AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Coach Steve Sarkisian said he had a simple message for his offensive line and running backs after Texas’ SEC title game loss to Georgia, the Longhorns’ second loss to the Bulldogs this season.

“Run to win.”

Texas rushed for just 60 yards in the two games against Georgia – 29 in a 30-15 loss in Austin in October and 31 in a 22-19 overtime loss two weeks ago.

On Saturday, in the first round of the expanded College Football Playoff, the Longhorns rushed for a season-high 292 yards in a 38-24 win over Clemson. Now they’ll run all the way back to Atlanta, the site of Georgia’s second loss, with a quarterfinal trip to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl to face Arizona State on Jan. 1.

“We had to dominate the football to win this game,” Sarkisian said. “We have to dominate football to advance in these playoffs. That’s what playoff football is all about.”

Running back Jaydon Blue, who struggled with an ankle injury early in the season and missed the UTSA game, had 38- and 77-yard scoring runs, both on audible call from quarterback Quinn Ewers, who completed 17 of 24 passes (202). Yards and a touchdown with an interception.

Blue, who had lost four fumbles earlier in the season and was carrying a football to show ball security after fumbling against Kentucky about a month ago, had 2 yards on two carries in the two Georgia games. On Saturday, he rushed for a career-high 146 yards and called it a “sigh of relief.”

“Going back to the SEC Championship, we didn’t run the ball well at all,” Blue said. “(Sarkisian) just has us under control in practice. The O-line, the running backs, the whole offense took that into account and we were more physical in practice. He really placed a lot of emphasis on us running the ball.”

And the Longhorns got it done against Clemson despite a few key linemen getting injured in the game.

Shortly before halftime, center Jake Majors and right tackle Cameron Williams were injured. Hayden Conner moved from left guard to center, while backup center Cole Hutson took over at left guard and Trevor Goosby at right guard.

Meanwhile, Clemson’s offense was able to put pressure on Texas. The Longhorns, who had not allowed more than 350 yards to any team this season, gave up 412 yards, including 336 yards and three touchdowns through the air from Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik. Texas had only allowed four touchdown passes all season.

The game was a rematch of the Texas state championship game following the 2020 season between Ewers and Klubnik, an Austin native who played against several former high school teammates from the Texas team. One of Klubnik’s best friends, Texas safety Michael Taaffe, said after the game that he presented Texas with challenges that haven’t been seen this year.

“When you look across the sideline, no matter how close you are to the other opponent, he is your opponent,” Taaffe said. “We definitely talked back and forth. So that was fun. But at the end of the game it’s all love. He had a great game. … He definitely helped us get ready for next Saturday. So hats off to Cade, he’s a real baller.

But Sarkisian said this team proved to him that it was versatile and resilient.

“I don’t know if that was our best game defensively, but when we needed it, they made those plays. To me, that’s a sign of great defense,” Sarkisian said.

And after Clemson rallied from a 31-10 deficit to 31-24 after Klubnik’s third touchdown toss, Blue missed with that 77-yarder early in the fourth quarter. Sarkisian saw it as a sign of determination for both Blue and the Longhorns.

“He was able to continue to work and improve his game and then have a game like this in the playoffs,” Sarkisian said. “Just really proud of him, but I think that’s kind of symbolic for everyone on our team. Everyone was busy with things. … One thing I know about our team is that we respond when times get tough, and Jaydon was a great example of that.