The No. 17-ranked Texas Longhorns' 35-10 loss to the No. 5-ranked Georgia Bulldogs was catastrophic in more ways than one. It dropped their record to 7-3 on the season and to fifth in the SEC standings. The loss also plummeted the Longhorns' AP poll standings and playoff odds heading into the final two weeks of the season. While not impossible, Texas faces an uphill climb back into the College Football Playoff landscape.
One key reason for the Longhorns' loss was the lack of rushing success drawn up by the Texas offense. Against Georgia, Texas could only muster 23 rushing yards. Even if quarterback Arch Manning's -17 rushing yards are detracted from the total, Texas still rushed for under 60 yards. It is the third time this season that Texas has been held under 60 rushing yards. Their record in those games is 1-2, including losses to Georgia and the unranked Florida Gators.
On Monday, head coach Steve Sarkisian addressed the team's fatal flaw, stating that, at the end of the day, the team needs to find a way to run the ball more effectively, via Anwar Richardson of Yahoo Sports.
Sarkisian is not wrong, but it is troubling how little things have changed through the season. In 2025, Texas football ranks 97th in the country with 124.2 rushing yards per game. They ranked 12th out of 16 teams in the SEC in rushing yards per game and total rushing yards on the season (1,241).
What is worse is that the Longhorns' offense is becoming one-dimensional because of the lack of a rushing attack. Texas is running the football 48.9% of their offensive snaps. Their lead backs, CJ Baxter and Quintrevion Winser, are averaging under four yards per carry. That is the lowest total since Sarkisian became head coach in 2021, according to NashTalks of Inside Texas.
The Longhorns may not be due for a College Football Playoffs trip this season. While there are other areas of concern, Texas' inability to run football should top the list of reasons why.
