Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 2)

satyanash · September 8, 2019

Collecting all the post-game analysis articles, including those behind paywalls, regarding the LSU game here:

Jeff Howe: No. 9 Texas falls to No. 6 LSU in thriller, 45-38

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AUSTIN, Texas — The athleticism on the field, the physicality expected to be on display and the quarterback battle between Sam Ehlinger and Joe Burrow lived up to the hype. Texas proved once again, behind the guts and grit of Ehlnger and the leadership of Tom Herman, it belonged on the field with one of the nation’s elites with Ed Orgeron leading one of the most talented LSU squads of the last decade. In the end, however, No. 9-ranked Texas was one answer short and Burrow’s fourth touchdown pass of the night was the backbreaker as No. 6-ranked LSU left Austin’s Royal-Memorial Stadium with a 45-38 victory. On a night when Ehlinger was outstanding, Burrow was exceptional as he completed 31 of 39 pass attempts for 471 yards, including the game-clinching touchdown when he hit Justin Jefferson for a 61-yard touchdown to convert a third-and-17 with 2:27 remaining in regulation.

A 15-yard touchdown pass from Ehlinger to Devin Duvernay with 22 seconds to play gave Texas hope, but an onside kick out of bounds by the Longhorns allowed LSU to kneel on the ball and the end the game. The Longhorns put together an impressive third-quarter response to cut into a 14-point LSU halftime lead. Texas came out of the locker room with some juice, outscoring (14-3) and outgaining (161-116) the Tigers while converting all four of their third-down attempts and averaging 6.2 yards per play.

The defense, for their part, held LSU to an 0-for-2 quarter on third down and forced a field goal when the Tigers did threaten to score. Ehlinger accounted for both rushing touchdowns in the quarter — a 2-yard run to put a cap on a 19-play, 86-yard drive that took more than seven minutes off of the clock and a 20-yard strike to Jake Smith to help make it a two-point game, 23-21, in favor of LSU heading into the fourth quarter.

After Burrow connected on his third touchdown of the night (a 26-yard scoring toss to Terrace Marshall), Ehlinger and the Longhorns answered yet again. A slant to Duvernay on fourth-and-3 from the LSU 44-yard line went the distance after Duvernay broke a tackle and raced to the end zone to cut the LSU lead back to two points, 30-28, with 12:09 to go in regulation. A 10-play, 46-yard drive by the Longhorns ending with a 47-yard Cameron Dicker field goal was the answer to a 12-yard touchdown run by Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Needing a stop trailing by six, 37-31, the Longhorns didn’t get one as LSU’s highly-flying offense carried the day and the Tigers to a win.

Trailing LSU in the first quarter, 3-0, after Cade York connected on a 36-yard field goal, the Texas offense went on an 8-play, 73-yard drive that ended with a fourth-and-goal at the LSU 2-yard line. Ehlinger executed what appeared to be the perfect call on a goal-to-go situation with a throwback pass, but Keaontay Ingram couldn’t hold onto the ball and the Longhorns turned it over on downs. Joseph Ossai got the ball back for the offense when the Cowboy package (eight defensive backs on the field) turned a third-and-9 for LSU at their own 4-yard line into an interception. The offense, unfortunately, couldn’t do anything with the good field position as Ehlinger was dropped for a 2-yard loss fourth plays later on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line.

For Texas, a total of eight plays on goal-to-go downs resulted in no points. With the defense holding their own against the LSU offense through the beginning of the second quarter, Ehlinger was finally able to lead a touchdown drive. The final play on an 8-play, 78-yard scoring drive was a 55-yard touchdown pass from Ehlinger to Brennan Eagles, who got behind LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton and pulled away from the Tigers for the first play from scrimmage of 50 yards or more for the Longhorns in 17 games and the longest offensive touchdown of the Herman era.

The lead didn’t last long as Burrow and the Tigers roared back, answering with an 8-play, 75-yard drive. Burrow’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson started a run of 17 unanswered points by the LSU offense to end the first half. A total of three scoring drives by the Tigers saw Burrow and Co. rack up 198 yards of total offense and average 9.4 yards per play en route grabbing the halftime lead, 20-7. Texas will be back in action next week when the Longhorns travel to Houston to take on Rice at NRG Stadium (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network).

Cody Daniel: Initial takeaways from Texas’ 45-38 loss to LSU

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First things first: Despite the loss, that was one hell of a game, and it validated an entire week of tremendous hype. But, on the big stage, Texas did lose, as a late 61-yard touchdown strike from Joe Burrow to Justin Jefferson on 3rd and 17 sealed the win for LSU. I’ll have some more in-depth thoughts on a few of these tomorrow, but here’s a few initial thoughts from the Longhorns’ loss.

Missed opportunities cost Texas this game. In what ended as a seven-point loss, the Longhorns left at least 14 points on the field. Obviously, Keaontay Ingram dropping a wide-open would-be touchdown to potentially take a 7-3 lead comes to mind, and then Texas had two chances to score from the half-yard line on the following drive and didn’t. On the play that essentially sealed the win, Texas had LSU facing a 3rd and 17, and instead of making a key stop in a six-point game, allowed a 61-yard score. Even then, after responding with a touchdown of its own, Texas nearly executed the on-side kick, but Collin Johnson couldn’t secure the recovery. These were just a few of the several plays Texas will wish it had back.

Roschon Johnson may actually be a good running back. I have no clue what to expect here long-term, but Roschon Johnson looks quite comfortable at running back. When Ingram was struggling to make a difference, and actually out-rushed Ingram, 32-29 on three fewer carries. He runs with effort, burst, shiftiness, and for now, that’s enough. He also added three receptions for 17 yards. He’s still extremely new to a position that he may ultimately remain at long-term.

Devin Duvernay appears to be Texas’ new star in the slot. Last season, Lil’Jordan Humphrey became Sam Ehlinger’s safety blanket and thus, a star in the slot. It appears Duvernay is doing the same. He led the Longhorns with a career-high nine receptions last week, and quite easily bested that tonight 12 catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns, including a 44-yard catch and run score on 4th and 2 that kept Texas alive late.

Similarly, Brennan Eagles is legit and coming into his own as a difference-maker. After hauling in a pair of touchdown passes last week, Eagles impressed even more against an LSU secondary that is, by all credible accounts, elite. He recorded his first 100-yard game (116) on five receptions, made a couple remarkable catches, and broke free for Texas’ first 50-yard play since 2017 to put the first points on the board. I’d be extremely surprised if he doesn’t start next week and continue to impress going forward.

Breathe; the season isn’t over. Texas lost a game that it just as easily could have won, but LSU proved tonight that it is, indeed, very damn good. The Tigers will be top five next week, if not top three after this performance, and Texas was a few mistakes away from beating that team. More notably, this kind of loss will provide plenty of learning opportunities.

Edited September 8, 2019 by satyanash

bigcigar · September 8, 2019

1 minute ago, satyanash said:

Burrow

That stat line is sick. The critical question that will be answered over the next 10 games: Is Burrow that good or is the Texas defense that bad?

Fozzz · September 8, 2019

Gonna guess this defense is gonna get butt fucked in quite a few games this season.

satyanash · September 8, 2019

2 minutes ago, bigcigar said:

That stat line is sick. The critical question that will be answered over the next 10 games: Is Burrow that good or is the Texas defense that bad?

Honestly, probably both. You don't get 31/39 for 471 yards and four touchdowns with just one or the other.

Red Five · September 8, 2019

He hit a few tight windows but for the most part he was throwing to wide open receivers. Sam went 400, 5 tds and no turnovers and it looked difficult by comparison.

Bullneck · September 8, 2019

satyanash · September 8, 2019

Bobby Burton: Snap Judgments

Texas had its opportunities both early in the game (on two fourth-and-goal plays) and late (on the third-and-17 that LSU converted for a TD). But, in the end, Texas just couldn't do enough to stop or disrupt the passing game of LSU and QB Joe Burrow.

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We can go over and over the decision of Todd Orlando to bring the blitz on third-and-17 but the reality is Burrow made a great play. He slid left in the pocket to give himself just a little bit more time, enough to let the receiver get open. And the blitz is what Orlando dials up. As the saying goes, live by the sword, die by the sword. It was that way much of the night for the Texas defense. Burrow and LSU had an answer for anything Orlando threw at them.

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The same can be said for Tom Herman's first quarter coaching decisions deep in LSU territory. Texas twice came up empty (no points) on fourth-and-goal opportunities. Herman said he wanted to be aggressive. But you live by the sword... There's just no telling how this game ends up if Texas scores on one of those possessions, although it's hard to think that the scoring onslaught by both teams wouldn't have ultimately materialized.

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The biggest issue for Texas on defense was the lack of consistent pressure and the lack of the safeties and linebackers getting into the passing lanes. The defensive line did not create any pressure or too rarely beat their man one-on-one.

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Make no mistake, Burrow played a great game. And Texas needs help on defense. And Tom Herman probably should have knotted the score in the first quarter instead of twice going for it on fourth down. But don't let that dampen the performance of the Texas offense, particularly that of Devin Duvernay and Sam Ehlinger. While Ehlinger was inaccurate at times in the first half, and missed open receivers while leading Texas to just seven points in that half, he played incredibly well in the second half. He started anticipating throws as the game wore on, which is what you have to do against faster, more talented defenses, and the Horns scored 31 points in the second half alone.

Ehlinger's top target was Duvernay, who set the tone early in the second half with a pair of bruising runs-after-catch that seemed to stagger the Tigers' All-American safety Grant Delpit and will the Longhorns back into the game. Duvernay's move to the slot has given the sure-handed receiver more opportunities this season and he's making the move look like a brilliant one. His fourth-down TD catch on the quick slant was a thing of beauty.

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Another sparkplug for the Texas O in the second half was running back Roschon Johnson. Johnson's energy level, and hard-nosed runs, gave Texas a boost when the Horns needed it most. Same can be said for Brennan Eagles, who is starting to show a propensity for making big plays.

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Sam Cosmi was flagged for one holding call. And that was just about the only time you heard his name all night. Cosmi played a great game. So did Parker Braun, save a couple of communication breakdowns in pass protection. Add Derek Kerstetter to that mix, too. The Texas OL more than held its own against the LSU defensive front.

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After getting beat too often, Texas moved away from Kobe Boyce in the fourth quarter and inserted Anthony Cook. Cook gave up the two-point conversion on what looked like a mental lapse but otherwise acquitted himself well. I'd be mildly surprised if Boyce keeps his job going into next week.

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I felt like Texas was playing against Colt McCoy for a large part of the second half. That's who Burrow reminded me of. Pinpoint passes. Good, not great, athleticism. Picking the right receivers at the right time. Throwing the ball before the receivers even broke in their routes. Dinking the ball down the field and then getting the big play at just the right time.

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In hindsight, the last five minutes of the first half probably cost Texas the game. LSU scored twice in that span, including a back-breaking touchdown in the final minute of the half after Texas had tried its own two-minute drill and failed miserably.

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Texas just played in a great game. Sure, it was a flawed game. But a great one nonetheless. Two top ten teams just went toe-to-toe. The better team won IMO. The Tigers' offense was just too good.

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However, Texas can have some confidence going into next week and on into conference play that its offense is legit and that the Horns can move the ball against just about anybody if they execute well. The defense is a work in progress. The Horns have to find a way to get pressure on the passer.

satyanash · September 8, 2019

Kaelen Jones: Texas might be getting closer to return to top, but loss to LSU reveals remaining work

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AUSTIN, Texas — After the final whistle Saturday night cemented No. 9 Texas’ 45-38 defeat to No. 6 LSU, the Longhorns walked across the field to the opposite sideline at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and approached their student section. As they sang “The Eyes of Texas,” the UT players lifted their “hook ‘ems” high in the hot September air despite their disappointment. However, before the Showband of the Southwest played its first notes, sophomore left tackle Samuel Cosmi walked in front of his teammates and barked a message. “Keep your head up!” Cosmi told them, pounding his chest at one point.

It’s understandable why the Longhorns felt dejected. So much had been made of one of the most highly anticipated contests at DKR since 2006, when No. 1 Ohio State faced a No. 2 UT squad led by a true freshman quarterback named Colt McCoy. The hype for LSU’s visit was all but confirmed by the return of ESPN’s “College GameDay,” whose show on LBJ Lawn drew thousands to the Forty Acres in the wee hours of the day.

By their estimation, the Longhorns felt prepared. The leaders on this team have been battletested in the past, not relying on the experiences, but using it as heeded wisdom. They deflected the hype entering the game, expressing self-confidence. The Longhorns battled, despite often being overwhelmed by LSU’s high-powered offense. The Tigers seemingly plunged the final dagger through UT’s defense with the game in the balance, facing a third-and-17 while maintaining a six-point lead with under three minutes remaining.

Before the snap, DKR reached peak decibel. It looked as though the Longhorns offense would get the ball back and a chance to reclaim the lead for the first time since the first half. But LSU quarterback Joe Burrow survived immense pressure, firing a pass across his body to wideout Justin Jefferson, who muscled through a tackle from Longhorns safety Caden Sterns and raced down the sideline to help push the Tigers into a 14-point lead.

That could’ve been the end of things. But Texas junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger directed an eight-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Devin Duvernay, trimming the deficit to one possession. With 22 seconds left, the Longhorns lined up for an onside kick. Sophomore Cameron Dicker dribbled the ball between a pair of LSU players and UT senior receiver Collin Johnson dived with outstretched arms, nearly corralling the ball, but couldn’t as he fell out of bounds.

Coaches along the Longhorns’ sideline covered their heads in disbelief after raising them at the thought of getting a chance at a game-tying score. “If we would’ve got that ball back,” said sophomore receiver Brennan Eagles, “we would’ve (done) everything in our lives to put up more points, ‘cause we’re not going to stop giving effort until that clock hits zero-zero.”

