Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 4)

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

(Jeff Howe) Instant Reactions: Texas tops Oklahoma State, 36-30

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AUSTIN, Texas — Saturday’s Big 12 opener for 12th-ranked Texas was expected to be a four-quarter battle with Oklahoma State and it most certainly was that in every conceivable way. The two teams traded touchdowns, chips-to-the-middle-of-the-table gambles by Tom Herman and Mike Gundy, special teams miscues, exceptional plays by Sam Ehlinger and Spencer Sanders and the game, as expected, came down to the final moments of the fourth quarter. Until Ehlinger galloped 29 yards on a rollout on third-and-9 from his own 49-yard line inside the game’s final minute, was it done.

The Longhorns walked off the field at Royal-Memorial Stadium bruised and in need of a break, but they’re heading into a much-needed bye week off of a victory. The 36-30 triumph not only got Texas (3-1, 1-0 in the Big 12) off to a good start in conference play, it snapped a winning streak by Oklahoma State (3-1, 0-1) in the series that spanned four games while also ending Gundy’s run of five victories in a row in games played on the Forty Acres. From the biggest plays to the most notable moments to the players who stood out, Horns247 has everything you need to know about Saturday’s win for the Longhorns.

It was over when …

Gundy called for a fake field goal on fourth-and-1 from the Texas 22-yard line, trailing 28-23 early in the fourth quarter, and the result of the play was an incomplete pass. Holder Jake McClure attempted a shovel pass to Cowboy Back Jelani Woods, but the pass flew aimlessly into the line of scrimmage and hit the ground without ever threatening the Longhorns.

Gundy and Herman traded fourth-down gambles earlier in the game with neither of them working out. As good as the Texas defense had been in the red zone throughout the game, Gundy chose the element of surprise to try to keep a drive going, presumably even taking a delay of game penalty before the play to help the cause. Whether taking the penalty was intentional or not, the poor execution was finally the mistake from which the Cowboys couldn’t recover.

Top Offensive Performer

Ehlinger continues to post monster numbers and had more moments of brilliance, but Keaontay Ingram gets the game ball on offense. Playing without a knee brace for the first time in 2019, Ingram looked like the big-time back he appeared to be in spurts as a true freshman, running with a level of violence and assertiveness he didn’t show in the first three games.

Ingram recorded his second career 100-yard rushing game. Even though Ehlinger and Devin Duvernay continue to pace the offense, Ingram stepped up and delivered by maximizing his touches on a night when the offensive line gave him room to operate.

Top Defensive Performer

Brandon Jones played well in the nickelback role when he was moved there for the LSU game and he continued to play well there in the win over the Cowboys. Jones had two tackles for loss and two huge pass breakups, including one in the first quarter on a play where Dillon Stoner got behind the Texas secondary to prevent what could’ve been an explosive play capable of getting Texas in an early hole.

There were a number of noteworthy individual efforts, but Jones is playing the most consistent football of his career (outside of a gaffe late in the fourth quarter trying to field a punt) and the defense needed it on a night where a number of players on the back end either weren’t playing or left the game with injuries.

Reason to Feel Optimistic

Ehlinger has played as well as any quarterback in the country going back to the second game of last season and continues to produce at that level. Whether he was throwing the ball with precision, running with toughness or making good decisions, as long as Ehlinger continues to play like he did Saturday, the Longhorns have a chance to run the table. The same can be said for the offensive line. The Cowboys entered the game with a suspect defensive front, but Texas controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the night.

The same can be said for the defensive line, which came through with big plays with the game on the line. For everything folks will point to that the defense didn’t, three Oklahoma State’s first four scores in the red zone were field goals. Brandon Jones, Ta'Quon Graham and Juwan Mitchell each stepped up and made an individual play three separate times on third-down situations inside the 20 to keep the Cowboys out of the end zone at point-blank range.

Reason to be Pessimistic

The bevy of self-inflicted mistakes the Longhorns made prevented them from seizing control of the game at times when the opportunities were there to do so. Leading in the second quarter, 14-6, a failed fourth-and-3 at the Oklahoma State 28-yard line was a stop the Cowboys converted into a touchdown with an ensuing 6-play, 70-yard drive. Leading later in the quarter, 21-13, a muffed punt by Jake Smith put the defense on a short field and the Cowboys cut the lead one, 21-20, at halftime after covering only 15 yards in four plays before Chuba Hubbard scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.

Ehlinger’s first interception of the season nearly wiped out a fourth-down stop by the defense. Thankfully, for the Longhorns, that miscue was one they were able to overcome due to the defense coming up with a fourth-down stop (albeit an unconventional one) on Oklahoma State’s ensuing drive.

Modest Proposal

Continue to figure out ways to weaponize a safety position that’s deeper than anybody could have imagined. Montrell Estell picked off Sanders in his first career start and Chris Brown (with an assist from Keondre Coburn) nabbed a game-clinching interception in the fourth quarter, showing that the Longhorns weren’t void of playmakers on the back end despite being without B.J. Foster and DeMarvion Overshown and Josh Thompson moving to cornerback during the week to up the ante in terms of competition.

Chris Adimora was forced to play late in the game due to the injuries piling up and he had a huge pass breakup late in the fourth quarter. Hubbard scored one play after Adimora knocked away a pass intended for Landon Wolf, but the bottom line is Texas has an embarrassment of riches at safety, further showing why the position group might be the most talented in the program.

Drive of the Game

After Gundy’s gamble on a fake field goal blew up in the collective faces of the Cowboys, the Texas offense went on a 6-play, 73-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Roschon Johnson. The big play on the drive, outside of Malcolm Epps drawing a pass interference call against Oklahoma State cornerback AJ Green, was a 26-yard pass completion from Ehlinger to Ingram where the sophomore running back bullied his way through the Oklahoma State defense and down to the 4-yard line. Johnson scored two plays later and Ehlinger hit him with a nicely-designed screen perimeter screen to extend the lead to a 13-point margin with 11:44 to play.

Best Offensive Play

There were a lot of them made by the Longhorns, but Herman’s aggressive coaching style paid off in a big way when Ehlinger, Ingram and Smith executed a reverse flip-back to the quarterback, who hit Cade Brewer for a 25-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

The drive was one where Texas leaned on the legs of Ehlinger (two carries, 19 yards) and Duvernay’s ability to make things happen in the short passing game (three short connections gained a total of 25 yards) to move the ball deep into Oklahoma State territory. From there, the Longhorns dialed up a beautifully-designed play where Ehlinger hit a wide-open Brewer streaking toward the end zone to take a 28-23 lead with 5:30 remaining in the quarter.

Best Defensive Play

Joseph Ossai got credit for tackling Hubbard on fourth-and-1 from the Texas 3-yard line late in the third quarter, but penetration by Malcolm Roach knocked Hubbard off of his path. The talented running back couldn’t keep his feet as the Longhorns came away with a hugely-important stop to keep the Cowboys not only out of the end zone, but off of the board entirely. Good defense in the Big 12 is usually defined by playing winning situational football. The Longhorns did that going away Saturday with the fourth-down stop being the fourth trip inside the 20 by the Cowboys to that point that ended without a touchdown.

Biggest question heading into next week’s game

Thankfully, the Longhorns are off next week before traveling to West Virginia for an Oct. 5 battle in Morgantown. Saturday’s tussle with the Cowboys was a hard-hitting affair and when factoring in the Longhorns having already faced a team as physical as LSU in non-conference play, a week to rest before continuing the conference slate should be hugely appreciated by Herman’s charges. Texas is 1-0 in conference play and just cleared a huge hurdle when it comes to earning a berth in the Big 12 title game and possibly the College Football Playoff.

Cody Daniel: Initial takeaways from No. 12 Texas’ 36-30 win over Oklahoma State

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With a chance to turn a new leaf in a series that hasn’t exactly favored the Longhorns as of late, Texas did exactly that, outlasting Oklahoma State, 36-30, to snap a four-game skid against the Cowboys and improve to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in Big 12 play. Here are a few initial takeaways from the the Longhorns’ latest win.

• At long last, Texas exorcized its Oklahoma State demons. You’ve heard the numbers all week, especially here at BON: Seven losses in nine games, four straight overall, and five consecutive losses in Austin. Oklahoma State has quite clearly had Texas number throughout the majority of the last decade. Not tonight. Beyond this sheer fact that Texas added to the win column and kicked off conference play on a positive note, this win over this particular opponent is even more significant given the Longhorns lack of success against the Pokes as of late, especially given how close Texas has been to beating Oklahoma State in recent years. Whether or not the staff and players would admit it, Oklahoma State likely served as a mental monkey on Texas’ back, but that was before tonight. Not to mention, prior to Saturday night, OSU was the only Big 12 team Tom Herman was yet to beat at Texas. That’s no longer the case, with Texas enjoying its biggest win of the young season.
• As a whole, Texas responded quite well to the adversity thrown at them. This was maybe most notable in the form of the multitude of injuries the Longhorns have to overcome, especially on defense against a potent Oklahoma State offense. Beyond star receiver Collin Johnson being ruled out before the game, joining starting nickel back B.J. Foster and hybrid safety DeMarvion Overshwown on the sidelines, Texas saw starting corner Jalen Green leave the game late in the second quarter with a shoulder injury and not return, and an ankle injury sent starting safety Caden Sterns to the sidelines for good in the fourth quarter — his second injury of the evening. Other starters such as Malcolm Roach, D’Shawn Jamison, and Keondre Coburn each suffered various minor ailments that temporarily sidelined them, as well. The same can be said of backup corner Josh Thompson. In short, it seemed as if every time you blinked, a Longhorn was on the turf, which is especially less than ideal against this Oklahoma State offense. Nevertheless, Texas managed to continue making key stops, and those add to to equate to a win. This all was in addition to Texas continually hurting itself, such as the multiple muffed punts that led to a pair of Oklahoma State touchdowns, including the Chuba Hubbard score down the stretch that kept the Pokes’ comeback hopes alive. Even then, though, needing only one first down, Sam Ehlinger took the game into his own hands — or legs — scrambling for 29 yards on 3rd and 9 to seal the win.
• Keaontay Ingram is beginning establish an impressive rhythm. Virtually every bit of the running back talk entering the game centered around OSU’s Chuba Hubbard, and for good reason. He entered the evening as the nation’s leading rusher, but on Saturday night in Austin, he was out-shined by Keoantay Ingram. Hubbard did out-rush Ingram, 121-to-114, but he also required 16 more carries for those extra seven yards (37 to Ingram’s 21). And not only is that 114 yards now Ingram’s first 100-yard performance since Texas’ Week 7 win over Baylor last season, but it’s now a new career-high for the sophomore. As a result, Ingram has now eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for his career. All told, seven of Ingram’s 21 touches moved the chains, and four went for at least 10 yards. Elsewhere, Ingram also added 26 yards on on a remarkable run after a catch, in which he made at least four defenders miss.

