Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 11)

satyanash · November 10, 2019

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

(Burnt Orange Nation) Texas pulls out a win against Kansas State: Post-game celebration

(Jeff Howe) Instant Reactions: Texas scores walk-off win over K-State, 27-24

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AUSTIN, Texas — The start of Saturday’s 27-24 win Texas posted over 16th-ranked Kansas State wasn’t pretty. In fact, it was downright ugly.

Nevertheless, the Longhorns not only overcame a 14-0 lead, but they also scored 24 unanswered points to take a lead up until K-State tied the game, 24-24, with a 45-yard Blake Lynch field goal. Head coach Tom Herman not only saw his defense come up with one key stop after another in the second half but a workmanlike afternoon for Sam Ehlinger and the offense also ended with a 67-yard drive to set up the game-winning field goal as time expired.

Texas (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) is in the exact spot it was in last season through nine games with a very real chance of making it the Big 12 championship game. A return trip to AT&T Stadium is possible after the Longhorns put together a winning performance when the program needed one the worst possible way.

It was over when …

Cameron Dicker nailed a 26-yard field goal at the gun. Finally, the Texas defense came up with a critical fourth-quarter stop to get the ball back to the offense with a chance to win the game after holding K-State to a field goal on what would be the final possession of the game for the Wildcats. The drive wasn’t pretty, but Ehlinger and Co. drove it 67 yards in 13 plays to burn the final 6:45 off of the clock. In a must-win game for the Longhorns, Herman saw his bunch make the plays they needed to make when it counted all while finishing the job.

Top Offensive Performer

The first 30 games of the Herman era produced a total of three 100-yard rushing performances. In the span of the last six games, the Longhorns have seen running backs have four such outings and three of them have been by Keaontay Ingram, who went over the 130-yard mark for the first time in his career. Ingram ran as decisive and as physical in the second half as he has in his career. Whether it was slashing inside or beating the K-State defense around the edge, Ingram played like a true difference-maker on a when the offense needed him to come through.

Top Defensive Performer

It’s hard to pick one member of the Texas secondary, so we’ll go with that whole group. Even though Skylar Thompson set a career-high in single-game passing yardage, a maligned secondary made plays when they had to in order for the defense to get off of the field. B.J. Foster returned from injury to play what might’ve been his finest game of the season and D'Shawn Jamison had a game-saving pass breakup in the end zone in the fourth when Thompson was looking to connect to with Dalton Schoen for the go-ahead score (K-State instead settled for a game-tying field goal). Throw in a 53-yard punt return and a forced fumble by Brandon Jones and the defensive backs enjoyed by far their finest day as a collective unit through nine games.

Reason to Feel Optimistic

How the Longhorns put together an impressive performance to dig themselves out of a 14-0 hole in the first quarter. It wasn’t always pretty, but the fact that the charge to come from behind was led by the defense is the most encouraging thing the Longhorns have experienced in what feels like forever. After giving up 138 yards (12.5 yards per play) on the first two K-State drives of the game, the next six possessions the defense faced saw the Longhorns give up 136 total yards (four yards per play), no points and hold the Wildcats to 3-for-9 on third down (one of those conversions came by way of an offsides penalty, which should’ve been a delay of game call against the K-State offense).

Reason to be Pessimistic

How bad the Longhorns looked in getting themselves into a 14-0 hole. The K-State offensive possession of the game went about as poorly as it could for Texas with a blitz on third-and-5 from the K-State 30-yard line leaving Malik Knowles wide open in the flat, with a missed tackle in space leading to a 70-yard touchdown by the opponent on the game’s third play from scrimmage.

The offense had a 9-play 39-yard drive end with a missed a 55-yard field goal. The Wildcats got the ball back and drove 63 yards in eight plays, which included two long gains on third-down situations, ending the impressive march with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Wykeen Gill. Credit Texas for fighting back, but going down two scored by the midway point of the first quarter is the furthest thing from what the burnt orange faithful were hoping to see with the Longhorns coming off of a bye week.

Modest Proposal

The Longhorns have to clean things up offensively on the plus-side of the field because self-inflicted wounds nearly hurt them in and around the red zone for the second game in a row. Penalties forced one second-half red zone possession to end with a field goal while another ended with a turnover after a penalty backed the offense up into a situation where the football had to be thrown.

Then there was the clunky red-zone possession late in the fourth quarter where an illegal formation penalty wiped out an Ehlinger touchdown run with 39 seconds to play. Texas came into the game with one of the best red-zone offenses in the country, but that’s two weeks in a row where the Longhorns have left points on the field.

Drive of the Game

An 8-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter that ended with a 21-yard touchdown pass on a flea-flicker pass from Ehlinger to Collin Johnson. Trailing 14-0, Ehlinger got the drive started in earnest on the first play of the second quarter by hitting Brennan Eagles for 14 yards on second-and-12 for the Longhorns from their own 18-yard line. A 32-yard hookup between Ehlinger and Duvernay on a run/pass option moved the ball into K-State territory where Texas eventually faced a fourth-and-1 at the 27-yard line. Roschon Johnson moved the sticks with a 6-yard gain on a nice decision by Ehlinger to give him the ball after the K-State defense overplayed him on what appeared to be a read option.

One play later, Johnson got the handoff on the flea-flicker that wound up in Ehlinger’s hands before he found a wide-open Johnson down the middle of the field for the first Texas touchdown of the game. After a missed field goal and a three-and-out, the offense needed to get something going. At the time, it felt like the Longhorns were on the verge of getting run out of their own building, but the touchdown drive to finally answer two early K-State scores got things slowly turning in the right direction.

Best Offensive Play

A 34-yard touchdown run by Ingram to end a 4-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the second half. Ingram got the drive started off with a bang with a physical 20-yard run and he finished things off after an Ehlinger-to-Johnson strike moved the ball to the K-State 34-yard line.

The call was an option play over the left side of the line and Ingram took the pitch from Ehlinger, raced around the corner and (on a call that was confirmed after a review by the game officials) dove for the pylon to complete the scoring jaunt. Ingram’s run tied the game, 14-14, and made for a stark contrast compared to how the Longhorns got up on the wrong side of the bed to start the game.

Best Defensive Play

A forced fumble by Brandon Jones and recovery by Moro Ojomo at the Texas 38-yard line in the second quarter. The Wildcats came out of the blocks hot in the first quarter, torching the Texas defense for two touchdowns, 159 total yards and an average of 10.6 yards play while going 3-of-4 on third down and it looked like they were going to continue imposing their will in the second quarter.

A pair of third-down conversions allowed the Wildcats to gain 35 yards on their first nine plays of the second quarter before Thompson found Mason Barta on a short pass on second-and-7 from the Texas 36-yard line. Coming downhill, Jones was able to poke the ball away from Barta as he was trying to secure the catch, allowing Ojomo to make the recovery to get the defense off of the field. How much of a boost did Jones’ forced fumble give the Longhorns? K-State averaged just 4.4 yards per play and was 0-for-3 on third down from the time on Jones’ play heading into the fourth quarter.

Biggest question heading into the next game

Is this the start of something the defense can build on moving forward? Every team the Longhorns have faced has managed to throw the ball successfully, especially in Big 12 play, but the K-State game is the best the defense has played in the fourth quarter in any game against any opponent this season. Entering the game ranking an FBS-worst 130th in fourth-quarter scoring defense (14.8 points allowed), the Longhorns yielded only a field goal and got a huge stop to force that kick. The offense has a lot to fix, but the defense finally has something positive it can take out of a game where that side of the ball was arguably why the Longhorns won the game, which is the first time that can be said with any sort of argument since the Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia.

(Bobby Burton) Snap Judgments: Mission Accomplished Despite Miscues

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After a pathetic first quarter, Texas dominated almost the entire remainder of the game. Even so, the Horns found a way to make the win more difficult than it should have ever been. The Horns gave up a kick return for a TD, then Jalen Green delivered a totally unnecessary cheap shot to a K-State receiver that put the Wildcats in field goal position to eventually tie the game. And that's not even considering the penalties on the game-winning drive - the hold on Sam Cosmi or the procedure penalty on a would-be touchdown. Texas was showing signs of inconsistency even earlier.

There was the missed field goal. There was a three-and-out when Texas had the lead. There were numerous penalties that jeopardized other drives. There was the bizarre playcall of a reverse on the opponents' five-yard line. There was the Sam Ehlinger interception. Yet even when it seemed like Texas tried its hardest to give the game away, there was D'Shawn Jamison batting a touchdown pass away on the Wildcats' final drive. There was Ehlinger on the game-winning drive, connecting with Devin Duvernay on a deep out route on third-and-14 with the game on the line. There was Keaontay Ingram running as well as he's ever run for an entire game. There was Denzel Okafor filling in at right tackle for an injured Junior Angilau. And there was a Texas defense that looked totally different in the final three quarters than it did in the first one.