Ehlinger, who completed 31-of-47 passes for 401 yards and four touchdowns, took responsibility for the offense getting off to a slow start. Senior safety Brandon Jones bemoaned leaving plays on the field he wished he could have back. But the Longhorns’ deficiencies were magnified because of the caliber of their opponent.
The Longhorns defense couldn’t slow down LSU’s new high-powered offense enough. (Scott Wachter / USA Today)

Burrow proved as magnificent as advertised. Texas head coach Tom Herman, who once recruited him to play at Ohio State, warned earlier in the week of how gifted and poised Burrow is. The QB delivered on that to the tune of 471 passing yards, four touchdowns and one interception. He completed 31-of-39 passes, an outstanding 79.5 completion rate. Three LSU receivers — Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall — eclipsed the 100-yard mark, the first time in program history a trio accomplished the feat in the same contest. Burrow’s 471 yards were the most allowed by Texas since 2008, when Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell threw for 474. “I thought Joe Burrow was the difference in the ball game,” Herman said. “Just really accurate, really aggressive. I thought he fit some balls into some really tight windows, was really accurate down the field, and, yeah, he’s going to have a heck of a year if he stays healthy.”

The youth on Texas’ perimeter defense was exposed, particularly. And as the Longhorns struggled on defense, early on, their offense did them no favors either. In the first quarter, UT drove to LSU’s 2-yard line facing third-and-goal. Ehlinger rolled into the boundary side, flinging a pass away as the Tigers crowded him. On fourth down, Herman dialed up a similar play call, this one with sophomore running back Keaontay Ingram drifting wide open on the far side a few yards into the end zone. Ehlinger threw toward him, and as Ehlinger began to pump his fist in celebration, the ball fell out of Ingram’s hands.

On LSU’s ensuing drive, sophomore linebacker Joseph Ossai caught hold of a deflected Burrow pass — a rare miscue from the Tigers QB on the evening — and set up the Longhorns at the LSU 4. Again, UT faced fourth-and-goal, but from the 1, Ehlinger was stuffed in the backfield for a 2-yard loss. Ehlinger described the two empty red-zone possessions as “crucial” factors in the outcome. “The ball inside the 5-yard line twice and came away with no points,” Ehlinger said. “That’s unacceptable. We’ve got to do better in the red zone.” “Listen,” Herman added, “we came in this game to play to win. That’s why we went for it early on the goal line and we didn’t — we weren’t successful, obviously.”

For much of the first half, it seemed like the Longhorns weren’t up for the heft of the matchup. But something clicked in the second half. UT’s defense opened by forcing LSU into a three-and-out. The Longhorns staged a grueling 19-play, 86-yard drive that consumed more than seven minutes before Ehlinger punched in a 2-yard run. Their defense recovered from giving up a pair of deep Burrow passes and held LSU to a field goal, which Ehlinger answered with a beautifully threaded 20-yard pass to freshman wideout Jake Smith. The Longhorns narrowed the deficit to 2. “We could’ve easily laid down when we were down two scores,” senior center Zach Shackelford said. “So, just really proud of the way that our guys fought. That’s what we train for. That’s the culture of this program. So I’m just glad that we did that.”

The Tigers put their foot down, though. Burrow hit Marshall for a 26-yard score. When UT finally converted a fourth down and Duvernay — who finished with a career-high 12 catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns — split the LSU defense for a 44-yard score, the Tigers responded with a 12-yard run by running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Dicker nailed a 47-yard field goal before Jefferson’s long catch-and-run that put the deficit out of reach for good.

“The clock ended up being our enemy,” Shackelford sighed, “but it is what it is.” Nevertheless, the Longhorns’ fought back. And, for most of the second half, they looked like LSU’s equal; not a lesser counterpart. “I thought we certainly didn’t start as we should’ve to beat a top-10 team as good as they are,” Ehlinger said. “We saw on the backend when we played our best, it was good enough. … We gotta start faster.”

If anything, Saturday served as a teaching point for the Longhorns. As several players shared, it felt like more of a reiteration of things. UT knows what it’s capable of; it’s a matter of execution. “We knew that,” Ehlinger said, “which is upsetting because if we know that, we have to play like that all the time.” Senior defensive lineman Malcolm Roach, of Baton Rouge, La., said this kind of game can reveal Texas’ true makeup. “We’re getting squeezed right now,” Roach said. “Like a sponge gets squeezed, you see what comes out of it. And we’re gonna see what comes out of it, how we come back and how we respond to this adversity right now.”

The Longhorns won’t dwell on Saturday’s defeat for too long. Perhaps there’s not much reason to. Roach said he felt that those outside of the program were treating LSU’s visit as a one-game season. But UT’s long-term goals, at least for this season, are still intact. The early defeat doesn’t wipe out its chances of reaching the Big 12 championship game. Nor does it fully rule out a run at the College Football Playoff.

So, while the hype of “Texas being back” might calm down a bit, losing to LSU, a legitimate CFP contender, in Week 2 of the season, doesn’t mark a failed campaign. “That’s the biggest thing,” Herman said. “This is Game 2 of a marathon. We wanted to win this game, certainly, very badly. We prepared to win. I loved our plans. We’ve got to do a better job of coaching our guys to execute at an elite level. Obviously, it hurts. It hurts a lot, but I think they all realize that all of our long-term goals are still out there.”

Brody Miller: ‘The kid is a baller’: Why Joe Burrow’s breakout performance should be anything but a surprise

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AUSTIN, Texas — That sly, devilish grin and the man behind it strolled over to the Texas crowd with vindication in his bones. Joe Burrow was going to enjoy this. This was his coronation, his breakout, his proof on the national stage he belonged. Burrow’s not shy. He’s not timid. That’s how he got here in the first place. So he looked up at the crowd of Longhorn fans and started waving goodbye until the whole team joined him.

And that smirk. That tells the story of Joe Burrow. That tells the story of Saturday night. Because Burrow knew. Burrow’s always known. That’s why he came to Baton Rouge to lead the Tigers. He was going to show everyone he’s one of the best. But there was skepticism, and there were issues. Maybe it was the offense. Maybe it was being a late addition. People simply weren’t sold on Burrow.

Saturday night he threw that out the window along with his 471 passing yards and four touchdowns. He made clear LSU (2-0) has something its been seeking for years and even decades. LSU has a star quarterback. Burrow went into Austin and took down the No. 9 Longhorns, 45-38. He out-dueled Heisman candidate Sam Ehlinger. He responded to every Texas punch with another touchdown drive to counter. He erased any doubt of whether this new LSU offense could work or if LSU is an actual title contender.

So on that third-and-17 — that dagger — with two and a half minutes remaining and Texas on its tail, when LSU decided to keep attacking, he listened to offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger’s plan on the headset during the timeout. He walked into the huddle and yelled something with gusto. He moved in the pocket, hopped around on one foot and heaved the ball across his body 20 yards downfield, somehow making it into Justin Jefferson’s arms before he took it for 61 yards and the score. Nobody understood how he did it. He just put Texas away. “He threw a ball off one leg, side-armed,” running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire said, his eyes bulging. “That’s something I’ll take to my grave. A guy with arm talent like that and being so composed, that’s something that’s hard to find and we have it.”

But watch Burrow as the ball made it out of his hand. Watch him with a 300-pound Texas defensive lineman sitting on top of him, Burrow’s head and torso just barely squeaking out forward to see the play. Burrow’s right arm was already up in the air, one finger pointed to the sky, before Jefferson even caught it. He held that arm in the air the whole time as Jefferson kept running, and Burrow eventually took off sprinting to the end zone with both arms raised.

But that arm in the air. Or that smirk. That’s the story of Saturday. Because there’s been that doubt, and there have been those struggles. Was Burrow a true starting quarterback? Could he play on the level of an Ehlinger or a Tua Tagovailoa? Then, he had a promising finish to last season, throwing four touchdowns in the Fiesta Bowl. Then, he tied the school record with another five last week against Georgia Southern. And Saturday, he found himself in a Big 12-esque shootout and beat Texas at its own game.

So he was asked how it felt to have this moment, to finally put together his signature moment and statement that he belongs in the conversation as one of the best quarterbacks in the country. “I always kind of knew it,” he said plainly. “I think everybody’s starting to see it a little bit.” Because Burrow believes in himself. That’s why Tom Herman fell in love with him as an Athens, Ohio, recruit and convinced Urban Meyer to sign him at Ohio State. That’s why he said — to people who laughed at him — that LSU would score 40, 50 or even 60 points a game this season. “It’s a long season,” he said Saturday, “but you can just take a look at the last two scoreboards and figure it out.”

You don’t try to sling a ball into triple coverage from the red zone in the second quarter unless you think that way. That ball should have been intercepted. Most would have found themselves fortunate. Not Burrow. The next throw, he fit a line drive into just as tight coverage to Jefferson for LSU’s first touchdown of the game. Every time LSU thought it had a comfortable lead — 13 points, 14 points — Texas would drive downfield and score to make it a one-score game. And every time Burrow had the ball the spotlight was on him. One stop and Texas could take over.

But he answered with two late first-half touchdowns to seize control. He answered in the fourth quarter with three consecutive 75-yard touchdown drives as LSU’s defense struggled to stop the Longhorns. Some of those throws he made were throws he simply didn’t make last season. He looked more confident. He looked more in command. He looked like a field general. “The kid is a baller,” Ed Orgeron said. “He lives for that moment, and I’ll tell you what, those were some tough plays. It was loud out there, and he got it done.”

LSU’s been dying for one of these. Fans have become so skeptical that they operate under the assumption they’ll have to win without a great quarterback. For a long list of reasons and dilemmas, LSU just hasn’t produced great quarterbacks. There were some bright spots, like Rohan Davey or the 2013 season of Zach Mettenberger. And LSU won two national championships with guys like Matt Mauck and Matt Flynn behind center. JaMarcus Russell became a No. 1 NFL draft pick. But LSU’s never had that guy, that star, that alpha-dog who the whole team revolves around.

In spring 2018, a tweet from the account of Steve Ensminger (that he absolutely does not run) became an internet laughing stock as it boasted the accomplishments of LSU’s quarterbacks in the NFL. The list in the tweet was comical, as it showed seven quarterbacks with maybe five seasons as an NFL starter between them. Burrow was the next hope. He was this graduate transfer from Ohio State who seemed ready to take charge. He and Orgeron gambled on each other, and they won 10 games and a Fiesta Bowl last season with Burrow and the offense being relatively middle of the road. With this new offense, though, with another year of experience, they kept saying this year would be different. “Sure, sure,” LSU fans would say. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

And Burrow made the world believers Saturday. Look at that 21-yard strike downfield over a cornerback in the perfect spot to Jefferson for a second-quarter touchdown. Look at third-and-5 in the third quarter with Texas down two, blitzers shooting up the middle when Burrow threaded the needle between the safety and the corner to find Ja’Marr Chase for 26 yards. Look at his 26-yard dime to Terrace Marshall three plays later for a score. He just kept answering. He was accurate and tough and smart.

“I kept telling our guys, ‘We got to score, we got to get 40,’” Burrow said. “We get 40 and we’ll win.” He’s a fascinating character, that Burrow. He’s stoic and reserved, but he’s bombastic and irreverent. He has a quiet confidence, and then it will come out with him beating his chest or waving goodbye to the crowd. He’s one of the smartest players on the team, but he’s also the stubborn guy who refuses to slide.

Talk to his teammates. Talk to Jefferson or Marshall or Chase. Talk to Edwards-Helaire. Even talk to defenders like K’Lavon Chaisson. He’s the team leader, the person who Chase says makes everybody stay focused. He’s the grinder who Jefferson said stays after with receivers every practice to make sure they have every route down. He’s the competitor, who Chaisson said wins the respect of the defense as he loves to give and take hits. “We’d trust Joe with our last leg if we could,” Chaisson said.

Joe’s brother, Jamie, wonders if there’s something about the Burrow family in big moments. He was telling the story of Joe dominating at a throwing session to impress Herman as a high schooler, and he started trailing off about how his whole family thrives in those moments. Jamie’s best games as a Nebraska linebacker were against top teams like Oklahoma and Notre Dame. Dan, a former Nebraska safety, was the same way coming up and he’s heard their father, Jimmy, always elevated his game at Nebraska on the big stage. “I think that’s a Burrow trait that holds true,” Jamie said. “We (have) kind of a quiet confidence and then come out and far and away exceed what people think our potential is in those games.”

And that was Joe Burrow on Saturday. He was the story of the game already before that last drive. He would have been the focal point of long articles and television segments even with LSU leading 37-31 in the fourth quarter. Then came that third-and-17 — that dagger — when he hopped on one foot, threw the ball sidearm and sealed the game in a way no one knew he could. That was when his Saturday reached another level. He was one of those guys.

So when it was over, Tom Herman embraced him at midfield for a long stretch of time, congratulating his former protégé on what he’s accomplished. But even more than that, it was the way every LSU player wanted to stop and shake his hand. They all wanted to get his attention and talk about how he balled out and silenced Austin with his play. Teammates all huddled together around him as they linked up and sang the alma mater.

And when he was finished singing, he took off jogging straight toward the line of LSU fans near the locker room. He went up and down giving high fives and raising his arm in the air. He won over Baton Rouge. He proved himself to a national audience. He’s become what nobody was sure they’d ever see. He became LSU’s star quarterback.

satyanash · September 8, 2019

(Ian Boyd) 5 quick thoughts: Texas loses a spread shootout to LSU

Texas gave that game to LSU. There's no question that LSU played outstanding football, clearly hiring assistant offensive coach Joe Brady was a great decision and he was able to join forces with Joe Burrow and Steven Ensminger to build a phenomenal spread passing attack. The Tigers came in and won that game with a great effort and a truly potent offensive system. But Tom Herman and his staff will be kicking themselves for a variety of mistakes that proved decisive in that contest. One mistake in particular.

Some will point to a few near misses by Texas players that led to the defeat. Collin Johnson nearly came up with a couple of balls, including the onside kick that would have given Texas possession in a one-score game with 20 or so seconds left. Brandon Jones dropped an interception in the end zone before a LSU touchdown. Keaontay Ingram made an iffy cut on third and two on the opening drive and then dropped the touchdown pass on fourth and goal. There's plenty of mistakes and blame to go around, but the coaching staff made some decisions that were less defensible than a few near-miss plays by a roster that played their hearts out.

