Cole Hutson's absence sidelines Texas' starting center. Will the offense struggle, or can new lineups conquer Kentucky?
Everything seemed to be going smoothly for the Texas Longhorns offense following their huge win over the Oklahoma Sooners. Texas faithful were riding high after the upset victory. The Longhorns had finally found their identity.
Perhaps Texas' identity is still the same as of the midweek before Saturday's game against Kentucky, but its offensive ceiling took a hit, at least for the Kentucky game, with the latest injury report.
Fourth-year offensive lineman and starting center Cole Hutson is listed as "Out" for the Kentucky game. His absence will almost certainly be felt on Saturday.
Hutson first started for the Longhorns as a freshman in 2022. He was one of two players from the heralded 2022 Texas offensive line class to begin the season as a starter. The other was Top 10 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, Kelvin Banks.
Texas will still have a strong core of players at its disposal on Saturday. The emergence of Nick Brooks at left guard has Longhorn supporters excited, and backup center Conner Robertson does have playing experience to draw from ahead of the Kentucky game. Still, it seemed Texas had an offensive line group solidified heading out of the Oklahoma game, but it will need to set a new lineup for the Wildcats.
So what will the Texas offensive line look like against Kentucky?
For starters, the line was still imperfect even with Hutson. Some question whether or not the team made that much progress in the win over Oklahoma, or if the impressive play will translate into other games this season.
Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Cole Hutson (54) in action during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes at AT&T Stadium. Jerome Miron-Imagn ImagesTexas found ways to manage Saturday's game with fast-developing passes and a heavy dose of running back Tre Wisner in the running game. That said, Kentucky and other defenses will presumably adjust to the Longhorns' new intended plan of attack.
The likelihood is that we will see more growing pains from the Texas offensive line against the Wildcats. We probably were going to see the group struggle at times, even if Hutson were able to take the field.
Points and yards will likely be hard to come by as they were on Saturday. The Longhorns were only able to muster 302 total yards against Oklahoma. And while the Sooners were considered a Top 3 defense heading into the matchup, Texas will still play a few great defensive lines as the year progresses.
Texas probably can find a way to win against Kentucky. But it might not come as easily as some expect. The Longhorns will look to build on Saturday's strong performance with the linemen available to them against the Wildcats.