The Lack of this element is a Major Issue for the Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns struggled in all phases of the game in their ugly loss against the Florida Gators, as the offense returned to its cold streak while failing to keep Arch Manning upright. The defense was gashed plenty of times on the ground and through the air, and even on special teams, Texas had one of its punts blocked.

Texas won't have much time to dwell on its tough loss, with the Red River Rivalry against the Oklahoma Sooners lingering in the background next week, and it still has to play against other top contenders in the SEC in Georgia and Texas A&M, while also taking on a scrappy Vanderbilt squad.

While the main focus of the Longhorns' offense will always be Manning and the passing attack, the running game, and the line of scrimmage are equally, if not more important, especially in the SEC, where ground control can dictate games. And as for the Longhorns, their struggles in the run game have been crystal clear since the start of the year, and were glaring against the Gators.

Sarkisian Comments on the Longhorns' Running Game Struggles

Texas Longhorns running back Christian Clark (6) runs for yards past Sam Houston Bearkats defensive lineman Darius Jackson (90) | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Against Florida, Texas could not move the ball on the ground, finishing the game with just 52 rushing yards throughout all four quarters, on 26 carries from four different ball carriers; the Longhorns barely exceeded 50 yards rushing for just about 2 yards per carry. Postgame, Steve Sarkisian had a quick and direct response to the Longhorns' struggle running the ball.

"That's what we have to figure out," Sarkisian said. "I don't have a great answer for you today.

In the game, the Longhorns' leading rusher was Manning, who gained 74 yards; however, after sacks, he ended with a total of just 37 yards. And as for their running backs, Quintrevion Wisner gained just 11 yards on eight carries, Ryan Niblett had just four yards and two carries, while Christian Clark had a single carry for no gain. Also, postgame, Sarkisian elaborated on the need for the Longhorns' rushing attack to wake up, especially from ball carries outside of the quarterback.

"I do know is we couldn't run it tonight when they didn't know we were going to run it, regardless of when they knew we were going to run it," Sarkisian said. "We've got to improve that; we just cannot be a one-dimensional team. When guys can just start rushing the passer and not worrying about the run, the game gets difficult. We've got to find a way to generate some run game and generate some run game outside of Arch. We've got to find it with the runners, and that'll be a task of ours tonight, tomorrow, and Monday to put together a plan for next week."

The Longhorns' struggle to run the ball is not new, as through five games, no Longhorn ball carrier has amassed over 200 yards on the ground. The leading rusher on the team is Manning with 160 yards rushing. From the running back spot, the leading rushers are Jerrick Gibson with 155 rushing yards and James Simon with 117 yards, both of whom interestingly did not receive a single carry against the Gators.

Texas' two featured running backs heading into the season have not been much of a factor due to injury, as Wisner had been out since the Ohio State game, and CJ Baxter has been out since an injury against UTEP.