The ugliest win Texas football has pulled off this season was left in the hands — or, more accurately, right foot — of graduate kicker Mason Shipley.
Down to the fourth-and-long, Texas had just one chance to break a tie after Kentucky pushed to overtime with two traded field goals in the last minute of the game.
But even though Shipley’s 45-yard field goal sailed between the goal posts, there was hardly any cause for celebration. The 16-13 win was the result of a bizarre game against a Kentucky team that entered Saturday night 0-3 in conference play.
“We didn’t capitalize off a ton of opportunities,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We need to play better. We understand that.”
Texas’ offense had a grand total of 179 uninspired yards. Kentucky’s had 395. The Longhorns rushed for 47 yards, the Wildcats for 137.
See where this is going?
A lack of explosiveness is hurting this Texas team, and although redshirt sophomore quarterback Arch Manning had a dismal game, throwing 12 attempts for 27 completions and 132 yards, the lack of run game continues to haunt the Longhorns.
The longest attempt on the ground came from Manning for 14 yards, even though junior running back Quintrevion Wisner was the carrier for Texas’ one and only touchdown of the game.
The offense isn’t just struggling to get some rhythm — it’s struggling to feed off of any momentum, despite this game having the most potential out of any that Texas has played so far this season.
Coming off an upset of the now-No. 14 Sooners, the Longhorns were in great shape to dominate. Instead, they got off to the slowest of starts against the No. 105-ranked defense in the country.
And when junior linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. recovered a fumble, or when sophomore punt returner Ryan Niblett returned balls for 45 and 43 yards during two different points during the game, the offense was unable to feed off the energy. Every movement came to a dead stop — particularly in the second half, when Texas had just five drives, four of which ended on a three-and-out.
The offensive line is still a noticeable issue, with three sacks allowed this game, but combined with the lack of run game and ongoing issues with third-down placement, Texas looked stagnant.
It’s only due to the defense that Kentucky was unable to be productive, despite keeping possession for 39 minutes, nearly doubling Texas’ 20 minutes of possession. It’s also only due to the defense that the Wildcats were unable to convert on the one-yard line for an overtime touchdown, with graduate safety Michael Taaffe making two tackles in a row on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1.
“Our defense was tremendous all night. That’s just indicative of who they are,” Sarkisian said. “Those guys, we’ve been leaning on them all year and they showed up again tonight.”
Texas continues its Southeastern Conference road trip against Mississippi State next weekend, but if the Longhorns want a chance to remain in the running for playoff — or even bowl game — eligibility, they need to win each upcoming game.
So far, that’s proving difficult.
