Texas Has Worrying Concern After Win Against Mississippi State

The Texas Longhorns have won back-to-back games for the first time since the end of September after a dominant win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

It was nearly a complete game from the Longhorns, especially from Arch Manning, who played one of the most efficient games of his career, but there were still concerns regarding parts of the offense, mainly the offensive line.

After surrendering five sacks and eight tackles for loss, the Longhorns have concerns for the rest of the season, especially considering two of the top defenses in the country are still on the schedule.

Trying a New Lineup

Texas Longhorns running back Raleek Brown (0) runs for yards during the first half against the Mississippi State Cougars at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Longhorns had to make changes on the offensive line after losing their star offensive tackle, Trevor Goosby, to injury for the rest of the season. While the injury was a massive blow to the offensive line, the Longhorns thankfully had a whole week to prepare.

That led to a slight change, with head coach Steve Sarkisian opting to move Andre Cojoe to right tackle and Melvin Siani to left tackle. That was a switch that seemed subtle, with the Longhorns putting Cojoe at left tackle following the mid-game injury last weekend.

However, the entire offensive line struggled with pass protection and defending against penetration by the Bulldogs. It's turned into a full-fledged problem this season, as the group has allowed 24 sacks this year, compared to 23 they gave up all last season, which was the problem that caused a revamp in the trenches.

That concern becomes more worrying when looking at the rest of the schedule. The Bulldogs were 48th in the country entering the contest, averaging 2.3 sacks per game, a great number, but far from elite.

The Longhorns still face the Missouri Tigers and the LSU Tigers, who ranked No. 18 and No. 1 in sacks per game this season, respectively. Those are the next two opponents, with Missouri averaging 2.8 sacks per game and LSU averaging 4.4 sacks per game.

Combining concerns about limiting the opposing team's ability to sack Manning with an average of just 1.9 yards per rush on 32 attempts, the offense needs more consistency to reach the lofty goals that have been placed on it.

Ideally, the offensive line should grow stronger with more reps this season, but will need a jolt of confidence and success to improve the outlook for the rest of the season.

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