No, the win wasn't pretty. But it's a win nonetheless, one that this Texas team desperately needed or risked its team going into complete freefall.

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I don't have a problem with Tom Herman's decision to essentially kneel the ball to take the field goal as time expired. Some will disagree with that tactic but it's not like it would have been a 40+-yard field goal attempt. It was nothing more than a point after attempt.

**

The kick return stunted all momentum Texas had gained and put K-State right back in the game. Gunners Tyler Owens and John Burt overpursued and Texas appeared surprised that the Wildcats' even returned it in the first place.

**

I thought the Texas run game really got kick-started when Okafor was inserted into the game at tackle and Derek Kerstetter was pushed inside to guard. Okafor gave up a sack on his very first play in the game, but he was terrific sealing the backside on several big runs in the third and fourth quarters. I think Texas is a better run-blocking team with Okafor in the line-up. They may or may not be as good in pass protection, however.

**

Even though Ingram was the clear star of the running game, the leap by Roschon Johnson should make highlight reels. Ingram showed patience and made plenty of yards after contact.

**

Duvernay and Collin Johnson both had solid outings. Johnson had a nifty third-down snag to keep a drive alive. Duvernay was a steady contributor all game long. He never suffered a long period of disappearing like he has in other games this year.

**

The return of Caden Sterns and BJ Foster helped the Texas secondary. It didn't appear that would be the case in the first quarter. But the group eventually settled down and K-State came back to Earth. The Wildcats were making a living on the soft cushions that Texas corners and safeties were giving K-State receivers in the first quarter and then later in the game. But when Texas started pressing its corners, the K-State passing game was rendered almost useless.

**

Texas stopped the run almost all game long and what's more they contained Skyler Thompson, not allowing the QB to really ever get out of the pocket and run. It was clear that not allowing Thompson's legs to beat them was a focus of the Horns. It was never more clear than on a third-down QB draw by the Wildcats in Texas territory. The Horns sniffed it out immediately and forced a punt.

**

The cheap shot by Green was woeful. I'm not sure what he was thinking. And now he's unavailable for the first quarter of next week's contest against Iowa State.

**

The team's last two wins have both been at home, on last-second field goals, and against teams from the state of Kansas. But the other factors in those games and the ones against both TCU and Oklahoma were still apparent today. Texas played sloppy football at times. They played dumb football at times, too. The difference today compared to those other days is that the defense showed up, the Texas run game really got going and Ehlinger was clutch on the final drive. As I mentioned earlier in the week, this was a circle the wagons game for Tom Herman and Texas. Despite all of the miscues, consider it mission accomplished.

satyanash · November 10, 2019

Bobby_Batronic · November 10, 2019

Note to HornSports. We beat KU.

satyanash · November 10, 2019

(Ian Boyd) 5 quick thoughts: Texas out K-State's the Wildcats

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Texas got back on 2018 form in this one, finishing off the Wildcats at home with a last minute field goal by Cameron Dicker. Texas carefully set up the field goal to take place with time expiring by having Sam Ehlinger take some goal line slides to force timeouts from Kansas State and turn the final drive into a 13 play, 67 yard affair that drained all of the remaining 6:45 off the clock before setting up an easy Dicker game-winner with time expiring.

Things got iffy, particularly when a game-winning TD on the aforementioned final drive that came on a Sam Ehlinger QB power run was called off because Texas only had six players on the line of scrimmage rather than the required seven. Texas took the opportunity to just burn more clock rather than trying to score from eight yards out and put the game on Dicker's right foot from 26 yards out.

Overall things went more or less as Tom Herman must have wished. A typical collection of disastrous Todd Orlando blitzes on third downs led to TD drives on each of Kansas State's first two possessions and had the Longhorns down 14-0 after a quarter. From there, Texas' advantages came to bear. They out-rushed the Wildcats 214 to 51, more or less matched the expected K-State special teams playmaking, and controlled the game at the line of scrimmage in a lower-scoring slog in which Texas got only 11 possessions and allowed K-State only 10 while winning the TOP battle 31:19 to 28:41.

Quick thought no. 1: That was almost a disaster

As good as Kansas State's offensive line has been, Texas wasn't a good matchup for them and the injuries to the Wildcat RBs loomed in this contest. James Gilbert was out and speedy Jordon Brown played sparingly while the Wildcats relied instead on Harry Trotter and Tyler Burns, the third and fourth RBs on the depth chart. The entire game was largely a series of sequences in which the Longhorns stuffed the Wildcat power run game on standard downs and then it became a question of whether Orlando's zone blitzes would be picked apart by Skylar Thompson or not.

Early in the game, they were picked apart. Thompson was routinely finding Dalton Schoen and was 13-16 at one point in the game and the Wildcats finished 5-11 on third down and were on pace for a much better finish before the Longhorns tightened down on some of their schemes.

But Texas started to leverage their advantages down the stretch. Caden Sterns was crucial for helping the back end avoid busts and throws over the top and some of Texas' pressures got a little smarter and more effective. Texas mixed in some four-man fronts that allowed Malcolm Roach to rush the edge and yielded some stops on third down and they leaned a little more (although not consistently) down the stretch on some zone blitzes that

A) didn't bring DBs
B) often involved cover 2 calls over K-State's preferred sides.

B.J. Foster made a sensational play (a few, really) by getting his hand up to bat away a big pass on third and long on one of those cover 2 blitzes. He also had a sack and nearly killed one of K-State's RBs with a huge hit. This was a good matchup for Orlando, a team that lacked great athletes at WR (the better athletes in the K-State WR corps are all too young) and tries to win with bigger formations and power run sets. Texas' run blitzes, superior DL personnel, and the physical run D of players like B.J. Foster, Joseph Ossai, Juwan Mitchell, and Brandon Jones was too much. Still, for all that it looked for a moment as though Texas was going to waste all of those advantages with bad situational defense.

Quick thought no. 2: Texas pulled even on special teams and game management

Texas' decision to intentionally avoid scoring in order to waste away every one of Kansas State's timeouts late in the game was fairly rare for the college game but played well and secured the game. Lining up properly and scoring a TD on that 3rd and goal QB power run would also have done the trick but with a tie game and a phenomenal kicker, Herman did well in that situation to guarantee that the only team that could win in regulation was Texas.

There was a moment in which Texas nearly gave the entire game away with poor management. First an interception by Ehlinger when he tried to force a late throw in on a Duvernay seam route near the end zone. That drive was almost certainly ending in points before he tossed that ball on a 2nd and 8.

Later, Texas was in control with a 24-14 lead when remarkably shoddy kickoff coverage yielded a 98 yard return by Kansas State that closed the gap to 24-21 and put the Wildcats in position to tie the game. That tie was managed thanks in large part to a silly targeting penalty committed by Jalen Green, which btw will see him sit out the first half of Texas' upcoming road game against Iowa State.

But in between those costly errors was a 53-yard punt return by Brandon Jones that set up a Texas touchdown. That and Dicker's steady kicking, 55-yard missfire notwithstanding, allowed the Longhorns to hold onto this game. This team isn't smart and disciplined enough to win with Snyder-ball but they are explosive enough to try and get by due to periodic displays of game-changing athleticism.

Quick thought no. 3: The Texas offense had some wrinkles

Sam Ehlinger was 22-29 for 263 yards at 9.1 ypa with a TD and an INT. Keaontay Ingram turned 16 carries into 139 yards and a pair of TDs, one of them naturally coming on the "touchdown play." Collin Johnson had seven catches for 110 yards and a score, Devin Duvernay had nine catches for 110 yards.

Overall Texas was working the RPO game in this contest much more extensively than they have in the past. The Wildcats played a lot of two-deep coverages and without a safety down to help up front, they were unable to cover up Texas' mix of downhill zone runs and slants to Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay. Ehlinger hit both regularly, including on the game-winning drive, and chewed up Kansas State's two-deep coverages in crucial moments while opening up lanes for Ingram and the run game.

But Texas had a few tweaks in there to help everything. One was playing Reese Leitao either as an inline TE or deeper in the backfield like a fullback, so as to allow him to get out into routes or to build some momentum to execute some of the blocks. Btw, if you review the film you'll find that Texas replaced Junior Angilau by sliding Derek Kerstetter into the guard position and playing Denzel Okafor at right tackle. Okafor routinely hooked Kansas State DEs on the edge and allowed a couple of runs that bounced, he's a great run blocker which paid off in a big way.

