Texas football must fix running game before facing No. 13 Baylor Saturday

By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer

AUSTIN, Texas — There was plenty of talk about Monday during coach Tom Herman’s regularly scheduled media availability in regard to the Texas Longhorns’ lack of a run game against Iowa State and who should shoulder the blame for the pitiful performance in the 23-21 loss.

As would be expected, there was not a black and white answer from the coach for the 54 yards worth of non-production on the ground in a game in which the Longhorns needed to be able to lean on the run, especially deep in the fourth quarter when they were nursing a one-point lead.

There is [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]plenty to be addressed before the Longhorns roll up I-35 to square off against No. 13 Baylor, whose undefeated season was ruined by a 25-point comeback and a game-winning, late field goal by Oklahoma.

Last week, Herman opined that preparing and playing against Iowa State’s unusual defense was akin to getting ready for a once-a-year-battle against Navy’s triple-option offense, because it’s something teams don’t see much which makes preparation challenging.

“It’s extremely unique, but certainly nothing that we hadn’t practiced against,” Herman. “There’s a level of human nature that kicks in. When you start getting frustrated, you start pressing. Those are all things that can derail the run game.”

Herman also said the Longhorns’ changes on the right side of the offensive live — Derek Kerstetter moved from tackle to guard and Denzel Okafor played at tackle — had an effect on UT’s running game.

“Having two guys in there in the starting lineup that for the first time all year were playing those positions, I think did affect a little bit,” Herman said.

“The issue was we had sprinkled in there way too many TFL’s (tackles for loss) early, and some of those were communication issues in terms of who we were blocking, and some of those were fundamental issues with how we were blocking it. So you saw a unit offensively that couldn’t get out of its own way with a bunch of self-inflicted wounds.”

The Longhorns’ run game should get a boost from the return of starting right guard Junior Angilau, who practiced Sunday after he missed the second half of the Kansas State game and the Iowa State contest with a medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain in his knee.

“If you want to look for a tough S.O.B. on our team, and we’ve got a lot of them, but Junior Angilau certainly is one of them,” Herman said of the redshirt freshman. “It’s remarkable what he was able to do in the time and commitment (that) he put in in his rebab.”

The loss to Iowa State assured the Longhorns their 10th straight season with at least four defeats, and the Texas fan base is none too happy about it since this team was supposed to build from its win over Georgia in last year’s Allstate Sugar Bowl and be a factor on the national stage.

“They have every right to be, if they are true supporters,” Herman said of the disgruntled fans. “We have not played to the level of our expectations, and if you’re a fan of us, you probably have very similar expectations, and we have not met those expectations thus far.”
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