Hey Sark, your Texas Longhorns can't run it, so turn QB Arch Manning loose | Golden

Memo to Steve Sarkisian.

Let's stop pretending: You're not a balanced offense, not even close. 

Your No. 7 Texas Longhorns (4-1, 2-2) can't run the ball through cotton candy at this point. Running backs Hollywood Smothers, Raleek Brown and Derrek Cooper have talent, but the group blocking in front of the form a five-man sieve.

This offensive line hasn't come close to meeting the program standard for the last two-plus seasons, so it's time to take some drastic measures. 

RELATED: Why Sark is upset about officiating the past few weeks 

Sark, it's time to roll the dice with your enigmatic quarterback. Unleash Arch Manning in a hurry-up, pass-heavy attack. It's obvious by now that he's a rhythm quarterback who's at his best when things are less scripted and faster paced. His best moments against Oklahoma came when the Horns went up-tempo.

Following that horrific pick-six put Oklahoma up 24-17, he channeled his inner Uncle Peyton and let it fly with a couple of big shots to Cam Coleman to tie it in the fourth quarter. He's a gunslinger who can use his legs, and at this time of the season he may be the best runner on the roster because the designed plays for running backs are yielding no fruit.

After literally giving away the game with those two fourth-quarter interceptions, Manning is in dire need of a pick-me-up and the Florida Gators will provide the perfect tonic Saturday. South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers isn't mentioned when it comes to discussions of the league's top quarterbacks, but he completed 23 of 35 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns at Florida, powering the Gamecocks to a 38-19 blowout of the Chompers, who have stumbled to a pair of blowout losses after opening 4-0.

It's time to air it out, Sark

While Sarkisian's offenses have historically been predicated on establishing the run, the numbers show that previous teams have come up on the business end against opposing fronts. Recent history doesn't lie. The Horns averaged more than 5.0 yards per rush in Sarkisian's first three seasons and ranked in the top 20 nationally - 2022 featured the great Bijan Robinson, followed by the electric Jonathon Brooks in 2023 - but it's been downhill from there. 

They averaged 4.33 yards per attempt in 2024, which was 74th nationally, 4.19 in 2025 (84th) and the current struggle bus ride of 3.66, which ranks an unconscionable 117th. This run game has been a graveyard.

So why not turn Arch loose to grip it and rip it, especially against the Gators, who give up an SEC-worst 268 yards passing yards per game? Want to see some downfield shots taken? This is the week for it. Florida has given up a league-worst 35 passes of 20 yards or more. 

I asked Sarkisian about the possibility of going more pass-heavy during his Thursday Zoom call. His reply was, in a word, predictable.

"I'm never a big one-dimensional guy," he said. "I know that you got to run the ball in our conference to be effective, and in the games that we play in, it's not where you just go out and you just outscore people by 30 points. I mean, we're playing real teams. We haven't had the luxury of some of these other teams' schedules, so we got to manage games to try to win the game."

So, why not use the run game as window dressing since the Horns have rushed for only 144 yards on 67 carries over the last two games? That's a whopping 2.1 yards per attempt if you're scoring at home.

Running into a brick wall 67 times is the football version of insanity. Besides, can't we agree that Coleman and fellow wideouts Ryan Wingo and Emmett Mosley V are the most dynamic playmakers on this offense and that Manning is at his best when he's throwing it downfield, not dinking and dunking it to tight ends and backs?

And who knows? Maybe more downfield aerials will soften up these defenses and open things up for the run game.

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Sure, a more pass-heavy attack with three or four wideouts as the base could create protection issues - what else is new behind this Cottonelle offensive line - but the Gators won't be able exhibit enough of a consistent pass rush over four quarters to deter the Horns from getting out of there with their first SEC double-digit win since that 27-17 decision over Texas A&M last Black Friday.

I would love to see Arch throw it 40 times. Expect the number to come in around 36 with success. The Horns will also be better on the ground against the league's worst defense. As if they could get any worse.

Sark will always seek balance or a semblance of it.

"Knowing the offenses that we're playing against and the teams that we're playing against, we want to be as complete of an offense as we can be," he said.  

Which raises the question: Do you want to be complete or do you want to win?

This article originally published at Hey Sark, your Texas Longhorns can't run it, so turn QB Arch Manning loose | Golden.