The other tweak was subbing out the TEs when they wanted to get into the spread sets and using Malcolm Epps as a de-facto flex TE. Epps isn't a great receiver yet but he's more dangerous than Cade Brewer or Reese Leitao, which helped challenge Kansas State's matchups and create some openings for Texas' main receivers. Future opponents will catch on but Texas has a lot of run game concepts they can mix in, particularly if Ehlinger continues to be up for getting 10+ carries a week as he did today, that can allow them to punish teams that try to sub into pass-stopping defenses when Epps comes into the game.

Quick thought no. 4: There were some positive moments to build on for the defense

The pass defense still wasn't very strong, and Kansas State took them apart at times despite lacking the sorts of receivers that Texas will have to defend in future contests. There were some positives though. This defense hits another level when Brandon Jones is joined at safety by Caden Sterns and B.J. Foster. The Longhorns were able to mix in some inverted Tampa 2 with this personnel on the field and stuff the run from a conservative look and they were able to get away with SOME of Orlando's blitzes with Sterns picking up seam routes.

Juwan Mitchell and Joe Ossai are a disruptive pair of linebackers, particularly when they are allowed to focus primarily on attacking. Texas can't do that all the time, Mitchell has to drop back now and again and play smart zone pass defense, but he's certainly a weapon in the blitz package and particularly on run blitzes. The DL is dominant, believe it or not. They've done an exceptional job all year of owning the interior gaps and forcing opponents to beat Texas either on the perimeter or in the passing game, since teams have done both of those things it's appeared that the Longhorns have lacked the DL they need to win at a high level.

Malcolm Roach got to rush the edge some from a 5-technique today and showed well and Coburn and the others continue to own the A and B gaps regardless of the opponent. There are pieces here that could allow Texas to play good enough defense to still pull off a Big 12 championship. Whether they can be assembled into a strong enough unit is unclear, if you don't have major doubts you're crazy, but it's within the realm of possibility.

Quick thought no. 5: Texas needs help down the stretch but the path is visible

Baylor nearly lost on the road to TCU today but yet again wriggled away with a win. Their QB Charlie Brewer looked really off today and I've questioned all year whether his playing style (imagine Ehlinger minus 25 pounds) was going to allow him to hold up over the course of a round robin slate and lead the Bears through a tough November stretch. They finish with Oklahoma, Texas, and then a road trip at Kansas. Assuming that Texas wins out, the Longhorns need the Bears to drop one other game. Or...

Oklahoma has a tough home game today against Iowa State, then a road trip against Baylor, TCU at home, and then Oklahoma State on the road. The Longhorns would need them to lose twice if Baylor were to avoid losing any other game besides their head to head with Texas, but things could be worse in terms of standing for the playoffs.

Beyond winning out, Texas needs one of Baylor or Oklahoma each pick up a pair of losses. Texas can hand Baylor one and Oklahoma could hand them the other, which would do the trick. Or if Baylor beats Oklahoma and Texas needs the Sooners to pick up another loss it's not outside of the realm of possibility. A loss against Kansas State would have essentially ended the season for Texas and made it a wash. Instead, there's still excitement and intrigue for the month ahead.

satyanash · November 10, 2019

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

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AUSTIN, Texas — Just imagine what it might look like if Texas ever puts a complete game together this season? But, hey, at this point of 2019 — at a mini-crossroad in Tom Herman’s three-year tenure — Texas’ 27-24 victory over Kansas State might have been a disjointed 60 minutes only a mother could love, but it was a victory ... even if it took the final play to clinch it. The Longhorns’ second, walk-off victory of the season (both against the Big 12’s Kansas schools) came on a Cameron Dicker, 26-yard field goal and gives Texas a 6-3 record (4-2 Big 12) heading to Iowa State next week.

There were definitely positives to talk about:

Keaontay Ingram (16 carries for 139 yards and two touchdowns) may have played his best game, securing the hot hand with freshman Jordan Whittington watching from the sideline - available if needed. Senior receivers Devin Duvernay (nine catches for 110 yards) and Collin Johnson (seven catches for 110 yards and a touchdown) continue to show they’re one of the best receiving tandems in all of college football. And Sam Ehlinger, despite throwing an interception deep in K-State territory late in the third quarter (his sixth interception in the last three games), he turned in a gutsy performance. Ehlinger finished 22 of 29 for 263 yards and a 21-yard TD pass to Johnson, along with 14 carries for 40 yards). Defensively, Texas shut down K-State’s rushing attack, holding the Wildcats to 51 yards on 26 carries (2 yards per carry) and held KSU to 0-of-4 on third-down attempts in the second half. (The first half was another story … but more on that in a second …)

Safeties who returned from injury - Caden Sterns (five tackles) and B.J. Foster (1.5 tackles for loss, including a half sack along with Ta’Quon Graham) - both made an impact on the game and showed why they were missed. Texas finished with three sacks, including freshman T’Vondre Sweat’s first sack at Texas as well as a sack by Ayodele Adeoye. Brandon Jones was a beast, leading the team in tackles (eight), including a tackle for loss as well as a forced fumble.

Jones forced a fumble by KSU with 5:51 left in the second quarter, giving Texas the ball at the UT 38. But five plays later, Texas punted. (The last five turnovers forced by Texas have led to zero points by the UT offense, dating to the OU game.) In fact, it was a sequence involving Jones on special teams that was totally symbolic of the Longhorns’ season. Texas, which ranked dead last in FBS on punt returns coming into Saturday, finally made a big play on a punt return this season, only to follow it up with a special teams nightmare.

Yes, there was a signs-of-the-Apocalypse. A 53-yard punt return by Jones that helped set up a Keaontay Ingram 12-yard touchdown run for a 24-14 lead was completely outdone 14 seconds later by a 98-yard kick return by K-State freshman Joshua Youngblood. K-State would add a field goal with 6:45 left to tie the game at 24-24. Texas answered with a 13-play, 67-yard drive to Dicker’s game-winning field goal that included two of the Longhorns’ nine penalties for 85 yards.

What went right for Texas:

Gutting out a penalty-plagued, 13-play drive that took 6:45 off the clock, capped by Cameron Dicker's game-winning, 26-yard field goal was enormous. The Longhorns' running game and third-down defense improved tremendously in the second half, which proved to be the difference in the game.

PUNT RETURN - YES PUNT RETURN - SETS UP TEXAS TD: The Texas defense forced a punt after Ehlinger threw an interception at the K-State goal line, and Brandon Jones returned KSU’s punt 53 yards to the Wildcats’ 21. After a 5-yard pass from Ehlinger to Collin Johnson and a 4-yard run by Ehlinger, Keaontay Ingram ran over left guard for a 12-yard touchdown, putting Texas up 24-14 with 12:17 left.

Roschon Johnson broke a tackle at the line and then jumped over a K-State defender (safety Denzel Goolsby - the same guy Ehlinger trucked two years ago) and picked up another 7 yards on a 20-yard run to the UT 44 with five minutes left in the third quarter. B.J. Foster went high in the air to break up a pass on third-and-10 with 6:42 left in the third quarter, forcing a K-State punt. It was Foster’s second big play on third down as he was also credited with a combined sack (with Ta’Quon Graham) for a 4-yard loss on third-and-10 in the final two minutes of the second quarter, forcing a punt.

DICKER FIELD GOAL GIVES TEXAS 17-14 LEAD: First-and-goal from the K-State 6 turned into third-and-goal from the 29 after an illegal block in the back flag on Sam Ehlinger on a reverse on first down, followed by a personal foul (unnecessary roughness) on Parker Braun for a late hit. Texas salvaged a 36-yard, Dicker field goal, taking a 17-14 lead with 9:02 left in the third quarter.

TEXAS FOUR-PLAY TD DRIVE TIES GAME 14-14: Texas opened the second half with a 20-yard run by Keaontay Ingram, a 7-yard pass from Ehlinger to Eagles and a 14-yard pass to Collin Johnson before running an option pitch left, taken 34 yards for a TD by Ingram. That capped a four-play, 75-yard drive that took 1:43 off the clock and tied the game 14-14 with 13:17 left in the third quarter. Chris Naggar’s first punt was 47 yards, downed at the KSU 19, and his second attempt was 43 yards, downed at the KSU 8.

JONES FORCES FUMBLE IN SECOND QUARTER: Brandon Jones stripped the ball from K-State fullback Mason Barta, and it was recovered by Moro Ojomo at the Texas 38 with 5:51 left in the second quarter. The forced turnover ended a 10-play, 37-yard drive by KSU to the Texas 39 that had taken 6:12 off the clock.

