Texas Is Set for a Deep Playoff Run

Life's supposed to work a certain way for the Texas Longhorns. You get the best players, you draw the biggest crowds and when you're on offense, you run the dang ball.

- LAINE HIGGINS

It worked that way for the better part of a century, as Texas produced some of the finest rushers that college football has ever seen, from Earl Campbell to Ricky Williams to Jamaal Charles.

But in recent years, as the Lone Star State has gone loco for the pass-happy Air Raid offense, the Longhorns seemed to forget about their smash-mouth roots. As Texas cycled through coaches since its last national championship in 2005, one of the few constants was its penchant for passing. This is a team with the most famous backup quarterback in the nation.

This season started off no different. Through the first five weeks of the season, the Longhorns tossed 17 touchdown passes but had a player rush for 100 yards in just one single game.

But as the season heated up and the stakes got higher, Texas started to take on a different, more oldfashioned identity. By the time of its College Football Playoff firstround matchup against Clemson earlier this month, the shift was complete. The Longhorns racked up 292 rushing yards-roughly 54% more than they averaged in their previous 13 games. For the first time all season, two different players topped 100 yards.

In describing their approach afterward, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian could have been quoting legendary Longhorns coach Darrell Royal.