkisian has to lean into this newfound dominance coming out of the backfield and continue to accept the fact that the running back room can lead the offensive attack, even with a star like Arch Manning slinging the ball.
3. Arch Manning isn't settled quite yet
In that same vein, Manning still has quite a bit of room for growth before he tries to enact his revenge against Ohio State.
This is by no means to say that he had a bad performance against the Texas State Bobcats; he tied his career high of four passing touchdowns after all, but there were still a few moments of his previous questionable decision-making throughout the win.
Manning was sacked just once in the first game of the year, another nod to the improved O-Line, and even Sarkisian said after the game that it was more on the QB than the pass protection.
"Maybe he could've thrown the ball away?" Sarkisian said.
Additionally, the interception to end the first half was a completely forced attempt to squeeze another touchdown into the first 30 minutes and was entirely unnecessary. He tried to force another pass early in the second half, which was nearly picked off as well.
Simply put, he needs to trust the fact that his offense is going to produce when necessary, and he cannot try to force the same kind of plays against Ohio State because the Buckeyes will actually use the turnovers to their advantage.
2. Will Muschamp still has some work to do
Texas held Texas State to just seven points, which was a great outcome, but the Bobcats were able to amass nearly 400 yards of total offense, including 188 passing yards and 161 rushing yards.
Yes, Rasheem Biles forced a fumble that Graceson Littleton returned for a touchdown. Yes, Colin Simmons recovered a second fumble later in the game. And yes, Biles picked off Texas State quarterback Brad Jackson.
However, it was Texas State, not Ohio State.
Jackson still had way too long in the backfield to make his plays, the Bobcats were able to eat up a lot of the game clock, and Texas State put up way too many yards against a defense that was touted as one of the best in the country going into the season.
To sum all of that up, defensive coordinator Wil Muschamp has a few adjustments to make before the Buckeyes come to the 40 Acres.
1. The defensive secondary must be better
Along those lines, the defensive secondary has to play better against Ohio State.
The Buckeyes boast the best wideout in the country: Jeremiah Smith, who is just one of the stars in a shockingly talented receiving corps.
Jackson was able to complete 65.2 percent of his pass attempts, and Texas State backup quarterback Gavin Parkhurst went 5-of-6 when he entered the game. The Longhorns' leading tacklers were four defensive backs: Jelani McDonald, Jonah Williams, Graceson Littleton, and Kade Phillips.
Yes, the defensive line only earned two sacks against Jackson, and they could've been much more aggressive with the pass rush, but they were also having to guard against his rushing ability, a talent that Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin does not possess.
All of that is to say that the Texas secondary was nowhere near disruptive enough to slow down the Bobcats' passing attack, and the Buckeyes' are going to be a significantly bigger beast to slow down through the air.
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