Quick thought No. 1: The defensive gameplan had some holes

Welcome to spread football, Louisiana. The Tiger spread attack was brilliant thanks to Joe Burrow's excellent on field command of his unit, amazing accuracy and anticipation, and then the LSU WR corps that met the hype around them. That's an exceptionally talented unit and there weren't any places in the secondary where Texas could count on winning a 1-on-1 battle in coverage if Burrow was aware it was taking place. That makes for a tough defensive contest.

Three different Tiger wideouts went for 100 yards, I've never seen such a thing, and Justin Jefferson in particular was brilliant hunting space over the middle. The LSU OL prioritized limiting inside pressure but they did it well and the Tiger passing attack was explosive and efficient enough that they could get away with taking the odd sack when Texas got an edge pressure through.

The gameplan on defense didn't really work out. Todd Orlando played Brandon Jones at nickel to get his tackling and closing speed closer to the action with Caden Sterns in his normal field safety spot and then Chris Brown as boundary safety. Those decisions made a lot of sense and put some of Texas' most reliable playmakers into position to do exactly that. Texas also played in dime probably exclusively with B.J. Foster at the joker. Clearly playing in dime was the right call as well, LSU ran the ball decently but only ever as a change-up to their passing game.

However, Texas played a lot of the base 3-4 defensive looks throughout the game, they just did it from 3-2-6 personnel. That proved to be the wrong approach. The three-safety, inverted Tampa 2 defense that stymied Oklahoma State and the back half of the schedule in 2017 (and shut down Texas A&M earlier today) was an infrequent call. The advantage of that defense is that you get safety help for the corners and a safety parked in the middle of the field to deny crossing routes to the offense. Texas mixed it in some but didn't play it often, preferring to try and pressure their way into drive-killing plays. They were then killed because Jefferson found room on crossers and Texas' cornerbacks couldn't hold up outside without safety help.

At the end of the game Texas lined up in the inverted Tampa 2 look on a big play. They had Caden Sterns at middle safety which made me think, "oh that makes sense, he can probably match those crossers better than anyone else on the roster." But then some of the other pieces on the field moved and Texas played a very different call.

Quick thought No. 2: Todd Orlando lost the game with his zero blitz on 3rd and 17.

Unbelievable decision by Orlando to bring THAT pressure in THAT situation. LSU had essentially just gifted Texas the game with their bizarre lack of blitz pick-up when Brandon Jones came off the edge on 2nd down. It was a total brain freeze by the LSU TE and RB that bailed out a Texas defense that couldn't cover the LSU spread passing attack and could only hope to get a sack now and then that turned a TD drive into a FG drive. LSU gifted Texas the sack and a 3rd and 17 situation with more than two minutes on the clock. The whole game was there to be won and Sam Ehlinger and the Texas offense was clearly ready to win it.

Then Todd Orlando decided to press his luck and try to go win the game for Texas on a defensive call rather than wiping his brow and trying to accept a punt. Texas brought a zero blitz. Instead of manning the middle crossers as an extra robber in the middle, Sterns was asked to deny Justin Jefferson over the middle. They actually timed the blitz fairly well and nearly got home to Burrow, but the Tigers were in max protection and the LSU QB made a phenomenal play to buy some time and then pull up and hit Jefferson coming across. Touchdown. The game was basically over at that point.

That put Jefferson at nine catches for 163 yards and a touchdown. In that critical drive I was curious to see how Ed Orgeron approached things. Would he make the classic mistake of a team new to HUNH spread football and try to drain clock and end up punting the ball away? No, the Tigers stayed aggressive and obviously intended to march down the field again.

Instead Todd Orlando made the unthinkable calculation that he should try to win the game on a single defensive play rather than allowing the star quarterback to lead a unit that had kept Texas in the game despite his own (Orlando's) failures by scoring on every single second half possession. You can defend the call because they had a spy on any potential screen play as well as for the fact that it nearly got home, but the risk/benefit analysis didn't add up at all. Philosophically, it just didn't make sense.

Lots of mistakes went into that defeat by Texas and ultimately they were bested by a fantastic team, there's no shame in that. But when blame is going around it has to start and end with Todd Orlando who's gameplan didn't account for LSU's skill level in the passing game and who's "when in doubt, be aggressive" decision blew up in his face. I'm curious to know if Herman knew that was their plan there and what he thought of that decision. Ultimately the head coach needs to ensure that the team strategy is aligned, after all. That would have been a good time to say, "hey we have every advantage here, let's play something conservative and give Ehlinger the best possible chance to go win this game."

Quick thought No. 3: Goal-to-go problems

It was a real shame that Keaontay Ingram couldn't come up with that fourth down catch, you hate that for a kid that's clearly giving everything he has while fighting through some pain. Incidentally, Roschon Johnson was a revelation at RB with multiple blitz pick-ups that made Texas' second half surge possible. Johnson also finished every run with an explosive push-off from the ground. That dude never ran impressive numbers in high school but his game film cuts and those carry-ending push offs suggest a lot of fast twitch power. He was unexpectedly Texas' best RB tonight.

Texas had some trouble when LSU had a good plan for the QB stretch play, mostly revolving around playing a 9-tech over the TE who was strong enough to force the ball back in to pursuit. The big fourth and goal stop that came on a QB stretch play was the result of said 9-tech forcing the ball in, when the TE and play side tackle can't secure the edge then the ball has to cut inside. That can work fine when there's over pursuit but there wasn't over pursuit because LSU had a plan to contain the play.

The problem for Texas though was the personnel package on the field. Reese Leitao played throughout the game to spell Cade Brewer and looked solid in space but for Texas to have him trying to make key blocks against LSU in goal-to-go situations given his struggles there was baffling. You'd hope in that situation for the TE to either reach the 9-tech and guarantee the edge for the QB or else to screen him wide and drive him to the sideline to expand the crease. Instead Leitao got turned inside and it constricted the space for the play to get home. Running it right was also a curious decision.

Texas looked hurried and a little overconfident in their short-yardage package early. LSU had obviously studied up on the 2018 game film and Texas needed some other looks to punch the ball in. Granted, the RB pass was wide open. They scored later on QB Power from the dread-wing (with Brewer executing a good kick-out block), which should have been the checked play earlier when LSU had a 9-tech over an iffy blocking TE.

The Longhorn players will likely kick themselves over a few misses on the early, scripted drives when all of the tricks they were pulling out of the bag were nearly landing. The "dread-wing" made a few appearances, including on the opening drive when it got Ingram in space on 3rd and 2 before Grant Delpit came up to make a play. The play before that was a 2nd and 2 where Texas got into the "touchdown play" formation (4x1) and predictably didn't run the tight zone/bubble RPO play but instead took a shot down the field on play-action. Ehlinger barely missed Brennan Eagles for what would have been at the very least a huge gain.

There was little doubt after those early drives down to the two that Texas had really blown a chance to take strong charge of that game. Of course it wasn't clear yet what Joe Burrow and the Tiger offense was about to do.

Quick thought No. 4: Sam Ehlinger and the offense played a great game

There were some missfires here and there but this team battled really hard and had LSU on the ropes for the entire second half. Ehlinger's final line went: 31-47, 401 yards, 8.5 ypa, four passing TDs, zero INTs (or other turnovers). He had 14 carries for 88 yards at 6.3 ypc and another score while taking five sacks that cost Texas 28 yards. One of those sacks wasn't good, LSU got into their 46 defense and got a late rusher free inside. Only one other sack did real damage, the others were one or two yard losses. Since the college game counts sack yardage against a QB's rushing totals, Ehlinger ended with 461 total yards of offense and five touchdowns with zero turnovers. Obviously that's winning football, or should be.

The gameplan in the first half left something to be desired but the major issue was simply a struggle to punch the ball in from the red zone. The lack of touches to Devin Duvernay was glaring though and rectified in a major way in the second half. Duvernay played an outstanding game, running through and over LSU tacklers while turning 12 catches into 154 yards and two scores. Collin Johnson had his moments but Duvernay may be Texas' best skill player this season, he's extremely hard to tackle and then has game-changing speed when he hits a crease.

The Tigers did end up shading some help to Johnson after all rather than playing him in straight man all night, which left Brennan Eagles and Jake Smith open some to catch a pair of touchdowns. Those two are clearly stars in the making and should keep Texas fans from getting too stressed out in the offseason before 2020 when Johnson and Duvernay will need to be replaced.

The empty set was the biggest revelation in this game on offense. The Tigers couldn't handle it and gave up several big conversions and back-breaking explosive plays from Texas in that set, which proved to have quite a fair bit to it. The inevitable "Brewer goes up and creates a rub for the quick Duvernay underneath route" was something I'd been expecting all offseason and it produced a 44-yard pitch and catch score on 4th and 3. I think we'll see a lot more empty over the course of the season, including over the next few weeks given the state of the RB's health.

Coming out of halftime, Texas badly needed some momentum. Tom Herman's eagerness to stop the clock and get the ball back with 1:57 before the half to try and take the lead going into halftime was the right kind of aggressiveness to have in a game like this, but of course it backfired spectacularly when K'Lavon Chaisson came free on an inside stunt. Texas went three and out and LSU scored again before the half and was threatening to pull away in the second half.

Instead Texas got a rare stop and then mounted a 19 play, 86 yard drive that ate 7:17 minutes of game clock and guaranteed that the LSU defense would be unable to get off the ropes for the duration of the second half. Early fits and struggles by the Texas offense but they showed an awful lot over the course of the game and were ready and able to go get the victory had they been allowed to do so.

Quick thought No. 5: Texas' goals for this season remain intact

The main goal is really to win the Big 12, making the playoffs would be fantastic but this team needs to go win the conference to even have a shot to get there and certainly before we can say that Herman's program has truly arrived. This Texas offense can go win a Big 12 championship, that much is clear. The defense still clearly struggles trying to handle pass-first attacks, Orlando keeps wanting to win the game in the box rather than working from the back-end and ensuring that the offense won't have their right arm free to trade shots with Ehlinger.

Fortunately, the best looking teams in the Big 12 this season are considerably more run-oriented than has been the custom this decade. The Oklahoma schools have talented QBs but their specialty seems to be running option schemes while Iowa State is still a pretty run-centric squad. Kansas State is surprisingly good but they're running an old-school, power run offense. The Horned Frogs are starting a freshman. Texas Tech and Baylor loom as the ultra-savvy passing teams and neither have comparable talent to Texas or the team that just bested the Longhorns with that style.

This team can't blow gimme games against solid but overmatched Big 12 opponents like they did a year ago but the offense is good enough now that they should have enough margin to get by. This team's primary goal of winning a Big 12 championship is obviously still well in sight.

If Texas were to finish 12-1 with a Big 12 championship of course, they'd probably still get into the playoffs despite failing to win at home against LSU. After all, the Tigers look like the national title contenders that had LSU fans and some national media excited about their prospects.

Perhaps the question of the season from here on out is whether Texas will approach games trying to win them with defense or with offense. One of those units is championship caliber and the other is good enough to facilitate a championship if they can be humble enough to stay out of the way.

Goodman · September 8, 2019

Quick thought No. 2: Todd Orlando lost the game with his zero blitz on 3rd and 17.

Motherfucking this! I still can't believe TO did this and Coach allowed it to be called. Get TO some help, hire some top notch analyst like we have on offense.

Edited September 8, 2019 by Goodman

satyanash · September 8, 2019

(Jeff Howe) Injury Report: Two Texas safeties to be evaluated after LSU loss

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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas is dealing with two injuries coming out of Saturday’s 45-38 loss to No. 6-ranked LSU, the severity of which is unknown. Head coach Tom Herman said the ninth-ranked Longhorns are going evaluate sophomore safety B.J. Foster for a hamstring injury and junior safety Josh Thompson for a rib injury upon the team’s Sunday return to the Moncrief Complex.

Herman said Foster was injured on the last defensive play of the night, tweaking his hamstring. Herman didn’t specify if it was the 61-yard touchdown reception by LSU’s Justin Jefferson that essentially sealed the game for the Tigers or the two-point conversion pass where Joe Burrow hit JaMarr Chase for the final LSU points of the night, but Foster wouldn’t have been able to go back into the game.

Thompson was injured when the Longhorns attempted an onside kick with 22 seconds left. It looked like Collin Johnson had given Texas one last chance to pull even with the Tigers in regulation, but officials ruled Johnson didn’t have possession of the ball before falling out of bounds, resulting in a kickoff out of bounds call and allowing the Tigers to go into victory formation to end the game.

Even though the Texas defense gave up 573 total yards, Foster flashed with some big moments that helped the Longhorns hang around. The former 247Sports Composite five-star prospect in the 2018 recruiting cycle had a career-high nine tackles and a career-high two sacks in the loss.

The Longhorns opened the game and spent most of the night in Lightning (dime) personnel to try and defend LSU’s wide-open offense with Foster being one of four safeties on the field. The dam started to break in the second quarter when the Tigers ended the first half by piling up 198 total yards while averaging 9.4 yards per play en route to 17 unanswered points to grab the halftime lead, 20-7.

Texas was able to get to Burrow with Foster’s two sacks accounting for the four the Longhorns totaled on the night. Foster was a part of the Cowboy package — the third-and-long look Todd Orlando developed for the 2019 season — that forced the only turnover of the night in the first quarter when Jeffrey McCulloch tipped a pass that Joseph Ossai intercepted.

In the end, the good plays the Longhorns made on the back end weren’t nearly enough on a night where Burrow had a 31-for-39 performance through the air for 471 yards and four touchdowns. The 471 passing yards are the most allowed by a Todd Orlando defense in the 29 games where he’s served as the program’s defensive coordinator. Whether Foster and Thompson are available for next weekend’s game against Rice at NRG Stadium (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network) or not, Herman said after the game that the Longhorns have got to get better defending the pass before getting into Big 12 play.