Marqez Bimage stunted to the inside as part of a four-man line on second-and-9, and Ayodele Adeoye tracked down Skylar Thompson for a 2-yard TFL in the second quarter. T'Vondre Sweat recorded his first sack of the season for a 4-yard loss late in the first quarter, helping force a KSU punt on K-State’s third possession of the game.

What went wrong for Texas:

Going down 14-0 to start the game as K-State QB Skylar Thompson opened the game 13 of 15 passing for a career-high 218 yards ... too many penalties (including Jalen Green being ejected for targeting in the second half) ... a jekyl-and-hyde defensive effort on third-down in the first half, another turnover in the opponent red zone in the second half … to name a few. K-State opened the game 5-of-6 on third-down conversions, including a third-and-3 that turned into a 70-yard, catch-and-run, touchdown pass, a third-and-9 and a third-and-11. (But UT held KSU without a third-down conversion in the second half - 0-4.)

Texas was flagged for illegal formation (more than four men in the backfield), negating a 3-yard touchdown run by Ehlinger with 39 seconds left in the game. Samuel Cosmi drew his second flag for holding, this time on a 7-yard run by Ehlinger with 5:25 left to play with Texas trying to drive for a go-ahead score. Instead of second-and-3 at the KSU 41, Texas had first-and-20 from the UT 42. (Texas ended up converting.)

Jalen Green was ejected from the game for targeting with 7:55 left (and will miss the first half of next week’s game at Iowa State). Completely away from the play (a stop of K-State’s Jordon Brown for no gain by Malcolm Roach and Ta'Quon Graham), Green went helmet to helmet with an unsuspecting Wykeen Gill, who scored a TD for K-State in the first quarter.)

K-STATE 98-YARD KICK RETURN CUTS UT LEAD TO 24-21: A 10-point lead for Texas (after a 53-yard punt return by Brandon Jones set up a 12-yard TD run by Keaontay Ingram) lasted all of 14 seconds. That’s all it took for K-State freshman Joshua Youngblood to return the ensuing kickoff 98 yards, cutting UT’s lead to 24-21 with 12:03 left. A 10-play drive into K-State’s red zone ended with Ehlinger throwing his sixth interception in the last three games (picked off at the K-State 2).

First-and-goal from the K-State 6 turned into third-and-goal from the 29 after an illegal block in the back flag on Sam Ehlinger on a reverse on first down, followed by a personal foul (unnecessary roughness) on Parker Braun for a late hit. Texas salvaged a 36-yard, Dicker field goal, taking a 17-14 lead with 9:02 left in the third quarter. A holding call on Collin Johnson negated a 12-yard pass from Ehlinger to Duvernay. Instead of first down at the K-State 10, Texas had second-and-8 from the KSU 28, and Ehlinger threw an interception on the next play.

A false start on Parker Braun turned third-and-2 into third-and-7 with 3:19 left in the third quarter. (Ehlinger converted the third down with a 10-yard pass to Collin Johnson.) Malcolm Roach was called for being offside on third-and-4 with 8:11 left in the third quarter. But a replay showed K-State was guilty of a delay of game before Roach jumped. Right guard Junior Angilau hobbled off the field, favoring his left leg, with 4:01 left in the second quarter and was replaced by Derek Kerstetter as Denzel Okafor then replaced Kerstetter at right tackle. Texas announced in the third quarter Angilau had suffered a knee injury and wouldn’t return to the game.

A holding call on Sam Cosmi negated a 29-yard pass from Ehlinger to Devin Duvernay on the second-to-last play of the first quarter. Instead of first down at the Texas 49, UT had first-and-20 from the UT 10. Ehlinger didn’t seem to know where the line to gain was on third-and-1 from the UT 34 on Texas’ second drive of the game, falling just short on his rushing attempt, leading to a three-and-out.

On K-State’s first three third-downs, Todd Orlando brought pressure, and Skylar Thompson made the Longhorns’ pay: converting third-and-5 with 70-yard, catch-and-run touchdown pass; converting third-and-3 with a 21-yard completion; and third-and-9 with a 14-yard completion that extended a drive to a KSU TD that put the Wildcats up 14-0. On KSU’s fourth, third-down, Orlando didn’t bring pressure, and the Horns got K-State off the field.

KSU CONVERTS THIRD-AND-9 EN ROUTE TO 14-0 LEAD: With Texas blitzing a safety from depth, Skylar Thompson found Dalton Schoen on a crossing route on third-and-9 from the UT 34 for a 14-yard gain, setting up a 19-yard TD pass from Thompson to Wykeen Gill. That put K-State up 14-0 with 5:18 left in the first quarter. K-State converted third-and-3 on a crossing route pass from Thompson to Schoen for 21 yards on KSU’s second drive of the game. Ehlinger was sacked on third-and-10 for a 3-yard loss on UT’s first offensive possession, prompting Tom Herman to send Cameron Dicker out for a 55-yard field goal attempt into the wind. Dicker’s kick was wide left with 9:35 left in the first quarter.

K-STATE GOES UP 7-0 ON 70-YARD, THIRD-DOWN TD PASS: K-State motioned receiver Malik Knowles into the backfield on third-and-5 from the KSU 30, and then sent Knowles into the left flat, where no one picked him up. Knowles caught Skylar Thompson’s pass, made Brandon Jones miss and ran, untouched into the end zone for a 70-yard, catch-and-run score that put KSU up, 7-0, with 13:26 left in the first quarter. With K-State limiting opponents to an average of 57 plays per game, why would Texas defer the ball until the second half and not try to get things going offensively right away? My two cents.

OTHER NOTABLES:

The last five turnovers forced by the Texas defense have led to zero points by the Texas offense. Kansas State was without leading rusher James Gilbert (ankle) and top cornerback A.J. Parker (ankle). Jalen Green started at right cornerback (ahead of D’Shawn Jamison) while Anthony Cook started started at left cornerback.

satyanash · November 10, 2019

Zavala · November 10, 2019

25 minutes ago, satyanash said:

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

Fuck em

satyanash · November 10, 2019

Joseph Cook: Second-half defense, run game leads Texas past K-State, 27-24

Quote

Kansas State kicker Blake Lynch’s 45-yard field goal sailed through the uprights with 6:45 remaining. His boot tied the game at 24 just minutes after his teammate Joshua Youngblood’s 98-yard kickoff return made it 24-21 Texas. When Texas got the ball back, it had no plans to let Kansas State get another chance. Texas held onto the ball for 6:42, driving 67 yards on 12 plays.

With three seconds left, Cameron Dicker trotted onto the field needing to hit a 26-yarder to give Texas another last-second win over a Big 12 member from Kansas. Longhorn head coach Tom Herman called his final timeout, guaranteeing there would be no icing of Dicker from either side. Justin Mader’s snap found Chris Naggar’s hands, and Dicker’s foot sent the ball through the uprights for a 27-24 Texas win.

Malcolm Roach anticipated having to play defense one more time after Lynch’s original field goal. His side of the ball limited KSU to just 58 second half yards. He thought KSU would have an opportunity at more until Texas was putting the final touches on its game-winning drive with kneel downs from Sam Ehlinger. “I thought we were going to go back out there,” Roach said. “At the beginning of the drive, I thought the offense was going to go down there and get points and we would have to go out there and stop them again. Offense did a great job of imposing their will. O-line, great job.”

That offensive line, and the offense in general, controlled a significant portion of the game on the ground against the Wildcats. Texas won the time of possession battle 31:19 to 28:41 against a team that was previously No. 3 nationally in the statistic. That control, especially the last 6:45 of it, boosted Texas to a win over the No. 16 team in the College Football Playoff rankings.

The rushing attack, led by sophomore Keaontay Ingram’s 141 yards and two scores and including a 34-yard third quarter score, was pivotal toward Texas gaining bowl eligibility. It was part of a 228-yard day on the ground for Texas. “I think he’s playing with a ton of confidence right now,” Herman said of Ingram. “He’s 230 pounds, guys. I don’t know what he played at last year, but he’s a lot more confident in his body. He’s a lot more confident in his strength and his power, and the last few week’s he’s been playing at a really good level.”

Texas’ final drive was composed of several hallmarks of the Longhorns season; an almost-debilitating holding penalty, big Ingram runs, a third-and-long conversion from Ehlinger to Devin Duvernay, a RPO to Duvernay, and intriguing play calling near the goal line. Through it all, Texas was able to finish the 13-play drive in order to secure win No. 6. The Longhorns fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter both times due to trouble with 3rd down defense. The Wildcats first score was a 70-yard touchdown pass from Skylar Thompson to Malik Knowles on the fifth play of the game. Their second score capped an eight-play drive with two different double-digit gains on third down.

