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With 408 rushing yards in two games 11th-ranked Texas heads into Saturday’s road game against California (9:30 p.m., ESPN) with the nation’s 53rd-ranked rushing attack.

That’s not elite in terms of ranking right now. Nevertheless, it’s a good start for an offense that’s proven it’s got the pieces to hang its hat on being able to pound the rock.

Sterlin Gilbert has called plays with a run heavy emphasis in the first two games. Texas’ 106 rushing attempts as a team are the most in the Big 12 and are the 10th-most nationally out of 128 FBS squads, a sign that the veer-and-shoot is a system that will take what the defense presents is there to take and can survive by eating up yardage on the ground.

With that in mind, Texas has every reason to feed its backfield stable against a Cal defense that’s had issues stopping the run so far in 2016. The Golden Bears are currently the fourth-worst team in the nation when it comes to defending the run, ranking 125th with 291 yards per game allowed in their first two games of the season against Hawaii and San Diego State.

In a 45-40 loss to the Aztecs last weekend San Diego State running back Donnell Pumphrey ran for 281 yards, breaking Marshall Faulk’s school record of 4,589 rushing yards in the process. Now the Golden Bears face a Texas backfield stable that’s expected to be at full strength after D’Onta Foreman was given the night off in last weekend’s 41-7 win over UTEP.

Foreman, who had 131 yards and 24 carries with a touchdown in the season opener against Notre Dame, returns to the field with Chris Warren (34 carries, 141 yards, one touchdown) and Kyle Porter (eight carries, 33 yards) coming off of a game where they took on the workload in Foreman’s absence. Foreman was available against the Miners in an emergency situation but the game never reached a stage where his services were needed.

Now the Longhorns are ready to run in Berkeley on Saturday night with a rested, experienced backfield looking to feast on the Cal defense.

“It’s fortunate you’ve got three backs and now all three of them have experience,” Gilbert said. “Especially with Chris and D’Onta being bigger-type backs, but just excited to have those guys in a rotation and being able to keep those guys fresh and being able to run our run scheme and those guys be a part of that.”

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