Texas was able to sneak away from Starkville with an OT win and unlike many games, there are plenty of reasons for both optimism and pessimism. Here, we are going to focus on the negative, which there was plenty of yesterday from the Longhorns. The defense had their worst performance of the season by a margin, the offense in the first half still missed the mark and the OL continues to be an issue. 

Let’s start offensively, where despite the incredible finish, still left a lot on the table. The run game never got going early on, there were multiple drops that stalled drives and the OL struggled once again. 2.3 yards per carry for the Longhorns is not going to be nearly good enough against the rest of the Texas schedule. There are plenty of positives to take away from the offensive performance, but the holes that have been present all season still seem to be there. 

On defense, it’s much easier to find pessimism. This was the most points given up by a Pete Kwiatkowski defense since 2023 Red River. They did well against the run, giving up only 1.5 yards/carry, but the Mississippi State WRs were running free time and again. The absence of Michael Taaffe loomed large, giving up 382 yards and 5 TDs through the air. They were able to make some timely plays, including two 4th down stops, but still is a performance that left a lot to be desired. 

This was a game Texas needed to win, and they found a way, but it’s hard to walk away feeling much better about the future. Arch Manning going down late in the game does nothing to subside those worries either, as it could be Matthew Caldwell getting the start against Vanderbilt. There were points left on the board, poor execution at times and another game that needed OT to get the win. 

Texas is alive for all their preseason goals. It’s hard for me to say they will meet those goals playing this level of football. The offense continues to have real questions that aren’t going away, the defense is starting to show holes we didn’t see prior and the Longhorns star down three top 10 opponents in the final four games of the season. Having a shot is great, but the Longhorns are truly hanging on by a thread. If they can’t improve rapidly before Saturday, they will fall out of CFP contention.

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