Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 8)

[satyanash 14281]

 Collecting post-game analysis articles from the KU game here:

(Jeff Howe) Instant Reactions: Texas avoids disaster, beats Kansas, 50-48

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AUSTIN, Texas — It was a performance that was taken out back, beaten with an ugly stick, eaten by a wild animal and left as waste in the woods. If a team deserves to move down in the Associated Press Top 25, it’s Texas after the 15th-ranked Longhorns inspired no confidence in their potential to be one of the better teams in the Big 12, let alone make a return trip to the conference title game following an unfulfilling 50-48 win over Kansas on Saturday night.

While Texas (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) held on for a victory after Cameron Dicker nailed a 33-yard field goal at the gun, the 21.5-point favorites gave Kansas (2-5, 0-4) every opportunity to win the game. The offense turned the ball over twice in the fourth quarter (the Jayhawks turned both miscues into touchdowns) and the defense was once again shredded, putting into doubt whether that side of the ball has any hope of being fixed for the remainder of the season.

Credit the Longhorns for winning the game, but that’s about all that can be said. Texas is back — back to where the program was last year when it came to playing down to their competition and allowing inferior opponents to run with them, which isn’t the mark of a championship-caliber squad.

It was over when…

Dicker split the uprights with no time left on the clock. Keaontay Ingram gave Texas a lead with a 3-yard touchdown run with 2:47 to play, but a Kansas touchdown and a two-point conversion gave the Jayhawks the lead, 48-47, with 1:11 to play. Sam Ehlinger drove the Longhorns 60 yards down the field to set up the game-winning kick and Collin Johnson had three massive receptions for 47 yards on the final series that allowed Texas to avoid what would've been a monumental embarrassment for the program.
Top Offensive Performer

Even though he threw an interception that put the defense on a short field and led directly to Kansas points, Sam Ehlinger delivered another good performance from a numbers standpoint and he made plenty of winning plays with his arm and his legs. After failing to throw a touchdown pass in last week’s loss to Oklahoma, Ehlinger responded with his sixth game of the season with at least two touchdown passes, doing his part to help the Longhorns get an uncomfortably-close victory.

Top Defensive Performer

In the first start of his career, DeMarvion Overshown was one of the few defensive players on the field for the Longhorns who seemed to be doing the right thing more often than he was doing something to hurt the cause. Among Overshown’s highlights on the night were a nice pass deflection deep down the field in one-on-one coverage and a sack in the third quarter with the game tied (24-24), which was the first time one of the many blitz calls by Todd Orlando got home.

Reason to Feel Optimistic

As long as Ehlinger is on the field, the Longhorns are going to have a chance (no matter how woeful the defense looks). Time and again, Ehlinger bailed the offense out when protection broke down or when he was victimized by dropped passed by scrambling to keep the sticks moving (each of the offense’s first five scoring drives featured a run by Ehlinger of at least six yards with the third, fourth and fifth drives that put points on the board seeing Ehlinger record a run from scrimmage of at least 11 yards).

For all of the hand wringing over whether Ingram or Roschon Johnson needs to be the starting running back, Ingram’s performance showed why Longhorns are going to need both of them the rest of the way. Devin Duvernay also got back to making plays after his miscues in the kicking game negatively impacted field position in the Oklahoma loss. Although the defense continues to deal with a wide variety of issues, Joseph Ossai continues to be a bright spot and one of the players the Longhorns have on the field on either side of the ball.

Reason to be Pessimistic

Kansas had a late fourth-quarter lead over Texas. There's no way to look at that as anything other than a complete failure by everyone on the Texas sideline. Up until the fourth quarter (and only for a few spurts) and with the exception of splash plays here and there by Ossai and Overshown, there was nothing positive to speak of regarding the defense. Whether it was stopping the run (205 yards, 7.3 yards per play), getting off the field on third down (8-of-13) or giving up big plays down the field (five plays of at least 20 yards allowed), there was nothing the Longhorns should feel good about when it comes to their play through the first three quarters (except for Ossai blocking a field goal).

The Longhorns still struggled to set the edge, are still unable to defend the quarterback run game and once again struggled to make tackles in the open field. As the fourth quarter wore on, the defense got worse Even though Ehlinger played well, the interception he threw might’ve been the worst throw of his career. As for the kicking game, it wouldn't be a bad idea if Texas tried to fair catch every kickoff the rest of the way. Even a blocked field goal by Ossai nearly turned disastrous after several Longhorns, for some reason, tried to make an effort to pick up the football. As bad as the defense has been, the gaffes in the kicking game have been equally egregious.

Modest Proposal

Tom Herman needs to completely rethink how he views fourth-down situations, at least for the time being. Research shows and most football statistical junkies will back up the mindset that it’s better to go for it more often than not, but the aggressiveness in those situations hurt Texas far more than it helped on Saturday.

The two failed fourth-down tries in the first half put a struggling defense on shorter fields and Kansas turned both of those momentum swings into touchdowns with a 9-play, 50-yard drive, and a 4-play, 60-yard march to the end zone. Considering the development of Ryan Bujcevski into a reliable punter, playing for field position and giving the defense a longer field to defend isn’t a bad call, even if it goes against what Herman feels is the right thing to do.
Drive of the Game

A 12-play, 79-yard drive that started in the third quarter and ended at the 14:01 mark of the fourth quarter when Ehlinger hit Duvernay for a 14-yard touchdown. Duvernay did most of the work on the drive’s final play, but Roschon Johnson converted a fourth-and-2 on the final play of the third quarter with a 4-yard run up the gut and his 11-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter where he hurdled a defender gave the offense a shot in the arm.

The game was tied, 24-24, when the Longhorns took the ball with 3:42 to go in the third quarter. A 16-yard scramble by Ehlinger on third-and-12 on the fifth play of the drive kept the drive alive and saved the Longhorns from giving Kansas momentum with what would’ve been a huge stop inside the Texas 40.

Best Offensive Play

A 32-yard run by Ingram that kickstarted a 10-play, 84-yard drive in the second quarter that ended when Ehlinger hit Brennan Eagles for a 5-yard touchdown. The longest run of Ingram’s career was the first play on a drive where Texas possession after Kansas took its first lead playing the Longhorns on the road since 1997, 17-14. Ingram looked decisive, explosive and confident as he tore through the Jayhawks. It’s tough to say the Longhorns are going to get that kind of performance out of Ingram for the remainder of the season, but if they get it from him more often than not he’ll continue to earn carries.

Best Defensive Play

Without question, Malcolm Roach blocking a potential game-tying Kansas extra point with 10:06 to go in the game. Pooka Williams cashed in on an Ehlinger interception with a 16-yard touchdown run to make a 31-30 game in favor of the Longhorns, but Roach blocked the ensuing extra point and D'Shawn Jamison returned it the other way for two points. Not only was the block and return a huge swing in favor of the Longhorns, but it gives Jamison a punt return for a touchdown, a kickoff return for a touchdown and a blocked extra point return for two points in his career.

Biggest question heading into next week’s game

The last two times Texas played TCU (3-3, 1-2) in Fort Worth — the site of next week’s game — the Longhorns have been handled by the Horned Frogs by a combined score of 74-14. Granted, Gary Patterson’s bunch is reeling, but the long-tenured head coach usually gets his team up to play the Longhorns. After watching a 14-0 lead evaporate Saturday night and trailing three different times (including in the game's final minute) to a club it should’ve hammered considering how the Longhorns lost the physicality battle to Oklahoma, the biggest question is simple: Who are the Longhorns? Herman’s charges seem to regress every week and winning on the road in the Big 12 is never easy. It doesn’t look like anything will be easy for the Longhorns the rest of the way.

(Jeff Conner) C-BOG: The Freshmen

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I raised my voice at the Freshmen this week.

The thing most people don’t realize about high school kids is what fantastic, intuitive, highly accurate BS meters they are. Although they have very little insight or self-awareness, thy can spot falsehood and deception in adults from approximately the same distance sharks can smell blood in the water. Kids are walking, talking polygraph machines, and the moment your galvanic skin response jumps even slightly, their mental needles begin furiously whipping back and forth like President Trump signing his autograph.

Kids know if you like them and if you are interested in the way their minds work. They know innately if you like the subject matter you teach – if you have a healthy passion for the curriculum and think it’s actually important and worth learning in the grand scheme of things.

As a result, semi-drastic measures like raising your voice need to be employed infrequently. Do it too much, be too dramatic, too over the top, and your students will recognize it for what it is – a bald-faced, poorly-concealed attempt to manipulate them, and they will yawn and stare at their desks.

The Freshmen I have are in Algebra 1, which is normally a 9th grade course. But the district where I teach, like all school districts of which I’m aware in Texas, also offer Algebra 1 as a Pre-AP course in 8th grade. It’s a chance for kids to get ahead of the curve and get their Algebra 1 credit knocked out before they even pass through the high school doors for the first time.

As a result, the students I have in Algebra 1 are the ones who didn’t feel confident enough in their math skills or weren’t willing to work hard enough to take the course in middle school.

These kids aren’t bad at math, per se, they just don’t perceive themselves as being good at it. So why did I yell at them? I won’t bore you with all the math minutiae, which makes even my patient, loving wife’s eyes glaze over, but suffice it to say there were a couple of problems on the last test where at least half my students didn’t even try to work the problem. Instead of rearranging an equation so it could be graphed accurately, they just eyeballed it and guessed at the graph.

Mr. Conner was not happy. Without showing students’ names, I put test paper after test paper on the document camera. “This is how you rearrange the equation.” “This student tried to convert into slope-intercept form, but made this tiny mistake. That’s OK; it’s an easy fix.” Then, one by one, I showed the papers that had literally no computations next to the test question. “Didn’t even try.” “Didn’t even try.” “DIDN’T EVEN TRY!” The room grew uncomfortably quiet.

