No. 5 seeded Texas football’s ground game has rushed the Longhorns all the way to Atlanta, Georgia, for an appearance in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals after taking down No. 12 seed Clemson, 38-24, in the first round of the CFP at home.
While the Longhorns were impressive on all fronts, the pinnacle of their game was the dominance on their feet. Texas held 292 rushing yards in comparison to Clemson’s 76.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian said early on in preparation for this game, he knew that the team needed to thrive on the ground.
“One of the first bullet points I put up in this room was to ‘Run to win’,” Sarkisian said. “We needed to run the football to win this game and we’re going to need to run the football to advance in these playoffs and that’s what playoff ball is about.”
After an unsuccessful presence on the ground in the Southeastern Conference Championship against Georgia earlier this month, Texas was able to move through the Clemson defense with the star running back duo of sophomore Quintrevion Wisner and junior Jaydon Blue.
Blue led the team with 146 running yards on 14 attempts. With Clemson catching back up making it a one-score game at the beginning of the fourth quarter, 31-24, Blue quickly retaliated with a 77-yard rushing touchdown flying by multiple Clemson defenders. In addition to this impressive play, Blue put up another 38-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
“It was a sigh of relief,” Blue said about the 77-yard touchdown. “After everything I’ve been going through. But you know, it’s all God, I stayed patient and he let me.”
Sarkisian mentioned Blue has overcome a lot of adversity this season with an early ankle injury and fumble issues, but commends him for his mental toughness and the hard work that it took to overcome them.
“If I know one thing about our team (is) that we respond when times get tough and Jaydon (Blue) was a great example of that,” Sarkisian said.
Wisner has also been an integral part of the run game, holding over 150 rushing yards in the last two games of the regular season. Despite not finding many gaps in the Georgia defense to run through in the SEC Championship, he showed back up against the Tigers, rushing for 110 yards and two touchdowns while also having reduced playing time due to an injury in the second quarter.
While the offense as a whole performed well with junior quarterback Quinn Ewers throwing for 202 yards with 71% completion, Clemson junior quarterback Cade Klubnik held an impressive 336 yards, with many high-caliber throws. The two well-performing quarterbacks deemed a need for a team to excel in the run game, and luckily Texas was able to answer.
The Longhorns will look to continue their run game efficiency as they make their way back to Atlanta for the playoff quarterfinals against Arizona State on Jan. 1 at 12 p.m.