Though Kansas State continued to have success on offense, none of their ensuing first-half drives resulted in points. The first drive after the second Wildcat touchdown ended in a punt, followed by a fumble recovered by Texas, then another punt. Thompson tallied 217 yards through the air in the first half, one yard shy of his career-best 218. Though he finished with a new high mark of 253, he only was able to throw for 36 yards in the second half.

Thompson and the KSU passing attack was the only part of the Wildcat offense that benefitted from a fast start. Kansas State rushed for 29 yards in the first half followed by 22 in the second half. The hot start helped KSU convert on five of its first seven third down attempts. After that, Texas’ defense limited KSU to zero third down conversions. “We played better on 1st and 2nd down to make those 3rd downs a lot longer,” Herman said of the improvement on money downs. “We executed at a much higher level. We did our jobs.”

On offense, Ehlinger was able to add another touchdown pass to his name when he found Collin Johnson for a 21-yard score in the second quarter. Ehlinger became the third Texas QB to pass for 60 touchdowns in his career, and the third player in school history to total over 9,000 yards of offense in his career. The other two touchdowns came via Ingram, one the 34-yarder in the third quarter, the other a 12-yard run early in the fourth.

After the game, Herman praised his team’s ability to navigate through any outside noise and play for each other in order to win. He mentioned there was “misinformation” said and written about the team, but his team showed togetherness and love of each other in order to overcome it and earn the victory. It was despite a 14-0 deficit. It was despite an average day from Ehlinger. It was despite 5-4 staring them in the face. Instead, Texas is 6-3 and still has a chance to get to Arlington to play for the Big 12 Championship.

Levi · November 10, 2019

what is this supposed to mean?

TwiceHorn · November 10, 2019

We? Who is we? You are not a package deal, asshole. And the package sucks, by the way.

Edited November 10, 2019 by TwiceHorn

satyanash · November 10, 2019

(Jeff Howe) Texas overcoming 'misinformation' makes win over K-State sweeter

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AUSTIN, Texas — Tom Herman has often talked about how the culture within his Texas program is such that the opinions of the players, coaches and staff members within the organization are the only opinions that matter. With that said, the Texas head coach took issue with what he said following a 27-24 win over No. 16 Kansas State on Saturday has been misinformation written and said about the state of his team in recent weeks.

Texas (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) needed the comeback victory over K-State (6-3, 3-3) in a bad way. A 37-27 loss to TCU on Oct. 26 sent the Longhorns into an open date on the schedule coming off of a run of games where they needed a walk-off field goal to beat lowly Kansas at home on Oct. 19, 50-48, and looked out of sync in an Oct. 5 road win over West Virginia, 42-31.

The Longhorns remain squarely in the mix for a berth in the Big 12 championship game with the victory over the Wildcats. After calling Saturday’s effort where his charges had to battle back from a 14-0 deficit in the first quarter a “fantastic team win” in his opening statement. Herman took the media to task for reports he felt painted an inaccurate portrait of the current state of affairs on the Forty Acres.

“With what these guys have been through these last few weeks and all the misinformation that's been out there and said and written about this team and the attitude and togetherness of this team — teams that aren't together, teams that don't love each other, teams that are splintered, teams that are selfish don't go down 14-0,” Herman said.

“We can't get off the field on defense, can't do anything on offense, teams that are all those things, they splinter and it turns into a blowout. They wave the white flag and it could have been a really, really bad scene in DKR. The win is obviously very important for us in what we wanted to accomplish tonight, but the way that it happened, to go down 14-0 in the blink of an eye in the first two drives. Obviously, we had the awful special teams mistake (a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by K-State’s Joshua Youngblood in the fourth quarter) that led to a touchdown, but then to outscore them 27-3 from an offensive and defensive perspective, to have more time of possession and the (No. 3-ranked) team in the country [in] the time of possession, to rush for 214 yards... and hold them to 51 yards rushing, teams that don't believe, teams that don't have confidence, teams that aren't together and play for each other, that doesn't happen,” he added. “Obviously, extremely proud of the win, but maybe — not maybe — definitely, more importantly, the things that this crew has been through these last few weeks, to overcome what they overcame, it was special. I'm really proud of them.”

Asked a few moments later about “what’s bothered him specifically about what’s apparently been out there,” Herman referred to comments he made Thursday on two different occasions.

“I've been on record both on my radio show and Thursday night just when people print, you know, fifth-hand information and it gets said as fact — that's irresponsible, in my opinion,” Herman said. “But, you know, it comes with the territory. We knew what we signed up for when we came to Texas and the fans have very high expectations, as they should, and we do too. We know the pulse of the team and we know those guys in that locker room, really, really, really do a great job playing for each other.”

Prior to the recent good fortune the Longhorns have come into beginning with the commitment of Hutto athlete Dajon Harrison to the 2020 class, the current recruiting cycle saw the Longhorns lose three verbal commitments — Manor four-star defensive end Princely Umanmielen, four-star Aldine MacArthur cornerback Joshua Eaton and four-star Winter Park (Fla.) cornerback Ethan Pouncey — in the month of October.

More pertinent to Herman’s concern about perceived internal strife, Texas has recently seen true freshman offensive lineman Javonne Shepherd and sophomore wide receiver Jordan Pouncey enter the NCAA transfer portal (Herman, for what it’s worth, offered nothing but praise for Pouncey on Thursday, calling him an “unbelievable teammates” who “did a lot of really good things” while wishing him well in the future, wherever he winds up next).

What seemed to serve as the burr under Herman’s saddle were online reports of players said to be having a tough time dealing with the rough patch the Longhorns (and perhaps the players personally) were going through. Herman addressed the topic following Thursday’s practice when asked if he completed the one-on-one interviews he had scheduled with members of the 2019 recruiting class.

Telling reporters during his weekly press conference on Monday that he had a few interviews left to go, Herman said Thursday the interviews were completed. “They’re great,” Herman said when asked about the status of his relationships with the 2019 signees. At that point, Herman outlined the kind of potential scenario he’s found to be unsavory.

“I said on my radio show today that, you know, stuff that gets reported, that industry plays a giant game of telephone. You know, the little kid game that you whisper and it's, you know, mom calls Johnny: 'Johnny. How you doing?' [Johnny:] ‘Mom, it's hard. You know, it's a grind,’” Herman said. “Mom calls dad: 'Hey, I just talked to Johnny. He says it's really hard. I don't really like the way sounds. Dad calls high school coach or trainer: ‘Hey, Johnny, sounds real unhappy. We're not quite sure.’ Then, trainer or high school coach or whoever calls internet guy and says, 'Hey, Johnny's really unhappy at Texas He's not quite sure about anything. And then, you know, that's what's printed.

“The good thing is that I've got the best seat in the house,” he added. “These are all young men that are very mature and are very honest and it has been a joy to be around them last week and then, obviously, on Monday, to get their perspective and really, truthfully be reassured by all of them that, yeah, being a freshman, especially those guys that got here in June, it's really hard Week 9, Week 10 of the season getting adjusted to everything. But all of them are very committed to this program and to fighting through the wall that they hit and I'm proud of them. Really proud of them.”

What Herman was also proud of following the win was that the Longhorns head into next week’s road game at Iowa State (5-4, 3-3) carrying a few positives with them. Texas won the rushing yardage battle over K-State in a landslide, 214-51, the defense forced a turnover and kept the Wildcats out of the end zone in the second half (2.76 yards per play allowed, 0-for-4 on third-down conversions), and the kicking game turned a 53-yard punt return by Brandon Jones (which set up a 12-yard touchdown run by Keaontay Ingram in the fourth quarter) along with a 26-yard game-winning field goal at the gun by Cameron Dicker.

With a largely forgettable October in their rearview mirror, Texas will travel to Ames next Saturday (2:30 p.m., FS1) feeling good about where things stand for the first time in what feels like a long time. “Obviously, we put ourselves on the ropes and we took a step towards swinging and clawing and scratching our way off, but we know we've got to go on the road this week and continue to try to get off the ropes,” Herman said. “But doing it with this level of confidence helps.”

Nowhichski · November 10, 2019

Thanks for posting all of these.

satyanash · November 10, 2019

(Kaelen Jones) ‘We showed y’all’: It took a long drive and walk-off field goal, but Texas proved it’s not done yet

Quote

AUSTIN, Texas — Lately, this season has felt like a long one for Texas. Beginning with high expectations, it seemingly dissolved into hopes dashed, particularly during recent weeks. But Saturday night, UT staged a possession that was one of its longest of the season and most significant. The game-winning drive against No. 16 Kansas State ensured that, at least for one more week, the Longhorns’ goal of reaching the Big 12 title game remained a possibility.