“If I didn’t care, I’d just let you fail. I love you too much to take less than you best. Not even trying to work the problem is not acceptable. If we have this conversation again, it won’t be in my room. It will be with your momma in the principal’s office, and we’ll be discussing whether an early college high school is a good fit for you.”

I couldn’t even hear them breathing. Lack of effort. You see where I’m headed with this, right? Except I’m not just talking about the players who missed tackles, whiffed on pass blocking, dropped passes, screwed up coverage assignments, couldn’t capitalize on turnovers, and generally were not the more physical team against Oklahoma last week in a dispiriting Cotton Bowl loss.

I’m also talking about the coaches, who appeared to have a thoughtful game plan wrecked by early Sooner schemes. Not a problem, as long as you adjust to what Lincoln Riley and Alex Grinch are doing. All I saw from the offense was the third quarter of the Oklahoma State game over and over and over. What I didn’t see from the defense was package that effectively shut down the Cowboys. It’s the football equivalent of not even trying to solve the problem.

Mr. Conner was not happy. Somebody needs to raise their voice. I don’t know exactly who it is that yells at a head football coach at an FBS power conference school, but I assume someone is up to the task. Chris Del Conte? Big cigar donors? Professor McConaughey? Sam Ehlinger? Disgruntled fans? Herman’s momma? God? Last week’s game was the first time in the Tom Herman era I entertained the thought: “Shoot, we could have had this with Mack Brown.”

Texas will clean house this week against the overmatched Kansas Jayhawks, but the bigger, more exasperating problems with the program will not have been addressed. Like my Freshmen, only the next real test will tell if we’ve begun to fix the problem. But that won’t happen today, so enjoy the day and the win. Hook ‘em.

 

[satyanash 14281]

(Bobby Burton) Snap Judgments: Bad football

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Bad football. There’s no other way to put it. Texas couldn’t stop the run, sure as heck couldn’t defend the pass and the offense turned the ball over twice in the fourth quarter. The Horns needed a 1-minute 11-second drive to win it on a Cameron Dicker kick as time expired... against Kansas. This wasn’t a barn burner against OU. It was Kansas.

**

Last week, the Texas offense looked like a version of Keystone Cops. This week it was the defense. Jayhawks receivers ran free most of the night. The Texas defense rarely got pressure without blitzing five or six. The open field tackling was absurd. Texas gave up 48 at home to the lowest scoring team in the Big 12. There should be no excuses about a new OC for KU. Texas stunk up the field and the Horns are lucky to come away with a win.

**

Coaching decisions had a lot to do with tonight’s performance. Tom Herman’s decision to go for it and fail on two consecutive fourth down plays led to KU scoring twice and having all the momentum. The attempt to gain five extra yards on the quick pass with just eight seconds less was another risky maneuver. Todd Orlando’s peculiar player personnel decisions were almost as bizarre and lasted all of three series of playing David Gbenda and Ayodele Adeoye.

As for special teams, can someone please explain why the Horns have a revolving door of returners and why none of them seem to understand the rules on kickoffs. Yet player performance does, too. There were dropped passes (by multiple players). There were multiple penalties. There was broken coverage. There was shoddy tackles, there was shoddy pass protection. And, on top of all that, Kansas missed two field goals and had a PAT returned for two-point play. In other words, Texas was lucky to leave the field with a win. Very lucky.

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Couple of plays and players caught my eye outside of the usual group - some good and some not: Keaontay Ingram not only ran well tonight, he also had a key blitz pick up that allowed Sam Ehlinger to step up in the pocket and hit Devin Duvernay for a TD. Cade Brewer finally did a little something in the passing game. Brewer’s big catch and run in the fourth quarter was huge. Despite the fumble, Jake Smith scored another TD. Texas has to find a way to get him on the field more often.

Sam Cosmi and Parker Braun both played reasonably well but are having problems in pass protection when a defense overloads to their side. Hats off to Malcolm Roach and D’Shawn Jamison for making one of the game’s defining plays on the block and return.

**

In the fourth quarter, there were 50 points scored. Texas scored 26. Kansas scored 24.

**

Was anyone fan surprised that Les Miles went for two? I seriously doubt it.

**

Texas is not a good football team right now. Too many issues on defense and the offense can’t always bail them out.

 

[satyanash 14281]

Former players weighing in:

 

[Valmy77 13122]

You can tell who played for Chuck and who didn't.

[satyanash 14281]

(Ian Boyd) 5 quick thoughts: Texas narrowly evades disaster against Kansas

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With multiple new starters facing a Kansas offense that has shown much greater competence and had a bye week to prepare under a hotshot young OC, Texas' defense was in a decisive game. This was a time for the Longhorns to settle in on defense and focus on playing good base defense while keying Pooka Williams. That was the common assumption throughout the week, bolstered by talking points from the Texas staff about simplifying and getting the players moving fast. It turns out the base defense for Texas is the blitz, and they were their normal boom or bust selves with Pooka Williams turning 25 carries into 190 yards and 2 touchdowns while Carter Stanley complete 27-47 passes for 310 and 4 more touchdowns.

This was nearly a complete disaster for Texas football, some will argue that the margin was narrow enough that it still was a disaster but wins vs losses do make a big difference in this game. Texas found enough fight to fend off the pesky Jayhawks and made a lot of big plays on offense that allowed them to pull out a victory. Amusingly or not, depending on your perspective, the margin of victory was essentially that of the extra two-points that came when Malcolm Roach blocked an extra point and D'Shawn Jamison returned it. Texas' special teams were much better in this game.

Quick thought no. 1: The defense is broken

When this unit needs to play sound, base defense and gets stops they can't really do it. What stops Texas did get in this game tended to come from successful blitzes that put Kansas behind the chains or finished off third downs. Normally it was the former as the Jayhawks were 10-19 on third down in this game and also went 2-2 on fourth down and found a receiver wide open in the end zone against drop 8, double cloud coverage on their two point conversion attempt.

The fact that Texas is incapable of playing sound base defense to save their lives has been the growing concern every single week this season. There was hope it wouldn't matter as much against Oklahoma, who seemed vulnerable to a pressure package, but Texas didn't attack the Oklahoma protections even as well as they attacked the Jayhawks tonight.

Kansas torched Texas in the first half running two-back zone-read and Texas was able to adjust in the second half with some of their insider-backer blitzes executed with great timing by Juwan Mitchell. But there remain a lack of answers in the playbook for good passing and Carter Stanley carried Kansas down the stretch with several big passes completed thanks to fantastic efforts by the Jayhawk receivers. All told the Jayhawks dropped 569 yards of offense.

This is a better Kansas offense than we've seen in previous seasons, much improved. Even a loss wouldn't have been quite the same as losing to the David Beaty squad that took down Charlie Strong's Longhorns back in 2016, but the defensive performance was still spectacularly putrid. The problem with this defense wasn't a lack of focus on tackling in practice, although that probably didn't help. The problem with this defense is that they don't have any identity other than launching boom or bust blitzes that can't save them against an effective passing game.

Quick thought no. 2: There were a few positives on the defensive side

DeMarvion Overshown obviously has some talent when it comes to closing and tackling in space and a few attempts by the Jayhawks to catch him on slot fades down the field didn't yield results. Texas is insanely beat up in the secondary after another head down tackle attempt took another guy out of the game, this time senior safety Brandon Jones. Being able to insert Overshown into the mix is certainly a plus.

Anthony Cook played a pretty good game out at cornerback. D'Shawn Jamison makes plays now and again but he was also relentlessly picked on when Kansas found him 1-on-1 down the field and he couldn't hold up. But Cook battled hard and didn't let the Jayhawks get anything easy throwing to his side. Texas definitely has some talent at the cornerback position and if they could get Jalen Green back and healthy could potentially end the year on a high note after many early struggles.

The second half brought back Malcolm Roach and Juwan Mitchell, which led to Texas moving Joe Ossai to rover and Byron Vaughns at B-backer. Roach and Mitchell each made big plays that were extremely necessary for producing victory, Mitchell is much better a pure inside-backer than anyone else on the roster. Ossai is a tremendous all-around linebacker but he doesn't have a great feel for the inside blitz and can't manage the sorts of lateral cuts that Mitchell utilizes to find space between the tackles.

Much like a year ago, the problem isn't really that Texas lacks the athletes or skill to play high level defense. There isn't a team in the league with better talent to work with in trying to craft something that could hold up against Big 12 offenses. The problem is the coordination. Texas ran their seventh different defense in as many games and in what should be no surprise, couldn't expect to execute the base calls when they really needed to down the stretch.

Quick thought no. 3: Multiple mistakes aside, this was a solid offensive performance

Texas had a few more issues with protection, a few iffy fourth down calls, some trouble both with basic stunts and then also some auto-blitzes that Kansas was utilizing, and they turned the ball over a couple of times. Lots of sloppiness overall, but then they still finished with over 600 yards of offense, 50 points, and a perfect game-ending drive to set up the winning kick by Cameron Dicker.

Early on Kansas was responding to Texas motioning Roschon Johnson out to form empty formations with an automatic blitz that stymied Texas early on before they finally adjusted. The Longhorn's struggles to consistently pick up pressures well against their last two opponents without leaving a RB in the backfield to help is a bit disconcerting and threatens to negate one of their best features on offense.

The turnovers were also disastrous and instrumental in Kansas nearly pulling off the upset. The first was a glance to Collin Johnson in which Ehlinger lost track of the underneath defender, a bad mistake of the sort that can happen in a RPO offense. The second was mostly a good play by Kansas, Mike Lee got his helmet right on the ball. Jake Smith was trying to do too much at times and probably should have just gotten his hands on that ball but it was also a good play.