“We’re going to play some good offenses in our conference and that’s on us coaches, too,” Herman said. “We’ve got to put ‘em in position to be successful. Not that they weren’t tonight, but moving forward that’s got to be a huge emphasis for us coaches, to figure what our weaknesses are, continue to develop those weaknesses, but also, then, provide some kind of assistant through calls that can help the secondary at times.”

(Chip Brown) My Take: What went right and wrong for Texas in loss to LSU

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AUSTIN, Texas — We can talk about two failed fourth-and-goal attempts by Texas in the first quarter or we can acknowledge that LSU had the experience at cornerback that the Longhorns didn’t have and that Tigers’ quarterback Joe Burrow was a flat-out stud Saturday night. Every time … every single time … LSU needed a play, Burrow delivered. After Texas’ Brandon Jones dropped Burrow for a 7-yard loss with 2:38 left to play and Texas trailing 37-31, the Longhorns needed a critical stop on third-and-17 from the LSU 39.

The Longhorns’ hopes of winning the game seemed to rest on the outcome of that third-and-17 play. Todd Orlando sent Jones, Jeffrey McCulloch and Joseph Ossai on a blitz, and with burnt orange bodies all around him, Burrow made the play of the game on a night when he made a ton of them. Burrow somehow found Justin Jefferson amid the chaos, and Jefferson broke a Caden Sterns tackle at the 30 en route to a 66-yard, catch-and-run touchdown that put LSU up 45-31 with 2:27 left.

A 15-yard touchdown pass from Ehlinger to Devin Duvernay with 22 seconds left cut LSU’s lead to 45-38, and Collin Johnson nearly corralled an onside kick at the LSU 48 before the ball went out of bounds. But the team with more experience at cornerback, and the team with the better performing quarterback won this game. Burrow was a laser-like 31 of 39 passing for 471 yards, including four touchdowns with one interception. He picked apart Texas’ youth at cornerback as receivers Justin Jefferson (9-163 yards), Ja’Marr Chase (8-147) and Terrace Marshall (6-123) all went over 100 yards receiving.

Sure, Texas will wonder what if on two failed fourth-and-goal attempts in the first quarter — one on a dropped pass in the end zone by Keaontay Ingram and the second on a stuffed Ehlinger run after Joseph Ossai intercepted a pass and returned it 8 yards to the LSU 4. The Texas offensive line provided decent protection for Sam Ehlinger in the first half (the second of two, first-half LSU sacks came after Ehlinger had all day in the pocket and simply couldn’t find anyone open).

Ehlinger missed golden opportunities on three throws in the first half that would've gone for big gains — overthrowing an open Brennan Eagles on a post route, under throwing Collin Johnson on a sideline route and missing a wide-open Jake Smith on a crossing route. Still, Ehlinger finished 31 of 47 passing for 401 yards and four touchdowns while running 19 times for 60 yards (3.2 yards per carry) and a TD.

The Texas defense got off to a nice start, and the Longhorns’ Cowboy (eight DB) package produced another huge play as Jeffrey McCulloch tipped a pass by Burrow and Ossai recorded his second interception of the season, returning it 8 yards to the LSU 4. Unfortunately, UT couldn’t convert. No one wants to hear this right now, but next year, when Texas goes to Baton Rouge to face LSU, the Longhorns will be the team with more experience at quarterback and cornerback and likely the favorite in that game. While the loss stings deeply, the outcome has no bearing on Texas’ Big 12 title hopes. It’s a game the Horns can grow from.

What went right for Texas

Devin Duvernay (12 catches for 154 yards, 2 TDs) and Brennan Eagles (five catches for 116 yards, 1 TD) both went over 100 yards receiving. Roschon Johnson ran with purpose, posting 32 yards on seven carries. The Longhorns’ Cowboy (8 DBs) package so far this season has been responsible for two interceptions, a sack, a near pick-six and two fourth-down stops. In the first quarter against LSU, Jeffrey McCulloch tipped Joe Burrow’s pass, and Joseph Ossai recorded his second interception of the season, giving Texas the ball at the LSU 4.

LATE TD PASS TO DUVERNAY CUTS LSU LEAD TO 45-38: Ehlinger ran for 13 yards, connected on a 31-yard pass to Brennan Eagles, and LSU was flagged for defensive pass interference on third-and-10, setting up a 15-yard TD strike from Ehlinger to Devin Duvernay, cutting LSU’s lead to 45-38 with 28 seconds left.

DICKER FIELD GOAL CUTS LSU LEAD TO 37-31: It wasn’t pretty, and the biggest play of a 10-play, 46-yard drive was a pass interference call on LSU’s Kristian Fulton against Brennan Eagles, but Texas converted a first down after facing second-and-24 en route to Dicker’s 47-yard field goal with 3:59 left that cut LSU’s lead to 37-31. LSU’s Kristian Fulton was flagged for pass interference against Brennan Eagles, giving Texas a first down at the LSU 30 with 5:34 left on a drive that ended in a 47-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker. After facing second-and-24, Ehlinger scrambled for 13 yards and then hit Devin Duvernay for 12 yards and a first down on third-and-11 with just under six minutes to play.

TEXAS FINALLY CONVERTS FOURTH DOWN FOR TD: Facing fourth-and-3 from the LSU 44, Texas got into five wides, and Ehlinger hit Devin Duvernay on a quick slant. Duvernay broke a tackle at the LSU 40 and sprinted the rest of the way into the end zone for a 44-yard, catch-and-run TD, cutting LSU’s lead to 30-28 with 12:09 left to play. After two failed fourth-and-goal attempts in the first quarter, it was Texas’ first fourth-down conversion of the game. Ehlinger was 4-of-5 passing on Texas’ seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive, including passes to Duvernay of 11, 16 and 44 yards (TD).

TD PASS TO JAKE SMITH CUTS LSU LEAD TO 23-21: Sam Ehlinger was 3-of-4 passing for 53 yards, including passes of 18 yards to Collin Johson, 15 yards to Devin Duvernay and a 20-yard TD pass to Jake Smith while Ehlinger also had a run of 17 yards on a seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive that cut LSU’s lead to 23-21 with 2:36 left in the third quarter. Smith ran a great route and made a difficult catch in the end zone against good LSU coverage.
(Photo: Scott Wachter, USA TODAY Sports)

UT’S 19-PLAY TD DRIVE, CUTS LSU LEAD TO 20-14: Texas went 19 plays and took 7:17 off the clock, capped by a 2-yard TD run by Ehlinger as Texas converted three, third-downs, including a third-and-9 on a 12-yard pass by Ehlinger to Collin Johnson (who didn’t catch a pass until that scoring drive). The PAT by Cameron Dicker was delayed by a fifth LSU player slow to get up on the drive, causing a delay in the action. But the score cut LSU’s lead to 20-14 with 6:51 left in the third.

On UT’s 19-play TD drive in the third quarter, Devin Duvernay took a screen and looked like he was going to be dropped for a loss, and broke away for a 4-yard gain, setting up third-and-6, when Ehlinger found Keaontay Ingram for an 8-yard gain and a first down. Roschon Johnson came out in the second half with urgency, taking his first two carries for 10 yards and catching a pass for 7 yards. B.J. Foster finished the first half with a team-leading eight tackles, including two sacks.

The Texas defense opened the second half by forcing a huge three-and-out by LSU. LSU was called for defensive holding with Texas facing third-and-7 from the UT28 with just less than seven minutes remaining in the second quarter, extending UT’s drive. Moro Ojomo got a nice rush, and Brandon Jones broke up a pass in the end zone to LSU WR Derrick Dillon midway through the third quarter, forcing a third-and-goal from the 6.

TEXAS GOES UP 7-3 ON EAGLES TD CATCH: On third-and-10 from the Texas 45, Ehlinger found Eagles behind LSU CB Kristian Fulton, and Eagles ran it the final 25 yards for a 55-yard touchdown catch-and-run. It was the first play of 50-or-more yards for Texas since Ehlinger connected with Reggie Hemphill-Mapps for 50 yards in 2017 on a non-scoring play against West Virginia.

Cade Brewer threw a big block to free Brennan Eagles for a 6-yard pickup after a short pass from Ehlinger. On the next play, Ehlinger threw the ball to Brewer for 6 yards on third-and-4 for a first down early in the second quarter. B.J. Foster recorded his second sack of the game on the first play of the second quarter, followed by a 3-yard tackle for loss by Jeffrey McCulloch, helping force an LSU punt.

TEXAS FORCES TURNOVER NO. 1: Malcolm Roach blew up LSU’s attempt to run it off the goal line on second-and-10, setting up the Longhorns’ Cowboy (eight DB) package on third down, when Jeffrey McCulloch tipped Joe Burrow’s pass and Joseph Ossai intercepted it, returning it to the LSU 4 with 4:06 left in the first quarter. Devin Duvernay took an end-around handoff from Keaontay Ingram and then a pass to Sam Ehlinger for 8 yards on second-and-1. Ehlinger then hit Brennan Eagles for 28 yards to the LSU 8 on the next play. (The drive ended on a failed fourth-and-goal-from-the-2 pass in the end zone dropped by Ingram with 5:04 left in the first quarter.)

LSU safety JaCoby Stevens was called for offsides, giving Texas a free play, and Sam Ehlinger’s pass to Collin Johnson fell incomplete as Johnson and LSU CB Kristian Fulton got tangled up with 6:42 left in the first quarter. Fulton was slow to get up from the play and left the field holding his knee. LSU was called for roughing the passer on a late hit to the head of Ehlinger, giving Texas a first down at the UT47 with 7:12 left in the first quarter.

Keaontay Ingram had a nice spin move and ran for 7 yards on the first play of UT’s second possession. After giving up a 38-yard completion to the UT23, the Texas defense held the Tigers on third-and-5 as Joseph Ossai hurried Joe Burrow into an incomplete pass, forcing a 46-yard field goal attempt (converted by LSU freshman kicker Cade York). Texas ran a perfect screen to Keaontay Ingram for 19 yards on the first play from scrimmage and followed it with an 8-yard run on a QB counter by Ehlinger.

What went wrong for Texas

Two failed fourth-and-goal attempts by Texas in the first quarter allowed LSU to seize control of the game in the first half as the Tigers took a 20-7 lead at intermission. Tom Herman challenged a ruling on the field that LSU receiver Terrace Marshall caught a pass and was down by contact before fumbling. But a review showed Marshall’s arm with the ball, hit the ground, causing the fumble — and the challenge was unsuccessful.

On first-and-10 from the LSU 30, Ehlinger was sacked for a 12-yard loss on a delayed blitz by LSU linebacker Michael Divinity with 5:06 left. With 7:59 left to play, a nearly 30-yard scramble by Sam Ehlinger inside the LSU 30 was negated by a holding call on Texas (both Parker Braun and Derek Kerstetter were flagged … Kerstetter for dragging K’Lavon Chaisson to the ground), bringing up first-and-20 from the Texas 34 with the Horns trailing 37-28. Texas followed that up with a screen pass to Brennan Eagles that went for a 4-yard loss. (UT ultimately converted a third-and-11 for a first down.)

LSU GOES UP 37-26 WITH 9:58 LEFT: LSU QB Joe Burrow caught fire once again, going 5-of-6 passing for 48 yards on a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped by a 12-yard touchdown run by Clyde Edwards-Helaire, putting LSU up 37-28 with 9:58 left to play. Malcolm Roach was called for a questionable roughing the passer personal foul on the drive that helped move the ball from the UT39 to the UT24.

LSU GOES UP 23-14 IN THIRD QUARTER: Joe Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase for 41 yards against Jalen Green and hit Terrace Marshall for 13 yards on a drive to Cade York’s third field goal of the night - this one from 40 yards, putting LSU up 23-14 with 5:10 left in the third quarter.

Every time Texas got momentum on its first drive of the third quarter, an LSU player seemed to be slow to get up. Nose tackle Tyler Shelvin grabbed his foot as if cramping; linebacker Michael Divinity grabbed his shoulder after a first-down catch by Keaontay Ingram; another LSU player laid on the field after Devin Duvernay caught a 4-yard pass to the LSU 13 with 8:31 left in the third; and LSU DT Rashard Lawrence laid on the field after Ingram ran to the LSU 2 with 7:17 left in the third.

On first-and-10 from the LSU 30 midway through the third quarter, Ehlinger threw deep, and there was no Texas receiver in sight. It appeared to be corner route to Devin Duvernay, but Duvernay was running down the middle of the field. LSU quarterback Joe Burrow led three straight scoring drives in the second quarter (two TDs and a field goal) by going 11 of 13 passing for 159 yards, including TD passes of 6 yards on third-and-goal and 21 yards. Burrow finished the half 16 of 21 passing for 220 yards, two TD passes and one interception. Sam Ehlinger finished the first half with eight carries for 6 yards.

LSU GOES UP 20-7 ON THREE-PLAY TD DRIVE: The Texas defense couldn’t get LSU QB Joe Burrow out of rhythm as LSU scored on its third straight drive of the second quarter, this time going 3-of-3 passing for 58 yards on passes of 19, 18 and a 21-yard TD strike to Justin Jefferson, putting the Tigers up 20-7 going into halftime.

LSU 33-YARD FIELD GOAL PUTS TIGERS UP 13-7: LSU opened its second straight scoring drive of the second quarter (to a 33-yard field goal and a 13-7 lead) with Burrow passes of 13 yards to Ja’Marr Chase (against coverage by Jalen Green) and 23 yards to Terrace Marshall, who was defended by Caden Sterns. Burrow also hit Chase for 20 yards on a deep out to the UT24. On third-and-4 from the LSU 39, Ehlinger was sacked for a 1-yard loss after having all day to throw in the pocket. Texas initially lined up for a 57-yard field goal attempt. But after an LSU timeout, Texas punted, an Ryan Bujcevski put it into the end zone for a touchback.

LSU GOES UP 10-7 ON THIRD-AND-GOAL TD PASS: Joe Burrow got nice protection and found Justin Jefferson on a crossing route for a 6-yard TD pass with 7:30 left in the second quarter, putting the Tigers up 10-7. Jefferson did a nice job hanging onto the ball after taking a big hit. Texas gave up plays of 17, 24 and 12 yards, making up 53 of LSU’s 75-yard scoring drive.

