This year has been an up and down season for the Texas Longhorns. They have won their last three games, despite being at a statistical disadvantage. Longhorns Wire took a dive into the numbers over this year and against their last three games. The difference in numbers is staggering.
We have seen an offensive regression from the Longhorns over the last three games. It is just facing tougher defenses, but the offense is struggling. More importantly, their quarterback is struggling with throwing the football.
| Category | 2020 | Rank | Last 3 Games | Rank |
| Scoring Offense | 40.4 | 17th | 28.3 | 61st |
| Passing Offense | 269.9 | 33rd | 207.7 | 74th |
| Rushing Offense | 167.3 | 65th | 152.0 | 74th |
| Total Offense | 437.1 | 40th | 359.7 | 82nd |
| Giveaways | 1.1 | 45th | 0.3 | 12th |
| Scoring Defense | 29.7 | 63rd | 21.0 | 22nd |
| Passing Defense | 283.1 | 110th | 323.0 | 119th |
| Rushing Defense | 117.9 | 26th | 79.0 | 5th |
| Total Defense | 401.0 | 57th | 402.0 | 55th |
| Takeaways | 1.7 | 41st | 1.3 | 63rd |
| Penalties | 83.6 | 123rd | 79.0 | 124th |
Sam Ehlinger’s comparisons
| Categories | 2020 | Last 3 games |
| Completions | 147 | 48 |
| Attempts | 250 | 88 |
| Completion % | 58.8 | 54.5 |
| Yards | 1,834 | 623 |
| Yards per att. | 7.3 | 7.1 |
| TDs | 22 | 6 |
| INTs | 5 | 1 |
The quarterback has seen his touchdown per game numbers drop from 3.1 to 2.0 per game. His interceptions dropped from 0.7 per game to 0.3. However, Ehlinger is now throwing for 54.3 fewer yards per game. His completion percentage has dropped but they have called fewer throws on a game to game basis.
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What seemed to stand out most is how this offense over the last three games has compared to the offense under Mack Brown in 2013. That was the final year of the Brown era before they hired Charlie Strong away from Louisville. That season they finished with a record of 8-5 after a trip to the Alamo Bowl. Based on this team’s current trajectory, they could also see a return trip to the game. The focus here is the numbers compared to Brown’s last season.
| Category | Last 3 games | Brown |
| Scoring Offense | 28.3 | 29.3 |
| Passing Offense | 207.7 | 212.5 |
| Rushing Offense | 152.0 | 196.3 |
| Total Offense | 359.7 | 408.7 |
| Giveaways | 0.3 | 1.7 |
Overall the scoring offenses are very close as are the passing numbers. The key difference being that Mack’s team ran the ball better per game but turned it over a lot more compared to the last three games. Both offenses were hovering around 60th best in FBS, which puts them in the middle of the pack. Average offenses don’t win consistently at the collegiate level.
| Category | Last 3 games | Brown |
| Scoring Defense | 21.0 | 25.8 |
| Passing Defense | 323.0 | 224.2 |
| Rushing Defense | 183.1 | 79.0 |
| Total Defense | 407.2 | 402.0 |
| Takeaways | 1.3 | 2.0 |
| Penalties | 79.0 | 45.9 |
The Longhorns scoring defense has been better as of late, due in large part to holding both Baylor and West Virginia under 20 points in those games. Overall with total defense numbers they are close. Texas under Brown was much more disciplined and had a defense that could create opportunities for the offense.
Is the Longhorns football team more of what they have been over the last three games and less of their season averages? If so, much like Mack in 2013 this could be Herman’s last year in Austin.
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