Texas had some more problems with fourth down calls, using a "wild Smith" set to run QB stretch on one failure and running a confusing pass pattern on another. All that said, Texas moved the ball well, got the run game going, and have shown more and more ways to get the ball to Brennan Eagles and Collin Johnson. Eagles caught six balls for 76 yards and a score while Johnson had 8-96 and several big catches down the stretch that secured the victory.

Quick thought no. 4: Texas had to ask way too much of Sam Ehlinger to win that game

Ehlinger completed 31-44 passes for 399 yards at 9.1 ypa, threw four touchdowns to one interception, and then was credited with 14 carries for 91 yards in the run game (before removing sack yardage). The vast majority of that were a series of badly needed scrambles when the protection or routes broke down and Texas needed Ehlinger to pull magic from his hat to keep the chains moving. You really don't want to ask your QB to take as many hits as Ehlinger had to take in this contest in order to pull that game out, either in the passing game or running the football.

Texas has to go play at TCU next week before they get another bye week to rest and heal up for a crucial finishing stretch that has them home against Kansas State before taking them on more road trips to face Baylor and Iowa State. These are games in which Texas should be able to rely on the run game to win while shoring up their defense over time. Keaontay Ingram got going again this week with 14 carries for 101 yards and a score and Roschon Johnson had 11 for 46 and another TD, meaning a combined 25-156 and two scores.

That's what Texas is looking for in hopes of shortening some of these games and putting away inferior opponents, but instead they had Ehlinger having to get the team down the field in less than a minute and a half and handling the ball on 58 plays in order to win a shootout with what's probably still the worst team in the Big 12.

Quick thought no. 5: This team has a long ways to go in order to get to the Red River Rematch

Texas' defense against Kansas resembled their effort in 2018 on the road against Texas Tech, when they finished the game with a mash unit and couldn't get stops they needed but instead had to rely on late game heroics from Ehlinger. The difference is that the defense kinda looked that way from start to finish this week whereas it was more of a late game phenomenon against the Red Raiders.

This unit is pretty beat up and was playing walk-on Mason Ramirez in the pass down "cowboy package" late after losing Brandon Jones to the shoulder injury. They still have several DBs that have played in multiple games this season to turn to but the number of injuries they've endured at safety is overwhelming.

If Texas had lost to Kansas you'd have to wonder if Tom Herman might make some adjustments on the defensive side. If there are any he has in mind it may be worth executing them anyways given that it required a big fourth quarter on offense to avoid the loss. Todd Orlando has repeatedly demonstrated that his solutions when things get tough are to get aggressive and double down on being a pressure defense. Despite a depleted secondary that can't hold up to repeated exposure and a constantly shuffling linebacker corps that rarely nails the timing on his blitzes, time and time again you see Orlando try to blitz his way out of trouble.

That's simply not going to work, and every week that Texas fails to drill down some fundamentals in base defense decreases the chances of managing to win enough road games to get back to the Big 12 championship. If Herman had another reliable defensive assistant around that had a vision and plan for cleaning up the play of the defense it'd probably be a good idea to turn to them now to take over. Instead that will have to go to Orlando, who's presumably going to try and finish out the year by trying to get the base nickel package with a B-backer on the field (perhaps not Ossai though) into decent enough working order to scratch out some stops in the coming weeks. The prognosis is fairly grim.

 

[satyanash 14281]

(Chip Brown) My Take: What went right and wrong in Texas' win over Kansas

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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas needs to get healthy on defense - period. And losing senior captain Brandon Jones to injury with 7:21 left in a crazy, season-flashing-before-Texas’-eyes, 50-48 win over Kansas isn’t going to help.

Next man up is getting tested to its limits on the Texas defense this season. And a beat-up defensive group that had former walk-on Mason Ramirez on the field on KU’s final TD drive didn’t get much help from the Longhorns’ offense, which turned it over twice in the fourth quarter, leading to short-field TD drives by the Jayhawks, who ended the Charlie Strong era with a defeat of the Longhorns in Lawrence in 2016.

Tom Herman also went for fourth-and-2 twice in the first half and failed, and KU turned both of those decisions into TD drives of 50 and 60 yards, respectively. Adversity seems to be the Longhorns’ 12th man right now, and Texas needs to stop committing unforced errors in the next seven days, or UT will find itself on the losing end of a game at a wounded TCU, which lost to Kansas State Saturday to fall to 3-3 (1-2 Big 12).

With the Texas defense down six starters in the first half - five because of injury (Caden Sterns, Jalen Green, Josh Thompson, Chris Brown and Jeffrey McCulloch) and one because of suspension (Malcolm Roach), Kansas running back Pooka Williams as already at 129 yards rushing (half on a 65-yard run) and a touchdown at intermission. Kansas would finish with 569 yards, including 259 yards rushing, including 190 on 25 carries by Williams (7.6 yards per carry) and 65 yards on nine carries by KU quarterback Carter Stanley (7.2 ypc).

After the Texas offense turned it over twice (on an interception by Sam Ehlinger and a fumble by Jake Smith), allowing KU to convert both into short-field touchdown drives, KU was back in a game Texas led 40-30 with 8:32 left. On KU’s final touchdown drive, Texas had former walk-on Mason Ramirez on the field, along with true freshman Chris Adimora. Les Miles went for two and converted it to go up 48-47 with 1:11 left. Ehlinger found Collin Johnson four times and then hit Devin Duvernay at the Kansas 15 with five seconds left, setting up Cameron Dicker for the game-winning 33-yard field goal.

What went right for Texas

INGRAM TD PUTS TEXAS UP 47-40 WITH 2:47 LEFT: A 14-yard pass from Ehlinger to Collin Johnson on third-and-13, followed by a 51-yard pass from Ehlinger to tight end Cade Brewer to the Kansas 3, set up a 3-yard TD run by Keaontay Ingram, putting Texas up 47-40 with 2:47 left to play.

TEXAS GOES UP 33-30 ON JAMISON’S PAT RETURN: Malcolm Roach blocked KU’s PAT attempt, and D'Shawn Jamison returned it for two points, giving Texas a 33-30 lead with 10:06 left to play (after Pooka Williams turned a Sam Ehlinger interception into a 16-yard touchdown run).

Joseph Ossai got pressure on KU quarterback Carter Stanley, forcing an incomplete pass on third-and-12 from the Texas 42, forcing a punt with 10:22 left - two plays after DeMarvion Overshown dropped Stanley for a 2-yard loss on first down.

TEXAS GOES UP 31-24 AFTER 12-PLAY TD DRIVE: Texas overcame third-and-12 with a 16-yard Ehlinger run and finally converted fourth-and-2 on a Roschon Johnson run before Ehlinger found Devin Duvernay for a 14-yard TD pass, putting Texas up 31-24 with 14:01 left to play. The score capped a 12-play, 79-yard drive that ate 4:41 off the clock.

Roschon Johnson ran around right end on a zone read handoff from Ehlinger and hurdled a KU defender to get to the first-down marker On Texas’ third attempt to convert fourth-and-2 (after failing the first two times), Roschon Johnson ran behind pulling left guard Parker Braun for 4 yards and a first down on the final play of the third quarter (the eighth play of the drive).

After Sam Cosmi was called for holding, negating a Sam Ehlinger 4-yard run for a first down on third-and-2, Ehlinger dropped back to pass on third-and-12 and scrambled for 16 yards and a first down to the UT 48 late in the third quarter.

DeMarvion Overshown came up with Texas' first sack in three games on third-and-16 (for a 7-yard loss), leading to a punt by Kansas with 3:42 left in the third quarter.

DICKER FIELD GOAL TIES GAME AT 24-24: Two plays after Sam Cosmi gave up a 6-yard sack on an inside rush, Texas was forced to kick a 39-yard, Cameron Dicker field goal with 6:59 left in the third quarter, tying the game 24-24. Juwan Mitchell had a nice pressure on Carter Stanley in the red zone, forcing an errant throw, on first-and-10 from the Texas 16. DeMarvion Overshown broke up a deep ball attempt on KU’s first drive of the second half and nearly had a diving interception, but it slipped through his hands.

OSSAI BLOCKS FIELD GOAL AT END OF HALF: After Kansas drove 56 yards in 11 plays, including a 25-yard run by Pooka Williams on third-and-2 from the KU 43, Texas’ Joseph Ossai blocked a 37-yard field goal by KU’s Liam Jones with 15 seconds left in the half, preserving the Longhorns’ 21-17 lead at intermission.

TD PASS TO EAGLES PUTS TEXAS UP AT HALF: On third-and-goal from the KU 5, Ehlinger hit Brennan Eagles on a slant for a touchdown that put the Longhorns up 21-17 with 2:19 left in the second quarter. The 10-play, 84-yard drive featured a 32-yard run by Keaontay Ingram on the first play and a 24-yard run by Ehlinger on third-and-5 from the KU 47 and a 6-yard pass from Ehlinger to Devin Duvernay on third-and-3 from the KU 16.

After a 65-yard run by KU’s Pooka Williams moved the ball to the Texas 11, DeMarvion Overshown and Byron Vaughns came up with nice stops on first and second down before Carter Stanley threw incomplete on third down, forcing a 23-yard field goal.

JAKE SMITH TD PUTS TEXAS UP 14-0: On third-and-5 from the KU 10, Jake Smith sold a slant route and then broke it off at the sticks and cut outside, caught the ball and side-stepped Kansas S Jeremiah McCullough before running into the end zone, putting Texas up 14-0 with 6:31 left in the first quarter. The TD drive included pass of 8 and 12 yards to tight end Cade Brewer and a 14-yard pass to Collin Johnson.

