We are now seven games into the 2025 Texas Longhorns experience, and it’s fairly clear the Texas offense is a disappointment. There were times early in the season where you could realistically see them turning it around, and catching fire later in the season. That time has passed as far as I’m concerned. The goal now is to find a way to be passable, because I think that’s all we are going to get this season.
Texas is heading into Starkville this weekend, needing a win to keep their CFP hopes alive. The question for Saturday, and every game the rest of the way, is: how can we do enough offensively? It’s not going to be pretty. It’s unlikely to be very explosive. It can be good enough to get the win. It’s just hard to know what “good enough” means on a week-to-week basis
The Texas defense makes that bar much more attainable. The resurgence of the Texas special teams helps that even more. The Texas offense doesn’t have to be overwhelming, they need to be complementary. Currently, the Texas defense is giving up 11.3 points per game, and if you only include the Power 4 opponents, it’s 15 points/game. Does that mean the Texas offense just needs 16 points/game from their offense going forward? Unfortunately no.
After Mississippi State, Texas plays Vanderbilt, Georgia, Arkansas and Texas A&M to finish the season. Every one of those teams is top 50 in the country in PPG, with Mississippi State(31.9) at 50th. If you’re wondering where that sits in relation to the Longhorns, Texas sits at 81st in the country, averaging 26.7 PPG. Applying the same logic as the defensive stats, just taking the Power 4 opponents, it plummets to 16.75 PPG.
So, what does Texas need to do offensively to at least have a chance to win out? I would say 24 PPG gives Texas a very real shot in every game. Despite every team the Longhorns play moving forward averaging at least 30 PPG, Texas should be able to keep them well under their season average. It’s going to ask a lot of the defense, but there’s little reality left for the Longhorns where the offense carries the majority of the load.
The question is: how do they get to 24 points in every game? It’s both a simple and complicated answer. To me, if Texas can bottle the second half performance against Oklahoma offensively, they should be able to consistently get to 24 points at least. That is obviously a massive if, but it is a path. If Texas can excel in the short pass game, establish the threat of the run game and take care of the ball, they can do enough to win.
Obviously, we would love to see the Texas offense come to life, score 38 points Saturday and not look back, but that is becoming less and less likely as the season goes on. 24 points should be enough. The defense and special teams are going to carry the majority of the load for this team, there is no doubt. If the offense can stay on the field, run the ball at times and create at least 3 points consistently, this season is still very much alive.
This is wishful thinking. I’m not here to act like it’s not. It’s very unlikely Texas’ offense is going to be good enough for Texas to run the table. However, unlike some other teams struggling offensively, Texas’ doesn’t have to fix everything to win, they just have to make very minor tweaks to at least meet the defense halfway.
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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: If Texas Football’s offense isn’t going to be good, can it be just good enough?
Reporting by Tommy Bresee, Longhorns Wire / Longhorns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
