The Longhorns had to grind out an ugly win over the Bulldogs to open SEC play.

The No. 1 Texas Longhorns played one of their worst games of the season at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and still managed to come away with a comfortable 35-13 win thanks to a fourth-quarter offensive explosion.

Despite the struggles, Texas came out of its first SEC game with a win, but the margin was not quite the five-touchdown cushion the betting lines indicated. Heading into the bye week, the Longhorns have plenty to coach as they look to the Oklahoma Sooners and Georgia Bulldogs on the other side of the break.

Texas can shore things up on both sides of the line

One of the biggest questions about Texas when the move to the SEC was first announced was its ability to play in the trenches of the SEC. While it appeared that the Longhorns had made the requisite moves to prepare themselves for the conference, their debut gave them plenty to coach going into the bye week.

Offensively, Texas surrendered two sacks, seven tackles for loss, and had just 10 yards on the ground through the first quarter. The line also struggled with the little things that turn out to be big — getting flagged for false starts/illegal snaps, plus three holding calls that erased chunk plays. Defensively, the Longhorns struggled with some of the looks and quick adjustments from Jeff Lebby’s offensive scheme and gave up six rushes of 10 yards or more, including the Bulldogs’ only touchdown of the game, a 12-yard scramble by quarterback Michael Van Buren in the fourth quarter.

Texas has options in the backfield

Jaydon Blue, the explosive playmaker who ran for 124 yards and three touchdowns a week ago, lost two fumbles and struggled with consistency. When Texas needed to grind out yards, Quintrevion Wisner received the lion’s share of the carries. Twelve of his 13 attempts came in the second half and seven came in the first quarter — three of which converted for first downs.

The former consensus three-star prospect finished the game with 13 carries for 88 yards, both career highs, averaging 6.8 yards per carry and seeming like the featured back when the Longhorns needed one. Blue, despite his struggles, averaged six yards per carry and a score, with plenty of room to work in the bye week.

Texas can create true havoc in the backfield

Texas finished the game with 11 tackles for loss and six sacks in the matchup, led by freshman Colin Simmons, who once again appears to be ahead of schedule. Six sacks is the most by a Texas team under Pete Kwiatkowski and the most since recording eight against Iowa State in 2016.

In the contest Texas nearly doubled their sack total on the year and were one off the season-high 12 tackles for loss against UTSA two weeks ago. If the Longhorns can continue that trend, it will lead to success for them as they continue through SEC play.