 

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(Bobby Burton) Snap Judgements: The Ghost of Charlie Strong

I felt like the ghost of Charlie Strong revisited DKR tonight. Texas tried its level best to give this game away. Two muffed punts, one of which came on a play where the catch didn't even need to be attempted up by two scores in the game's final minutes. And I don't even know what alignment Texas was deploying on the final onside kick with only two men to the side of the kick, one of them a linebacker. How is this even possible? There are bad special teams, and then there are atrocious ones. This was Charlie Strong vs Oklahoma State level atrocious circa 2015.

And on offense, Tom Herman's decision to go for it on 4th down in the first half when he could have kicked a field goal to go up by two scores was yet another questionable decision by the head coach. The Horns hurried up to get the play in, only to have it blown up from the very start. The bottom line? The Horns, too often, looked more like Strong was still patrolling the Texas sidelines. They looked like a team that was too often trying to find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Yet somehow the Horns still pulled off the win, even though it feels like Texas was lucky to escape.

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Thankfully, Mike Gundy blinked. Gundy went for it on fourth down a couple of times, too. One of them was a really poor decision to try a fake field goal following a delay of game penalty pushed O-State back to 4th-and-6.

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In the first half, I thought Todd Orlando's defensive gameplan was going to cost the Horns. Oklahoma State walked the ball down the field. But the Horns bowed up in the red zone early and several other times the rest of the night. As the game wore on, Orlando's game plan turned out to be right. The Texas DC obviously tried to limit running back Chuba Hubbard as much as possible, while also double-teaming Tylan Wallace. Orlando wanted to make freshman QB Spencer Sanders beat him. While Sanders certainly had his moments, they were ultimately too few and far between. Even though the Cowboys scored 30 points, you have to remember that 14 of them came when the defense should have already been off the field.

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The injuries are immense. I can't even remember all of them. Jalen Green looked like he hurt a shoulder or arm and never returned after he left the field. Joe Ossai was limited early by what klooks to be a sore shoulder. Caden Sterns was hurt multiple times, favoring his shoulder early in the game, but then went to the turf in the 4th with what looked like a knee injury and was carted to the locker room. Marcus Tillman also looked like he sustained a knee injury on the game's first kickoff. There could be more. Those are just the ones I remember off hand. Unfortunately, some of them could be serious, especially the ones in the secondary.

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Juwan Mitchell has played himself into a regular role on the Texas defense. There was no bigger individual bright spot on defense than his play, especially against the run. He changes the the interior of the defense from a duo of more passive linebackers in Jeff McCulloch and Ayodele Adeoye. Keondre Coburn also played well, including a key pass rush that resulted in the Chris Brown interception.

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Keaontay Ingram, playing without a knee brace for the first time in a year, had a terrific game. Not only was he a workhorse in the run game, but his catch and run set the Horns up for the fourth quarter touchdown. Roschon Johnson also made multiple positive plays. That duo is getting it done at running back right now.

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Where did Brennan Eagles go after his long TD catch? Instead of Eagles, we saw a heavy dose of Malcolm Epps. And Epps just isn't getting it done on the outside.

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Jake Smith's touchdown catch, where he was isolated on a linebacker, was a great play call. But Smith's muffed punt gave those points right back. The flea flicker to Cade Brewer was another strong playcall. But the best playcall of the night? Third-and-nine with just a minute to go, and the Sam Ehlinger bootleg for a first down. Texas gets stopped on that play, and we're all of a sudden looking at either the West Virginia or Baylor game of a year ago.

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Brandon Jones and Chris Brown both had solid games on defense. Take away Jones' muffed punt, and it may have been one of his better all-around games as a defender. But you can't really forget about a play that almost cost the team the game.

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The Texas OL continued to keep the pocket relatively clean for Ehlinger. They also opened up some running lanes. Texas needs to get more consistent production from the run game. But the OL is going to give them a chance to do just that.

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Hats off to Ehlinger tonight. He wasn't flawless, but his throw to Eagles was outstanding. And he used his legs more tonight than he has all season. The first TD of second half was a reflection of just what he can do. He can beat a team with tough running yards and with good, solid passing.

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Games like this one exhaust me. Texas had so many opportunities to put the game away, but failed to do so until the final minute. If Jones doesn't muff the punt, Texas likely wins by two scores. If Smith doesn't muff the punt, Texas goes to halftime up by two scores and gets the ball first to start the second half. If Herman elects to kick the field goal in the first half, the Horns have even more momentum and could start to see the Cowboys try to press because of the scoreboard. So many opportunities. But the Horns still won. It was hard fought but it wasn't a thing of beauty.

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From the other sideline:

RECAP: Pokes come up short in a weird one in Austin

The Pokes gained leads early in both halves but were mostly trying to claw their way back from behind. That strange juxtaposition is a nice microcosm of the type of game that unfolded tonight in Austin as the Cowboys fall 30-36 (for the first time since 2008!).

The Cowboys stalled at weird times and sometimes it felt like the playcalling lacked inspiration, and sometimes it was the decision-making that left us scratching our heads. This started early with the Pokes settling for their first field goal after a nice first drive stalled in the red zone. The Longhorns would take a 3-14 lead before the Pokes would ultimately go into half down 1 at 20-21. This was thanks to the first muffed punt of the night from the Texas.

That’s right, after years of agonizing over poor special teams play, a perfect 3/3 field goal night from Matt Amendola and 2 fumble recoveries basically kept the Pokes in the game. But it didn’t feel like it had to be that way. The offense showed tons of promise at times, but then would stall out. Some of the credit can be given to a great red zone performance from Texas, but some of it just felt like stubborn playcalling or uncharacteristic mistakes. I don’t ever remember seeing so many botched snaps, and especially not ones that didn’t lead to turnovers (is Spencer Sanders the smoothest botched snap quarterback of all time?).

After taking the lead early on another stalled drive field goal early in the second half, the Longhorns would retake control with another healthy lead, this time 23-36. The Cowboys were unable to crack this score until too late. Spencer Sanders flashed some true “wow” moments, but also made some frustrating mistakes. Kinda what you’d expect from an uber-talented redshirt freshman.

Side note: it kinda seemed like there were a lot of opportunities for him to pick up yardage with his feet, but I think it’s also good that he’s focusing on being a passer first. After the Longhorns coughed up a “white flag” punt they never should have been fielding in the first place, Chuba would score on an outside run to breathe life back into their outside chances.

Ultimately, the Pokes almost had one more chance to keep the streak in Austin alive, but it figuratively and literally slipped through the usually sure-handed Malcolm Rodriguez’s grasp. Sanders finished 19/32 for 268 yards, 0 TD’s and 2 INT’s, with another 109 yards and 1 TD on the ground. Chuba Hubbard had to work hard (like, 37!! carries hard) for his 121 yards and 2 scores. Tylan Wallace felt relatively quiet, but he ended up with 5 receptions and 83 yards as well. This team can be a lot of fun to watch on offense, but there are still a lot of growing pains we’ll have to endure along the way.

The Pokes fall to 3-1 on the year and 0-1 in conference play. Losing conference openers has happened a lot recently, and it’s something they’ll have to figure out next year, but for now they’ll have to regroup as they look to bounce back against a tough 2-0 Kansas State team under first-year head coach Chris Klieman.

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(Justin Wells) Five Quick Thoughts: No. 12 Texas 36, OSU 30

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Oklahoma State brought a five-game road-winning streak in DKR into Austin on Saturday. The Cowboys left with a loss and the beginning of losing streak. No. 12 Texas toppled the not-so-road-friendly Pokes, 36-30, in front of a sellout crowd from DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium tonight. All it took was UT (3-1, 1-0) winning on both sides of the ball, and if not for faulty special teams play, potentially a blowout in front of the packed crowd. It was a fairly even first half. Both tallied 250+ yards, both convert pivotal turnovers. The second half was a different animal. Here are my Five Quick Thoughts following UT's 36-30 win over Oklahoma State on Saturday night.

1. Devin Duvernay is that dude. At 5-foot-11, 210 pounds, the senior from Sachse has been an early blessing for the 2019 Longhorns. When Sam Ehlinger needed to replace Lil'Jordan Humphrey and his production in the slot (H) position. So far, it's been record worthy. Duvernay had seven catches that converted third downs. He is one of two Longhorns with multiple 12-catch performances. With Collin Johnson a game-time scratch, DuVernay was needed that much more. And he delivered. He has 377 yards, on 39 catches, four touchdowns this season. That's production that has saved Ehlinger and the offense early on.
2. Texas won in the trenches. The Longhorns controlled the line of scrimmage, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Five different drives in which Oklahoma State had the ball inside the Texas 30-yard line, and only produced three field goals and two 4th down stops. Chuba Hubbard had 121 yards rushing, but Texas didn't let him break loose, and beat them on the big play. On offense, the holes from zone were rushing lanes for Ingram, Johnson, and Ehlinger. Texas converted 3rd downs at a higher rate, but had almost identical marks in first downs (26), passing yards (281-268), and total yards (498-494). But at the end of the day, UT's defense bent, but didn't break. Touchdowns will always beat field goals.
3. No more worrying about running backs. With the ending of fall camp, the depth chart for RBs was razor thin. A healthy tailback, converted QB-to-RB, and a quarterback who likes to tote the rock has seemed to have the rushing game in order. Ingram went for a career-high 117 yards on the ground. Roschon made plays (first rushing TD, first two-point conversion, and converted third downs. Ingram went over 1,000 career yards, the 53rd back to do that in UT history. Ehlinger added his 70th touchdown, fourth best total in school history.
4. The secondary needs fine tuning, but depth is a blessing. Montrell Estell, Chris Adimora, D'Shawn Jamison, Chris Brown, Brandon Jones. After more injuries hit the back end of the defensive set - Jalen Green, Josh Thompson joining Foster, Overshown - the youth and depth stepped up big. Estell snagged his first interception and added eight tackles. Brown grabbed his second. Jamison played the run extraordinary. Adimora had a pivotal PBU and corralled the onside kick to clinch the win for Texas. Jones was there when they need him. This group is growing, taking some lumps when you play teams like Oklahoma State and Joe Burrow's Bengals. The bye week is coming at the right time.
5. Speaking of which, going into the bye week after a win is huge. Texas has the momentum, 1-0 conference start, tons of confidence on the offensive side and defensive front. Injuries need to heal. Josh Thompson will likely miss some time. Caden Sterns is undetermined. Collin Johnson needs the extra rest, Zach Shackleford too. Joseph Ossai could use a few days. Texas will begin focusing on West Virginia soon, as a trip to Morgantown awaits. If UT can dispose of the Mountaineers, it'll likely set up a Top 10 matchup in Dallas for the Red River Shootout. That's Texas Football in 2019.

