Texas Longhorns Offensive Line Struggles Return in Win vs. Tennessee

The Texas Longhorns survived Neyland Stadium, but still have one big issue they need to address.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian looks on before the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The No. 1 Texas Longhorns have survived their first trip to Rocky Top as they manage to hold on and secure a Top 15 win after beating the No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers 20-17 on Saturday.

Every road game in the SEC will be a tough challenge as the Longhorns have learned in their first two season in the conference, and the challenge intensifies in one of the toughest environments to play in the conference at Neyland Stadium.

While the Longhorns were a mixed bag throughout the game, with both good and bad moments on the day; one of the biggest issues heading into the season reared its ugly head in the Texas win over Tennessee.

Texas Offensive Line Still Has Work to Do

Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Trevor Goosby (74) prepares to block during the third quarter against the Texas State Bobcats at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Neither offensive line played a clean game throughout 60 minutes, as the Volunteers' offensive line allowed an eye-popping 10 sacks and 12 tackles for loss, with five of those coming from star edge rusher Colin Simmons.

However, the Longhorns' offensive line was not much better, hurting the Texas offense by not protecting quarterback Arch Manning when he dropped back to pass or opening up many holes for the Texas running game.

While Manning held onto the ball a bit too long in a few dropbacks and Texas wide receivers were well covered by Tennessee's pass defense at times, the offensive line did not do itself any favors.

The Volunteers' pass rush managed to get Manning down on the ground six times with two quarterback hurries.

Texas started behind the chains on multiple possessions, which forced the Longhorns to switch up their game plan on those drives. The Longhorns found themselves in third-and-long because of the early sacks, which only put more pressure on Manning, as the offensive line was forced to block for much longer on third down.

Not only was the pass protection a struggle for the Texas offensive line, but the run blocking was not a bright spot either. The Longhorns' running game only managed 61 yards rushing and averaged a poor 1.7 yards per carry.

The Longhorns' struggles to run the ball were evident as the Volunteers totaled 10 tackles for loss, as Texas was unable to establish a consistent running game.

While the Longhorns managed to push back the Tennessee defensive line on their two scoring drives, those drives were the exceptions and did not encapsulate Texas's rushing attack throughout the game.

Texas gets a bye week to work through any issues still lingering for the offensive line following the first half of the season. Steve Sarkisian will need to get his offensive line playing at a high level, with the rest of conference play looming large, as the Longhorns will face five ranked opponents in their next six games.

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