KANSAS MISSED 46-YARD FG: After a pass interference on Anthony Cook and personal foul (illegal hands to face) on Keondre Coburn helped move KU into Texas territory, KU kicker Liam Jones missed a 46-yard field goal wide left with 9:56 left in the first quarter.

Texas ran the Cowboy Package with KU facing third-and-9 from the Texas 27 in the first quarter, and stuffed Pooka Williams for a 1-yard loss after a wild snap. With all of UT’s injuries on defense, the Cowboy Package had Ta'Quon Graham replacing Malcolm Roach, and Byron Vaughns replacing Jeffrey McCulloch on the line. Montrell Estell replaced Caden Sterns, and Chris Adimora replaced Chris Brown.

ROJO LEADS TEXAS TO FIRST SCORE EARLY IN THE GAME: How about the direct snap to QB-turned-RB Roschon Johnson, who then bullied his way for six yards and a first down on UT’s first possession of the ball game. Sam Ehlinger then hit Brennan Eagles for a 28-yard pass to the KU 14-yard line, which set up a 14-yard TD run by Roschon Johnson. That put Texas up 7-0 with 12:56 left in the first quarter.

What went wrong

JAKE SMITH FUMBLE LEADS TO KU TOUCHDOWN: A Jake Smith fumble forced by KU safety Mike Lee at the end of a 13-yard, catch-and-run looked like it was recovered by Texas tight end Cade Brewer, but was ruled to be recovered by Kansas at the Texas 36. Six plays later, after converting fourth-and-10 on an incredible, 23-yard catch trapped against his leg by Daylon Charlot against coverage by Anthony Cook, Stanley hit Andrew Parchment for an 11-yard TD pass (against coverage by D'Shawn Jamison, who had his back turned to the pass), tying the game 40-40 with 4:25 left.

KU TURNS EHLINGER INTERCEPTION INTO ONE-PLAY TD: On first-and-10 from the UT 9, Sam Ehlinger threw his third interception of the season on a pass intended for tight end Cade Brewer, returned to the Texas 16 by KU linebacker Najee Stevens-McKenzie. On the next play, KU running back Pooka Williams Jr. punished Ehlinger’s mistake with an impressive, 16-yard TD run, cutting UT’s lead to 31-30 with 10:06 left.

Anthony Cook was called for a questionable pass interference on third-and-11 from the KU 45, giving KU an automatic first down at the Texas 40 with 11:17 left. With Kansas facing third-and-8 from the KU 32, Texas rushed three, and Carter Stanley found Stephon Robinson in coverage against Brandon Jones for a 14-yard gain with 12 minutes left to play.

Pooka Williams ran for 20 yards on third-and-2 from the Kansas 33, capped with a mean stiff arm of Brandon Jones at the end of the run with just less than six minutes left in the third quarter. Sam Cosmi got beat on an inside rush by KU’s Jay Dineen and gave up a sack of Sam Ehlinger for a loss of 6 yards. Two plays later, Texas was forced to kick a 39-yard field goal that tied the game 24-24 with 6:59 left in the third quarter. It was KU’s third sack of the game.

KU SCORES ON 14-PLAY TD DRIVE TO OPEN SECOND HALF: Kansas converted three third-downs, including third-and-10, as part of a 14-play, touchdown drive capped by a 9-yard pass from Carter Stanley to Stephon Robinson against tight coverage from Brandon Jones, putting KU up 24-21with 9:48 left in the third quarter. KU’s Pooka Williams Jr. had 129 yards rushing (half of them on a 65-yard run) on 11 carries (11.7 ypc) with a 7-yard TD run - at halftime

As rare as a snow fox, Devin Duvernay dropped a swing pass with 4:13 left in the second quarter. It was the third dropped pass for Texas at that point, along with Malcolm Epps’ dropped deep-ball on a post and Brennan Eagles drop on second-and-8 in the second quarter.

FAILED FOURTH-AND-2 PART 2 LEADS TO ANOTHER SHORT KU TD DRIVE: After UT’s second, failed fourth-and-2 attempt, Kansas’ Carter Stanley found Andrew Parchment behind D’Shawn Jamison for a 50-yard pass completion to the Texas 10. On third-and-goal from the 7, Todd Orlando blitzed linebackers David Gbenda, Ayodele Adeoye and Joseph Ossai, and Carter Stanley found receiver Takulve Williams wide open in the end zone (in the area vacated by UT’s blitzing linebackers) for the score, putting Kansas up 17-14 with 8:38 left in the second quarter.

Ehlinger threw passes behind his receivers, one to Brennan Eagles (that hit Eagles’ hands, so counts as a drop) on second-and-8 and the other to Cade Brewer on fourth-and-2 from the KU 40, giving the Jayhawks the ball with more great field position with 10:25 left in the second quarter. B.J. Foster was flagged for a personal foul (unnecessary roughness) on Pooka Williams’ TD run in the second quarter.

FAILED FOURTH DOWN LEADS TO SHORT KU TD DRIVE: UT’s failed fourth-and-2 at midfield led to a short-field TD drive by Kansas, capped by four straight running plays, including a 7-yard burst by Pooka Williams through a missed tackle by Ayodele Adeoye for a touchdown, cutting UT’s lead to 14-10 with 13:23 left in the second quarter. KU’s

On fourth-and-2 from the UT 49 and Texas up 14-3, Jake Smith took a direct snap and ran left, but Zach Shackelford was pushed into the backfield by KU’s Gavin Potter, blowing up the play as Smith was dropped for a 1-yard gain, giving KU the ball at the 50 with 1:41 left in the first quarter. One play after Ehlinger was dropped for an 8-yard sack, Malcolm Epps dropped a perfect pass from Ehlinger on a post route with 2:26 left in the first quarter that could’ve been a big gain.

WILLIAMS’ 65-YARD RUN SETS UP KU FIELD GOAL: A 65-yard run by KU’s Pooka Williams helped set up a 23-yard field goal by Liam Jones, which cut Texas’ lead to 14-3 with 4:01 left in the first quarter. It looked like Carter Stanley might have been guilty of targeting against DeMarvion Overshown on KU’s field-goal drive in the first quarter. Pooka Williams took a handoff around right end and cut it back, breaking free for a 65-yard run before finally getting dragged down by Anthony Cook at the Texas 11.

After David Gbenda stopped KU’s Pooka Williams for a 1-yard gain with a jarring hit on KU’s first play from scrimmage, Anthony Cook was flagged for pass interference, and on the next play, Keondre Coburn was flagged for a personal foul (illegal hands to the face), moving KU into Texas territory.

 

[texifornia 56561]

28 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Former players weighing in:

 

Honestly, props to LJ for calling out the BON account. They've been traaaash this season.

[TwiceHorn 31314]

With apologies to satya, Scipio's postgame highlight:

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I’m not breaking that shit show down.

https://www.barkingcarnival.com/2019/10/19/20922968/final-texas-50-kansas-48-longhorns-jayhawks-fire-orlando-football-comedy

[satyanash 14281]

(Scipio Tex) Kansas Postmortem: Offense

The Texas offense shook off two turnovers and a cold streak in the 3rd quarter and the staff pressing on two first half 4th down attempts to rescue multiple possessions on 3rd and long (Texas was 9 of 14 on 3rd down conversions and amassed an amazing 33 first downs) and destroy an outmatched Kansas defense late to power Texas to the 50-48 win. 

The Horns accounted for 638 yards of offense at 7.5 yards per play. Ultimately, that offensive output, terrific 4th quarter play (24 offensive points, the game winning drive at 1:11) and KU's failures on special teams drove the Longhorns to the win. 

Obviously, any time Texas squeaks by in a game where we are 21.5 point favorites and the opponent has a L to Coastal Carolina isn't a good thing, but it's important to consider that any issues we had with the offense tonight are largely because it's the primary unit thoughtful Texas football fans still have any expectations for.  Nonetheless, a handful of bigger picture thoughts on offense: 

1. I didn't quite understand running a play with 8 seconds on the clock with no timeouts. There's a risk/reward there where the negative chances of Texas getting tackled in bounds, a penalty, Sam getting sacked, or a turnover outweigh the positive benefits of burning the clock to zero and giving Dicker a 33 yard kick instead of a 39 yard one. I understand what Herman was trying to do and that he had no trust for the Longhorn D, but the calculus doesn't work for me. 

2. Going for it on 4th down at the 50 and on the opponent 40 is perfectly defensible. In my opinion, good football. Particularly when the offense is rolling early. I will defend that decision all day. I will not defend those play calls. If you make the analytically correct decision, but run a weak play, you give oxygen to "you gotta punt that ball!" traditionalists who can't separate the two decisions in that chain of events. 4th down isn't time to roll out nonsense. Run the best stuff in the normal offense. And on the first direct snap Jake Smith telegraphed run, count the box. Then look to the sideline. Did we not go over this before earlier in the season? 

3. Keaontay Ingram had 9 carries for 84 yards in the 1st half. He was seeing the field well from 4 wide (or 11 with TE split) and making excellent cuts, partly because we were using Sam as a backside constraint. In the second half, we allowed KU to crash a free outside man or blitz the interior without punishing it. Shades of OU. In the second half, Ingram only ran 5 times for 17 yards. The running game can be adjusted. Don't quit on it after the opposing D introduces a basic wrinkle. Herman talked about not playing enough complementary football on offense and I think that's what he was talking about. We can threaten the backside without running Sam as well. Fly sweeps, jet sweeps and misdirection are legal football against over pursuit or overload looks. 