Also, what the hell with punt return? Otherwise, this is probably a Texas blowout.

 

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(Chip Brown) My Take: What went right and wrong in UT's win over OSU

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AUSTIN, Texas — I don’t care what the final stats showed, the entire Texas defense deserves a game ball after blasting Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard and Spencer Sanders all game long in a 36-30 exorcism against the Cowboys at DKR Saturday night. Oklahoma State's four-game winning streak over the Longhorns, and the Cowboys' five-game win streak at DKR (dating to 2010) are over ... finally. Despite having one Texas defensive player after another slow to get up — including Keondre Coburn and Malcolm Roach (both of whom returned to the game), as well as cornerbacks Jalen Green and D'Shawn Jamison and safety Caden Sterns (all of whom didn’t finish the game) — the UT defense gutted it out.

Todd Orlando’s bunch stuffed two fourth downs (including one inside the Texas 5), intercepted two passes (one by Montrell Estell that set up a first-half touchdown), finished with 12 tackles for loss and limited OSU to a field-goal despite the Cowboys having first-and-goal from the 2 in the first quarter. In the final minutes of the game, Anthony Cook and Kobe Boyce were at corner, and freshman defensive back Chris Adimora was breaking up a pass in the end zone and grabbing an onside kick with 1:34 left.

Sure there is plenty to clean up during UT’s off-week next week before going to West Virginia on Oct. 5. The lowlights included Sam Ehlinger’s first interception of the season (off the hands of Malcolm Epps), a failed fourth-and-3 attempt by the Texas offense in the first half and two muffed punts (one by Jake Smith deep in Texas territory in the first half, the other by Brandon Jones in the fourth quarter) - both of which led to OSU touchdowns.

But on a night when the Longhorns needed Keaontay Ingram to deliver the game of his short, Texas career, Ingram did just that, rushing 21 times for 114 yards (5.4 yards per carry) and catching a drop-down pass that he turned into a defining, twisting-turning, 26-yard gain inside the OSU 10 that helped set up a two-yard TD run by Roschon Johnson, putting Texas up 36-23 with 11:44 left to play.

Ehlinger finished 20 of 28 passing for 281 yards and four touchdown passes, including a 73-yarder to Brennan Eagles, with his first interception of the season. Ehlinger also ran 10 times for 70 yards - none bigger than the 29-yard run he made in the final minute to secure UT’s last first down of the game, so the Horns could run out the clock. Oklahoma State had first-and-goal at the UT4 on its opening possession and had to settle for a 20-yard field goal. OSU had first down at the Texas 24 in the second quarter and had to settle for a 43-yard field goal.

What went right for Texas

Texas came out determined to pound the ball on the ground, rushing it 14 times to only three pass attempts in the first quarter. The Texas defense turned in an admirable first-half performance and wasn’t rewarded for it on the scoreboard thanks to a muffed punt that OSU turned into a touchdown after getting the ball at the Texas 15 with 45 seconds left in the half.

At halftime, the Texas defense was holding OSU to 2.5 yards per carry (27 attempts for 67 yards), had eight tackles for loss, an interception by Montrell Estell that led to a UT touchdown and a forced fumble by Joseph Ossai on second-and-goal from the Texas 1 (recovered by OSU at the 3) that helped force a field goal. Byron Vaughns didn’t see Ryan Bujcevski’s punt land and bounce into him, but Vaughns made a heads-up play to jump on the ball at the OSU 49 with 6:43 left.

BROWN GRABS UT’S SECOND INTERCEPTION WITH 9:40 LEFT: Keondre Coburn got pressure on Spencer Sanders, hitting Sanders’ arm as he released the ball, and Chris Brown intercepted the ball at the UT 43 and returned it 10 yards to the OSU 47 with 9:40 left and Texas leading 36-23. Montrell Estell had an interception for UT in the first half. Kobe Boyce was credited with a pass breakup against Tylan Wallace (on the same play Caden Sterns was slow to get up with 10:08 left). Following a review, Sanders’ knee was ruled down before he pitched the ball to Chuba Hubbard, resulting in a 1-yard loss on a hit by D’Shawn Jamison with just more than 11 minutes left to play.

UT TURNS FOURTH-DOWN STOP INTO TD DRIVE: The Texas offense turned the second fourth-down stop by the Longhorns’ defense (in a three-minute span) into a six-play, 73-yard drive highlighted by a twisting-turning, 26-yard run by Keaontay Ingram inside the OSU 10 and capped by a 2-yard TD plunge by Roschon Johnson (followed by a two-point conversion pass to Johnson), putting Texas up 36-23 with 11:44 to play. OSU was called for defensive holding (while trying to cover Brennan Eagles), giving Texas a first down at the OSU 34. Ehlinger then threw a drop-down pass to Ingram, who spun, twisted and turned for a 26-yard gain to the OSU 8. A personal foul facemask flag on OSU, gave Texas first-and-goal from the OSU 8.

ANOTHER FOURTH-DOWN STOP BY TEXAS 😧 Brandon Jones broke up a pass on second-and-1 from the Texas 22, and Keondre Coburn led a wave of tacklers to stuff Hubbard for no gain on third-and-1, forcing what ended up being a failed fake field goal attempt with 14:03 left to play and Texas up 28-23.

FOURTH-DOWN STOP BY TEXAS INSIDE UT 5: Josh Thompson blew up a block and stuffed Chuba Hubbard for a 1-yard loss on first-and-10 from the UT 12. OSU threw incomplete on second-and-11 from the UT 13, bringing up third-and-11. Sanders ran for what appeared to be a 10-yard gain, setting up fourth-and-1 at the UT 5. A replay review then interrupted play and confirmed where Sanders stepped out of bounds, before Malcolm Roach blew up the OSU offensive line, causing Chuba Hubbard to fall short, turning the ball over to Texas at its own 4 with 2:27 left in the third quarter.

A replay review determined Texas linebacker Joseph Ossai was NOT guilty of targeting as initially ruled on the field following a hit Ossai put on OSU quarterback Spencer Sanders with 4:59 left in the third quarter. (Roughing the passer was enforced.)

BREWER TD CATCH PUT TEXAS UP 28-23: The Texas offense got going on its second possession of the third quarter as Ehlinger ran for 15 yards and hit Devin Duvernay on three passes for 25 yards, setting up a trick-play, 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cade Brewer from Ehlinger (after Ingram took a handoff and pitched it to Jake Smith on a reverse and then Smith flipped the ball back to Ehlinger). Brewer’s TD gave Texas a 28-23 lead with 5:30 left in the third quarter.

Juwan Mitchell made a great open-field tackle on Chuba Hubbard (on the same play Keondre Coburn was slow to get up) with 8:21 left in the third quarter, forcing a 27-yard field goal by Matt Amendola, giving OSU its first lead, 23-21. Texas had eight tackles for loss in the first half: Brandon Jones and Ta’Quon Graham each had two; Caden Sterns, Jalen Green, Juwan Mitchell; Moro Oromo and D’Shawn Jamison combined for a TFL.

Juwan Mitchell dropped Spencer Sanders for a 5-yard loss on second-and-4 at the UT 41, and Jalen Green broke up a third-and-9 pass on the next play, forcing a punt by OSU with 53 seconds left in the first half. Ehlinger found Duvernay for a 16-yard gain on third-and-5 from the Texas 26, and Keaontay Ingram had a 16-yard run to the OSU 42 on UT’s opening drive of the second half. (But a third-and-11 pass from Ehlinger to Brennan Eagles bounced short and incomplete.)

EAGLES’ 73-YARD TD CATCH PUTS TEXAS UP 21-13: Ehlinger hit Duvernay for 6-yard and 5-yard completions before launching a ball deep down the right sideline for Brennan Eagles, who caught the ball and ran the final 35 yards of a 73-yard, catch-and-run touchdown, putting Texas up 21-13 with 2:09 left in the first half. After having a bunch of time in the pocket on third-and-7 and finally fleeing to his left, Ehlinger found Roschon Johnson on a drop-down pass, and Johnson turned it into a 15-yard, catch-and-run for a first down at the OSU 35.

Keaontay Ingram had a nice jump cut on an 8-yard run to start a drive for Texas midway through the second quarter. Ta'Quon Graham dropped Chuba Hubbard for a 4-yard loss on third-and-8 from the UT22, forcing a 43-yard field goal by Matt Amendola with 9:21 left in the second quarter. Jalen Green did a great job of getting off a block and blowing up a shovel pass from Sanders to Dillon Stoner for a 9-yard loss on first down at the UT 24.

ESTELL INTERCEPTION LEADS TO TD AND 14-3 TEXAS LEAD: Montrell Estell, who got the start at boundary safety for Texas in UT’s dime package, intercepted OSU QB Spencer Sanders, whose pass sailed on him, and Estell returned it 37 yards to the OSU 28 with 14:05 left in the second quarter. Three plays later, Ehlinger hit Jake Smith over the middle for a 17-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead with 12:42 left in the second quarter. Ehlinger threw a key block on an 8-yard gain by Jake Smith on a reverse after Estell’s interception for Texas.