Sophomore kicker Cameron Dicker drilled a 26-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the Longhorns to a 27-24 win. UT (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) consumed the final 6:45, waging a 13-play, 67-yard drive in front of 97,833 inside Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The Wildcats entered the game ninth in the country in time of possession. However, as senior receiver Collin Johnson acknowledged, the Longhorns — which out-possessed KSU 31:19 to 28:41 — beat the visitors at their own game, with the final drive serving as proof.

“(There was) just belief in each other,” Johnson said. “I’m just proud of these guys, this offense and this team.” The Longhorns used a 24-0 run to overcome an early 14-0 deficit. That, in addition to the resolve players showed, is what impressed third-year coach Tom Herman perhaps the most. “Extremely proud of the win,” Herman said. “But maybe … more importantly, the things that this crew has been through these last few weeks, to overcome what they overcame, it was special. I’m really proud of them.”

Prior to an idle week, UT had gone 2-2 in its previous four games, the most recent result a disappointing loss at TCU. During the break, Herman preached that his squad faced a period in which it could either fold or fight its way “off the ropes.” The Longhorns have insisted they’re choosing the latter.

That fortitude was put to the test midway through the fourth quarter Saturday night. After UT jumped out to a 10-point advantage just five minutes prior, the Wildcats evened the score at 24 on kicker Blake Lynch’s 45-yard field goal. The momentum UT had built waned. But the Longhorns, whose offense had been inconsistent in recent weeks, put together one of their most important drives of the year.

It started off hot. Beginning at UT’s 25, junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger hit Johnson for 14. Sophomore Keaontay Ingram — who rushed for a career high 139 yards and two touchdowns — scurried up the middle for a 13-yard gain to the Kansas State 48. But then the series sputtered. Star left tackle Samuel Cosmi was flagged for holding. Ingram bulldozed for 5 yards. Ehlinger was forced to freelance and scrambled for a yard. It put the Longhorns into a third-and-14 from their own 48 with 3:45 left. Texas had gone from controlling the affair to suddenly being on the verge of watching its season slip away.

But Ehlinger hung in the pocket and fired a throw to the far sideline, into the lap of senior receiver Devin Duvernay — who finished with nine catches for 110 yards — for a clutch 18-yard pickup to the KSU 34. Ehlinger described it as the most important play of the drive. “(KSU) brought pressure, and the O-line did a great job giving me time,” he said. “I knew Devin was gonna win on his route.”

UT marched along, forcing KSU to exhaust its remaining timeouts. Entering third-and-goal at KSU’s 3 with 43 seconds left, the Longhorns faced a massive decision: attempt to score a go-ahead touchdown and leave time on the clock for the Wildcats or try to drain as much clock as possible and set up a field goal attempt. Ehlinger and UT’s offensive linemen convinced Herman, who wanted to eat clock and settle for a field goal, to call a quarterback run.

“(Herman) came over,” Ehlinger explained, “and he was like, ‘No, we’re gonna set the ball up, let the time run down.’” But Ehlinger wanted to go for six. “‘Coach. C’mon,’” Ehlinger pleaded. “‘Like, if I don’t get it, then we can call a timeout and it would be in the same spot.’” So the Longhorns called the designed run for Ehlinger, who plowed off the left side of the formation and into the end zone to a thunderous roar of cheers and a celebratory hug from senior center Zach Shackelford. The clock showed 39 seconds remaining.

The Wildcats, who scored on a 98-yard kickoff return earlier in the quarter, were in line to get another opportunity to potentially tie the score. However, they never got the ball. The Longhorns’ go-ahead touchdown was called back because they were flagged for an illegal formation, moving them back 5 yards and forcing a replay of the down. “Now, looking back at it, we didn’t give them a chance to get the ball back,” Ehlinger said, grinning.

“I said the gods were kind of shining on us that we lined up in an illegal formation when Sam scored,” Herman added. “Because that probably wasn’t the prudent thing to do. I got talked into it by the O-line and Sam, but to be able to milk that thing all the way down to three seconds with the kicker and unit that we have was (the smart thing to do).” Ehlinger’s number was called again, but this time he didn’t gain any yards. Instead, he centered the ball between the hashes, positioning Dicker’s upcoming kick in the middle of the field. Ehlinger acknowledged it was the right thing to do.

“As bad as we wanted to score to cap off that drive,” Ehlinger conceded, “the smart thing was to set up the field goal and not allow them to get back on the field.” So with three seconds remaining, Herman used UT’s final timeout and sent out Dicker, who kicked a game-winner the last time the Longhorns played at home when he drilled a 33-yard field goal against Kansas.

He got the same result. Dicker knocked in his 26-yarder, earning a chorus of his name from the student section once again. But unlike the victory against Kansas, UT didn’t need to feel as though it had escaped. The Longhorns earned Saturday’s result, outplaying the Wildcats for roughly three quarters. That wasn’t the case initially, though. UT’s pass defense looked just as leaky as it has throughout much of the season, conceding a 70-yard touchdown on Skylar Thompson’s first throw of the game. By halftime, he nearly set a career high for passing yards with 217 through two quarters. KSU converted on five of its first six third-down attempts, with all five coming through the air.

But the Longhorns battled back. As the Wildcats found success through the air in the second quarter, UT managed to force a turnover when senior safety Brandon Jones stripped KSU fullback Mason Barta and UT defensive lineman Moro Ojomo scooped up the ball. The Wildcats held a 14-7 lead going into halftime. In the second half, the Longhorns pass defense rebounded in a huge way, holding Thompson to just 36 total passing yards through the third and fourth quarters. It made way for Ingram’s rushing scores of 34 and 12 yards, respectively, to push the Longhorns ahead 24-14 early in the fourth.

Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando’s unit has experienced a lot of scrutiny over the past month. But UT’s defense, boosted by the return of starting sophomore safeties Caden Sterns (five total tackles) and B.J. Foster (three total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks), rallied, finishing with three sacks and six tackles for loss. It held KSU’s rushing attack to 51 rushing yards on 26 carries (2.0 yards per carry); KSU had entered averaging 199.3 rush yards per game (32nd nationally).

“We showed y’all that this is what happens when we’re fully healthy,” redshirt freshman nose guard Keondre Coburn said. “This is a great team. Unbelievable team.”

The total effort has kept the Longhorns’ goal for the year alive. On Saturday, they found a way to manufacture one of their most complete outings of the season — at the very least, in the past month. Herman on Saturday bristled at critiques of his squad’s unity throughout UT’s rough stretch. He’s insisted that the Longhorns remain determined to finish the year strong. Perhaps now there is reason to believe that sentiment isn’t unfounded, even as they prepare for a tough Iowa State team on the road next week.

“Obviously, we put ourselves on the ropes,” Herman said. “And we took a step toward swinging and clawing and scratching our way off. But we know we’ve got to go on the road this week and continue to try to get off the ropes. But doing it with this level of confidence helps.”

Girdwood · November 10, 2019

Winning is really, really hard.

LTtxfan · November 10, 2019

Thx for the articles @satyanash !!!

satyanash · November 10, 2019

18 hours ago, DoneWithit said:

what is this supposed to mean?

There were reports from the media/$9.95-ers after the TCU game that Orlando had lost the locker room, players were unhappy w/ Herman, etc. etc. Herman didn't like it (obviously)

Levi · November 10, 2019

22 minutes ago, satyanash said:

There were reports from the media/$9.95-ers after the TCU game that Orlando had lost the locker room, players were unhappy w/ Herman, etc. etc. Herman didn't like it (obviously)

I believe he’s got a point to a certain extent. We really don’t know what is going on inside the locker room and when the team starts to decline, sometimes people try to connect dots to fit their opinion of the situation. In reality it’s not as bad as we think and should just take things with a grain of salt.

Yesterday’s game proved the narrative of how the coaches lost the locker room might be exaggerated. Texas was absolutely gashed on those first two drives and looked incompetent of doing anything football related. I’m not going lie, I thought it was over and the team was going to throw in the towel. Ultimately though, they fought their asses off and played great football in the second half.

Edited November 10, 2019 by DoneWithit

satyanash · November 10, 2019

El Hornarino · November 11, 2019

The only thing I like reading...

