Texas’ offense brutally efficient against San Jose State

After an offensive performance against Maryland that was nothing short of frustrating for players, fans, and coaches, the Texas Longhorns offense managed to right the ship in a major way against San Jose State, en route to a 56-0 win over the Spartans.

The Longhorns gashed San Jose State in every aspect of the offensive game, despite starting the game with uncertainty at quarterback. Week 1 starter Shane Buechele was ruled out for today’s actions shortly before kickoff, replaced by true freshman Sam Ehlinger.

The most-obvious improvement offensively was on the ground, as Texas racked up 406 yards on 59 rushes, averaging 6.9 yards per rush.

In comparison to the 98-yard performance against the Terrapins, this looked like a completely different Texas rushing attack. The offensive line was able to hold the point of attack and open up big running lanes for Chris Warren III, who showed why he was splitting carries with a Heisman Finalist a year ago.

Warren was explosive in the run game, even hurdling a defender who tried to go low on the 6-foot-4, 250-pound back, en-route to 166 yards and two scores on just 16 rushes.

Kyle Porter, listed as a co-starter with Warren on the depth chart, add 72 yards of his own on the day, and Jerrod Heard added in 39 yards and two scores as a run-first quarterback option.

The passing game found its rhythm against the San Jose State secondary and Ehlinger hit receivers in-stride. The freshman quarterback finished the night with 222 yards on 27 attempts, averaging 8.2 yards per attempt against a passing defense that only allowed 242 total yards on the season.

There is still room for improvement for the Longhorns offensively, with critical drops on third downs and coverage forcing Ehlinger to hold the ball too long in the pocket.

Texas must continue this upward trend, as they head to the Coliseum next Saturday to take on USC, which only allowed 94 passing yards in their season-opening win over Western Michigan.