DUVERNAY TD CATCH PUTS TEXAS UP 7-3: Ehlinger hit Duvernay with a perfect pass in the right corner of the end zone with 14:53 left in the second quarter on first-and-goal from the OSU 6. Texas opened the nine-play, 66-yard drive that took 3:46 off the clock by running it seven straight times for 48 yards, UT converted third-and-4 from the OSU 18 with a 12-yard pass from Ehlinger to Duvernay, setting up the TD pass on first-and-goal from the OSU 6.

Keaontay Ingram ran the ball four times for 28 yards, and Roschon Johnson ran the ball three times for 20 yards on UT’s nine-play, 66-yard TD drive in the second quarter. Brandon Jones broke up what would’ve been a first-down pass to Dillon Stoner in Texas territory on third-and-7 from the OSU 23 with 4 minutes left in the first quarter. After a holding call on Parker Braun wiped out a 22-yard run by Keaontay Ingram, Texas was able to overcome second-and-15 thanks to an 11-yard run by Ehlinger and a 6-yard slant pass from Ehlinger to Duvernay for a first down.

Joseph Ossai forced a fumble by Hubbard on second-and-goal from the 1 on OSU’s first possession of the game. But OSU QB Spencer Sanders recovered at the Texas 3. (The Cowboys ended up with a 20-yard field goal.) Brandon Jones dropped Chuba Hubbard for a 4-yard loss on OSU’s first play from scrimmage, and Chris Brown dropped Hubbard after a 3-yard gain on OSU’s second offensive play.

What went wrong for Texas

INTERCEPTION RETURNED BY OSU TO TEXAS 31: After the Horns ran four times for 29 yards following a goal-line stand by the Texas defense, Ehlinger’s pass on third-and-7 from the UT 33 went off the hands of Malcolm Epps and was intercepted by OSU safety Kolby Harvell-Peel and returned 22 yards to the UT 31 with 17 seconds left in the third quarter and UT holding a 28-23 lead.

Jalen Green didn’t come out with the defense for the second half after injuring his right shoulder/stinger with 19 seconds left in the first half. A deep ball from Ehlinger to Epps on first down from the OSU 42 appeared to be catchable, but Epps didn’t sell out to make the catch near the OSU goal line early in the third quarter.

SMITH MUFFED PUNT LEADS TO OSU TD BEFORE HALF: After the Texas defense forced a punt, freshman Jake Smith called for a fair catch, but dropped it, and the ball was recovered by OSU at the UT 15 with 45 seconds left in the first half. Four plays (and an injury to Texas cornerback Jalen Green) later, Chuba Hubbard slammed in for a 1-yard touchdown run, cutting Texas’ lead to 21-20 with 11 seconds left in the first half. Green went out of the game with 19 second left after he appeared to suffer a stinger in his right shoulder. Replays showed Chuba Hubbard’s knee slamming into Green’s shoulder while Green tackled him after a 6-yard gain to the UT8.

SANDERS’ TD RUN CUTS UT LEAD TO 14-13: After consecutive tackles for loss by Brandon Jones and Ta’Quon Graham, brought up third-and-goal from the Texas 7, Sanders ran a QB draw and three Texas tacklers appeared to have a shot at him, but Caden Sterns appeared to have the best chance and somehow let Sanders bounce outside and get into the end zone, cutting UT’s lead to 14-13 with 3:07 left in the first half.

Facing second-and-13 from the OSU 42, Spencer Sanders threw a perfect, 55-yard pass to Braydon Johnson, who was covered well on the play by Chris Brown, setting up first-and-goal from the UT3. Marqez Bimage was called for a personal foul (unnecessary roughness) for slamming Chuba Hubbard into the turf on a first-down play that would’ve gone for no gain. Instead of second-and-10 at the OSU 30, the Cowboys had a first down near midfield.

Texas went for it on fourth-and-3 from the OSU 28, but Roschon Johnson didn’t get any push from the offensive line and was dropped for a 1-yard loss, turning the ball over to the Cowboys at their own 29 with 5:24 left in the half. Caden Sterns appeared to have good coverage on Tylan Wallace on second-and-8 from the OSU 27, but Wallace did a great job of positioning his body to make the catch for a 35-yard gain to the UT 38. A 22-yard run by Keaontay Ingram into OSU territory on UT’s opening drive was called back because of a holding call on Parker Braun. (Texas was able to overcome second-and-15 thanks to an 11-yard run by Ehlinger and a 6-yard slant pass from Ehlinger to Duvernay for a first down.)

OSU STRIKES FIRST WITH 13-PLAY DRIVE TO FG: OSU converted third-and-11 and third-and-7 but couldn’t convert third-and-goal from the Texas 3 thanks to a great stop by Malcolm Roach and Joseph Ossai on Hubbard at the 1, forcing a 20-yard field goal with 9:12 left in the first quarter, giving OSU a 3-0 lead. Joseph Ossai forced a fumble by Hubbard on second-and-goal from the 1, but Spencer Sanders recovered at the Texas 3.

Texas had Oklahoma State facing third-and-11 on the Cowboys’ opening possession of the game after two great stops on Chuba Hubbard by Brandon Jones and Chris Brown. But on third-and-11, Jalen Green gave the appearance of playing man on OSU receiver Tylan Wallace, but then passed him off in quarters coverage, and Spencer Sanders found Wallace for a 20-yard gain and a first down.

OTHER NOTABLES:

Freshman linebacker Marcus Tillman Jr. injured his left knee on the opening kickoff and didn’t return.

 

[totallynotabuttpirate 5344]

FCB

[LTtxfan 49010]

8 hours ago, satyanash said:

(Bobby Burton) Snap Judgements: The Ghost of Charlie Strong

 

  Reveal hidden contents

I felt like the ghost of Charlie Strong revisited DKR tonight. Texas tried its level best to give this game away. Two muffed punts, one of which came on a play where the catch didn't even need to be attempted up by two scores in the game's final minutes. And I don't even know what alignment Texas was deploying on the final onside kick with only two men to the side of the kick, one of them a linebacker. How is this even possible? There are bad special teams, and then there are atrocious ones. This was Charlie Strong vs Oklahoma State level atrocious circa 2015.

And on offense, Tom Herman's decision to go for it on 4th down in the first half when he could have kicked a field goal to go up by two scores was yet another questionable decision by the head coach. The Horns hurried up to get the play in, only to have it blown up from the very start. The bottom line? The Horns, too often, looked more like Strong was still patrolling the Texas sidelines. They looked like a team that was too often trying to find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Yet somehow the Horns still pulled off the win, even though it feels like Texas was lucky to escape.

**

Thankfully, Mike Gundy blinked. Gundy went for it on fourth down a couple of times, too. One of them was a really poor decision to try a fake field goal following a delay of game penalty pushed O-State back to 4th-and-6.

**

In the first half, I thought Todd Orlando's defensive gameplan was going to cost the Horns. Oklahoma State walked the ball down the field. But the Horns bowed up in the red zone early and several other times the rest of the night. As the game wore on, Orlando's game plan turned out to be right. The Texas DC obviously tried to limit running back Chuba Hubbard as much as possible, while also double-teaming Tylan Wallace. Orlando wanted to make freshman QB Spencer Sanders beat him. While Sanders certainly had his moments, they were ultimately too few and far between. Even though the Cowboys scored 30 points, you have to remember that 14 of them came when the defense should have already been off the field.

**

The injuries are immense. I can't even remember all of them. Jalen Green looked like he hurt a shoulder or arm and never returned after he left the field. Joe Ossai was limited early by what klooks to be a sore shoulder. Caden Sterns was hurt multiple times, favoring his shoulder early in the game, but then went to the turf in the 4th with what looked like a knee injury and was carted to the locker room. Marcus Tillman also looked like he sustained a knee injury on the game's first kickoff. There could be more. Those are just the ones I remember off hand. Unfortunately, some of them could be serious, especially the ones in the secondary.

**

Juwan Mitchell has played himself into a regular role on the Texas defense. There was no bigger individual bright spot on defense than his play, especially against the run. He changes the the interior of the defense from a duo of more passive linebackers in Jeff McCulloch and Ayodele Adeoye. Keondre Coburn also played well, including a key pass rush that resulted in the Chris Brown interception.

**

Keaontay Ingram, playing without a knee brace for the first time in a year, had a terrific game. Not only was he a workhorse in the run game, but his catch and run set the Horns up for the fourth quarter touchdown. Roschon Johnson also made multiple positive plays. That duo is getting it done at running back right now.

**

Where did Brennan Eagles go after his long TD catch? Instead of Eagles, we saw a heavy dose of Malcolm Epps. And Epps just isn't getting it done on the outside.

**

Jake Smith's touchdown catch, where he was isolated on a linebacker, was a great play call. But Smith's muffed punt gave those points right back. The flea flicker to Cade Brewer was another strong playcall. But the best playcall of the night? Third-and-nine with just a minute to go, and the Sam Ehlinger bootleg for a first down. Texas gets stopped on that play, and we're all of a sudden looking at either the West Virginia or Baylor game of a year ago.

**

Brandon Jones and Chris Brown both had solid games on defense. Take away Jones' muffed punt, and it may have been one of his better all-around games as a defender. But you can't really forget about a play that almost cost the team the game.

**

The Texas OL continued to keep the pocket relatively clean for Ehlinger. They also opened up some running lanes. Texas needs to get more consistent production from the run game. But the OL is going to give them a chance to do just that.

**

Hats off to Ehlinger tonight. He wasn't flawless, but his throw to Eagles was outstanding. And he used his legs more tonight than he has all season. The first TD of second half was a reflection of just what he can do. He can beat a team with tough running yards and with good, solid passing.

**

Games like this one exhaust me. Texas had so many opportunities to put the game away, but failed to do so until the final minute. If Jones doesn't muff the punt, Texas likely wins by two scores. If Smith doesn't muff the punt, Texas goes to halftime up by two scores and gets the ball first to start the second half. If Herman elects to kick the field goal in the first half, the Horns have even more momentum and could start to see the Cowboys try to press because of the scoreboard. So many opportunities. But the Horns still won. It was hard fought but it wasn't a thing of beauty.

 

Not a Burton fan, but he has a lot of good points in this write-up...