Texas ran a twist with B.J. Foster and Joseph Ossai, and LSU RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire took the handoff and cut just inside Ossai’s grasp for a 24-yard run midway through the second quarter. After a slightly underthrown deep pass from Ehlinger to Collin Johnson was ruled a completion inside the LSU 20 with 10:44 left in the second quarter, review determined it was incomplete.

Ehlinger missed a wide-open Jake Smith on first-and-10 with 12 minutes left in the second quarter. Facing third-and-6 from the LSU 19, LSU QB Joe Burrow appeared to make a check at the line, dropped back to pass and then took off running to his left for a 16-yard pickup and a first down on the final play of the first quarter. After initially being ruled a touchdown on a 2-yard run by Sam Ehlinger, review determined Ehlinger was down at the 1, bringing up third-and-goal, in which Keaontay Ingram was stuffed for no gain. And Ehlinger was dropped for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the 1.

A wide-open Keaontay Ingram dropped a pass in in the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the LSU 2 with 5:04 left in the first quarter and the Longhorns trailing 3-0. LSU WR Terrace Marshall beat Kobe Boyce deep for a 38-yard reception down the right sideline to the UT 23 on LSU’s opening drive. The play helped set up a 46-yard field goal by LSU freshman kicker Cade York, giving the Tigers a 3-0 lead with 8:04 left in the first quarter.

Ehlinger had Brennan Eagles open on a deep post at the LSU 10-yard-line on UT’s first possession but didn’t lead him enough and instead overthrew Eagles, who had a step on LSU safety Kary Vincent.

Other notables

Malcolm Roach, who attended high school in Baton Rouge, La., and was recruited by LSU but never offered, was on the cover of the free program handed out by Texas for the LSU game. In warmups, Texas showed Caden Sterns as the field safety, Chris Brown as the boundary safety and Brandon Jones as the nickel. B.J. Foster was with the second-team at safety, while Josh Thompson was the second-team nickel.

satyanash · September 8, 2019

Bobby_Batronic · September 8, 2019

WTF is the “Dreadwing”?

satyanash · September 8, 2019

westexhorn · September 8, 2019

@satyanash got this one? https://247sports.com/college/texas/Article/Texas-Longhorns-LSU-Tigers-Defense-Grades-Joe-Burrow-QB-pressure-loss-135364027/

satyanash · September 8, 2019

34 minutes ago, westexhorn said:

@satyanash got this one? https://247sports.com/college/texas/Article/Texas-Longhorns-LSU-Tigers-Defense-Grades-Joe-Burrow-QB-pressure-loss-135364027/

Bobby Burton: Texas-LSU Grades

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OFFENSE

Quarterback

It was really a tale of two halves for Sam Ehlinger. The junior QB was often inaccurate and slow to make decisions in the first half. But in the second, he had one of the best performances of his career. He finished 31 of 47 for 401 yards and four TDs. He made some really good decisions down the stretch but some of those early incompletions proved costly, and he never got the ball back in the second half with a chance to take the lead.

Grade: B+

Running back

The RB's production in this game will largely be remembered for Keaontay Ingram's fourth-down drop in the end zone. But let's remember, the ball, though catchable, was also somewhat behind Ingram and wrong-footed him. That being said, he could - and should - have made the grab. That play seemed to set the tone for Ingram, who also fumbled later in the game, only to recover it on his own. Roschon Johnson provided a spark in the second half. His energy and hard-charging style was a welcome sight for a team in need of an injection of extra effort. It seemed to be contagious. Surprisingly, Johnson appears to be picking up pass protection rather quickly, too.

Grade: C

Wide receiver

I was trying to think back to all of my years watching Texas football, and wondering if I had ever seen as complete a performance by a receiver as the one Devin Duvernay put on against the Tigers. Maybe Jordan Shipley against OU? Duvernay's toughness in the third quarter, twice running over LSU All-American Grant Delpit, was a thing of powerful beauty. He also made a couple of tough grabs, had 12 receptions overall, and was Mr. Reliable for Ehlinger in the clutch. The 44-yard fourth-down TD was a sign of just that. Brennan Eagles continues to impress as well. He is becoming a vertical threat for the Horns, perhaps as much or more than Collin Johnson. Johnson was quiet early in the contest, but also drew a pair of interference penalties on deep balls.

Grade: A

Tight end

Stats can sometimes be deceiving. Reese Leitao and Cade Brewer both had one reception each. However, Brewer is the clear favorite in the passing game. Leitao, meanwhile, saw his most extensive action of the season, being used liberally as a mainstay in blocking and even pass protection.

Grade: C

Offensive line

This was a strong performance from the Texas offensive line against a quality team. Sam Cosmi earned himself some money on Saturday night by stoning almost every LSU pass rusher, save one holding penalty, in 40-plus attempts. Parker Braun and Zach Shackelford got mixed up on one blitz, but otherwise played well in both pass protection and run blocking. Braun can move people in the run game like few others. Derek Kerstetter played well considering the competition, too. This unit has a chance to be dominant so long as they stay healthy.

Grade: A-

Offense

The Horns racked up more than 500 yards of total offense. They didn't turn the ball over. But they also failed to score twice in the first quarter when inside LSU's five-yard line. In a game that was ultimately decided by a touchdown, those points, and the lack of execution on the goal-line, loom large. Yes, there is a lot to be excited about for the Texas offense. They played well - very well - in the second half. The QB play was great in the second half. The OL play was solid throughout. And Duvernay looks like an All-American candidate. But they have to put a whole game together. And they have to be able to convert on fourth-and-short, especially in the red zone.

Grade: A-

DEFENSE

Defensive line

Texas couldn't get pressure from its defensive linemen. Whether it was Malcolm Roach or Ta'Quon Graham, they just never really seemed to disrupt or even bother Tiger QB Joe Burrow all night long. Keondre Coburn played well against the run, but he too didn't create much of a pass rush. Surprisingly, Texas went with Jamari Chisholm for much of the day as a back-up instead of Jacoby Jones. Chisholm didn't do much in the way of a pass rush either. Texas needs to find a way to create more pressure from its front.

Grade: D-

Linebackers

Joseph Ossai is already having what looks like an all-conference caliber year. The sophomore has come up with big plays both weeks this season. He's just about the only Longhorn who had any success rushing the passer. But neither Jeff McCulloch nor Ayodele Adeoye had success rushing the passer. McCulloch got into a passing lane one time, and that resulted in the tipped interception Ossai corralled. Otherwise, it was a poor game given just how successful the Tigers' O was.

Grade: C-

Secondary

There's just not much you can do against a QB that is as red hot as Burrow was. Sure, there should have been tighter coverage in certain spots. And Kobe Boyce was soundly beat multiple times. But most of the catches against the other corner, Jalen Green, were contested and more the result of good throws and catches than poor plays by Green. Brandon Jones and Chris Brown both had poor games relatively. Brown seemed a bit late against LSU's speedy receivers and Jones continues to not connect on what could be game-changing plays like his near interception in the end zone. B.J. Foster was largely silent in pass coverage, which is a good sign.

Grade: C-

Defense

I don't place the blame of this loss at the feet of the secondary like some will. Instead, I think the DL and LBs have to take a larger share. The defensive front did very little of anything to disrupt the QB on a consistent basis. Given one-on-one opportunities to make plays in pass rush scenarios, the defensive front came up short time and again. Giving an accurate QB time to pick the secondary apart was just what LSU needed. Texas needs to get more pass rushers on the field and they need linebackers and safeties to get into passing lanes. Otherwise, it's going to be a long season for the Texas D.

Grade: D-

Special teams

The new touchback rule, combined with the leg strength of kickers these days, has all but ruined the kick return. Jake Smith only made one risky play as a punt returner but it wasn't too much for him. He caught the ball cleanly otherwise. Ryan Bujcevski didn't get the ball inside the 10 a couple of different chances but he also didn't shank any either. Cameron Dicker hit his only field goal attempt, which actually had some strings attached to it because it put Texas still within one score late into the 4th quarter. Perhaps the best special teams play of the night came on the onside kick. Texas executed it better than I've seen them do before.

Grade: B

sith_horn · September 8, 2019

Video has no sound. Maybe another youtube version will get posted, but can still review.

Edited September 8, 2019 by sith_horn

Funk Doctor Spock · September 8, 2019

2 hours ago, satyanash said:

Good for Chaisson. I like that he admitted he was wrong.

dcar00 · September 8, 2019

15 hours ago, bigcigar said:

That stat line is sick. The critical question that will be answered over the next 10 games: Is Burrow that good or is the Texas defense that bad?

I'll save you some time....we are that bad.

texaslong · September 8, 2019

3 hours ago, satyanash said:

Chaisson acted like a 12 year old before the game, and then got treated like a 12 year old during the game by Cosmi.

Goodman · September 8, 2019

50 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Bobby Burton: Texas-LSU Grades

They should do coaching grades vs player grades when it's a loss. I thought watching the broadcast would make me feel better but it's worse. ESPN broadcast was even in on not showing questionable call replays but vs. us they were ready to immediately show them. Moss catch, fumble, they gave a pass on the BS roughing the passer, not one holding call vs. them, losing half or a full yard when spotting the ball.....and we still had a chance. 3rd and 17 and Coach allows TO too go with an all out blitz?

Coach and TO should get a ton of heat from our shitty media for a horrific mistake. Just bring in the Cowboy package and give up a 10 yard rush to get the ball back.

Let's hope Coach finds some quality analyst to help TO out like we have on offense/ST, he needs it.

Edited September 8, 2019 by Goodman

bschoolprof · September 8, 2019

Not sure if 9.95, but scipio had a humorous take on the defensive effort.

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The Longhorns didn’t lack for competitiveness, effort, or a phenomenal crowd. Rallying from a 20-7 deficit took belief, guts and fitness in brutal conditions. And the offensive brain trust delivered, particularly in the 2nd half.

There was one glaring outlier to the Texas effort and he is to defensive coordinators against the hurry up spread as his namesake is to the rankings of great American cities.

https://www.barkingcarnival.com/2019/9/8/20855692/final-thoughts-lsu-45-texas-38-todd-orlando-3rd-17-texas-football

Pato del Muerto · September 8, 2019

The 3rd and 17 call. Our dbs were getting burned all night. The idea to use pressure to induce a quick pass, then rally to the ball is defensible, I think.

But when you don’t affect pressure with the blitz (almost, but not quite) you are vulnerable and they got got. Burrow basically stepped into his own OL and threw a wobbler, but he got it there.

Goodman · September 8, 2019

4 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

The 3rd and 17 call. Our dbs were getting burned all night. The idea to use pressure to induce a quick pass, then rally to the ball is defensible, I think.

But when you don’t affect pressure with the blitz (almost, but not quite) you are vulnerable and they got got. Burrow basically stepped into his own OL and threw a wobbler, but he got it there.

Not when the game is on the line, it was really 3rd and game not 3rd and 17. Get the ball back, dumb & selfish call by TO. We've used the cowboy in that situation in both games, used it in 1st half with success. Reminded me of what Dan Neil says, simple game made complex by coaches who outsmart themselves.

satyanash · September 8, 2019

Joseph Cook: Burrow's prolific night too much for Texas' defense, 45-38

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LSU’s new offense drew several comparisons to Big 12 offenses in the week leading up to No. 9 Texas’ primetime game against the No. 6 Tigers. That comparison held true as Tiger QB Joe Burrow led a passing attack the Texas secondary failed to stop most of the night. Burrow’s 31-for-39, 471-yard, four touchdown performance, including a late fourth quarter 61-yard strike to Justin Jefferson on third-and-17, led the Tigers past the Longhorns, 45-38. “We wanted to pressure him to obviously get a sack or incompletion to give our offense a pretty good or reasonable chance to go down and score,” Texas coach Tom Herman said about the strategy behind pressuring Burrow on the touchdown play.

Facing that third-and-long, Burrow surveyed the field. Texas didn’t bring on its Cowboy package with eight DBs, but blitzed out of normal dime personnel. Amid pressure, Burrow made the throw of the game to Jefferson, who broke a tackle and raced down the sideline to the end zone. Burrow’s Week 1 performance against Georgia Southern was record breaking, but his inspired Week 2 performance against a team that wore DBU t-shirts in pregame left Texas wondering who exactly it was in the secondary.

Three Tiger receivers - Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, and Terrace Marshall – had monster evenings. Jefferson caught 9 passes for 163 yards and three scores, Chase hauled in 8 receptions for 147 yards, and Marshall added 123 yards and a score on six catches. No matter what Texas DC Todd Orlando played in order to stem Burrow’s efforts, it did little to solve the problem of LSU’s Joe Brady-influenced offense led by a quarterback Herman once recruited. “I thought Joe Burrow was the difference in the ball game,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said. “Just really accurate, really aggressive. I thought he fit some balls into some really tight windows, was really accurate down the field, and he’s going to have a heck of a year if he stays healthy.”

Burrow wasn’t the only quarterback with a good performance as Texas’ Sam Ehlinger was 31-for-47 for 401 yards and four scores, and added 60 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The purple and gold claimant of the DBU throne didn’t outright steal the title with its performance as Devin Duvernay and Brennan Eagles each went for over 100 yards, and freshman Jake Smith added a score as well. Eagles had Texas’ first play of over 50 yards since 2017 early in the second, while Duvernay had two big touchdown catches including an important 44-yard score to make it 30-28 LSU early in the fourth.

However, Texas’ defense could not keep up with Burrow and the Tiger offense. In response, Burrow led a six play, 75-yard drive to make it a nine point game. Texas would respond with a score with six minutes left in the fourth, except it was only a field goal. Scoring three rather than seven would prove costly. The final 45-38 margin was just a touchdown, and the result of two Texas drives in the second quarter played a key part in that. The Longhorns drove to the LSU two midway through the first quarter. LSU forced a fourth and goal, and Ehlinger rolled out to his right.