QB

Sam Ehlinger was 31 of 44 for 399 yards passing and four touchdowns. He ran for another 91 yards on 14 carries (he broke 100 if you take away sacks) and salvaged countless 3rd downs with his legs. His high usage (58 plays accounted for) yielded one egregious error with a RPO throw where he didn't see the underneath defender. That deep territory turnover set up a Kansas touchdown. Beyond that, #11 had 490 yards of total offense and singlehandedly carried the team once KU took away our running game.

I counted three total errant throws on 44 attempts and he had three or four drops from receivers. He also got hit a lot. He was repeatedly nails in key moments. A great game from #11. Seven games in, he has a 21:3 TD/INT ratio. For the season, he throws a pick on 1.2% of his throws. 

RB

A get right game for Keaontay Ingram. Now let's try to keep him right. Everyone whining about him getting starts can be quiet for a while. Who cares, anyway? It's about touches and snaps, not the guy trotting out for the first snap. We're going to run the hot hand and KI was it tonight. #26 was seeing the field beautifully in the first half and the OL was keeping him clean. When we didn't punish KU adjustments in the second half sufficiently, he was removed from the running game. 14 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown was a nice night.

Ro Johnson offered his characteristic hard play. 11-46-1 TD. He posted an identical 5-17 rushing performance in the second half to Ingram, which tells you something bigger was going on than just the ball carrier. Too much of our second half rushing yardage was Sam tucking and running.  While both backs improved from their OU performance in pass pro, there's still some work to do with respect to meeting the blitzer early and eye discipline. 

WR/TE 

Texas employed a pretty thin rotation after Malcolm Epps dropped an Ehlinger strike on 2nd and 18 in the first half. After that, it was pretty much the CJ-Duvernay-Eagles show and that suits me fine. Jake Smith had a costly late fumble (did he though? Brewer recovery?) but that was also a terrific tackle by KU safety Mike Lee. All three of our primary three receivers had a drop, but they put enough on the positive side of the ledger to make up for it. Some good moments of downfield blocking against KU's undersized secondary as well.

Duvernay set up KU beautifully in the short and intermediate game enough to score on a 43 yard strike from Ehlinger and finish with 8-110-2 tds. We increased his ADOT (average depth of target) throughout the game and that was a big part of opening up the offense overall. It also meant more pressure on the OL to hold up against blitzes, but Texas won that equation over time. 

CJ was a 3rd down chain-moving monster on multiple critical third downs - including the game winning drive. And the drive before that. When your defense stinks, they're technically all game winning drives, aren't they? 8 catches for 96 yards. He played and felt big out there.  Brennan Eagles needed that performance for his confidence He was awful against WVU and OU and it was good to see him showing energy, reliability and engagement to the tune of 6 catches for 76 yards.

Cade Brewer had a very rough game last week, but turned in a productive 3 catch, 71 yard performance that showed a ton of energy and hard play. The 51 yard pitch and catch with Ehlinger was a great play call and Brewer was wide ass open, but he still needed to execute and maximize. He's not going to be effective as a blocker against big physical defenses, but he was active downfield. He also showed great effort in his fumble recovery attempt. I saw multiple Jayhawks clawing for the ball and pulling on Brewer with very few Longhorns joining that scrum. That's a talking point post game.  Jared Wiley got trucked on pass pro fairly early and saw limited snaps once we went to our second half Raid Bro offense. 

OL

Some rough moments individually, but run blocking was consistently pretty good against honest fronts and, over time, unit cohesion cleaned up and they did a much better job in pass protection against KU's constant blitzing. While Texas surrendered three sacks, one of those was not on the OL. They were also blameless on a couple of other pressures that most would naturally affix to the OL. Still, some obvious deficiencies under the magnifying glass post OU. 

Parker Braun got badly beaten on a blitzing swim move by #19 Potter on KU, made all the more insulting by the fact that Potter has a particularly stupid celebration.  Cosmi got beaten 1-on-1 by Azur Kamara, who got a great jump on the snap. No shame there, as I pointed out in my preview that Kamara is a ball player. At 6-4, 235 and cat quick, he'd start for us. Right along side Joe Ossai off the ball in pass coverage. Where else would you play two prototype 3-4 OLBs!? I found Cosmi's holding call on 3rd and 1 very questionable.

I believe this unit has talent and can rally to higher levels of performance, but it is suffering from an offense that's a little too basic at times and finds itself in 3rd and long far too often. Motion and misdirection are our friends. Subterfuge is not cowardly. Texas prospers best when the opposing D is off balance and the OL can be a true play action beneficiary. We're playing defenses very committed to pressuring us up front -- OU put it on film and it's on Texas to change the scouting report. One way to do that is to create some pressure valves. We don't execute the screen game in all of its myriad forms very well, for instance. Nor do we motion, fly sweep, fake fly sweep etc. That would help these guys and create some more indecision from the edge and blitzing off ball personnel. A cautious step or a little hesitation is all an OL needs to get a good drop on a pass rushing defender or neutralize an extra man in the running game. Look at what OU does by simple motion, formation and misdirection to create space for their OL. 

Overall

Right now, Texas is going to need to outscore opponents to win into the foreseeable future.  On to Fort Worth.

[satyanash 14281]

IT Offensive Report Card----Kansas

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It's fun to watch our guys make plays. When you score half a hundred it stands to reason we must have played pretty damn well and we did. The best part for me was we had guys picking up other guys when we fell a little short of positive execution. Four turnovers (interception, fumble, and two 4th down blunders) usually spells hello loss column but we overcame because players made plays down the stretch. Here are the grades:

1---Burt---pass---not many snaps.

2---Johnson---pass+

6---Duvernay---pass+

9---Johnson---pass+

11---Ehlinger---pass+

13---Eagles---pass+

16---Smith---pass.

26---Ingram---pass+

52---Cosmi---pass

56---Shackelford---pass

68---Kerstetter---pass+

73---Braun---pass

75---Angilau---pass

80---Brewer---pass+

News flash---Duvernay (6) finally dropped one---Collin (9) took the pressure off by dropping his one of his own. Sam (11) had about three total bad plays (oskie---two bad zone reads) in addition to about 475 yards his own sweet self. Brewer (80) had outstanding efforts in the receiving department but it was his effort on the Smith fumble and the tackle on Sam's one interception that stood out equally as important.

Ingram (26) had a big day running the pigskin but one needs to watch his two pass blocks in the 4th quarter to really appreciate his contribution. The long td pass to DD (6) never happens without a superior effort on 26's part plus a stoner against another blitz. Sam (52) wasn't quite himself after getting doubled over (1st quarter) on a scramble. He was just good after that play.

Kerstetter (68) was the best OL this week. Nice rebound after last week. Shack (56) fought the good fight but lost a couple of small battles. Braun (73) lost one pass pro to a stunt but is our best pulling sealer. Angilau (75) had a penalty and only two bad plays in a solid performance. Jake (16) had another td catch but fell victim to a hit on the button that caused a fumble.

I think we punted once but the four turnovers offset that good news. We might need to reconsider our short yardage play selection. We may have overstayed our welcome calling the QB (position) power---hint. TCU---your up sport.

Joseph Cook: Texas survives 50-48 via Dicker game-winner on woeful defensive night versus Kansas

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STATS/SUMMARY

A week after a dismal defensive performance against Oklahoma in which the Longhorns gave up 34 points, Texas returned home and proceeded to allow 48 points and 569 total yards to the Kansas Jayhawks. KU took the lead with 1:11 remaining after a Carter Stanley pass to Stephon Robinson. Jayhawk head coach Les Miles made the decision to go for two, and Stanley found Daylon Charlot in the end zone to give the Jayhawks a 48-47 lead. Texas would come back with a 10-play, 60-yard drive capped by a game-winning 33-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker to avoid total disaster and defeat the Jayhawks 50-48.

Texas’ offense covered for its defense, which Texas head coach Tom Herman said could improve at “everything.” The UT defense allowed 569 yards to the Jayhawks, but the UT offense put up 638 yards of its own. Texas took an early 14-0 lead, but after Kansas scored 17 unanswered in the first half, it became a question of who would have the opportunity to score last.

Dicker was the answer. It was fitting a special teams play decided the outcome because if it weren’t for a few other plays from the third phase, Texas might have left Saturday’s game 4-3 and 2-2 in the Big 12 as opposed to 5-2 and 3-1. Kansas’ first offensive drive ended in a missed field goal. Texas’ ensuing drive ended with a Jake Smith touchdown to make it 14-0. Those three points left on the field proved pivotal in a two-point game.

Late in the second quarter with the score 21-17 Texas, the Jayhawks lined up for a 37-yard field goal. Joseph Ossai blocked it, and Texas maintained a four-point lead. Again, three more points left on the field. In the fourth, KU’s Pooka Williams ran for 16 of his 190 total yards as part of one of his two scores. Kansas lined up for the extra point to tie it, but Malcolm Roach blocked the attempt and D’Shawn Jamison returned it for two Longhorn points making it a 33-30 game in Texas’ favor.

“I thought the play of the game was the blocked PAT by (Roach) to put us up by three,” Herman said. “We went up by 10 after that when there was still a ton of time left on the clock.” Texas was helped by scoring opportunities Kansas didn’t take advantage of, and with the Longhorns’ defensive performance, it needed every piece of help it could get.

Defensive errors, whether schematic or tackling-based, have served as the governor on Texas’ success in 2019 and the leading cause of its two losses. Though there are injuries in Texas’ defensive backfield that led to a walk-on seeing time during game-deciding snaps Saturday, many of the Kansas scoring opportunities came through porous defensive play.