[satyanash 14281]

(Kaelen Jones) ‘We took a step’: Why Tom Herman pointed out progress despite Texas not playing its best in win

Quote

AUSTIN, Texas — Malcolm Roach pleaded with his teammates. As Texas started to falter in the third quarter Saturday night of its Big 12 opener against Oklahoma State, the Longhorns senior defensive lineman took charge, “dang near begging,” as coach Tom Herman described, for players to remember who they were playing for. “Don’t do it for yourself,” Roach, a team captain, implored. “Do it for each other.”

UT’s big-picture focus is to put itself in championship contention late in the season. And against the Cowboys, the Longhorns took a step toward getting there. They proved that they can win ugly, doing so despite self-inflicted errors and a mountain of injuries. No. 12 UT (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) held on for a 36-30 victory and snapped a four-game losing streak to OSU (3-1, 0-1), not to mention a record five-game losing streak in Austin. “That was not a very well-coached or very well-played game in certain spots,” Herman said. “But we found a way to win.”

As for Roach… “When you’re playing for something bigger than you, you’ll go the extra mile,” he said. “I always used to imagine somebody you love. You see your momma in a fight, you’ll take off running towards that fight, huh? So if I see my guys in something like that, I take off running because I just got love for them like that.”

As UT lost command over Saturday’s contest, allowing the Cowboys to rally from an early 11-point deficit to take a two-point lead, there was little flinch, worry or frustration from the Longhorns’ bench. “We never gave up,” junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger said. “We never said, ‘Oh, we made a mistake here. Game over. What are we doing?’ Showed the fight in us.” Texas held coach Mike Gundy and the Cowboys to 10 points in the second half despite a defense that saw seven players suffer injuries, including six starters.

Roach helped stifle OSU’s fourth-and-goal run attempt in the backfield late in the third quarter. The Cowboys’ fake field goal attempt didn’t faze UT early in the fourth. With injuries to others requiring his first-ever snap with the onside recovery team, freshman cornerback Chris Adimora held on to the ball. And Ehlinger kept his head during a 29-yard scramble to convert third-and-long on the last possession. “We’re resilient,” Roach said.

The Longhorns’ already had a laundry list of injuries entering the game, and it only worsened Saturday night. Safeties B.J. Foster (hamstring) and DeMarvion Overshown (back) and receiver Collin Johnson (hamstring) were ruled out before kickoff. Running back Jordan Whittington (groin) is still on the mend. Then, cornerback Jalen Green (dislocated shoulder), safety Caden Sterns (knee), defensive back Josh Thompson (fractured fifth metatarsal) and linebacker Marcus Tillman Jr. (MCL sprain) were knocked out of the contest. They all will undergo further testing.

Cornerback D’Shawn Jamison — who started Saturday — suffered a stinger but did return. Roach and starting nose tackle Keondre Coburn each went down briefly before returning to the game. “It’s tough,” said senior safety Brandon Jones. “Especially when you have guys like Josh (Thompson) and Caden (Sterns), some of the key players on defense (go down). But we dedicate our Thursday practices for situations like that. If somebody goes down, we have people rep different positions throughout the whole practice. “Obviously, it’s not a good thing to lose guys like that, but we really embrace the next man up thing.”

The Longhorns still committed mistakes, several of them allowing OSU to remain within striking distance. Penalties, miscues and, most hauntingly, two lost fumbles on muffed punt returns. The Cowboys capitalized on Jones’ and freshman Jake Smith’s mistakes by scoring touchdowns on the ensuing drives. Smith’s came just before halftime, allowing OSU to cut its deficit to 21-20. Jones’ came in the fourth quarter with less than four minutes to play.

“Obviously the punt return game was embarrassing,” Herman said. “We have got to do a better job of coaching those situations.” Herman’s own slip-up Saturday night was a fourth-and-3 attempt during the second quarter. From OSU’s 28, the Longhorns called a run for freshman Roschon Johnson, who was stuffed behind the line for a loss of 1. The Pokes scored a field goal on the following series. Herman said he went to the play, which has been successful this season, one too many times.

“It was an ill-advised call,” Herman said. “It was the right decision. It was a poor call.” But UT did enough to win. The defense held its own against Cowboys running back Chuba Hubbard and receiver Tylan Wallace. Hubbard, who entered Saturday averaging 7.9 yards per carry, finished Saturday with 121 yards on an exhausting 37 carries (3.3 ypc). His longest carry went for 13 yards. Wallace, who made receptions of 20 and 35 in the first half, finished with five catches for a season-low 83 yards. “That is as good as you’re going to do against those two guys that are as good as there is in our conference,” Herman said. “We gave up some big plays, but also bowed our backs when our backs were against the ball.”

The offense also contributed, even as the game plan shifted from aggressive, downfield passing in favor of hammering the OSU defensive front. A noticeably confident Keaontay Ingram rushed for a career-high 114 yards on 21 carries. The sophomore tailback’s 26-yard catch-and-run that set up Roschon Johnson’s 2-yard score in the early fourth quarter helped put the game out of reach. Ehlinger was 20 of 28 for 281 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Slot receiver Devin Duvernay had 12 catches for 108 yards and a touchdown.

A well-executed trick play in the third quarter led to a 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cade Brewer, on which Texas regained the lead for good. But it didn’t happen before Ehlinger handed off to Ingram, who pitched the ball to Jake Smith, who pitched it back to Ehlinger for the pass. Herman had mentioned throughout the week that it would take all the Longhorns had Saturday. And it nearly did, until Ehlinger’s scamper all but confirmed the win.

Herman, the offensive coordinator on Ohio State’s 2014 national championship team, understands that great teams can win even when they’re not at their best. “We certainly don’t want to make a habit of that, because it will bite you,” he said. There are certainly remaining concerns. But first, a bye week. That’s a welcome break ahead of the challenges of conference games. “We’ve been telling them since we got here that our best was good enough,” Herman said. “But less than our best probably wasn’t. Tonight we took a step, in my opinion, because we played less than our best and still beat a really, really good football team.”

InsideTexas Offensive Report Card---OKst

Quote

This group is fun to watch period. They give maximum effort and really seem to enjoy playing the game. It starts with an experienced QB that seldom makes a bad decision and backs that up with deadly accuracy and a gifted style of running. Mix in two determined RB's and you have the start of a ground game. It helps to have a speed receiver producing every week but the bread and butter guy is a slot that is money in the bank. The best of all wishes came true in the form of an athletic offensive line (plus one---TE) that wins a huge majority of the individual battles and takes pride in producing and protecting. Genuine pleasure watching this bunch winning and having fun. Here are the grades:

1---Burt---borderline

2---Johnson---pass+

6---Duvernay---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

My hat's off to our center (56---Shack)---playing that well having not practiced all week is pure gold. Watching Cosmi (52) and Braun (73) bury defenders on counter pulls is poetry in motion. I don't believe Braun will shirt since we may need him for another few months. Junior (75) and Derek K (68) may still be rough around the edges but both play with a passion. Brewer (80) played his best game this season---good sound blocks and two sweet catches.

Duvernay (6) is the best surprise of the early part of the season. Who knew he was that big of a weapon? We miss Collin (9) bad. Ingram (26) had his best game of the year. That run after the catch was sweetness. Terrific paired with RJ (2). Roshon (2) will stick a knife in a dead man with his slashing style of sticking the ball into the first opening he sees. Burt (1) needs to finish his routes but at least he stays after his blocking.

Epps (85) needs to learn that the game includes getting down and dirty. His effort on Sam's interception won't cut the mustard. Neither will his effort against press nor the lack of finishing his routes full speed. The on-sides kick wasn't his best effort either---get on the ground for that loose ball or buy a ticket to the game. Jake (16) played very well until he flat dropped the punt. We have two quality slots.

Sam (11) is still the leader of the pack. We don't appreciate him enough for the little things he makes look easy---and they are not easy. We played extremely well. We need the off week to heal up. Have a good off week.

InsideTexas Defensive Report Card---OKst

Quote

I think the important fact to remember while reading this opinion is that we just faced three outstanding offensive players that are going to make quality defensive players look bad on occasion. That said, we missed nine million tackles, five very defendable passes, and need to at least appear to have attended class on angles, past and present. We either defend the hell out of the edge or give it up without a single bullet being fired. Our way of defensive life is either hero/asshole too often. We must become more consistent and limit the major breakdowns if we are to win this conference. Here are the grades:

3---Green---pass+

4---Cook---borderline

5---Jamison---pass

6---Mitchell---pass

7---Sterns---borderline

11---Adimora---pass

15---Brown---pass

19---Jones---pass+

23---McCulloch---fail

29---Thompson---fail

32---Roach---pass

36---Jones---pass

38---Boyce---borderline

39---Estell---pass+

40---Adeoye---borderline

42---Bimage---pass

46---Ossai---pass

49---Graham---pass+

91---Chisholm---pass

93---Sweat---pass

98---Ojomo---pass+

99---Coburn---pass+

We have two outstanding nose tackles. Coburn (99) just destroys the middle (GL cause fumble) and with a hair more quickness will make life miserable for future opponents. Ojomo (98) is a future star in the making. Watch the play (4:35 first Q---ball on 20) if you want proof that I'm not crazy. Graham (49) had his best game this season. Roach (32) plays too many snaps to grade extremely high but once you see him make the big plays (GL---4th down) he makes you understand why we over tax him. I love Mal Roach's game---he's a winner.

Sweat (93), Chisholm (91), and Jones (36) gave good do your job downs. Bimage (42) had good plays but was too aggressive with one tackle. Penalty hurts team. Ossai (46) made many good plays but playing too many snaps cost him too many missed tackles and poor angles. McCulloch (23) did not play well period. It's best if we just move on and forget this one.

Mitchell (6) played good enough to win. His best play was a GL tackle on the QB to force a FG. He just needs experience cause he has talent out the caboose. Adeoyle (40) had a few good plays but being driven back into the end zone on GL wasn't his best effort. Green (3) had his best game until he hurt a shoulder. Proud of his effort. Cook (4) gave up the sideline against a WR block---ALL our corners give up the boundary by not fighting outside against stalk blocks by the WR's.

