Sarkisian Says He Doesn’t Know Why the Run Game Didn’t Work Against Florida

 Only nine of Texas’ 26 total rushes were recorded by running backs on Saturday, and those nine rushes only produced 11 yards. By the end of the game, counting all 26 total rushes, Texas averaged just two yards per carry.

The ground game was just one of many areas in which the team struggled, which was unfortunate given the high hopes there were before the game when it was made public that the Longhorns would return starting running back Tre Wisner from injury.

Not only did Sarkisian and the Longhorn completely abandon the run, but it just never worked. Texas was never able to gain momentum or efficiency through the run game, and Sarkisian says he doesn’t know why.

“I don’t have a great answer for you today,” Sarkisian said. “What 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.”

Although he may not have an answer, there are two apparent issues. First, Sarkisian deserted the ground game in his play calling. Secondly, the poor performance from the offensive line would not allow for decent rush attempts.

One obvious answer is that it has to change, because the outlook on the season doesn’t look so great now.

“We just cannot be a one-dimensional team,” Sarkisian said. “When guys can just start rushing the passer and not worry about the run, the game gets really difficult.”

Sarkisian and the offense will have to work hard throughout the week to identify the issues, specifically in the offensive line, and ensure that this does not become a recurring issue, or else Texas will be in deep trouble.

“We’ve got to find a way to generate some run game and generate some run game outside of Arch [Manning], Sarkisian said.  “We’ve got to find it with the runners. That’ll be a task of ours tonight, tomorrow, Monday, to put together a plan for next week.”