A rejuvenated ground game leads to red zone, overall success for the Longhorns offense vs. Clemson

During an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday morning, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian explained what he believed to be the key to a victory that would advance his No. 5-seeded Longhorns past the No. 12 Clemson Tigers.

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“The reality of it is, we’re moving the ball really well but the key to the drill is we’ve got to get the ball in the paint,” Sarkisian said. “I think tonight is going to come down to our ability to execute when we get those opportunities.”

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Texas succeeded inside the Tiger 20 and then on a few more critical occasions thanks in large part to a rejuvenated run game. The Longhorns were 4-for-5 in the red zone on Saturday night against Clemson, scoring touchdowns and settling for a field goal only once during a night where Texas picked up almost 300 yards on the ground. The lone blemish occurred on a failed fourth-down attempt, but that mishap was undone by two long Jaydon Blue scoring jaunts that boosted Sarkisian’s program to a 38-24 win and the quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff.

Texas reached the red zone on two of its first three drives. The first, when the Longhorns took the ball down 7-0, culminated in a Quintrevion Wisner three-yard score near the end of the first quarter. Blue added his first explosive run of the game early in the second quarter on a 38-yard rush. Then, Texas put up seven more points when Wisner found the end zone from 16 yards out to make it a 21-7 game.

Blue’s touchdown occurred thanks to an audible from quarterback Quinn Ewers at the line of scrimmage, according to Sarkisian. That type of play from Texas’ starting quarterback would be a difference-maker later.

Texas recorded its final rendition of six-point success late in the first half when Ewers found tight end Gunnar Helm for a six-yard score. Bert Auburn‘s first and only field goal attempt of the game, a 22-yarder in the third quarter to make it 31-10, functioned as the final time the Longhorns would venture into the red zone.

Luckily for Texas, a reinvigorated Blue was ready to keep the Tigers at bay. The Longhorns saw what was a 31-10 lead halfway through the third quarter dwindle down to 31-24 in the early portions of the fourth. Tiger quarterback Cade Klubnik threw two second-half touchdowns as part of the best evening an opposing quarterback has put together against the Longhorn defense.

Needing a scoring drive in order to make the contest a two-possession game, Blue provided the Longhorns with just what the doctor ordered. Yet another Ewers check at the line of scrimmage into a run play created a gap on the left side of the line that Blue scampered through. Seventy-seven yards later, the 101,150 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium were in a frenzy as Blue crossed the goal line.

In the end, 292 of Texas 494 total yards came via the rush. Blue carried the ball 14 times for 146 yards and two scores. Wisner had 15 carries for 110 yards and two scores himself. Even Jerrick Gibson, who saw more action after Wisner was dinged up in the second half, rushed nine times for 35 yards and was trusted with the football in key second-half moments.

Much of that rushing offense came as the result of blocking from a pieced-together offensive line. Both Jake Majors and Cam Williams sustained injuries that kept them from participating in most of the second half. In response, Hayden Conner bumped one spot over from left guard to center, Cole Hutson replaced him at left guard, and Trevor Goosby stood in again at tackle.

That O-line group continued to protect Ewers, who was 17-of-24 for one touchdown and an interception that deflected off of DeAndre Moore‘s hands, and create lanes in the run game to reach the 292 yard mark. That rushing total was most the Tigers gave up throughout the course of the 2024 season and more than option-based The Citadel recorded at Clemson on November 23. The 492 yards posted by Texas eclipsed the previous season high against Clemson of 458 set by fellow Playoff team SMU in the ACC Championship.

The piecemeal offensive line was critical in helping Texas’ ground game bounce back. The 292 total yards were a season high for Texas, topping the 250 recorded against Kentucky on November 23. The rushing offense also bounced back in a major way from the 28-carry, 31-yard night Texas had against Georgia in the SEC Championship game. Even when sack-adjusted, Texas logged a meager 58 yards against the Bulldogs a few short weeks ago in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Now, the Longhorns will return there for a game with arguably higher stakes.

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No matter who was on offense for the Longhorns, the ground game helped Texas advance to the next round of the Playoff. Continuing to advance in the College Football Playoff may not be so difficult if the Longhorns can produce the type of red zone and rushing performances they put together versus Clemson on Saturday night against Arizona State in the Peach Bowl and against whatever opponent might come after the Sun Devils.