Jamison (5) had his best game also but missed too many tackles. Sterns (7) made more bad plays than normal. Injured and never returned. Adimora (11) made two big plays in his first major role of the season. He may be a savior before it's all said and done. Brown (15) made several great plays but he also missed too many first chance tackles. Jones (19) had his best game of the season. I would hate to think where we might be without Brandon Jones moving to nickel where he has saved our bacon more times than I care to recall. Then there is the last punt so his one aw crap was a big one.

Thompson (29) didn't play well---then injury cost him a second chance. Boyce (38) made a couple of plays but his effort against the run needs fine tuning. Estell (39) just might be the unsung hero of the night. The oskie (interception) was sweet but he also made many tackles, some of which were outstanding efforts. I must admit he started slow and was caught flat-footed but rebounded nicely and found his stride.

I still wish our corners would turn the ball back to the field when they are being blocked on the outside. We shouldn't give up contain that easy. I still wish we would change our alignments on third downs (instead of blitzing) and play contained pass rush from actual edge rushers---especially against mobile QB's like Sanders. Giving up the edge has cost us more big plays this season than any other technique. Sad to us old-timers.

I wish I knew exactly what our LB's are being taught concerning pass defense. They are very inconsistent in their assignments---especially when they aren't blitzing or dropping. We finally broke up one long pass but we still lost sight of the ball at least twice. Our ball skills (DB's) don't exactly match up with their four/five star ratings. We need the off week bad. Time to mend up. Hope we get most of our walking wounded back in time to see action before we catch them damn land robbers.

 

[Machinator 32098]

(Scipio Tex) Texas-Oklahoma State Postmortem: Defense & Special Teams

Todd Orlando came in with a winning game plan.

This was the two deep shell we've written about and it largely emulated some of the key aspects of our successful 2017 defensive game plan against OSU: layered pass defense (and a doubled primary receiver) to stop single shot big plays, stopping the run with a light box, minimal blitzing. Orlando abandoned the pressure-above-all mentality, minimized orchestrated calls for the positions who need to read and react, doubled Wallace irrespective of alignment, and dared Oklahoma State to beat Texas with Chuba Hubbard, Spencer Sanders' legs, and secondary Cowboy receivers. OSU did pretty well compensating for the Wallace double team given their inexperience at QB and very average secondary receivers, but they also turned it over twice, only converted 3 touchdowns out of six red zone trips, and had an obvious ceiling put on their offense deprived of Wallace's downfield playmaking. And yeah, Spencer Sander is going to be a huge pain in the ass for the next three years when he actually learns what he's doing.

Texas was really only held back from a potentially great performance by a lack of time basing out of that scheme, containment discipline, injuries, dumb special teams turnovers, and some instances of horrid outside run/containment force tackling that featured shoelace diving and bad angles. Three of those things are in the defensive staff's control and can be improved on. I would have preferred to see a base identity established in the Spring and Fall so that we could nail the fundamentals of position and scheme and then build out the exotics in the D to create change-ups (position up rather than white board down), but that milk is spilt and the bye week beckons.

Oklahoma State amassed 494 yards of offense, but it took 89 plays to do it. They were 9 of 21 converting on money downs and per usual, I'm a lot happier seeing us defend 4th and 1 than 3rd and 5. OSU gained >46 yards on six drives, but Longhorn red zone defense and short yardage was largely on point (although seeing Brown and Sterns chatting during the play and the D not ready during the OSU Hubbard TD run after an injury time out was irritating). While the inability to tackle or contain Sanders on key downs was maddening (Sanders rushed for over 100 yards), the Texas defense generally did a good job of shutting down the OSU conventional run game reading TE keys and eliminating the single play scoring threat of Tylan Wallace (5-83, two catches came on OSU's opening drive).

We had a plan. Not a bunch of calls shotgun sprayed at the wall.

Special teams, specifically the return teams, did not have a plan. I'm reluctant to pin any blame on the coaches for a freshman returner freaking out as when Jake Smith dropped an easy punt that set up Oklahoma State points in the first half, but a senior "safe returner" sprinting to the football and attempting a Willie Mays slide catch in the 4th quarter with the Longhorns up 13 is just awful football and terrible situational coaching. You're not going to have a word with him about that situation before the kick? C'mon. I can make a strong argument for not even having a returner back there at all. Following that with #57 Cort Jaquess on our hands team flubbing a kick aligned with only one other Longhorn player against the strength of OSU's onside kickoff formation and it's not very clear the staff has done a lot of coaching there. My guess? Some of this has been tasked to GAs or analysts who don't really know what they're doing. Chris Adimora's cool saved Texas from a potential nightmare scenario.

DL

I'm so proud of these guys. Reading commentary in the game thread critical of their performance was bizarre. The entire Texas game plan hinged on Graham-Coburn-Roach holding up in a tight front against OSU's outside zone and counter runs while outnumbered and doubled by a decent Cowboy OL blocking for a damn good running back. My respect for Chuba Hubbard actually grew after this game. That was a hard ass 121 yards earned on 37 carries (3.3 per rush). Texas also inflicted 12 tackles for loss against a Cowboy running game that does a good job of moving sticks.

Keondre Coburn proves the Poona Ford Rule to never trust a box score to assess nose tackle impact in this defense. Big boy created a huge 3rd and 1 stop after the Ehlinger interception to force a Cowboy field goal attempt (faked, failed) and his outstanding stunt between the G/T from the nose to create a deflection and tipped ball INT to Chris Brown was massive. Big Keondre got worn down in this game, but he's a force when his energy reserves allow. Moro Ojomo showed some good penetration as well. Very effective in pursuit and a nice contrast to Coburn's size. Four hustle tackles and some damn good snaps from Ojomo. I couldn't be more proud of these two NTs. Studs.

Graham had two terrific tackles for loss, walking back OSU OL into a Spencers Sanders keeper and destroying a "catch 'em with their pants down" outside zone run from Chuba Hubbard on 3rd and 6 which has a long history of catching us with our trousers 'round the ankles. If he could bring it every play, he's a star.

Malcolm Roach had his own huge short yardage stop, flinging an OSU guard five yards into the backfield to create a jam up on 4th and 1 when Texas was protecting a 28-23 lead. Roach was exhausted after logging about 70 hard snaps but notched four hustle tackles and left it all out on the field.

Bimage has the potential to really help us if he can avoid selfish plays like slamming a RB's head into the ground after the ref's blow a play dead. Jacoby Jones isn't really built for this game plan, but I believe he'll help us down the road against purer passing spread teams.

I cannot stress how much we asked of this DL in terms of responsibility and energy expenditure. Battling outside zone through double teams, pass rushing with three, and chasing a 4.5 40 QB is the height of anaerobic taxation. If you saw them wear down or pass rush with less than ideal energy, consider what we asked them to do.

LB

Joe Ossai battled through a shoulder injury to notch 8 tackles and sack. I really prefer Ossai as an edge defender, but he certainly gives all we ask of him his full attention and effort. He lost contain a couple of times, but finished with two tackles for loss and a forced fumble. His personal foul call was regrettable, but you gotta keep your hands down on QB hits.

McCulloch was physical, mostly inside. Six solo stops, but a lack of lateral range was evident on some plays. Very evident. Juwan Mitchell notched another sack and he both split and shared the field with Adeoye at the same time in some nickel looks.

DB

The walking wounded hung in there, but tackling angles and containment principles were quite poor from several of them. Early execution of the Wallace double team was shoddy, but improved over the course of the game after they got coached up on the sideline.

Chris Brown notched a pick off of the Coburn tip and got beat deep on a sensational Sanders throw where you can really only tip your cap. I love Brown. He makes his mistakes full speed and he has some ball awareness. We need him looking at the ball and playing open-ended assignments.

Caden Sterns went down late with what looks like a major injury and led the team in tackles with 12. His ability to range free from the Cover 2 shell plays to his strengths, but in this game tackling was decidedly not one of them. He blew three tackles on Sanders where he took bad angles, didn't acknowledge inside help and shoe dived. I think he wore down. It's possible he never fully recovered from his injuries that plagued him right up to Fall camp. This is the playing freshman early paradox I've written about. They show talent and ability, but a lack of physical preparation for the rigors of the game and a lack of "armor" virtually guarantee injuries that can lead to more down the road.

Montrell Estell drew the start and notched nine tackles and an interception and 37 yard return on a Sanders overthrow to the TE. We saw good play from Estell in the Spring and I'm not surprised the staff gave him the start so that they could play Thompson at CB and Jones at nickel. Estell will probably be starting more games based on our injury situation. Expect him to be a shell safety.

Brandon Jones was very active supporting the run from the SuperNickel (2 tfl, 7 tackles) and he also had two break ups. He'll get even better in this role as he acclimates and I'd be very tempted to keep him there as it's best for the defense overall. I can't get past the punt return attempt. Holy moly, #19.

Jalen Green had some good and bad. Really tough kid who will stick his nose in there in the running game and fight through a blocker with urgency. His TFL on the reverse was studly. Left the game with a shoulder injury. We need him badly.

Kobe Boyce and D'Shawn Jamison played competitively. Boyce drew the weakest of OSU's receiving threats. Jamison was reckless with his body and physical against the OSU perimeter game. Good job addressing an early deficiency.

Chris Adimora was pressed into emergency action, had no idea what he was doing, and still got an end zone PBU and caught a flubbed onside kick despite being outnumbered. Football player.

Josh Thompson played cornerback and suffered a serious injury. Anthony Cook did not impress me in his limited action. Effort and physicality need to improve.

Final

Let's take a step back and survey the big picture.

Texas improved to 3-1 and posted a big W over one of the two or three best teams remaining on the schedule. A team that had won 7 of their previous 9 against Texas and five in a row in Austin. Most of those wins posted by simply out-coaching Texas and having a real program, composite #48 national recruiting rankings notwithstanding. Texas fought through injuries, showed some flexibility in the defensive booth, and battled through their own mistakes for a big win.

Don't be afraid to celebrate an important imperfect victory.

3-1. 1-0 Big 12. Todd Orlando is working to fix some decisions he made months ago, but got enough game plan in on a week's notice to play opportunistic winning defense. That's great news. Let's figure out who can go in the secondary, further establish a defensive identity, and go pummel West Virginia in their place.

Hook 'em.

[Neonmoon 38127]

I totally forgot the onside formation. What broke ass shit was that?

