Texas is gearing up for another Top 25 matchup, this time on the road at Missouri. The Tigers are sitting at 6-2 like Texas, coming off a comfortable win over Arkansas.
Ahmad Hardy returned to the field last week, adding to an already elite run game but it’s unknown how much he’ll play in this one. Regardless, the Missouri offense presents multiple problems Muschamp and company will have to answer. It’s no different for the Tiger defense, who consistently flashes their elite talent on the front seven.
Here are the four keys to the Longhorns winning Saturday and keeping their CFP hopes alive:
Jump Out To An Early Lead
The two times Roberts has been held under 4.0 yards/carry in SEC play, Missouri lost. The only way to do that is to avoid the run game leaning on your defense.
Ole Miss jumping out to an early lead forced Missouri to lean into the passing game, leaving them one-dimensional. Texas has been brilliant in the first quarter and needs to do it again to eliminate a run game that can dominate this game. The Longhorns opening to a 10-0 or 14-0 win could take the single most dangerous piece of the Missouri offense out of it.
Redzone Defense
Even in their losses, Missouri puts up plenty of yards. What they have struggled with is scoring when in the redzone, scoring TDs in just over 50% of their red zone possessions. On the other side, Texas’ defense is giving up TDs on just 40% of their opponents possessions in the red zone. If the Longhorns can force Missouri to take FGs instead of scoring TDs, they’ll keep the offense in the game and allow the chance for one or two explosives to change the game.
Quick Answers for Manning
Considering the struggles of the Texas OL, it’s difficult to imagine the Missouri DL not heating up Manning consistently. That means Sarkisian will need to give him quick answers in the passing game, as he has in recent weeks. Manning has been generally good at this in recent weeks, particularly on in-breaking routes. He needs to find those quick answers to open up not only the passing game but the run game as well. This will be a requirement the rest of the season, but particularly against Daeden Hopkins and this Missouri pass rush.
Find Explosives
The Texas offense is unlikely to be a consistent product this season. What it can be is an explosive/individual excellence-based offense. Manning needs to create with his legs off schedule, Raleek Brown needs to make defenders miss and the WRs will need to flash elite ability after the catch. It’s not the ideal circumstances but it is something that can, especially with the elite defense, win you the rest of the regular season games. On Saturday, Texas’ offense needs individual excellence to succeed on a consistent basis.
Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions. Follow Tommy on X: @bresee_thomas.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Keys to a Texas win vs. Missouri: Early lead, Explosive offensively
