Just a month ago, the Texas Longhorns had a struggling offense that needed to find its stride to match its defense, casting doubt on what the program could accomplish during the 2026 season.

Now the offense has found success, moving the ball with ease and finishing drives when it matters. Some of that is due to quarterback Arch Manning, who is playing his best three-game stretch this season.

Another part of that, especially recently in the win over the Missouri Tigers, was the emergence of productivity from the running back room. While involved in the ground game, they were clearly threats in the passing game, but will that be the identity of the offense moving forward?

Starting to Shift Into a Balance

The Longhorns needed a spark on offense, and while the program was hoping to get the spark from Manning, he could only succeed if someone else on the roster stepped up with him to find the production.

"You know, when you have Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo, and Emmett Mosley, those are three pretty good players, and you're a little inexperienced at tight end, and you've got some new faces in the running back room," Sarkisian said during his weekly press conference. "It's like, well, if we're going to throw the ball, let's make sure these three guys are the guys where that ball is probably going to go."

That job would only be made tougher on Manning and the Longhorns as the injuries began to pile up on the offensive side of the ball. That included star left tackle Trevor Goosby, and lead running back Hollywood Smoothers, who would be ruled out for the season. Add in Cam Coleman, who would miss the matchup against the Tigers, and the offense needed names to step up.

"But as we kind of evolved, you assessed yourself, and you really self-reflected and looked at it all. That probably wasn't the best thing for us from a totality standpoint as an offense, and we had to shift back," Sarkisian continued. "And, oddly enough, what's come out of it is I think our receiver numbers have kind of gone up; the ball's been spread around."

That holds true when looking at the team's makeup and where they are at this point in the season. Against the Tigers, Manning completed all seven passes to his running backs for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Raleek Brown and Derrek Cooper accounted for 24 percent of his total passing yards in the win.

Spreading the ball around, rather than trying to force-feed the talented receiver room, will only keep defenses honest, and it's certainly helped Manning over the past few weeks, and could be the key that keeps the offense on a hot streak to close out the year.