[satyanash 14281]

Bobby Burton: Sunday Thoughts

Quote

I've decided exactly why games like last night give me such angst. I think I suffer from PTSD of Charlie Strong and the sunset of the Mack Brown era. I don't say that to be trite. I really mean it. And I think some Texas fans feel similarly, even if they label it something else. I remember watching Aaron Williams fumble a punt against OU that otherwise would have given Texas a chance to tie the game. I remember Curtis Brown fumbling a punt inside the 10-yard line, only to get the call reversed against Baylor. I remember the Keystone Cops escapades of Charlie Strong as if they all happened just yesterday.

In other words, I've seen multiple Texas teams seemingly try to give away a football game before. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since all of those issues. But this has been the last 10 years of Texas football. The Horns have muffed away more games than I care to recount; it's been one grand misadventure after another.

So when Jake Smith muffs a punt and basically gives OSU seven points before half, I'm sorry if I get triggered. If Byron Vaughns lets himself get hit by a punt, ditto. If Brandon Jones inexplicably attempts a difficult fair catch for absolutely no reason whatsoever, my mind just tends to go blank. Then I watch an onside kick where Texas is clearly out-flanked on one side of the field, has a walk-on linebacker on the hands team, and then gets lucky to recover the ball at all.

And during it all, all I can recall in that moment is the feeling of dread, the feeling that I've seen this movie before, and it never, ever ends well. Yet somehow it did for the Horns last night. Maybe it's because Texas has Sam Ehlinger. Maybe it's because Chris Brown and Brandon Jones held the secondary together just enough despite all of the injuries. Maybe it's because Keondre Coburn finally got some pressure on the QB. Maybe it's because Mike Gundy suffered a momentary lapse of reason.

Whatever the reason, Texas is 3-1. The Horns "won" a must-win game.

**

Just how must-win was this game? Consider the alternative. With a loss, Texas would have likely had to go perfect the rest of the way through conference play to even get a chance to get back to the conference championship game. That wouldn't be impossible, but it would certainly be unlikely, especially now that more than half of the starting secondary is sidelined.

It was also important for recruiting purposes. Texas needed to win on a weekend where the Aggies simultaneously lose, where TCU somehow gets tossed by SMU, where OU had an off week. It allows the Horns' staff to go into the final stretch of recruiting with a solid record compared to their chief recruiting competitors and the coaches on the recruiting trail during the bye week.

**

Texas has work ahead of itself. The special teams play can be shored up fairly easily. Figure out who your punt returner is and live with it. Whether that's Jake Smith or Jones is almost irrelevant. Texas isn't getting enough positive yardage from returns to risk possession of the football. And drill your special teams members what they need to do when there's a fair catch being made. Don't continue your block and get the heck out of the way.

The defense will need an infusion of talent. I expect Kenyatta Watson to join Chris Adimora in seeing more reps in the next week. I suspect they will both be forced into action. And I think Juwan Mitchell will also get a heavy dose of front-line training at linebacker. They have to get him up to speed as quickly as possible because he's the only LB other than Joe Ossai who has any inkling of how to stop the run.

On offense, try to get Collin Johnson healthy so that Ehlinger has a second receiver he feels as comfortable with as Devin Duvernay. Continue to rep Roschon Johnson and Keaontay Ingram and hope that both of them stay healthy. All of these things are doable. Texas just has to do them. And not muff this opportunity.

 

[satyanash 14281]

Bobby Burton: Texas-OSU Grades

Quarterback

It was another solid performance from Sam Ehlinger with a couple of dazzling plays mixed in. Ehlinger was 20-28 for 281 yards with four TDs and one INT. His throw to Brennan Eagles for the 73-yard score was a back-breaker for a bend but don’t break Cowboys defense. Likewise, his throw to Jake Smith up the seam was another smart, well executed throw. Of course, Ehlinger was getting too locked in on Devin Duvernay at times. But it’s hard to fault Ehlinger when Duvernay produces and Malcolm Epps runs a sloppy route and a tipped interception is the result. The third down run of 29 yards sealed the game and it was completely appropriate that Ehlinger was the one to put the game away.

Grade: A-

Running Backs

This is the Keaontay Ingram that flashed at times a year ago. Ingram rushed for 114 yards on just 21 carries and made a game-defining catch-and-run to give the Horns a first-and-goal that led to the team’s only fourth-quarter TD. Playing without a knee brace for the first time in a year, Ingram looked bouncier, sharper and more explosive in the run game. Roschon Johnson played his role well, too. Johnson made some tough yards and secures the ball well. His TD and two-point conversion were both more difficult plays than first glance. He ran through arm tackles on both. In a game where the opponent employed the nation’s leading rusher, the Texas group held their ground and then some.

Grade: A

Wide Receivers

Devin Duvernay, with another 12 catches, continues his assault on the Texas record books. Through just four games, the senior already has 39 receptions. Brennan Eagles and Jake Smith also made plus-plays. Both of their touchdown catches displayed a mix of speed and athleticism. But without Collin Johnson, the rest of the group is struggling, Malcolm Epps in particular. It’s time for Epps to either step up or for the Horns to find a way to get Smith and Duvernay on the field simultaneously (and Johnson to get healthy). There’s just not enough routine production from the outside receiver when Johnson is sidelined.

Grade: B-

Tight Ends

While Cade Brewer’s TD catch on the flea flicker is the highlight reel play of the position group, I was actually much more pleased with Brewer’s blocking in game four as a starter. As a blocker, it was his best game yet and his back-side occupation of safeties and linebackers are what led to some of Ingram’s longer runs. Reese Leitao played a bit role as a H-back. He didn’t have his best game, allowing a defender to beat him inside on a third down play.

Grade: B

Offensive Line

Um, I’m not sure if I’ve seen a more complete performance from the Texas OL in recent memory. As in the last 10 years. No, the group wasn’t perfect. But they kept a clean pocket for Ehlinger, cleared holes for the run game and generally got the better of a Cowboys defensive front that was hell bent on giving the Horns a variety of exotic looks. Samuel Cosmi and Parker Braun both enjoyed outstanding games. Zach Shackelford and Derek Kerstetter also played really well. Right guard Junior Angilau struggled a couple of times in pull situations. That’s really the only fault I could find.

Grade: A

Offense Overall

The Horns racked up almost 500 yards of total offense, and they needed every last yard to outlast Oklahoma State. Sam Ehlinger, even though he was confused at times by the variety of looks the Cowboys were giving him, eventually settled into the game and took what the defense gave him. That patience will serve him well in future contests. The emergence of the run game was also a welcome sight, as was another big pass play to Eagles and the seam route to Smith. The Horns’ grade gets dinged somewhat for not putting away the Cowboys in the fourth quarter despite being gifted a couple of opportunities.

Grade: A-

Defensive Line

Keondre Coburn’s fourth quarter pass rush may have been the defensive play of the game. Coburn hit Spencer Sanders’ arm on the throw, leading to a wounded duck that Chris Brown intercepted. Ta'Quon Graham also had a good night, probably his best effort of the season thus far. Malcolm Roach had a couple of big plays, including causing a fourth-down stop inside the Texas 5-yard line. Roach was often used to spy Sanders in the run game, and that was hit or miss at best. For the back-ups, Marqez Bimage was flagged for unnecessary roughness but actually played well overall. He provided a real boost of energy in spurts. T'Vondre Sweat also played well against the run. Moro Ojomo got heavy penetration a couple of times, and one came on a key third-down stop. Jamari Chisholm graded out poorly while Jacoby Jones lost backside contain once, which is why Chisholm was probably in the game in the first place. Overall, it was a really good showing by the Horns’ front. Holding Chuba Hubbard to less than four yards a carry was huge.

Grade: A

Linebackers

Joseph Ossai is playing at a different level than his fellow starters — Jeffrey McCulloch and Ayodele Adeoye. Ossai is playing with abandon and when he hits ball carriers, they go down fast. The only other LB that showed signs of being capable of making a difference in the run game was Juwan Mitchell. Neither McCulloch nor Adeoye seem to have the instincts to meet RBs in the hole or turn a play back inside. Mitchell made a beautiful play on the third-down run on Oklahoma State’s first drive of the game to limit the damage to just a field goal. I really think it’s time Texas consider sidelining McCulloch or Adeoye on a consistent basis in favor of Mitchell full-time.

Grade: B-

Secondary

My hat’s off to Brandon Jones and Chris Brown in the secondary. How they held things together on the back end despite all of the injuries was outstanding. I’d include Caden Sterns in that category, too, before he got hurt. Both Jalen Green and D'Shawn Jamison looked capable before they were sidelined with injuries. Even Josh Thompson played reasonably well when forced into action at corner. The surprise of the game came late with the forced insertion of Chris Adimora. Adimora was out of position but made a touchdown-saving pass deflection. It wasn’t always pretty but the Horns didn’t let the Cowboys’ receivers beat them. Tylan Wallace finished with just five catches for 83 yards. He had more than that in the first quarter a year ago.

Grade: B

Defense Overall

Think about this: For five-straight possessions in the second half, the Texas defense was stout. First, it stopped OSU on two-straight fourth downs. Then the Horns forced an interception, and followed it up with forced punts and gave up just a single first down on one of those the next two series. If only the last punt hadn’t been muffed, we would all be talking about exactly how dominating the Horns’ D looked after halftime.

Yes, the Horns gave up almost 500 yards of offense, but they also caused two turnovers, made some big plays at key times and went for stints at a time of being difficult to score on.

Grade: B+

Special Teams

Ugh. Perhaps it was an omen when Marcus Tillman Jr. went down with a knee injury on the opening kickoff. It was a disastrous performance for the Texas special teams. Texas muffed not one, but two punts — both at the most inopportune of moments — that resulted in 14 points for OSU. Texas even accidentally touched another punt that had to be recovered, and the onside kick is perhaps best described as nothing short of a fiasco. Even Ryan Bujcevski’s decent pooch punts cannot redeem the special teams unit, not when the special teams almost gave the game away.