Keaontay Ingram leaked out left and Ehlinger lobbed a pass right into Ingram’s hands. Those hands guided the ball to the ground. Six points were left on the board. “He will bounce back,” Herman said of Ingram. “I haven’t talked to him personally yet, but I’m sure Coach (Stan) Drayton will and has already. But he’s our guy and I don’t think he should lose any confidence in that.”

Texas had an opportunity to right that wrong the very next time they had the ball. Joseph Ossai intercepted Burrow on the ensuing possession returned the ball to the LSU four. But Ehlinger and Ingram could not punch it in the end zone in the following four plays. Herman was asked if his team lost some energy after missing on those two opportunities inside the five. “We scored 38 points and had 538 yards of offense, so I don’t think there was any emotional letdown from our offense,” Herman said.

Texas had chances to win or to try to win, especially if they had made that late game third down stop. But where Texas didn’t take advantage of those chances to win, Burrow and LSU made the most of every opportunity. Where the Longhorns scored on 6-of-12 drives, the Tigers scored on 8-of-12, with the 12th drive culminating in a kneel down. “I think they can take that we’ve got to get better,” Herman said about his defense after the game. “We’re going to play some good offenses in our conference, and that’s on us as coaches, too. We’ve got to put them in position to be successful. Not that they weren’t tonight, but moving forward that’s got to be a huge emphasis for us as coaches, to figure out what our weaknesses are, continue to develop those weaknesses, then provide some kind of assistance through calls that can help the secondary at times.”

Although they play a similar style to Texas’ conference mates, the Tigers aren’t in the Big 12. That means Herman’s often-repeated goal of competing for the conference title in November and December remains on the table. But Texas learned the hard way it has plenty to work on if it wants to meet loftier expectations. The Longhorns head to Houston to play the Rice Owls at NRG Stadium this Saturday.

IT Offensive Report Card---LSU

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500 total yards and 38 points against a very solid defense should be enough to win most games but then this wasn't most games. Once you dismiss the fact that we went pointless on two separate 4 play GL efforts this game takes on a very ugly meaning. There were very few offensive players that didn't grade out on the positive side---the same can't be said for our GL play-caller. Here are the grades:

1---Burt---Fail

2---Johnson---Pass+

6---Duvernay---Pass+

9---Johnson---Pass

11---Ehlinger---Pass

13---Eagles---Pass+

16---Smith---Pass+

26---Ingram---Pass

52---Cosmi---Pass+

56---Shackelford---Pass+

68---Kerstetter---Pass

73---Braun---Pass

75---Angilau---Pass+

80---Brewer---Pass

81---Leitao---Pass

85---Epps---Fail

We had a pretty clean game with a minimum of bad plays. Two holds on the same play nullified a big gain and a couple of other holds were called but for over 50 pass calls we kept Sam (11) upright for the most part. Sam (11) was a hair off target on several first half arrows but corrected that for the second 30 minutes. Duvernay (6) had another great game. We just needed to remember he is good to throw to in the first half also---he catches everything.

Eagles (13 had another strong game with yet another long range td catch. Johnson (2) ran extremely tough and had a least six big time blocks in pass pro/leads. He may make an even better RB than QB in the long run---he will exciting to watch regardless of where we play him. Smith (16) has been consistent both games---nice td reception down the seam. He will be special.

Sam Cosmi (52) showed once again why he is one of our premier players. Yep, he had one hold on a speed rush but he remains money in the bank in a very difficult position on this offense. Shack (56) is a rock. Player. Braun (73) had his hands full but held leverage well in pass pro. He is lethal on pulls. (While I'm at this point I want to point out our two worst pass protections were beaten by the age old DE-DT twist where the DT slants outside and the DE loops around to the inside. All the fancy ass blitzes we saw and ran ourselves weren't as effective as the simple end-tackle twist. Go figure---old time ball still produces in this high tech space age.)

Angilau (75) is becoming a quality asset. He might be or best drive blocker and his pass pro is really getting better. Kerstetter (68) keeps showing improvement. He held up very well considering the competition---degree of difficulty considered. Brewer (80) was steady and made one good catch---he just lacks brutal in his blocking efforts. He does know who to block. Ingram (26) didn't look fully healthy after the first drive.

Sometimes we second guess and that's our fan right. My "wish" on offense is for the GL play calling. I see a huge upside (since we failed on eight straight attempts) in formation 5 wide (empty) and running QB draw. We have five blocked by alignment (DB's) which leaves our OL (5) plus Sam against their six. I like those odds considering our personnel. I know I wouldn't care to defend that play against that personnel group. Mend up and get back on track---we have a conference left to win.

IT Defensive Report Card---LSU

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We didn't execute the assignments we were assigned---across the board. Football players are supposed to make plays regardless of degree of difficulty. Since we gave up 45 points and over 500 yards it's obvious our troopers didn't produce many positive results in that game plan. We scored 38 with 500 yards---you should (must) win these games. We weren't out talented. We were outcoached plain and simple.

We had another game of too many missed tackles and to put it mildly we didn't cover many receivers despite blitzing around 80% of the defensive plays. We attempted to make them throw quickly (destroy timing) and made up for that by giving ample cushion to make throw and catch a simple procedure. I like to refer to our schemes as high risk low reward. I'm beginning to wonder if we understand our spread schemes are playing right into our opponents hands? Here are the grades:

3---Green---Fail

4---Cook---Fail

7---Sterns---Pass

13---Tillman---Fail

15---Brown---Pass

19---Jones---Pass

23---McCulloch---Pass

25---Foster---Pass

29---Thompson---Fail

31---Overshown---Pass

32---Roach---Pass+

39---Boyce---Fail

40---Adeoye---Fail

42---Bimage---Pass

46---Ossai---Pass+

49---Graham---Fail

91---Chisholm---Pass

93---Sweat---Pass

98---Ojomo---Pass

99---Coburn---Pass

Roach (32) is a warrior and probably best pass rusher despite never coming off the edge. Ossai (46) gets a ton of mileage out of his minimum experience at ILB. He is also one of our two best pass rushers in the front---we would be better off bringing Joseph off the edge rather than straight into the OL. Brown (15) is a much better play maker aligned closer to the LOS. Why did we him back away from the immediate action?

Green (3) needs a week of positive reinforcement. Add (38) Boyce. Add Cook (4). Add (29) Thompson. Sterns (7), Jones (19), and Foster (25) need to take more risks and make plays on the ball instead of tackling after the catch. If it's going to be a high scoring game anyway---let's get into the fight with both feet. Bimage (42), Chislohm (91), and Sweat (93) all showed very active while making plays at the LOS.

Graham (49) lost the LOS and was driven across the gap on stunts too often. Ojomo (98) is by far the quickest NT and penetration disrupt---he just needs to make something happen once he penetrates. McCulloch (23) has been effective for the most part but still misses too many tackles. He has been a pleasant surprise---playing much like his high school video told us he would.

We blitzed a ton and made very few big plays considering the ratio of hits vs. misses. Since our normal blitzers (LB's and DB's) come from so many different alignments and angles I often wonder how much practice time is devoted to repping and recognizing assignments vs. how much practice time is spent improving real game techniques. We look pretty convincing during our shifting into the various assaults while not so much actually applying coverage techniques complete with actual tackles. We have a ton of soul searching to do. Players and coaches alike.

sushihorn · September 8, 2019

5 hours ago, Goodman said:

Quick thought No. 2: Todd Orlando lost the game with his zero blitz on 3rd and 17.

Motherfucking this! I still can't believe TO did this and Coach allowed it to be called. Get TO some help, hire some top notch analyst like we have on offense.

Maybe the same committee that helped out Beck after 2017 needs to give Orlando a hand in 2019.

Bobby_Batronic · September 8, 2019

4 minutes ago, sushihorn said:

Maybe the same committee that helped out Beck after 2017 needs to give Orlando a hand in 2019.

I don’t think Tom can hire himself to be the DC too.

satyanash · September 8, 2019

satyanash · September 9, 2019

(Scipio Tex) Texas-LSU Postmortem: Offense

On balance, a terrific winning effort from the Longhorns against a talented LSU (SEC!) defense.

I wrote before the game that Texas needed to win on the white boards on Wednesday if they want to win on the field on Saturday. I thought the Texas offensive brain trust did that with an aggressive, attacking offense and multiple formations and misdirection plays that confused the Tigers. Texas gave fake reads, attacked their scheme with false keys, and came out throwing power shots early. Even if they didn't all land, that aggression set the right tone. Given the added constraints of the RB depth chart and the baseline level of athlete LSU trots out there, the offensive side of the Texas staff can hold its head high.

I also mentioned how important conditioning would be in the brutal heat after the big game adrenaline dips and crashes. S&C guru Yancy McKnight posted the W on LSU's Tommy Moffitt as the Texas offense ground down the Tigers into a cavalcade of 2nd half PI calls and faked (and a few real) injuries to halt Longhorn momentum. That offensive momentum was only halted by failing to land a a final meaningful possession when the game was on the line. And that had nothing to do with the offensive headsets. Incredibly, Texas scored on every possession in the second half:

19 plays, 86 yards, TD
7 plays, 75 yards, TD
7 plays, 75 yards, TD
10 plays, 46 yards, FG
8 plays, 75 yards, TD

That's 31 points on >300 yards of offense with a mixture of big plays, ball control (Texas had the ball over 20 minutes in the second half) and LSU defenders dropping like flies when they weren't getting pancaked in the end zone. If Texas gets the ball back with 2:30 on the clock and 2 timeouts down 37-31, I have a pretty good guess how this game ends. As for the first half, Ehlinger was a little off and besting LSU's defense was going to take time and attrition. Unfortunately, Texas left some points on the field early.

Philosophically, I generally like going for it on 4th down. Anyone equating those decisions with Orlando's 3rd and 17 choke don't understand the difference between the odds playing blackjack vs. Powerball. Reasonable minds can differ on the former. I find it hard to fault the staff with making a flawless 4th down call exploiting a pre-identified tendency and having player error cost us a TD. On the second failed red zone possession, ideally you'd like to see some more tactical arrows in the quiver for that game situation (how would LSU have responded to 5 wide?), but LSU did a great job defensing Ehlinger's power play and the pop pass to the TE. It's also pretty clear we couldn't trust Ingram there, unfortunately. LSU's defense gets considerably better in tight spaces - as you'd expect from a huge D that specializes in man coverage. Given that, do you take 3 on that second 4th and goal situation?

Even if the first half only yielded 7 points, I liked our approach from the opening possession. Came out in 4 wide. Immediately screen the blitz with misdirection. A deep shot on 2nd and 2. False keys. Throwing from our run sets. Running from pass sets. That's good stuff. This staff had plenty up its sleeve. It just needed the players executing and LSU in deep water for results to match the process.

OL

This unit played well overall. The Tigers are a load when fresh and the Texas OL met or exceeded their physicality for four quarters. It was funny watching LSU's DL bring it really hard on the first 3 plays of a drive and then show "Oh, damn" body language when the O converted 3rd down. You're not going to get perfect in a game like this and 2 or 3 of the 5 sacks surrendered were a function of covered receivers or a missed throwaway opportunity as much as OL error.

Parker Braun was brutally devastating on his pulls. Deep pad level and violent contact. His violent pancake of #90 Rashard Lawrence in the second half is replay worthy, mostly because Lawrence rests there like a beached walrus for ten additional minutes. Braun was asked to anchor against big ass bodies coming in waves and he largely held up, even drawing a frustration hands to the face PI. He'll get even better as the season progresses.

Sam Cosmi was really good. He got beat once and had to tackle the rusher in a predictable passing situation. Otherwise, pitched a shut out. Shack did a solid job. LSU made some hay on T/E stunts but they were just really well-timed or caught us in the wrong pro call. Angilau impressed me with his physicality and improved mobility. Kerstetter had a tough penalty but battled for four quarters. He has really improved his base. The Texas OL was the hammer more often than the nail against a front renowned for their physicality. So far, I REALLY like this group.

QB

Ehlinger was 9 of 19 for 136 yards in the 1st half. He had four accuracy misfires he'd like to have back, but no turnovers. As LSU wilted under Longhorn offensive pressure after that 3rd quarter opening soul-stealing 19 play TD drive, Sam started dealing dimes. His second half was dominant, going 22 of 28 for 265 yards and three total touchdowns total.

No opponent is going to out compete Texas at the QB position. Texas put the game on Sam's shoulders and he delivered 66 plays from scrimmage for 461 yards and four touchdowns. Zero turnovers. Did he have a few off throws? Sure. But let's try to keep the larger picture in mind. He shouldered a monster burden and schlepped it up from the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Maybe Orlando could've pitched in and carried his own water?

RB

Tough day for Ingram. He dropped an open touchdown and put the ball on the carpet twice while amassing a 2.9 yards per carry average on 10 touches. He was useful in the passing game beyond the 4th down drop, tallying 5 receptions. Roschon Johnson is a straight up football player. Damn, that kid competes. Falling forward like a power back, running through arm tackles, pushing piles, leaping for the sticks, taking on 245 linebackers in pass pro. 7 carries for 32 yards and 3 catches for 17 doesn't do his contributions justice. I'm proud #2 is a Longhorn. The staff's willingness to throw to the RB position is a nice wrinkle in the offense. Last week, RB totaled 7 catches. This week? 8.

WR/TE

A wonderful national coming out party for Devin Duvernay and Brennan Eagles. Eagles is the downfield threat we've dreamed about and his size, speed and hands make for a lethal combination if the DB doesn't do their work early. 5-116-1and the level of difficulty of his catches was not low. He's not fluid - just effective.

LSU couldn't get Duvernay on the ground. He played like the perimeter YAC garbage gainer and slot deep threat we've been dreaming about. 12 catches, 154 yards, 2 TDs. An absolute career game. Playing straight man against him is folly and Duve's ability to run through soft tackles is a real problem for folks.

