The long offseason is finally over for Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns. No. 5 Texas welcomes Texas State to Austin this Saturday in a 2:30 pm season opener for both programs.
After last year’s uphill start to the season following a loss to Ohio State in Columbus, the Longhorns look for a better start as they enter 2026 with high program expectations. While Texas State is not the caliber of program that Ohio State is, G.J. Kinne’s Bobcats are very capable and cannot be taken lightly. Texas needs to be ready to play, or they will find themselves in a closer game than they bargained for.
Texas Must Contain Texas State QB Brad Jackson
Texas State quarterback Brad Jackson returns for another year and is coming off a season in which he combined for over 4,000 yards. Jackson had nearly 800 yards rushing last season, which clearly shows he is a true dual threat quarterback. That provides a challenge for Will Muschamp and the Texas defense, where communication will be a very important component.
As noted by Steve Sarkisian in his Monday press conference, Texas State runs an Art Briles style of offense. That means they can go high-tempo or slow things down to control the clock and limit possessions for Arch Manning and the Texas offense. They play a very similar brand of offense to Mississippi State, who the Longhorns had trouble with last season.
The stereotype of a Briles offense is that it is pass dominant, and that’s not accurate. A Briles offense actually likes to establish the run to set up deep pass plays. Should Texas control the Texas State run game, it will make things difficult overall for the Texas State offense.
How will the Texas Run Game Perform?
For the entire duration of last season, the Texas run game struggled for the most part. It was inconsistent at best, and in many games, the run game was so ineffective that Sarkisian basically gave up on it by the second half. Luckily, Manning was able to use his legs when necessary to help move the chains. At the end of the day, the lack of run game by its running backs limited Texas as an offense and was a large reason they did not make the playoffs.
Then came the portal.
The Longhorns nabbed All-ACC running back Hollywood Smothers from North Carolina State and All-Big 12 running back Raleek Brown from Arizona State. Those pickups are clear financial investments in proven talent at the position, and that’s in addition to heralded freshman Derrek Cooper. Smothers, Brown and Cooper all bring different skill sets, but Texas will use all three. Smothers and Brown will split a majority of carries but they don’t have the size of Cooper. Cooper brings size that can help the Longhorns in short yardage downs, which is an area in which Texas has struggled the last few years. If they can yield a strong run game, the offense and team as a whole will take off. We will get a glimpse of how improved the run game is starting this week against Texas State.
