Texas offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert has rejuvenated the Longhorns’ offense in his first season on the job. Texas sits at No. 28 in the nation in points per game, up from its No. 83 ranking at the end of last season.
Still, his offense goes up against a different beast this Saturday. Baylor ranks No. 9 nationally in points per game this season and finished last year at No. 1. Gilbert and junior running back D’Onta Foreman met with the media Tuesday to discuss the state of the team heading into week eight.
Keeping up with the Bears
Although Gilbert’s offense averages 36.1 points per game, it’s only scored 27 and 21 points in its last two games, respectively. Texas will need to score much more than that to stay in a shootout with Baylor, which averages 43.7 points per game.
“They have a high powered offense,” Gilbert said. “They’re good on defense as well. You just look at the categories that they’re around and under the top 15 in a lot of those. You know you gotta be on your A-game, you got to go out and be productive.”
The Bears rush for 282.8 yards per game, good enough to put them at No. 7 in the country. They also only give up 17.2 points per game on defense. But Gilbert said when it all comes down to it, his offense must focus on not beating itself.
“That’s really been our focus going into this week again,” Gilbert said. “Just focus on us. Get us better at our fundamentals, at our techniques, the things that we’ve asked our kids to do and the way we’ve asked them to do it.”
Foreman shining while others struggle
Texas started the season 2–0, bristling with both confidence and optimism. They’ve gone 1–4 since, surrounded by nothing but a cloud of pessimism. But through it all, one player has remained successfully consistent.
Foreman sits at No. 3 nationally in rushing yards per game, churning out 142.5 yards on the ground per matchup. He’s gained 100-plus yards rushing in eight straight games going back to last season, trailing only Earl Campbell’s streak of 11 such outings for best in school history.
Former Texas players, running back Jamaal Charles and safety Earl Thomas, tweeted at Foreman after he put up another 124 yards against Kansas State Saturday. And he appreciated their vote of confidence.
“I’m glad I’m grabbing some of those guys’ attention,” Foreman said. “I’m just trying to be the best I can be here. Just the acknowledgment that they gave me after the game, I was really happy about that. But it kind of would have been a lot better if we had won the game.”
