Last year, it became a well-established fact that the Texas Longhorns had to improve their run game in order to have a fully formed offense, but also to take some of the weight off of quarterback Arch Manning's shoulders.
And, for the most part, head coach Steve Sarkisian accomplished that task by adding weapons both to the offensive line and to the running back room.
Namely, the addition of running backs Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers to the roster through the transfer portal was set to make a massive impact on Texas's offensive production, and it has... kind of.
While Brown and Smothers, as well as freshman Derrek Cooper Jr., have undeniably increased production out of the backfield, the Longhorns are still falling well short of expectations and where they need to be to compete at the highest level.
So far this season, excluding any time Manning has been sacked, Texas has averaged just 4.30 yards per carry. That's theoretically good and would technically equate to a first down every three plays. However, it ranks 122nd among FBS teams.
Not bad to be in the top 125 teams in the world, right? Well, there are only 138 total FBS teams in the country. That means Texas is 16th to last in rushing efficiency.
In other words, for a team that is expected to (and expects itself to) compete at the highest level, this simply is nowhere near good enough.
Texas's offensive production simply doesn't stack up against top teams
For further comparison, the Louisville Cardinals (who have fallen out of the top 25) average a nation-leading 7.02 yards per carry, followed by the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs at 6.64 YPC and the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers at 6.60 YPC.
Of course, adding to the problem is the fact that Manning does get sacked... a lot.
While the offensive line is better, it still isn't as good as it needs to be, just like the run game. So far this season, Manning has been sacked 2.40 times per game (12 times total), which ranks 107th among FBS teams, once again placing the Horns in the bottom half of the national standings.
Now, some of that could be blamed on Manning himself, either not picking up on incoming pressure or holding onto the ball for too long. However, the O-Line, tight ends, and running backs all have to do a better job of protecting their leader.
The No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the second-best team at avoiding the sack, only allowing 0.33 sacks per game. Georgia, the Miami Hurricanes, and the Ole Miss Rebels all allow an average of just one sack per game. Even the Oklahoma Sooners only give up 2.20 sacks per game, and they're viewed as one of the most sack-prone teams in the nation.
Simply put, Texas has to get better at the line of scrimmage on the offensive side of the ball, and whoever is in the backfield has to get better at refusing to give up negative yardage.
Also read: Texas's unacceptable loss vs. Oklahoma proved Steve Sarkisian must hand over playcalling
The Longhorns are better, but they are still far from great, and if this team wants to compete at the highest level (the College Football Playoff and, eventually, the National Championship), there is still a lot of room for improvement.
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