Collin Johnson got some extra coverage attention and was shutout in the first half. He had a much stronger second stanza, grabbing 3-49 and drawing some PI calls, but there were three different instances where Texas found him in single coverage and he wasn't able to win. If he can't separate, he has to assert himself as a schoolyard bully in tight spaces. The book on him won't change until then. Duvernay and Eagles punishing single coverage is very helpful for his long term cause though.

John Burt has had two straight weeks of invisible snaps. C'mon #1. We need more from Epps than a penalty and an empty box score. Jake Smith ran a terrific post route and secured the 20 yard TD against a strong late recovery from the LSU DB. Stud. Brewer had a first down catch, but was otherwise quiet in the passing game. Leitao was more active and snagged a ball of his own.

Final Thoughts

The Texas offense put up 38 points against a fine defense, dominated TOP in the second half when Texas most needed to shield its own defense (LSU only ran 68 total plays - an absolute best case scenario for the Longhorn D) and played with relentless effort, physicality and focus. I'm very heartened by what I saw and what it portends for the future. I'm equally frustrated by how that effort was wasted.

Edited September 9, 2019 by satyanash

Machinator · September 9, 2019

(Scipio Tex) Texas-LSU Postmortem: Defense

The final butcher's bill was long and bloody. I'll hit a few lowlights beyond 45 points surrendered at home before a raucous 100,000+ Texas crowd. The larger context of that is important.

LSU QB Joe Burrow was 31 of 39 for 471 yards passing. He completed nearly 80% of his attempts on largely downfield throws (>15 yards per completion). He averaged 12 yards every time he attempted a throw. As a general rule, competent defenses force a trade off between accuracy and DOT (depth of target). Higher completion percentage? Fewer yards. More yards downfield? Lower accuracy. Texas failed on both accounts, allowing what will likely be Burrow's highest passer rating all season. Generally, a defense can make an impact on one part of that equation by simple alignment. Not so Saturday.

LSU converted 50% of their 3rd downs. On par with the rate Orlando surrendered last year in Big 12 play, where Texas surpassed only conference winless Kansas in money down defense. As I wrote last year during the season, in my preseason preview and pointed out leading up to this game after we saw the La Tech effort, Todd Orlando has exhibited a post 2017 problem with 3rd down defense and the call matching approach, with squads absent overwhelming talent advantages and seniority.
Those situations more than any other call for coherent team defense and individual agency at some key positions. Not mindless Xs running to spots.

All three LSU primary receivers went >100 yards receiving. Jefferson: 9-163-3td. Marshall: 6-123-1td. Chase: 8-147-0. Jefferson was in single coverage on his game sealing 3rd and 17 zero blitz 61 yard touchdown catch. Of course, so was every other Tiger receiver.

LSU's "normal runs" (non sack yardage) went for 5.7 yards per carry. But why run for 6 yards a pop when you can throw for 12 yards an attempt? When LSU ran successfully, it was primarily when Texas lined up wrong. They won surprisingly few individual match ups in the run game. Mostly leaning and screening.

LSU had only 11 meaningful possessions. They scored on 8 of them. Surrendering points on 73% of possessions is not good. Particularly given that Texas will play some Big 12 games where the opponent will have 12-14 possessions. In a game featuring 88 combined passing attempts and 100 attempted throws (factor in scrambles) allowing LSU only 11 possessions is a triumph of the clock-milking, possession-stealing Longhorn offense. Typically, a game like that might yield 14 possessions for the opponent. Had that occurred, LSU likely puts 59 on the scoreboard.

The Texas defense was never placed in a bad spot the entire game. Every point they gave up was excruciatingly deserved. LSU's average scoring drive length was 68 yards. Relevance? No short fields. Tiger average starting position? The LSU 23 yard line. The Texas offense and special teams did not have a single turnover. That's ideal.

In the second half, in a game played in 98 degree heat, Texas dominated time of possession: 20:38 minutes to LSU's 9:22. But LSU's last three possessions? Three 6 play, 75 yard touchdown drives. Bam. Bam. Bam. In the late 3rd quarter on, when the game boils down to conditioning and picking up the other team's tendencies and adjustments over the course of the contest, the Texas offense dominated. The Texas defense got worse (from a low bar), despite barely having to play.

Due to the Longhorn O dominating Time Of Possession, LSU ran only 68 plays. But had 573 yards of offense. That's 8.4 yards per play.

**

The Texas offense and special teams did everything possible to protect the Longhorn defense. And were resoundingly successful in that effort. So while the defensive effort looked bad, in the larger picture, it's substantially worse than what you saw. Usually a defense surrendering 45 at home is doing so on the wrong end of short fields, handicapped by a sputtering offense, betrayed by turnovers, a blocked punt, general bad breaks. The scoreboard reflecting a total team failure more than any one one unit.
Nope, nope, nope and nope. This was all on the D.

Texas was also able to run dime personnel against LSU's O, but saw no (or negative) coverage benefits despite a seemingly favorable personnel mix that played more to the defense's relative strengths. Maybe that's because we chose to play that dime more for pressure rather than helping/disguising in coverage.

The 3rd and 17 call. With 2:38 on the clock, the Texas offense dominating (they scored on every 2nd half possession), down 37-31, 3rd and 17 on the LSU 39 yard line, Todd Orlando chose to go with a zero blitz on the game's most important play. Texas brought six men, leaving four Texas DBs in single coverage on four LSU receivers (the middle safety, Chris Brown, didn't have depth and was basically a QB spy). Burrow evaded the blitz and threw a game sealing 61 yard touchdown.

That call defies Football 101. It's bad probability analysis - the difference in not understanding the percentages between playing Powerball or a hand of Blackjack. It also ignores the larger context of the game. All that matters there is possession of the ball. A 10 yard gain is cause for riotous celebration. At that point, statistical window dressing, frustration that you've been taken to school by a 29 year old passing game coordinator for four quarters, or the dream of inflicting a defensive big play is out of bounds. You play the percentages established by God and man.

I won't try to characterize Todd's thinking there, but I will say that it was consistent with his defensive approach the entire game.

It might be a useful encapsulation of Todd Orlando's 3rd down problem. Increasingly, the Texas defense just looks like a bunch of calls on a play sheet. "Looks." A defense is a coherent blend of 11 men playing their positions and doing their jobs within a larger construct. Some players have necessarily narrow assignments. Hedgehogs. Some key positions require individual agency if you want a successful defense - particularly against wide open offenses. Open doesn't just refer to space - it's also about being open-ended. The way to combat that is having some of your own flexibility and open-endedness. Not creating robotic Xs running to spots you anticipate will cause a problem and playing Battleship with the opposing OC. (I-9? A-4? G-3?)

The inability to trust athletes and a possible failure to teach them the game from position up means that in key moments, he's always going to try to make them mindless X's running to spots and try to Call Match the opposing OC. If we don't guess right, we blame a lack of instincts for their struggles to operate within larger defensive principles they may not really have been taught. I mistakenly believed/hoped that more experience, some smart players, and a loaded safety room would have our staff grant their pupils more freedom and trust. Or at least put them in a base defense that they know and are confident in where they can display the instincts that made them four and five star recruits.

I think defense should start at the position level up. Not the white board down.

The Players

Usually, I break down the players, but why bother? It's irrelevant. The Texas defense played hard. Actually, really hard. They also have talent. They weren't assignment perfect, but they weren't blowing coverages and melting down either. LSU has three NFL quality wide receivers and a good QB playing in a cool scheme. So it's not as if the reasonable standard is defensive domination. But the standard should be something higher than a thorough X&O pantsing for four excruciating quarters despite massive support from the offense, special teams, field position and crowd.

LSU's excellent receivers made some good plays. But most of those throws were open by scheme. Just as they were last year against hurry up spread practitioners with lesser talent. Burrow made accurate throws to open receivers. If our defense is relying on offensive incompetence, that's going to hurt our ceiling.

So while Joe Ossai, Mal Roach and Chris Brown had several great individual efforts and McCulloch missed an open field tackle on Helaire (and made some others) and Kobe Boyce and Jalen Green got beat in single man coverage (sometimes as we rushed four and had four Longhorn players at LB depth in no-man's land incapable of pressuring or coverage) what exactly is the value of evaluating their individual play? I'd be making the same mistake our defensive staff did.

The game wasn't about that.

The defensive staff lost their battle. They didn't just lose on the white boards on Wednesday. They lost in Spring and Fall camp. Because we still don't have a hang your hat defensive identity or a plan - however imperfect - for answering the same questions.

A laminate with some pressures on it isn't a defense.

Want to know why Texas can cross train it's linebackers and defensive backs so easily?

Because they're not learning a position...

...they're just memorizing a call.

Hook 'em.

Todd Gack · September 9, 2019

36 minutes ago, Machinator said:

(Scipio Tex) Texas-LSU Postmortem: Defense

Reveal hidden contents

The final butcher's bill was long and bloody. I'll hit a few lowlights beyond 45 points surrendered at home before a raucous 100,000+ Texas crowd. The larger context of that is important.

LSU QB Joe Burrow was 31 of 39 for 471 yards passing. He completed nearly 80% of his attempts on largely downfield throws (>15 yards per completion). He averaged 12 yards every time he attempted a throw. As a general rule, competent defenses force a trade off between accuracy and DOT (depth of target). Higher completion percentage? Fewer yards. More yards downfield? Lower accuracy. Texas failed on both accounts, allowing what will likely be Burrow's highest passer rating all season. Generally, a defense can make an impact on one part of that equation by simple alignment. Not so Saturday.

LSU converted 50% of their 3rd downs. On par with the rate Orlando surrendered last year in Big 12 play, where Texas surpassed only conference winless Kansas in money down defense. As I wrote last year during the season, in my preseason preview and pointed out leading up to this game after we saw the La Tech effort, Todd Orlando has exhibited a post 2017 problem with 3rd down defense and the call matching approach, with squads absent overwhelming talent advantages and seniority.
Those situations more than any other call for coherent team defense and individual agency at some key positions. Not mindless Xs running to spots.

All three LSU primary receivers went >100 yards receiving. Jefferson: 9-163-3td. Marshall: 6-123-1td. Chase: 8-147-0. Jefferson was in single coverage on his game sealing 3rd and 17 zero blitz 61 yard touchdown catch. Of course, so was every other Tiger receiver.

LSU's "normal runs" (non sack yardage) went for 5.7 yards per carry. But why run for 6 yards a pop when you can throw for 12 yards an attempt? When LSU ran successfully, it was primarily when Texas lined up wrong. They won surprisingly few individual match ups in the run game. Mostly leaning and screening.

LSU had only 11 meaningful possessions. They scored on 8 of them. Surrendering points on 73% of possessions is not good. Particularly given that Texas will play some Big 12 games where the opponent will have 12-14 possessions. In a game featuring 88 combined passing attempts and 100 attempted throws (factor in scrambles) allowing LSU only 11 possessions is a triumph of the clock-milking, possession-stealing Longhorn offense. Typically, a game like that might yield 14 possessions for the opponent. Had that occurred, LSU likely puts 59 on the scoreboard.

The Texas defense was never placed in a bad spot the entire game. Every point they gave up was excruciatingly deserved. LSU's average scoring drive length was 68 yards. Relevance? No short fields. Tiger average starting position? The LSU 23 yard line. The Texas offense and special teams did not have a single turnover. That's ideal.

In the second half, in a game played in 98 degree heat, Texas dominated time of possession: 20:38 minutes to LSU's 9:22. But LSU's last three possessions? Three 6 play, 75 yard touchdown drives. Bam. Bam. Bam. In the late 3rd quarter on, when the game boils down to conditioning and picking up the other team's tendencies and adjustments over the course of the contest, the Texas offense dominated. The Texas defense got worse (from a low bar), despite barely having to play.

Due to the Longhorn O dominating Time Of Possession, LSU ran only 68 plays. But had 573 yards of offense. That's 8.4 yards per play.

**

The Texas offense and special teams did everything possible to protect the Longhorn defense. And were resoundingly successful in that effort. So while the defensive effort looked bad, in the larger picture, it's substantially worse than what you saw. Usually a defense surrendering 45 at home is doing so on the wrong end of short fields, handicapped by a sputtering offense, betrayed by turnovers, a blocked punt, general bad breaks. The scoreboard reflecting a total team failure more than any one one unit.
Nope, nope, nope and nope. This was all on the D.

Texas was also able to run dime personnel against LSU's O, but saw no (or negative) coverage benefits despite a seemingly favorable personnel mix that played more to the defense's relative strengths. Maybe that's because we chose to play that dime more for pressure rather than helping/disguising in coverage.

The 3rd and 17 call. With 2:38 on the clock, the Texas offense dominating (they scored on every 2nd half possession), down 37-31, 3rd and 17 on the LSU 39 yard line, Todd Orlando chose to go with a zero blitz on the game's most important play. Texas brought six men, leaving four Texas DBs in single coverage on four LSU receivers (the middle safety, Chris Brown, didn't have depth and was basically a QB spy). Burrow evaded the blitz and threw a game sealing 61 yard touchdown.

That call defies Football 101. It's bad probability analysis - the difference in not understanding the percentages between playing Powerball or a hand of Blackjack. It also ignores the larger context of the game. All that matters there is possession of the ball. A 10 yard gain is cause for riotous celebration. At that point, statistical window dressing, frustration that you've been taken to school by a 29 year old passing game coordinator for four quarters, or the dream of inflicting a defensive big play is out of bounds. You play the percentages established by God and man.

I won't try to characterize Todd's thinking there, but I will say that it was consistent with his defensive approach the entire game.

It might be a useful encapsulation of Todd Orlando's 3rd down problem. Increasingly, the Texas defense just looks like a bunch of calls on a play sheet. "Looks." A defense is a coherent blend of 11 men playing their positions and doing their jobs within a larger construct. Some players have necessarily narrow assignments. Hedgehogs. Some key positions require individual agency if you want a successful defense - particularly against wide open offenses. Open doesn't just refer to space - it's also about being open-ended. The way to combat that is having some of your own flexibility and open-endedness. Not creating robotic Xs running to spots you anticipate will cause a problem and playing Battleship with the opposing OC. (I-9? A-4? G-3?)