Coach V Grades - Offense

Our offense consisted of several big time individual efforts mixed with a bunch of “let’s try this” along the way. That’s what you get when your chief play-caller has too many hats to wear. This offense is in dire need of a leader that has both the time and desire to grow and develop a well oiled machine. The flea-flicker from the 20 worked for a td—the reverse from goal to goal 6 captured a loss and a penalty. Neither is a high percentage strategy and speaks volumes for our current situation. Here are the grades:

1—Burt—borderline

2—Johnson—pass

6—Duvernay—pass+

9—Johnson—pass+

11—Ehlinger—-pass+

13—Eagles—pass

18—Wiley—borderline

26—Ingram—pass+

52—Cosmi—pass

56—Shackelford—pass

68—Kerstetter—pass

73—Braun—pass

75—Angilau—pass

78—Okafor—pass

81—Leitao—borderline

83—Woodard—pass

85—Epps—pass

Okafor (78) was big hit or big miss at RT. He had several quality run blocks but also whiffed on a couple of stunts.

Braun (73) had a bunch of good plays and a bad decision penalty.

Cosmi (52) had a very average game for him. Two penalty hurt and he didn’t finish three blocks which is unusual for him.

Shack (56) had a good game overall. He had three big time blocks but lost contact on several more.

Kerstetter (68) probably had the best game overall. He had success at both RT and then RG. He has had a really sweet year so far.

Leitao (81) and Wiley (18) did not have good games. With a full time OC I doubt we would have played either TE very much. It’ s a shame the head man can’t run any offense without a TE because these two are not among our best 11 offensive players, which is how they describe we will play the game—you know, best 11 plays. I call BS.

Johnson (9) had a good game but did miss-align on the GL where we scored but Johnson made 5 in the backfield. Another fine example of our attention to detail with this staff. You know, accountability matters. I call another BS.

Duvernay (6) is the most dependable weapon we have on offense. Why don’t we have more packages for Devin? Never mind.

Ehlinger (11) played well period. He did underthrow on his interception but of his bullets were on target. He ran the ball with conviction.

Johnson (2) had one “hold your breath” carry were he hurdled a diving defender. This guy is a player. Blocking, receiving, and knowledge rates super high. Who wouldn’t thunk a high school QB would have saved our bacon in as many ways as Roschon has?

Ingram (26) is the player of the game. It’s fun to watch him play when he’s healthy. He has had a tough year in the pass receiving department. He lost contact with Sam again yesterday.

This is one sad collection of sharp arrows in a very narrow minded quiver. The kids deserve better. So do the fans.

Edited November 11, 2019 by El Hornarino

El Hornarino · November 11, 2019

Coach V Grades - Defense

It took exactly three plays for our dab signal caller to put his imprint on the game. True to form on third and eight our dab dialed up a dumb-ass-blitz (dab from here forward) which spotted the cats an uncontested seventy yards and seven points. Anyone else wonder if the RB was just out to practice early or did we actually have a defender (40) assigned coverage. Some might think we work on these things but do we really teach a damn thing once we call one of our well protected all-out blitzes. By the way, you cold have fooled me if you answered (yes) we cover every possibility.

Here are the grades:

3—Green—borderline

4—Cook—borderline

5—Jamison—pass

6—Mitchell—borderline

7—Sterns—pass

19—Jones—pass

25—Foster—pass

32—Roach—pass

39—Estell—borderline

40—Adeoye—borderline

42—Bimage—pass

46—Ossai—borderline

49—Graham—pass

93—Sweat—pass+

98—Ojomo—pass+

99—Coburn—pass

We just don’t play well coached. We have had nine games and the same mistakes are still being committed by the same cast of characters. The three big guys (93, 98, and 99) make fewer mistakes and grade better than any other position group on defense. The three DE’s (32, 49, and 42) play well against the run but struggle maintaining integrity in rushing lanes due to the lack of scheme coordination.

The LB’s (40 and 6) lack aggressive attacks on blocking scheme (they stand still too long). They take the poorest angles known to man (watch 40 on the second play) and his read on the third play is typical. This group is not well versed in fundamental linebacker play, they don’t understand scraping nor active participation in underneath coverage. Neither is a smart blitzer—both have sacks but the percentage is bad..

(46) is absolutely out of position. He is a classic “box” player with accent on edge fundamentals. He did not play well yesterday in space nor as a DE in a 4 man line. He needs a coach. (50) played one game a while back and flashed good things along with the typical mistakes but the effort to play with passion and emotion was evident.

The corners (3, 4, 5, and 38) have been reduced to playing with tremendous “cushion” until yesterday when we finally decided to play the damn game up in the WR faces. All four corners give up contain too easily on the screens. They don’t attempt to beat the outside shoulder of the WR—they get “hooked” much to often. It’s been pretty obvious that this group doesn’t play the ball in the air very well. Wonder if their practice time consists of one half cushioning and a lengthy session of delayed corner stunts.

The safeties (7, 15, 19, 25, 31, and 39 ) all have tackling issues to go along with poor angles and busted assignments. One might believe this should be our strongest position group since we play 3 on most downs but the fact of the matter is this group usually grades out poorly as a whole. They are called on to be big blitzers but seldom make it on time to hit the QB. They absolutely don’t understand rushing lanes (often running into the back of another blitzer.)

We don’t play smart enough to be considered a good defense. We are not consistent enough to dominate any offense. We make too many mistakes and busted coverages to be very sound. We probably lead the big 12 in missed tackles. We aren’t getting our share of turnovers. We must lead the conference in unsound alignments.

I have a hard time understanding how all these 4 and 5 stars could be as poorly organized and developed and yet I’m seeing it with my own two eyes and it never seems to change. The kids deserve better. It’s worse than sad.

ClubWhatever · November 11, 2019

22 hours ago, El Hornarino said:

Coach V Grades - Defense

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It took exactly three plays for our dab signal caller to put his imprint on the game. True to form on third and eight our dab dialed up a dumb-ass-blitz (dab from here forward) which spotted the cats an uncontested seventy yards and seven points. Anyone else wonder if the RB was just out to practice early or did we actually have a defender (40) assigned coverage. Some might think we work on these things but do we really teach a damn thing once we call one of our well protected all-out blitzes. By the way, you cold have fooled me if you answered (yes) we cover every possibility.

Here are the grades:

3—Green—borderline

4—Cook—borderline

5—Jamison—pass

6—Mitchell—borderline

7—Sterns—pass

19—Jones—pass

25—Foster—pass

32—Roach—pass

39—Estell—borderline

40—Adeoye—borderline

42—Bimage—pass

46—Ossai—borderline

49—Graham—pass

93—Sweat—pass+

98—Ojomo—pass+

99—Coburn—pass

We just don’t play well coached. We have had nine games and the same mistakes are still being committed by the same cast of characters. The three big guys (93, 98, and 99) make fewer mistakes and grade better than any other position group on defense. The three DE’s (32, 49, and 42) play well against the run but struggle maintaining integrity in rushing lanes due to the lack of scheme coordination.

The LB’s (40 and 6) lack aggressive attacks on blocking scheme (they stand still too long). They take the poorest angles known to man (watch 40 on the second play) and his read on the third play is typical. This group is not well versed in fundamental linebacker play, they don’t understand scraping nor active participation in underneath coverage. Neither is a smart blitzer—both have sacks but the percentage is bad..

(46) is absolutely out of position. He is a classic “box” player with accent on edge fundamentals. He did not play well yesterday in space nor as a DE in a 4 man line. He needs a coach. (50) played one game a while back and flashed good things along with the typical mistakes but the effort to play with passion and emotion was evident.

The corners (3, 4, 5, and 38) have been reduced to playing with tremendous “cushion” until yesterday when we finally decided to play the damn game up in the WR faces. All four corners give up contain too easily on the screens. They don’t attempt to beat the outside shoulder of the WR—they get “hooked” much to often. It’s been pretty obvious that this group doesn’t play the ball in the air very well. Wonder if their practice time consists of one half cushioning and a lengthy session of delayed corner stunts.

The safeties (7, 15, 19, 25, 31, and 39 ) all have tackling issues to go along with poor angles and busted assignments. One might believe this should be our strongest position group since we play 3 on most downs but the fact of the matter is this group usually grades out poorly as a whole. They are called on to be big blitzers but seldom make it on time to hit the QB. They absolutely don’t understand rushing lanes (often running into the back of another blitzer.)

We don’t play smart enough to be considered a good defense. We are not consistent enough to dominate any offense. We make too many mistakes and busted coverages to be very sound. We probably lead the big 12 in missed tackles. We aren’t getting our share of turnovers. We must lead the conference in unsound alignments.

I have a hard time understanding how all these 4 and 5 stars could be as poorly organized and developed and yet I’m seeing it with my own two eyes and it never seems to change. The kids deserve better. It’s worse than sad.

