Offense struggles without Bijan Robinson

No. 20 Texas was by no means in a position to take the lead in its 27-20 Alamo Bowl loss to No. 12 Washington on Thursday evening. The second yr of the Steve Sarkisian period ends with a 8-5 document.

Here are 5 takeaways from Texas’ loss to Washington within the Alamo Bowl:

Bijan-less operating recreation

Texas’ operating recreation clearly struggled without Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson. Texas solely gained 18 yards dashing within the first half, whereas Washington had 88 yards and a dashing landing. Texas had a dashing landing within the second half that clearly improved its dashing stats, nevertheless it’s clear {that a} Bijan-less run recreation wants loads of enchancment. Luckily, Texas has a complete offseason to determine the way it desires to proceed with its run recreation.

The youth motion

But, Texas does have a vibrant spot in operating again Jonathon Brooks. The redshirt freshman had a stable recreation in opposition to Kansas earlier this season and scored each Texas touchdowns on Thursday evening. He is primed to have a breakout season in 2023.

Second-year tight finish Ja’Tavion Sanders additionally capped off his breakout season by setting a brand new program document. Sanders’ 54 catches on the season is probably the most catches by any Texas tight finish at school historical past. Rather a lot went incorrect for Texas on the Alamo Bowl, however there are undoubtedly younger gamers that may set the Longhorns up for a greater season in 2023.

Second-half changes

Despite a mediocre first half, Texas got here out flying to open the second half. The Longhorns notched their first landing of the sport of their second half opening drive. Running again Jonathon Brooks caught a deep proper move from Quinn Ewers and ran for 34 yards into the tip zone. That opening drive had significantly better responses from Ewers and Xavier Worthy, with each of them not letting prior errors have an effect on them. Even although Texas minimize into Washington’s lead, it held itself again with some self-inflicted errors.

Receiver struggles

Ewers threw two deep passes within the third quarter, each of which might’ve simply was touchdowns. However, Worthy dropped each passes throughout a vital time within the recreation. Critical drops from a number of receivers have been a difficulty all through the season, and Texas might want to tackle these issues if it desires to win extra video games and for Ewers to hit his most potential.

Ewers continues to develop

Ewers demonstrated a substantial quantity of progress inside the previous month. He accomplished a majority of his passes and confirmed nice consciousness beneath defensive stress. Although he struggled after the Oklahoma recreation, Ewers has clearly put within the work to do higher. He might not have had the season that some folks thought he would have, however he’s trending in the appropriate course.