Texas gave up 569 yards of total offense, four yards short of its season-worst effort against LSU. The 259 yards UT allowed to Kansas on the ground was 17 yards shy of the total it allowed on the ground to Oklahoma. “We’ll just have to do a better job of stopping the run,” sophomore Joseph Ossai said. “When you can run the ball, you can control the defense, and that’s one thing we didn’t do a very good job of today.”

Those stats, and 48 points, were surrendered to a team that hasn’t thrown for 300 yards all season, had one other game with a rushing total of more than 175 yards, and who scored just seven points in a loss against Coastal Carolina. The Longhorns forced no turnovers and had one sack from DeMarvion Overshown, who made his first career start.

The Ehlinger-led offense wasn’t totally spotless, including a handful of plays from Ehlinger himself. Ehlinger threw an interception that lead to a fourth-quarter Jayhawks score and was sacked three times on the evening. However, his 57 yards on 5-of-7 passing on Texas’ final drive put Dicker in position to hit the game winner.

The final drive was an encapsulation of his entire evening; doing everything asked of him with limited demerits. He wasn’t the only performer on offense. Keaontay Ingram rushed for 101 yards and a score. His backfield mate Roschon Johnson added a touchdown, too. Four receivers, Devin Duvernay, Collin Johnson, Cade Brewer, and Brennan Eagles all had more than 70 receiving yards. Duvernay, Eagles, and Smith brought in touchdown passes.

All those numbers were almost wasted due to the defense. Several players received extended playing time on defense for the first time in their careers including Moro Ojomo, David Gbenda, DeMarvion Overshown, Byron Vaughns, and walk-on Mason Ramirez. As those players made their way onto the field, Texas’ defense didn’t simplify for the fresh faces. It proceeded to get more aggressive and complex.

The blitzes called rarely got home with Overshown’s one sack across 86 plays and 21 Kansas third or fourth down attempts as evidence. Blitzes mean fewer players are able to defend in the back end, and when those fewer players are backups and walk-ons, the defensive quality goes down. Add in Texas’ continued struggles with tackling and a two-point game with Kansas is the result.

Herman bluntly responded “no” after the game that his team wouldn’t be able to do anything special if they couldn’t generate pass rush, remedy miss tackles, and generally “patch things up.” Against superior opponents, of which arguably the rest of the Big 12 is compared to Kansas, his team will have to or else the winning result from Saturday might not be attainable.

 

Edited October 20, 2019 by satyanash

[satyanash 14281]

IT Defensive Report Card---Kansas

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There are 5,742 guitar pickers in Nashville. We tried to match that number with our blitz packages but fell short due to time constraints. It's extremely painful watching this defense go thru the motions. They say you get better as the season progresses. You could fool me. They say we are young and inexperienced. I saw really quality things from our kiddo's. It was our lettermen that failed to produce winning efforts. This defense made fundamental mistakes, very poor decisions, and in one case a substandard lack of effort. Here are the grades:

4---Cook---pass

5---Jamison---borderline

6---Mitchell---borderline

11---Adimora---pass

19---Jones---pass

25---Foster---fail

31---Overshown---borderline

32---Roach---pass

33---Gbenda---borderline

38---Boyce---pass

39---Estelle---borderline

40---Adeoye---pass

42---Bimage---pass

46---Ossai---pass

49---Graham---borderline

50---Vaughns---pass

91---Chisholm---borderline

93---Sweat---pass

98---Ojomo---pass+

99---Coburn---pass

Ossai (46) is our best defensive player right now. He has several alignments and responsibilities in this ever-changing defense. It's a shame rushing the passer is one of his most limited roles because he's a difference maker in that capacity. Vaughns (50) got his big chance this week and with just a few rookie mistakes he played very well. His pursuit to the ball and willingness to strike a lick for justice was duly noted. Vaughns qualifies for the after OU he's suddenly ready to play award.

Cook (4) played well and made two super plays. Jamison (5) played decent but fell victim to the no fair catch kickoff rule---he almost made the 12. The extra point return was sweet. Mitchell (6) missed the first half and did make a couple of nice plays in the second. He's not a fundamental player but plays semi-well when you blitz him with zero read. Gbenda (33) runs well but he can't determine come here from sic 'em yet.

Jones (19) has too much responsibility to play instinctively. He's a solid player that is anchored down with directing traffic with beginning drivers all around him. Foster (25) needs to burn this film and start again from scratch. I think it's safe to say he needs to be near or on the LOS for now. He needs to be an old time Will backer that plays behind a reduced front to keep blockers from attacking him.

Overshown (31) will certainly strike you but his coverage skills were exposed on the GL. Roach (32) missed half but probably made the play of the game with his Extra point block and resulting two point return. Margin of victory and all that. Boyce (38) had two nice plays in a limited role. Estelle (39) busted a red zone coverage. He appears to be overly cautious trying to not make mistakes. Aggressive would help him.

Adeoye (40) had a really solid game. He looked the part of a LB several times. I think he played too many snaps and ran smooth out of gas---not his fault. Bimage (42) did well in his first start. He had two bread-winner plays and good leadership. Ossai (46) does everything but lock the door for this defense. I wish we had 10 more just like Joe. Graham (49) holds the LOS well but doesn't make many plays. Roach said TQ made the kick block possible---that's good.

Chisholm (91) had a good play in limited snaps. Sweat (93) is coming on strong. He has ability but it's still growing. Ojomo (98) made three five star plays at the nose. This guy is good with outstanding talent. He's fun to watch. Coburn (99) is still the brick wall at the LOS. He would make more plays if we actually contained the ball more often. He hits and slides with the best of them.

Did anyone else scratch their head when we aligned 3 on 2 (GL) and all three covered the out route but none thought about covering inside curl on 4th down. Do we actually assign responsibilities or do we play by the seat of our pants in that situation? Do we have the "him" rule---like I got him and you got the other him? I didn't have the heart to count the number of blitzes we dialed up but I can tell you we got exactly one sack (Overshown) out of that strategy. I realize we got numerous "hurries" but the problem with counting those is they completed most of those anyway.

I can say we still haven't decided to assign the QB keep to our defensive strategy. Kansas decided to call our bluff and try it on short yardage just in case we hadn't corrected that flaw. Maybe this week we challenge the QB in short yardage. I guess TCU will be the next to parade Tom Brady out to slice and dice our "new" plan. I see he's (TCU's QB) fresh out of high school so we might bait him into a bad play or two. He's probably never seen blitzes from the outfield. That will change.

 

[satyanash 14281]

Bobby Burton: Texas-Kansas Grades

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Quarterback

The stats say Sam Ehlinger had a great game. I tend to agree with that assessment. After all, he passed for 399 yards. But a couple of things deserve consideration. The game-winning drive was an outstanding series by Ehlinger. He threw just one bad ball, the off target drop down to Keaontay Ingram but otherwise was complete money. Furthermore, he used his legs throughout the game more frequently than in recent weeks. His threat to run the ball is an integral of the offensive gameplan. Without that threat, it hurts the overall offense. Yes, he threw a bad pick in the fourth quarter. But he still led the offense to 24 points in the final period.

Grade: A

Running backs

It was clear relatively early on that Ingram looked like a played on a mission. His 33-yard run was one of the team’s longest of the season. But it was his work in pass protection that may have been his best individual play of the night. Ingram took on a linebacker one-on-one and beat him, allowing Ehlinger to step up in the pocket and deliver a strike to Devin Duvernay for a long touchdown. Ingram finished the day with more than 100 yards rushing. Roschon Johnson also had his moments, especially early in the game. But Ingram was the better player on the night.

Grade: A-

Wide receivers

Brennan Eagles stepped up and had his best overall game for the Horns. He made six catches, none of them more clutch than his reception on a quick slant for a touchdown. He’s still not a great receiver but this group needed someone other than Duvernay and Collin Johnson to elevate their game and Eagles did so. For his part, Duvernay continues to be the team’s leading and most reliable receiver. He dropped one pass off his fingertips but was otherwise outstanding even if he seems to get lost for long periods of time in the game. Jake Smith scored another TD on a nifty play but also coughed up the football in the fourth quarter.

Grade: A-

Tight ends

Cade Brewer made one of the plays of the game on a long catch-and-run in the fourth quarter to set up a go ahead touchdown for the Horns. However, Brewer also misread a fourth down route and went too far inside. Brewer’s blocking left something to be desired but it was better than in week’s past. Perhaps he’s improving or perhaps the opponent was less athletic. Either way, it was one of his better all around games.

Grade: B

Offensive line

Some will want to point out the negative first. And that’s protection on the left side. Samuel Cosmi and Parker Braun just are not gelling as a unit when protecting the passer. Cosmi, in particular, is having more issues than expected in one-on-one matchups. Yet, the OL handled a solid KU front in the run game almost all night. Derek Kerstetter played his most complete game of the season. Zach Shackelford had a couple of slightly errant snaps but played well overall.

Grade: B+

Offense

More than 600 yards of total offense. Scoring 24 points in the final quarter. Those are numbers that should impress anyone and everyone. However, the Horns also turned it over twice in the quarter. What’s more, the Horns also came up short on two fourth-down conversions in the first half that swung momentum in KU’s favor. Effectively, the Horns turned the ball over four times and every single time led to a KU score on a shorter field. That’s not the recipe for winning football. In fact, it usually spells doom.

Grade: B+

**********

Defensive linemen

The lack of production continued. Neither Malcolm Roach nor Ta'Quon Graham played well. Just about every KU run of note came either off tackle or to the outside. Jamari Chisholm continues to receive reps despite not making any plays. T'Vondre Sweat played well in spot duty. Moro Ojomo played end and got exposed against power runs, though he did flash in a couple of instances.