Grade: F

[Nowhichski 32]

5 hours ago, Machinator said:

Caden Sterns went down late with what looks like a major injury and led the team in tackles with 12. His ability to range free from the Cover 2 shell plays to his strengths, but in this game tackling was decidedly not one of them. He blew three tackles on Sanders where he took bad angles, didn't acknowledge inside help and shoe dived. I think he wore down. It's possible he never fully recovered from his injuries that plagued him right up to Fall camp. This is the playing freshman early paradox I've written about. They show talent and ability, but a lack of physical preparation for the rigors of the game and a lack of "armor" virtually guarantee injuries that can lead to more down the road.

Interesting take by Scipio. Depending on Sterns' injury and whether or not he's able to come back, maybe you give him a redshirt for the rest of the season and just get fully healthy and maybe a bit stronger for next year to help avoid the injury bug. 

[Machinator 32098]

(Scipio Tex) Texas-Oklahoma State Postmortem: Offense

 

The Texas offense racked up 503 yards of offense on only 69 plays (7.3 yards per play), but two late game kneel downs ticked the Horns back just below the 500 yard mark.

Texas dominated at the line of scrimmage (the Texas OL surrendered no sacks, only two quarterback pocket touches, and three negative runs) while paving the way for 217 yards rushing at 5 yards per carry. Sam Ehlinger was a hyper-efficient 20 of 28 for 281 yards and 4 touchdowns with another 70 yards rushing on 10 carries. Texas alternated between ball control domination (14 of the first 16 plays were runs - including three Ehlinger scrambles logged as runs) and big plays (Ehlinger to Eagles for a quick 73 yard touchdown).

The only thing that really kept 40+ off of the board was a pair of really poor money down calls. The first was a Johnson run into a zero blitz on the OSU 29 yard line in the 2nd quarter on 4th and 3 with Texas up 14-6. I know some people wanted the Dicker kick there. That would be fine. I would just prefer a smarter play call. The second uninspired call was an Ehlinger QB draw on 3rd and 1 at the OSU 38 in the 4th quarter...into a zero blitz. Those are both check-with-me at the line situations where you look at the D and then take the passing game candy.

Herman flagellated himself properly in the post-game press conference until I could see blood on his polo, so we''ll move on.

I know some feel that Texas lost too much aggression in the 4th quarter trying to run clock.

Texas had three substantive 4th quarter possessions after establishing the 36-23 lead:

One drive was stopped by the bad QB draw call into zero blitz on 3rd and 1.

The next possession saw Texas run Ingram on 3rd and 8 for 5 yards.

The next possession was sealed by Sam's 29 yard run on 3rd and long.

There's some validity to that criticism, but fumbling a punt didn't exactly play into that master strategy and a decent play call on Ehlinger draw likely seals the game. I have a feeling that next time the staff will trust Sam a little more and punish some of those late game overloaded boxes.

QB

Ehlinger is in the process of moving up into the tier of all-time great Longhorn quarterbacks. Yeah, I said it. That tier. That Bobby Layne, Colt McCoy, VY one. Even his interception (his first of the season) was a case of a good CB taking advantage of a WR who lacks the aggressiveness or instincts to protect his space or his QB. Then there's this:

Yeah, Eagles is open here, but the throw and recognition are money.

His end zone throw to Duvernay was perfect and harder than it looks.

On throws outside of the numbers (real big boy throws) Sam was 6 of 8 for 117 yards and 3 touchdowns.

RB

Keaontay got his knee brace off. Can you tell?

(in Bill Raftery voice) and nowwww...the jump cutttttttttuh

21 carries, 114 yards rushing.

Ro Johnson gave us good snaps, including a nice 15 yard reception, but it was KI's night. Can't wait to see this RB unit after the bye week.

WR/TE

Brennan Eagles flew to the end zone on his only catch of the game after the OSU cornerback lost his mind and tried to squat on a route that wasn't being run. On the season, Eagles has 10 catches for 4 touchdowns and averages 27.6 yards per catch. #13 should bat down any pass less than 20 yards so he doesn't ruin his average. Eagles also drew a personal foul, when an OSU DB face-masked him rather than get blown by. I appreciate his blocking and overall effort.

Devin Duvernay is the most reliable, valuable receiver on the team and Quan Cosby reincarnate and cast as a slot. 12 catches, 108 yards, 1 touchdown. Just racking up third down conversions at will. An amazing blossoming of a player almost all of us thought was fully formed. What a treat to watch.

All thing being equal, Malcolm Epps would rather be playing Rice every week. A lack of aggressiveness, bad ball tracking (Sam's sideline go route was a good throw - #85 didn't track it) and a lack of effort characterized his game. He caught one ball for six yards against OSU coverage so on an island that I feared he'd be hit by a coconut. We missed CJ a lot.

Cade Brewer had a nice touchdown catch on the 25 yard reverse flea flicker. Your OL is playing good ball when you can get away with calling that.

Jake Smith nabbed his 4th touchdown of the year on a nifty crosser route that he carried up the seam.

John Burt could have fought harder for a post route and went catchless. He has one catch on the season.

I think the staff has some decisions to make about trying more of one or two of Woodard/Pouncey/Washington/Lewis instead of Epps and Burt over the next few games. They're not giving the offense the quality relief snaps it needs and CJ's absence really highlighted that. I'm not saying it's a certainty, but it has to be considered if the staff doesn't want to offer free passes to coverage when we rest our core receivers.

OL

This is the best Texas OL since 2006. Unfortunately, it's really going to take a step back when Parker Braun redshirts for the rest of the season. Speaking of Braun, he was flagged for a hold that I found fairly dubious on replay, but it eliminated a 23 yard Ingram run.

Proud of Shack for battling hard through injury and pain. He earned his bye.

Really fun to watch these guys play so hard and with such obvious pride. Nothing much more to say - every guy won his battle.

Final

Texas pushed around a defense they should have pushed around and that I predicted they'd push around. The only thing that kept the Horns from putting up 40+ were a couple of offensive coaching own goal calls on key downs, but 36 points on the scoreboard with Texas trying to take the air out of the football during the 4th quarter is a pretty nice place to be if any of you care to recall 2017 or some of the early season slogs of 2018.

Edited September 23, 2019 by Machinator

[TreatyOak 16168]

[texasstrong12 4668]

21 hours ago, satyanash said:

(Kaelen Jones) ‘We took a step’: Why Tom Herman pointed out progress despite Texas not playing its best in win

InsideTexas Offensive Report Card---OKst

InsideTexas Defensive Report Card---OKst

 

The defensive report card were my thoughts on the DBs after the game. At times Adimora and Estell looked better than our starters. Maybe it's because Orlando is simplifying things for these guys? 

 

[texasstrong12 4668]

15 hours ago, Nowhichski said:

Interesting take by Scipio. Depending on Sterns' injury and whether or not he's able to come back, maybe you give him a redshirt for the rest of the season and just get fully healthy and maybe a bit stronger for next year to help avoid the injury bug. 

Sterns hasn't looked healthy for some time now. He's not a significant upgrade over other guys when he's only playing at about 70% health. 

Edited September 23, 2019 by texasstrong12

[LTtxfan 49010]

20 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

I totally forgot the onside formation. What broke ass shit was that?

Yeah, only 2 players on 1 side vs strength of Okie Like kickoff coverage was STUPID by Texas coaching staff.

 "Special teams, specifically the return teams, did not have a plan. I'm reluctant to pin any blame on the coaches for a freshman returner freaking out as when Jake Smith dropped an easy punt that set up Oklahoma State points in the first half, but a senior "safe returner" sprinting to the football and attempting a Willie Mays slide catch in the 4th quarter with the Longhorns up 13 is just awful football and terrible situational coaching. You're not going to have a word with him about that situation before the kick? C'mon. I can make a strong argument for not even having a returner back there at all. Following that with #57 Cort Jaquess on our hands team flubbing a kick aligned with only one other Longhorn player against the strength of OSU's onside kickoff formation and it's not very clear the staff has done a lot of coaching there. My guess? Some of this has been tasked to GAs or analysts who don't really know what they're doing. Chris Adimora's cool saved Texas from a potential nightmare scenario. "players

 

Edited September 23, 2019 by LTtxfan

[ChickenSandwich 9798]

Wait, have they made an announcement that Parker will redshirt this season? I know there was talk before the season but that seems ridiculous now with OU looming. 

[Post Oak 20188]

It was a joke

[Nowhichski 32]

On 9/23/2019 at 7:14 AM, Machinator said:

Scipio: This is the best Texas OL since 2006. Unfortunately, it's really going to take a step back when Parker Braun redshirts for the rest of the season.

Calling the redshirt, and sounds quite certain. Does he really need to work on pass blocking that badly? 

[Ricky Butler 2662]

1 minute ago, Nowhichski said:

Calling the redshirt, and sounds quite certain. Does he really need to work on pass blocking that badly? 

He thinks Sam might redshirt as well so he can practice taking snaps under center.

[texifornia 56562]

On 9/23/2019 at 10:51 AM, LTtxfan said:

Yeah, only 2 players on 1 side vs strength of Okie Like kickoff coverage was STUPID by Texas coaching staff.

 "Special teams, specifically the return teams, did not have a plan. I'm reluctant to pin any blame on the coaches for a freshman returner freaking out as when Jake Smith dropped an easy punt that set up Oklahoma State points in the first half, but a senior "safe returner" sprinting to the football and attempting a Willie Mays slide catch in the 4th quarter with the Longhorns up 13 is just awful football and terrible situational coaching. You're not going to have a word with him about that situation before the kick? C'mon. I can make a strong argument for not even having a returner back there at all. Following that with #57 Cort Jaquess on our hands team flubbing a kick aligned with only one other Longhorn player against the strength of OSU's onside kickoff formation and it's not very clear the staff has done a lot of coaching there. My guess? Some of this has been tasked to GAs or analysts who don't really know what they're doing. Chris Adimora's cool saved Texas from a potential nightmare scenario. "players

 

Specialty ST stuff is almost always delegated like that, even at places like Bama. Which means when things get weird, things get hilarious (unless it's happening to your team).

That said, hopefully that GA/analyst got chewed the fuck out for being an idiot.

Edited September 24, 2019 by texifornia

[justhookit 4184]

2 hours ago, Nowhichski said:

Calling the redshirt, and sounds quite certain. Does he really need to work on pass blocking that badly? 

It’s so bad, after the redshirt we aren’t even going to renew his scholarship.