Stopping the run is a Texas priority against Missouri

For the No. 7 Texas Longhorns to emerge from the program’s first trip to Columbia since 2011 with a win over the No. 18 Missouri Tigers, Will Muschamp’s defense needs to slow down the potent Missouri run game led by Jamal Roberts, one of only three running backs nationally to surpass the 1,000-yard mark with four regular-season games remaining.

In wins over then-No. 25 Florida and Texas A&M, the 6’0, 216-pound back was the catalyst with 211 yards and three touchdowns against the Gators and 222 yards and two touchdowns against the Aggies.

What makes Roberts so dangerous is his combination and speed and power and his ability to operate effectively in multiple run schemes beyond the wide zone scheme that forms the basis of the offense under head coach Eli Drinkwitz.

“He’s not a one-dimensional runner. I think Roberts has the ability to run their stretch scheme, he has the ability to get the corner, and he has the speed to take it to the house, but on the same token, he’s got the physicality, the contact balance, and the vision to run between the tackles,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.

“So it’s not like hey, when he’s in, he does this well and not that well. You have to defend it all and then he’s got really good patience and ability to read their wide zone running scheme to go along with the other complementary schemes that they have. He is where their offense starts.”

Against Texas A&M, Roberts ripped off a 54-yard touchdown run on outside zone after making the safety miss trying to run the alley, but the more impressive aspect of the rushing performance was the displacement the interior of the Missouri offensive line was creating with double teams on inside zone/duo.

That’s a dangerous development for a defense because of how effective Roberts is after contact. The St. Louis product has forced 30 missed tackles this season while gaining 786 yards after contact, an average of 4.2 yards after contact per carry.

The effectiveness of the Missouri offensive line against A&M hasn’t always been the norm this season — the Tigers rank 95th in blocking and generate 2.9 line yards per carry, an unimpressive number.

In the 31-24 loss to Mississippi State, Missouri averaged 3.4 yards per carry and were unable to find the end zone on the ground.

And the Ole Miss defensive line that was so ineffective slanting and playing line games against Texas was dominant against Missouri playing the Tigers straight up, gaining just 39 yards on 26 carries. That was also the total rushing yardage generated by Roberts on 20 carries.

So it’s possible to bottle up the Missouri running game, and the Texas defense is well suited for the task. With only four rushing touchdowns allowed this season, the Horns lead the SEC in that category and rank fourth in average yards per carry at 2.8.

It all starts up front, where the Texas interior is difficult to move the way that Missouri leaned on Texas A&M.

“There’s got to be a sense of physicality at the line of scrimmage, and hopefully you have people that are hard to move. I think we’ve got a few of those guys that are tough to move inside,” Sarkisian said.

At the top of the list is 6’5, 375-pound senior Ian Geffrard, the team’s highest-graded run defender among the defensive tackles, followed by juniors Alex January and Maraad Watson.

The fundamentals matter, too, because Roberts makes defenses pay when they don’t fit runs correctly.

“Any time you want to stop the run, you’ve got to be disciplined in your gap integrity, right? And you’ve got to recognize the type of run that it is, and then have real discipline in your run fits. We spend a lot of time on run fits — we take a lot of pride in it between Coach Muschamp, Coach [Johnny] Nansen, that whole group, Coach [Kenny] Baker, Coach [LaAllan] Clark,” Sarkisian said.

The necessity for proper run fits extends to the second and third levels, where the Longhorns have also been particularly good. Senior linebacker Rasheem Biles leads Texas with 21 tackles on running plays, followed by senior safeties Derek Williams (18) and Jelani McDonald (17) and senior linebacker Justin Cryer (15).

Getting a high-quality back like Roberts to the ground requires populating the football.

“You’ve got to tackle really well and it’s not always about the one person tackling — I think it’s multiple white hats to the ball to get runners on the ground. We’ve been fortunate — knock on wood — our safeties have tackled really well this year coming out of the roof and they’re going to need to again Saturday,” Sarkisian said.

McDonald is known for his tackling ability, but he also has four missed tackles against the run, so Williams has been the real standout on the back end with only two missed tackle attempts on running plays, a rate of 8.3 percent.

The Missouri running game sets up the passing game led by quarterback Austin Simmons and standout wide receiver Cayden Lee, who benefit from the rapport they built while playing together at Ole Miss.

“If you overcommit to the run, they’re going to find easy completions, and they hunt easy completions,” Sarkisian said.

Those easy completions tend to look like the easy-access throws the Texas defense has been effective taking away this season like quick outs, hitches, and glance route run-pass options.

“All those things are predicated off of people trying to sell out to stop the run,” Sarkisian said.

Taking away those easy-access throws may be more difficult for Texas if key members of the secondary aren’t available — sophomore nickel back Graceson Littleton and sophomore cornerback Kade Phillips were both listed as questionable on Wednesday’s injury report.

Trying to force Simmons to hold the ball longer could create other problems for the Longhorns because senior cornerback Warren Roberson, who played a career-high 54 snaps against the Bulldogs, is susceptible to double moves. If Missouri runs a hitch and go or slant and go against him, will he jump the hitch or the slant?

Lee is particularly dangerous when Missouri schemes up mismatches for him from bunch and stack formations that will tax the leverage of the Texas secondary and its ability to understand how Muschamp wants to defend those formations, particularly senior Bo Mascoe, who moved to the Star position after Littleton left the Mississippi State.

But it’s clear that the Tigers passing game is a secondary concern — if Missouri is able to gash Texas in the running game, unlikely given how well the Horns have defended the run this season, securing a road win becomes much more difficult.

However, the combination of consistent ground gains and easy-access throws, achieved by Florida as the Gators bled the Longhorns out in the second half, could have the same impact on Saturday’s result as it did on last month’s upset in Austin.