Grade: D

Linebacker

Joseph Ossai gets an A. The rest get an F. I don’t know how better to say it. Juwan Mitchell plays well when he’s given a specific aggressive gameplan but not when he has to read and react to the play. The other cast of characters just aren’t good enough and they bring Ossai’s grade all the way down. After all, the average of a 95 and a 10 is less than 60.

Grade: F

Secondary

Anthony Cook played competitive ball. D'Shawn Jamison did, too. Kobe Boyce had a key pass break up. But the safeties ... were atrocious in the pass game. DeMarvion Overshown and Montrell Estell looked absolutely lost at times. Brandon Jones covered well but was used in run support where frankly he’s just not very good. Chris Adimora had some misalignment issues even though his athleticism flashed more than once. The Texas secondary is the walking wounded. But that’s nothing more than an excuse.

Grade: F

Defense

Coming into the game, the Jayhawks had the worst offense in the Big 12. Yet when the dust settled, they totaled more than 500 yards of offense and put up 48 points, while also missing two field goals attempts and an extra point. In other words, with better special teams play, KU would have put 55 up on the Horns. The linebacker play is borderline absurd. The defensive line play is anemic rushing the passer. And the secondary is a chaotic grab bag.

Grade: F

Special teams

Cameron Dicker is a future pro. His game winner was right down the middle and the final difference in the game. Ryan Bujcevski was solid in minimal duty. The kick return group needs a lesson in the rules of the game, and the Horns should simply stop rotating players as punt returner to gain continuity.

Grade: C+

 

[satyanash 14281]

Kaelen Jones: Texas avoids catastrophe against Kansas but realizes there’s a ‘ton of work to do’ after wild win

Quote

AUSTIN, Texas — Even as Cameron Dicker swung his right foot through the ball, connecting on a 33-yard field goal as the clock expired to rescue Texas from disaster Saturday night inside Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, relief eclipsed elation along the Longhorns’ sideline. No. 15 UT (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) entered its contest against Kansas (2-5, 0-4) expected to win comfortably. Its wild 50-48 victory was anything but.

A week after a discouraging loss to Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown, Saturday served as a stark reminder that the Longhorns have a tough road ahead of them. Their goal of a Big 12 title game berth is delicate. It remains intact, but only just. For coach Tom Herman and his staff, Saturday’s surprising thriller against Les Miles’ team necessitated a long, hard look in the mirror.

“We’ve got a ton of work to do, obviously,” Herman said. “But we’ll figure that out. We’re happy that we found a way to win. I know there’s other teams in the country, even teams in the top 25, top 10 that didn’t. And that’s a whole lot worse feeling than the feeling that we have now. We’re going to celebrate the win and obviously come ready to improve the things that we are deficient at right now and enhance the things that we do well and make sure that we’re doing more and more of them.”

On a night where UT honored its undefeated 1969 national championship team, the Longhorns looked far from perfect. Instead, UT’s performance instigated memories of its 2016 loss to the Jayhawks, considered a low point for the program. If the left foot of KU running back Pooka Williams hadn’t just landed out of bounds during a potential 58-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter … If Longhorns sophomore linebacker Joseph Ossai hadn’t blocked an extra-point attempt just a few minutes later … If UT senior linebacker Malcolm Roach hadn’t done the same in the fourth quarter, allowing sophomore cornerback D’Shawn Jamison to scoop the ball up and run 98 yards the other way for two points … If junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger hadn’t used his legs to convert a third-and-6 on the game-winning drive, then hit senior wideout Collin Johnson for gains of 20 and 11 to help set up Dicker’s field goal, Herman’s mood would have been drastically different.

And, perhaps, he should be frustrated with how UT performed. The defense looked leaky once again. It allowed the Jayhawks to convert on 10 of 19 third-down plays, giving up five pass plays of at least 22 yards and four carries of 20 yards or more. UT’s cornerbacks did not always look confident, with sophomore Anthony Cook drawing two pass interference penalties. The front seven generated some pressure, but KU quarterback Carter Stanley — who led the Jayhawks to that fateful 2016 upset — still threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns.

Injuries, including a stinger that forced senior safety Brandon Jones out of the game, have hampered UT’s defense throughout the season. But at this juncture in the season, there must be resolutions. Especially when there’s such little room for error as the regular-season schedule runs down. Asked if there was a way for the Longhorns to win without rectifying their defense, Herman responded, “No. Next question.”

While their defense will shoulder a significant portion of the blame, the offense contributed to the uphill battle. Twice UT turned the ball over inside its own territory — first, on a poor pass from Ehlinger thrown right into the hands of KU linebacker Najee Stevens-McKenzie, then again on a fumble by UT freshman receiver Jake Smith. The Jayhawks converted the miscues into touchdowns behind a 16-yard run by Williams and then an 11-yard catch by receiver Andrew Parchment, respectively.

The stats will show that UT’s offense had a productive day, marked by Ehlinger’s 399 passing yards and 239 team rushing yards. But the miscues, in addition to two failed fourth-down attempts that resulted in KU points on each of the ensuing drives, left more to be desired. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to do a better job playing complementary football on the offensive side,” Herman said. “We’ve got to do a better job executing. We turned the ball over twice in the red zone, in their red zone, with an enormously short field. So I was really, really disappointed in that.”

After a back-and-forth fourth quarter that began with the score tied at 24-24, the Longhorns were prepared for the very scenario they found themselves in with the clock winding down: trailing and needing a field goal. A segment of every Tuesday’s practice simulates it. After Kansas scored and executed a two-point conversion to take the lead, Texas had 1:11 to drive 60 yards to set up the game-winning kick.

Credit, of course, should be given to Miles, in his first year with the Jayhawks, who have never won in Austin. As Herman noted, the former LSU coach didn’t win a national championship by accident. He had two weeks to prepare for the Longhorns. He made a difficult midseason move, firing KU offensive coordinator Les Koenning and elevating Brent Dearmon to the position. The Jayhawks on Saturday accrued 569 yards of total offense. It’s the first time KU has generated 550 total yards of offense in at least two games in the same season since 2009.

Having a weapon like Williams, who rushed for 190 yards and two touchdowns, makes accomplishing such a feat more feasible. Still, it prompts one to wonder what that means for UT’s defense when it faces players of a similar caliber in the near future. Next week, the Longhorns will have to find a way to limit TCU star wideout Jalen Reagor. They will have to have answers for two of the conference’s best signal-callers in Iowa State’s Brock Purdy and Baylor’s Charlie Brewer on the road, too. It’s tough to consider Saturday’s performance as promising.

The Longhorns didn’t play to the standard that they’ve previously shown they’re capable of, though they continue clinging to the notion that when they play at the highest level they can, they can beat most opponents. “We know that when we play our best,” Ehlinger said, “it’s really hard for teams to stop us. The only way that we were stopped tonight was by ourselves. We all understood that.”

This has been the recurring sentiment for several weeks now. It’s been almost a month since players said that they’ve played at that high level they refer to, at least for the majority of a contest. And just as the performances have teetered, the outcomes have followed suit. There are five games left in the regular season. The Longhorns need every result to go their way in order to potentially return to the league title game. They found enough resolve against Kansas.

When asked about avoiding catastrophe, Dicker didn’t look rattled. He didn’t give off the air of someone who had just saved the Longhorns season. “It’s always good to have a win,” Dicker said. “This just helps lead towards our goal of winning a Big 12 championship.”

 

[Brothahorn 10085]

Kaelen means there is a ‘long’ ton of work to do, not the ‘short’ ton.

[satyanash 14281]

And now, the one you've all been waiting for.

(Scipio Tex) Texas Postmortem: Defense/Special Teams

Quote

Texas edging KU in football 50-48 is slightly less probable than our basketball team edging them by the same score. Checks Shaka's record. Slightly. I've been gauging fan reactions in various media and while I expected the outrage, I was taken off guard by the shock and surprise. Yeah, that was really tough to watch, but if you thought we'd see fundamental assignment football...

The surprise also hurts my feelings because it means you're not reading my defensive postmortems.

Joking aside, a problem with being early on the analysis of Todd Orlando's defense in 2018 and the carryover into 2019 is that I've moved on to Acceptance while the majority of the fanbase seem to be in a different part of the emotional response curve. I was in Testing before most thought the Texas defense had a fundamental problem. I'm now well into Acceptance. Based on scanning the threads, the fat part of the fan bell curve sits in Anger, Denial and Bargaining. At least Denial and Bargaining are entertaining. So if you were expecting a dramatic postmortem full of fire and brimstone, you're indicating where you are on the curve. I said my piece a long time ago. Go read the other Postmortems. Listen to the EGAT podcast. Or read that little 150 page preview thingy I put out every year.

Texas struggled with every fundamental aspect of defense while allowing 569 yards of offense, 48 points (KU was held under 50 by virtue of two blocked kicks and a missed field goal that took a total of 7 points off of the board, providing the winning margin for Texas) and surrendered the seasonal high water mark of offense for a 2-5 Jayhawk football team that scored a total of 36 points against Indiana State (24) and Coastal Carolina (12). Teams that Kansas split with.

Kansas has improved since playing the Chanticleers and Sycamores and we dare not discount the Brent Dearborn factor. They had a whole bye week to install a new offense! With **RPOs!** Of course, Todd Orlando has had three years at Texas and an entire Spring, August, a bye week, and 8 weeks of this season to work with this current crop and all he has to show for it is his Battleship Bingo call card. 7 games. 7 defenses. This week's base defensive identity was...blitz! That's not a base defense, you cry out. Or...is it? You're not a coach. Unless you are a coach. In which case, you're not the DC at Texas, are you?

