Texas: Offense Must Keep Momentum Going

The Texas Longhorns 59 points against the Kansas Jayhawks needs to be a focal point for the last three games of the season.

The Longhorns’ offense dominated the Jayhawks’ defense in their 59-20 win this past Saturday. Every facet of their offense was flowing, with touchdowns being scored by quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers. It was the Longhorns’ highest point total of the season and it must act as something to build off of with the end of the season coming up.

The counter to this could be the fact that Kansas has not won a game all year and they are giving up an average of 48 points per game. However, no one ever said the Longhorns offense completed a huge task by dropping 59 points. They did exactly what they were supposed to and it was encouraging to see since they were shut out by Iowa St. just one week earlier.

This could end up being very important for the Longhorns. After they play West Virginia next week, they will play Texas Tech and TCU, two very high scoring teams. Their offense had been lacking throughout the season as they had struggled to find a way to use quarterbacks Jerrod Heard and Tyrone Swoopes.

After they played Oklahoma, they discovered their winning system. That system called for Heard to drive the ball down the field while Swoopes would get most of the plays in the red zone. That strategy helped them get a few good wins but completely fell apart against Iowa St. They should be able to use momentum to their advantage against West Virginia this weekend.

A few key Longhorns had great games against the Jayhawks: Wide receiver John Burt and running back D’Onta Foreman. These players must continue to play their game as the season moves along. At the beginning of the season, Burt looked like he was going to be a key target for Jerrod Heard.

They connected for some very long plays, including a 48-yarder and a 69-yarder. Burt was always coming up big when the Longhorns needed him and if he is able to continue to make strides as a Freshman, he could become a key part of the future in Texas.

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Foreman came in and took the Longhorns by surprise. Johnathan Gray was set to be the man at the running back position after a becoming a solid option over the past few seasons. However, Foreman broke out against TCU and Oklahoma with 112 and 117-yard games respectively. If he can continue his dominance against top teams in the nation, the Longhorns could have an extra weapon to rely on offensively.

The key to all of this is continuity. The Longhorns have to make sure they don’t get comfortable because the defenses of the Big 12 are just going to get harder as they advance in the season. Kansas was a bonus game for them to get back on their feet but they cannot go into the next few games with too much confidence in their offense, because it still needs work.

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The basic skills the Longhorns have to utilize to make sure their offense stays dangerous is by continuing to use their split quarterback play of Heard and Swoopes, relying more on the running game instead of forcing quarterback runs, and remembering to use their talented receivers that have gone unnoticed at times during the season.