In his postgame presser, Sark (surprisingly) revealed the adjustment that he made during the game that allowed Arch Manning and Co. to put on a passing clinic against the Commodores in week 10.
From the outside looking in, one of the most noticeable differences was how smooth the passing game looked from a sequencing standpoint. It seemed like a good amount of the passing concepts played well of each other and forced Vanderbilt's defensive backs to make difficult decisions throughout the night. Texas' receivers and tight ends did a great job attacking coverage bubbles as well.
Not only did the passing attack look effortless from the start, but it seemed like Steve Sarkisian trusted his playmakers to make plays with the football rather than focusing on scheming them open.
Sarkisian told the media that he decided to switch things up a bit and use 11 personnel more often against Vanderbilt in an effort to create more space in the game. He added that his original plan was to use 12 personnel with "broken" looks (tight ends split out wide), but he saw that the receivers were having success in space, so he switched to 11P.
Ryan Wingo, Emmett Mosley V, DeAndre Moore Jr., and Ryan Niblett are incredibly deadly in open space, and they undoubtedly proved it in week 10. Wingo caught a short, swing-pass and took it 75 yards down the sideline for a touchdown on the first play of the game, and that helped ignite a passing attack that pretty much stayed hot all day long.
Speaking of Wingo, it appears that he suffered a thumb injury in the game based on what Sarkisian said later on in the presser:
"Wingo hurt his thumb. We were down a couple other receivers in the first half. Michael Taaffe wasn't able to go. We lost Jelani McDonald very early in the game so that put Derek Williams and Xavier Filsaime in there, then ultimately had Jonah Williams out there. Guys stepped up. That's what happened in November."
Sark also mentioned that Wingo could've returned to the game in an emergency, so it at least sounds like the hand injury isn't that serious.
Hopefully, Arch Manning and the passing game can continue playing at a high level for the rest of the season.