Predominantly telegraphed blitzes that began in the San Marcos outlet malls or parts of Hutto, depending on which way the Jayhawk offense was facing. The net result of this '85 Bears bonanza was a sack and four quarterback hits. Kansas converted 12 of 21 on money downs (57.1%) and was 2 for 2 on 4th down and easily converted a 2 point play to take the lead with 1:11 left despite coming into the game in the bottom quartile of FBS in money down offense.

Defensive Line

Good play from both Coburn and Ojomo. Since we don't set the edge and opponents scout, their penetration and wins don't matter because the RB or QB doesn't have to ever cut back inside when deterred by honest-to-God outside shoulder free edge play. If football were more fair, teams wouldn't scout and both teams could just add up their recruiting stars and we'd proclaim the winner based on that.

Roach's blocked PAT (#32 graciously gave the assist to Graham in the postgame) was a turning point in the game. They're now trying to play him on the edge at times in a desperate attempt to get pass rush or containment (haha, just kidding - it's to create interior blitz lanes for our outlet mall blitzers) and one wonders what a lighter, bouncier Roach might be able to do with Precocious Joe Ossai lined up on the other Ossaide.

I don't know how to grade Bimage as he did really well when asked to play edge for us standing up and come down hard on some Pooka runs. When he had to play unassigned honest football, he struggled like the rest. Graham has promise but plays every snap like a guy who has no idea what he's being asked to do. Penetrate? Two gap? Lock out, read, run the to ball? Anchor and eat doubles? I see a hesitant player in a guess-this-week's defense.

Linebacker

Texas started Gbenda inside. He was pulled by the mid 2nd quarter. Adeoye had some physical snaps, but our linebackers were primarily just random Orlando guesses gap blitzing and he was replaced by Ossai and Vaughns in the 2nd half. I'm not sure why.

Juwan Mitchell had a huge hit on Stanley on one of his blitzes. He's a physical dude. Beyond that, he was either attached to Orlando's gap blitz joystick or utterly surprised that Pooka Williams wanted to bounce wide and unsure when and when he didn't have the spill containment assignment. He looks bad on those plays. None of our linebackers ever know this, by the way. Unless it's Joe Ossai, who just instincts up and makes plays.

Vaughns got after it effort wise. I'm assuming he'd have been fine if he and Ossai were paired outside and given some conventional edge assignments that resemble things that long 6-4 240 pound natural pass rushers like to do, but he played as much off ball as on. Less than ideal for a raw RS freshman seeing his first real action. He also doesn't know where to line up sometimes.

Joe Ossai put in his typical great effort playing any of his 37 positions. 8 tackles, multiple impacts in the passing game, blocked field goal, nice QB pressure when employed as a pass rusher. It's like watching Tony Brackens in a Gary Darnell defense. Before we point to injuries as the culprit for this unit, McCullough had been benched before his injury. That was the only personnel difference here. The idea that this defense (or unit) was killing it (or acceptable) pre-injury bug is fantasy.

Defensive Backs

This is how Texas aligned on KU's go ahead 2 point conversion to go up 48-47.

The KU gentleman running unaccompanied behind the squatting Longhorns is an eligible receiver. This is soft zone defense. Very soft. So soft I would like to feel it on my cheek on an autumn day while traipsing through a field of wheat, my hands absentmindedly caressing the stalks like Russell Crowe's hot dead wife in Gladiator when Maximus is bleeding to death on the coliseum floor, with scoreboard on the emperor. KU has 3 receivers in the route. Texas has 7 men in coverage. None are assigned to humans. All are assigned to pieces of artificial grass. So 7 > 3 is immaterial. As always, I blame the players.

D'Shawn Jamison made a playmaker move fielding the ball on the bounce on the blocked PAT. He was otherwise largely terrorized in coverage, including a KU receiver dropping an easy long TD pass. He surrendered an easy TD later when KU tied it at 40 where the receiver had a go in whatever direction he chose. Interesting coverage call. It's interesting to note that we stranded DBs in single coverage for our outlet mall blitzes and KU knew exactly where to go with the ball on multiple occasions. The Jayhawks were very lucky to have QB, routes, and play call aligned so well on so many key downs. Our opponents are extremely good guessers.

Kobe Boyce had three nice plays in limited action. DeMarvion Overshown has great quickness and lateral pursuit as a second line or LOS defender. He stuffed the box score, but was without answers in coverage beyond one PBU. As with Jamison, he was left iso'd far too many times on receivers with multiple way goes. Conceptually, our pass defense was like watching 1 on 1s at a Nike camp.

Anthony Cook was up and down all day, but competed his ass off and had some key PBUs (the 3rd and 10 at 5:28 was terrific). None of our CBs understand that they won't get PIs with contact if they'll get their heads around when the receiver puts their hands up and slows down. IMO, Cook has given us three consecutive weeks of acceptable to good CB play. A crunchy discarded cicada shell of BJ Foster was out there.

Apparently, the current talking point is the reason that the defense collapsed is that Brandon Jones went out at 7:21 in the 4th quarter. Except that KU was averaging 7.5 yards per play at halftime with 277 yards of offense. Pooka was already well over 100 yards rushing at the half. KU had a 75 yard scoring drive on their opening possesion where they went 3 for 3 on third downs. Stop me if any of this is familiar.

While KU scored touchdowns on the two possessions post-Jones, before that, they already had 458 yards and 34 points on the board (minus 7 for their special teams errors). Pooka ran for 190 yards at 7.6 yards per carry. Carter Stanley threw for four touchdowns and had big runs when we kamikaze stunted after Pooka. Let's get real. We were in fundamental breakdown long before Jones go stingered. Long before Kansas, in fact.

It's also worth mentioning that a healthy Jones was stiff armed into the ground by a 175 pound running back in the open field and targeted on three separate KU 3rd down conversions in the passing game. Is he better than a walk-on? Decidedly yes. But is citing his injury as the defense's turning point classic bargaining and denial?

The tackle where Jones sustained his stinger is also a textbook example of how not to tackle. Head down, neck exposed, lunging. He's fortunate that was a 195 pound QB and not a 235 pound low base RB. That could have been a lot worse than a stinger. Might bad tackling be related to our rash of injuries? Like when we see BJ Foster and Brandon Jones tackle face down, neck exposed, lunge, and then get injured?

Special Teams

Kick returns remain an amusing nightmare of indecision and Texas is dead last in FBS in punt returns, but Texas won the game with two kick blocks and Dicker the Kicker.

 KU flubbed the blocks inside and Ossai made them pay.

Graham sets the KU blocker and the KU OL fail to collapse down and protect the straightest line to the kicker. Roach gets it.

Ice.

Final

Another bye week is coming after we face a fairly one dimensional TCU offense. If the Texas defensive staff can't move the needle a bit, my advice is for you to move along in your acceptance curve.

 

Edited October 21, 2019 by satyanash

[Nowhichski 32]

Whew, I’m at least in testing. Probably will be at Acceptance by next week. Still doesn’t make me less angry. 

[TreatyOak 16166]

[Goodman 3273]

@satyanash

Edited October 27, 2019 by Goodman

[satyanash 14281]

33 minutes ago, Goodman said:

@satyanash

Currently stuck at a wedding. Drowning my sorrows in double black

[Sgt Hulk 13648]

Give no fucks at what the media has to say about shit we already know 

[ClubWhatever 12087]

You don’t want to read Scipio Tex say our defense isn’t well coached again?

[SaucyJack 3487]

59 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Currently stuck at a wedding. Drowning my sorrows in double black

so we should check porn hub for your update?

[Atticus 3923]

1 hour ago, satyanash said:

Currently stuck at a wedding. Drowning my sorrows in double blacked RAW

fify

[bschoolprof 6233]

not really 9.95, but Scipio's writeup on BC:

Quote

TCU dominated Texas in the second half after trailing 17-13 at halftime on the strength of Gary Patterson’s 2nd half adjustments that crippled the Longhorn offense, TCU’s exploitation of Todd Orlando falling into old bad habits, and 4 uncharacteristic turnovers in the Longhorn passing game (two on Ehlinger, two on Longhorn receivers running poor routes).

Trailing 30-27 with plenty of time left to mount a comeback, the Longhorns had a chance to rescue victory from the jaws of defeat. The Longhorn defense had to do its part.

After TCU converted a 3rd and 11 early in their drive, Texas stiffened.

On 3rd and 14 at the 2:34 mark, Todd Orlando zero blitzed. it couldn’t have been more telegraphed if it had come in as Morse Code.

TCU QB Max Duggan hit a receiver iso’d on true freshman safety Tyler Owens for a new set of downs and set up the ensuing scamper for a game icing TD (as Longhorn LB Juwan Mitchell blew containment).

If a zero blitz with the game on the line seems familiar, yep. It was. 3rd and 17 against LSU and all of that.

Deja vu all over again.

Tom Herman and this staff have some hard questions to answer during the bye week.

The problem is, they don’t seem to be aware of the right questions to ask.

Hook ‘em.

https://www.barkingcarnival.com/2019/10/26/20933987/final-tcu-37-texas-27#517986275

[TwiceHorn 31314]

49 minutes ago, ClubWhatever said:

You don’t want to read Scipio Tex say our defense isn’t well coached again?

To be fair, he declined to do so last week.

[Red Five 40693]

We seem lost on offense, defense, and special teams. $9.95 please.

[Fletch 5799]

This fucking team I swear. So fucking frustrating watching us out athlete everyone except LSU and OU while looking like the double cheese and wings and beer I just unloaded on the shitter. What the fuck

[Capn81 372]

We seem lost on offense, defense, and special teams. $9.95 please.

Seem?