The inability to trust athletes and a possible failure to teach them the game from position up means that in key moments, he's always going to try to make them mindless X's running to spots and try to Call Match the opposing OC. If we don't guess right, we blame a lack of instincts for their struggles to operate within larger defensive principles they may not really have been taught. I mistakenly believed/hoped that more experience, some smart players, and a loaded safety room would have our staff grant their pupils more freedom and trust. Or at least put them in a base defense that they know and are confident in where they can display the instincts that made them four and five star recruits.

I think defense should start at the position level up. Not the white board down.

The Players

Usually, I break down the players, but why bother? It's irrelevant. The Texas defense played hard. Actually, really hard. They also have talent. They weren't assignment perfect, but they weren't blowing coverages and melting down either. LSU has three NFL quality wide receivers and a good QB playing in a cool scheme. So it's not as if the reasonable standard is defensive domination. But the standard should be something higher than a thorough X&O pantsing for four excruciating quarters despite massive support from the offense, special teams, field position and crowd.

LSU's excellent receivers made some good plays. But most of those throws were open by scheme. Just as they were last year against hurry up spread practitioners with lesser talent. Burrow made accurate throws to open receivers. If our defense is relying on offensive incompetence, that's going to hurt our ceiling.

So while Joe Ossai, Mal Roach and Chris Brown had several great individual efforts and McCulloch missed an open field tackle on Helaire (and made some others) and Kobe Boyce and Jalen Green got beat in single man coverage (sometimes as we rushed four and had four Longhorn players at LB depth in no-man's land incapable of pressuring or coverage) what exactly is the value of evaluating their individual play? I'd be making the same mistake our defensive staff did.

The game wasn't about that.

The defensive staff lost their battle. They didn't just lose on the white boards on Wednesday. They lost in Spring and Fall camp. Because we still don't have a hang your hat defensive identity or a plan - however imperfect - for answering the same questions.

A laminate with some pressures on it isn't a defense.

Want to know why Texas can cross train it's linebackers and defensive backs so easily?

Because they're not learning a position...

...they're just memorizing a call.

Hook 'em.

You know, if even half of this analysis of our defensive "scheme" deficiencies is accurate, a loss to ou is an almost certainty.

And the fact that our def guys haven't done well in the draft becomes less of a mystery.

Red Five · September 9, 2019

No but we’ll probably need to win a 45-42 type game.

ClubWhatever · September 9, 2019

I’m gonna go ahead and disagree with him on not teaching positions. Brandon Jones has absolutely become a much better safety than when he got here. He routinely makes plays all over the field and is really good at erasing mistakes on the back end. Almost had a pick on a great close on the ball.

McCulloch made some fantastic fundamental plays at linebacker. I remember two in particular. On both he maintained great leverage with his inside shoulder and shed the blocker to make a sure tackle. He is sure as shit being taught the position.

Bobby_Batronic · September 9, 2019

He’s not talking about basic fundamentals like shoulder placement.

He’s talking about having the understanding and flexibility within the context of the defensive call to react and adjust on the fly so that pretty good defensive calls can stop offenses instead of hoping to call just the right defense to stop a play or drive.

Instill that and fewer defensive pressures, alignments and coverages are needed to achieve the desired result, because your talented defenders can use their superior athleticism to react , and not just run to a hash or rush a gap mindlessly because the scheme calls for it.

Greg Robinson installing his basic cover 3 with 8 in the box post Manny Mormon fuck is a good example. It took about three weeks, and we literally played Ole Miss with only two pressures available on the play sheet, but by OU the defense was playing very, very well.

Edited September 9, 2019 by Bobby_Batronic

ChickenSandwich · September 9, 2019

Great post.

Sugar bowl D had 12 games together and a month of prep. That was was a bit of fools gold in regards to what you could do with disguise and alignment. Those guys were repped in their base D and confident, so adding all of the looks wasn’t an issue.

It was overwhelming for 8 second game starters.

Edited September 9, 2019 by ChickenSandwich

Eggo · September 9, 2019

On 9/8/2019 at 3:10 PM, texaslong said:

Chaisson acted like a 12 year old before the game, and then got treated like a 12 year old during the game by Cosmi.

I honestly don't think this is true. Chaisson did a poor job of reporting on their scouting assessment of Sam, but I don't think he was doing it in a trash talking way. Either way, he still got home on a sack. Seems like a good kid and good player overall.

texaslong · September 9, 2019

25 minutes ago, Eggo said:

I honestly don't think this is true. Chaisson did a poor job of reporting on their scouting assessment of Sam, but I don't think he was doing it in a trash talking way. Either way, he still got home on a sack. Seems like a good kid and good player overall.

Serious? He was an ass all the way up till kick off and Cosmi neutralized him most of the game. His one sack was when he came up the middle to get to Sam. He wasn’t getting to Sam on the edge.

satyanash · September 10, 2019

1 hour ago, Machinator said:

The defensive staff lost their battle. They didn't just lose on the white boards on Wednesday. They lost in Spring and Fall camp.

boy, this sounds familiar.

dcar00 · September 10, 2019

Herman is an elite D Coordinator away from a some actual real championships.

JBJ · September 11, 2019

Anyone got Boyd's running game breakdown?

Machinator · September 11, 2019

39 minutes ago, JBJ said:

Anyone got Boyd's running game breakdown?

The real story of the LSU game and potentially this season was Texas' spread passing attack. The Longhorns torched the Tigers from empty formations in a fashion reminiscent of the 2008 or 2009 Longhorns under Colt McCoy. A really good empty passing attack led by a mobile QB that can read defenses and react quickly can be truly nightmarish for opponents.

The defense can always overload and try to get free edge hitters but there are certainly risks attached doing that against a QB with Sam Ehlinger's calm and command:

Oops, wrong GIF, hang on...

A fun thing to watch from home is where Cade Brewer lines up in these spread passing sets and that tells you what some of the potential offensive plays and problems for the defense are going to be. Typically his job in a given alignment is to create a mobile blocking surface for a better wideout like Duvernay or to hold the attention of the defense in a manner that forces them to give away their coverage or else yield a favorable matchup for a better receiver.

When he's aligned inside like this that often means he's clearing out or creating a "rub" for another slot, although Texas did hit him on the old "Y-stick" pattern at one point in the game.

Here's the run game results against the vaunted Tiger fronts:

The foundational inside zone play wasn't as big a component this week with the Longhorns instead mixing in a few different varieties of counter. "Y counter" is normally referred to as "H counter" because it means that a guard is pulling to kick out and then the H-back is coming to lead block in the hole. But Texas uses the term "H-back" to describe their slot and "Y-back" for their TE/FB ancillary player so I called it Y-counter. Here it is:

Junior Angilau pulls to kick out the edge player, Brewer pulls over to lead into the hole, and the hole is solid because they have Sam Cosmi and Parker Braun blocking down. When Texas runs GT (guard and tackle pull) or Y counter (guard and Y-back pull) with the RB swinging out for a screen while they pullers lead in the opposite direction for Ehlinger...it's nasty.

You're witnessing Sam Ehlinger saunter for 17 yards untouched against the LSU Tigers. RPOs like the swing pass to Roschon Johnson on the first play here accounted for six passes that yielded 44 yards. That hasn't been quite as big a piece of the offense as expected but you can arguably lean too hard in the direction of throwing RPOs all the time. If you know you're consistently certain reactions from defense then you can start to attack them with targeted plays rather than RPOs that ask the QB to make a snap decision live.

The goal line was obviously a place of disappointment for Texas in this game, but it wasn't as bad as it looked. On review, Reese Leitao actually did a solid job blocking on the second failed goal-to-go series and the problem was more a miscommunication on the OL that allowed a DT to come free and erase Ehlinger's cutback lane. Texas doesn't have outstanding TE play this season but both Cade Brewer and Reese Leitao are miles ahead of where this team was in 2017 and both can play against top teams (obviously). As a side note, they ran a nice throwback play to Leitao at TE that was very effective even though the throw wasn't quite accurate enough to maximize the damage.

Texas curiously called a split zone run for Keaontay Ingram on 3rd and goal on the second failed series but on replay it actually appeared as though the ball broke the plane. Texas didn't have the best luck on reviews in this game.

This QB draw call was a nice one on another red zone possession:

Duvernay is running a flag route to the corner of the right end zone, Johnson a fade to the left corner, and then Ehlinger reads the middle linebacker to see if he's making a pass drop or staying in the box. When he drops wide, the QB draw play isolates Ehlinger running behind a Zach Shackleford lead block against the weak side linebacker.

As dangerous as Texas is in short-yardage running Ehlinger, QB run RPOs (particularly the draw) from 5-15 yards out are equally devastating. Ehlinger's fantastic score against Georgia also came on such a play.

Texas ran the ball pretty effectively against LSU. They couldn't just impose their will with tight zone and control the game but their counter schemes certainly left a mark and likely a strong impression on the Tigers. It's reasonable to assume that Texas will be able to impose their will against most or all of the remaining teams on the regular season schedule, which is nice given that they should also be able to spread out and shred said teams in the passing game as well. I think this is the most balanced and complete offense in the Big 12.

sith_horn · September 11, 2019

On 9/9/2019 at 5:29 PM, Eggo said:

I honestly don't think this is true. Chaisson did a poor job of reporting on their scouting assessment of Sam, but I don't think he was doing it in a trash talking way. Either way, he still got home on a sack. Seems like a good kid and good player overall.

Yeah, he's such a fine lad with impeccable character.

Eggo · September 11, 2019

28 minutes ago, Machinator said:

Hide contents

The real story of the LSU game and potentially this season was Texas' spread passing attack. The Longhorns torched the Tigers from empty formations in a fashion reminiscent of the 2008 or 2009 Longhorns under Colt McCoy. A really good empty passing attack led by a mobile QB that can read defenses and react quickly can be truly nightmarish for opponents.

The defense can always overload and try to get free edge hitters but there are certainly risks attached doing that against a QB with Sam Ehlinger's calm and command:

Oops, wrong GIF, hang on...

A fun thing to watch from home is where Cade Brewer lines up in these spread passing sets and that tells you what some of the potential offensive plays and problems for the defense are going to be. Typically his job in a given alignment is to create a mobile blocking surface for a better wideout like Duvernay or to hold the attention of the defense in a manner that forces them to give away their coverage or else yield a favorable matchup for a better receiver.

When he's aligned inside like this that often means he's clearing out or creating a "rub" for another slot, although Texas did hit him on the old "Y-stick" pattern at one point in the game.

Here's the run game results against the vaunted Tiger fronts:

The foundational inside zone play wasn't as big a component this week with the Longhorns instead mixing in a few different varieties of counter. "Y counter" is normally referred to as "H counter" because it means that a guard is pulling to kick out and then the H-back is coming to lead block in the hole. But Texas uses the term "H-back" to describe their slot and "Y-back" for their TE/FB ancillary player so I called it Y-counter. Here it is:

Junior Angilau pulls to kick out the edge player, Brewer pulls over to lead into the hole, and the hole is solid because they have Sam Cosmi and Parker Braun blocking down. When Texas runs GT (guard and tackle pull) or Y counter (guard and Y-back pull) with the RB swinging out for a screen while they pullers lead in the opposite direction for Ehlinger...it's nasty.

You're witnessing Sam Ehlinger saunter for 17 yards untouched against the LSU Tigers. RPOs like the swing pass to Roschon Johnson on the first play here accounted for six passes that yielded 44 yards. That hasn't been quite as big a piece of the offense as expected but you can arguably lean too hard in the direction of throwing RPOs all the time. If you know you're consistently certain reactions from defense then you can start to attack them with targeted plays rather than RPOs that ask the QB to make a snap decision live.

The goal line was obviously a place of disappointment for Texas in this game, but it wasn't as bad as it looked. On review, Reese Leitao actually did a solid job blocking on the second failed goal-to-go series and the problem was more a miscommunication on the OL that allowed a DT to come free and erase Ehlinger's cutback lane. Texas doesn't have outstanding TE play this season but both Cade Brewer and Reese Leitao are miles ahead of where this team was in 2017 and both can play against top teams (obviously). As a side note, they ran a nice throwback play to Leitao at TE that was very effective even though the throw wasn't quite accurate enough to maximize the damage.

Texas curiously called a split zone run for Keaontay Ingram on 3rd and goal on the second failed series but on replay it actually appeared as though the ball broke the plane. Texas didn't have the best luck on reviews in this game.

This QB draw call was a nice one on another red zone possession:

Duvernay is running a flag route to the corner of the right end zone, Johnson a fade to the left corner, and then Ehlinger reads the middle linebacker to see if he's making a pass drop or staying in the box. When he drops wide, the QB draw play isolates Ehlinger running behind a Zach Shackleford lead block against the weak side linebacker.

As dangerous as Texas is in short-yardage running Ehlinger, QB run RPOs (particularly the draw) from 5-15 yards out are equally devastating. Ehlinger's fantastic score against Georgia also came on such a play.

Texas ran the ball pretty effectively against LSU. They couldn't just impose their will with tight zone and control the game but their counter schemes certainly left a mark and likely a strong impression on the Tigers. It's reasonable to assume that Texas will be able to impose their will against most or all of the remaining teams on the regular season schedule, which is nice given that they should also be able to spread out and shred said teams in the passing game as well. I think this is the most balanced and complete offense in the Big 12.

If Sam can learn to release as quickly as Colt...

Funk Doctor Spock · September 11, 2019

1 hour ago, Eggo said:

If Sam can learn to release as quickly as Colt...

If only I had tits like Kate Beckinsale

Eggo · September 11, 2019

2 minutes ago, Spider2YBanana said:

If only I had tits like Kate Beckinsale

In theory, you could have surgery to make this happen. Should Sam get surgery?

Funk Doctor Spock · September 11, 2019

7 minutes ago, Eggo said:

In theory, you could have surgery to make this happen. Should Sam get surgery?

God damnit. Touche!

Sejjr · September 11, 2019

Our 9.95ers really like to hear themselves write.

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