That last paragraph. Ouch

pacman · November 12, 2019

Damn, Coach V has checked out on this coaching staff. Shit. Me too.

satyanash · November 12, 2019

(Scipio Tex) Kansas State Postmortem: Offense

Quote

The Longhorns showed much more diversity in the running game and a newfound commitment to moving wide receivers around hunting match-ups married to a real commitment to the RPO game and various forms of play action (RPOs aplenty, a good flea flicker call). The result was the best running effort of the season (5.9 yards per carry, including sack yardage) and some wide open looks in the passing game. As I wrote in my preview, KSU's defense is incredibly deceptive in that they can be gashed pretty easily for big plays, but play well situation-ally and KSU's overall tactic to manage game clock and possessions pumps them up artificially. Texas didn't fall into OU/TCU offensive play-calling lethargy for long spells and converted 41.7% on money downs. While that's not great, it nearly doubled what KSU had allowed to date. The more encouraging thing is that the offensive staff did some tendency scouting and hit the Wildcats hard on some play calls that were pretty clearly targeted to their cheats on their scout of our offense.

While the first half was hamstrung by an inability to convert on money downs (Texas was 5 of 12 for the game on 3rd and 4th down), the scoreboard didn't fully reflect the 2nd half dominance of the Longhorn offense due to several drive-killing penalties which can be chalked up mostly to mental errors. 9 penalties for 85 yards is bad for business, but the timing of several of those penalties was particularly damaging.

This was a possession shy game (UT only had 11 possessions - one was a end of first half clock killer) and 477 yards gained at 7.3 yards per play is a good measure of overall efficacy - at least between the 20s. If Texas cleans up the penalties and mental gaffes, that's a very comfortable win.

At the game's end, the illegal formation penalty accidentally worked in our favor and Texas negotiated a mixed end-of-game strategy (so, were we playing to score on that 3rd down or kick the game winner with 0 on the clock?) but a chip shot game winning attempt from Dicker with zeroes on the clock is a high percentage end-of-game result. The clock-eating runs certainly exhibited the right instinct, but the Ehlinger score (penalized) was like splitting the baby.

QB

Ehlinger looked great in the RPO game, particularly in selling a long mesh with the RB before firing strikes to CJ and Duvernay in vacated space. Ehlinger averaged 9.1 yards per pass attempt and completed 76% of his throws while also hurting the Cats with his legs on standard running downs. His primary miscue was hanging it up too long on a seam route INT after a dumb penalty creating a long 3rd and goal. He also held the ball too long on a coverage sack. Beyond that, he threw really well and exhibited good command.

His calm 18 yard strike thrown outside the far hash on 3rd and 14 to Duvernay on the KSU 34 yard line to keep the Longhorn's game-winning drive alive was the stuff of Sam Cassell's steel clackers.

The early willingness to use Ehlinger in the running game was a big part of opening up the Longhorn offense (the first offensive play of the game was a 18 yard Ehlinger run) and creating legitimate uncertainty for Wildcat LBs, DEs and safeties who probably expected to attack a steady diet of 2-3 running plays. It's unfortunate these wrinkles in the Texas offense didn't show up after our first bye week.

RB

Keaontay Ingram's best game as a Longhorn runner. The "Ingram shouldn't start" crowd sure has gotten quiet. Beyond the statistics (16-139-2), Ingram ran with decisiveness, burst, patience and power. He looked terrific and while the OL did an excellent job sustaining blocks, Ingram repeatedly ran through arms and hands to maximize runs. His decison-making was as agile as his feet - except in the passing game. It's not exactly clear he understands where he is supposed to release on passing downs and how to act as a safety valve. Kind of drifting out there.

Well, Ro Johnson hurdled a guy...

...on the way to over 5 yards per carry in relief of Ingram. Stud. I'm pleased we held out Whittington.

WR/TE

John Burt dropped a pass and blocked poorly. He singlehandedly cost Ingram a long run on a perimeter run early by allowing a much smaller corner across his face. Epps had a catch and showed more willingness in the blocking game. Eagles had a terrific sure-handed grab coming back for a ball to convert a 3rd and long. Otherwise, it was the Duvernay and CJ show and both were brilliant, each topping over 100 yards receiving while totaling 16 receptions between them. Moving them around pre-snap and route diversity in combination with the RPO game is something we need to see more of going forward.

Reese Leitao struggled as a blocker. His worst play was allowing a 210 pound linebacker to bully him and cross his face on a perimeter run for a TFL. 1) that can't happen and 2) if you have 40 pounds on a guy who does that, keep your feet moving and let the back cut inside - don't stop. Wiley wasn't ready for primetime either, but he's playing out of desperation. His best days will be weighing 265 after a full year of S&C. Texas has shown that it can run effectively with more offensive diversity from spread formations. The TE doesn't make much sense on a lot of our plays.

OL

Really played well at the point of attack and on most pass blocking downs. However, poorly timed penalties in the red zone, negated 3rd down conversions, and pulling a 29 yard completion off of the board on our end of the field (Cosmi hold) put a ceiling on the offense, even as their fine run blocking created a high floor. I think you give the whole unit a B or B+ and use the film room to point out how a little cleaner play could have meant 42 points on the board instead of 24.

Okafor blew a pass block early that led to a pressure and sack, but he had some terrific run blocks. Kerstetter really played good snaps and held up well at guard largely because KSU didn't have the personnel to put a talented 3 tech on him and bull rush. Angilau went out in the late 2nd quarter and didn't return. Hope he's OK. Braun had what is becoming a typical game - physicality and dominance paired with a key penalty or two.

Shack was fine. KSU has a brawling interior that lacks quickness and speed and that plays to his strengths. Cosmi had two penalties, but was otherwise OK. We've seen a slight drop off in his play over the course of the season.

Final

I saw some good things coming out of the bye week with respect to run game diversity (speed option, true zone read with a real honest-to-God read and not a predetermined call, more backfield action) and a passing game that wasn't content to just "run our stuff." In truth, we're at the point now where I thought we'd be coming out of the summer but I'll take the win and the new wrinkles in the Longhorn O. On to Ames.

(Scipio Tex) Kansas State Postmortem: Defense/Special Teams

Quote

Honestly, I thought Todd Orlando started the game as if he'd never seen a reel of KSU offensive tape. The first quarter saw Longhorn corners playing off coverage on the worst receiving corps in the Big 12 (KSU's best WRs are a freshman and former walk on) and KSU had to give the bulk of their RB carries to their 3rd and 4th string RBs due to lingering injuries to their two primaries. The Wildcats best offensive player - QB Skylar Thompson - was politely proffered open receivers on ill-advised third down blitzes that brought Texas DBs from Welch Hall at angles that mock Pyathogoras. Texas even managed to make the Wildcats look explosive rather than possession oriented.

The first 3rd down of the game - the third play of the game - came with the Wildcats in a split back formation. One of their "backs" was WR Malik Knowles. He was aligned there to get a match-up on a Longhorn LB or BJ Foster when our predictable six man blitz came. It did. But Knowles found himself covered by air instead of a LB and one Brandon Jones lost jock later, he sprinted for a 70 yard touchdown lay-up. First third down and Orlando pulls off the hat trick: schooled by the OC schematically, another failed third down blitz, totally busted coverage. Get it all out early, I guess.

There are learning curves and there is standing at the bottom of Mt Everest. When I can do a better initial scout of KSU's offense watching 2.5 games of them on network television, I'm not sure what the disconnect is.

On the ensuing KSU possession, Thompson marched the Wildcats down the field on 8 plays for 63 yards and another touchdown. This despite Keondre Coburn inflicting a brilliant 4 yard loss on 1st down of that possession. Behind the chains, Thompson threw to Knowles for 11 enjoying a cushion that Jerry Rice demanded and then quickly converted 3rd down to Dalton Schoen after isolating him on Juwan Mitchell on a crosser. Why carry/jam weak receivers on 3rd down when you can just play a terrible zone coverage and concede WR on ILB matchups? On the same drive, facing another 3rd down and long, Thompson hit Schoen in the vacated space of a Round Rock DB blitz for another first down.

To his credit, Orlando performed his quick first quarter scout where he acquainted himself with KSU personnel and schemes. Why trust film when you can do it during actual game action! "Oh, not much at RB. Looks like their WRs are weak. Their QB is pretty good. OL can't move our DL. My blitz keeps getting destroyed. Hmmm. What to do? What to do?" KSU had an easy 14 on the board early and would have added 7 more if not for an exceptional individual effort on a forced fumble by Brandon Jones.

KSU was 5 of 7 on 3rd down in the 1st half. Skylar Thompson was 5 of 6 for 135 yards and two touchdowns on his first half dozen throws. When Texas stopped blitzing DBs from depth, rushed 4 or 5, allowed the DL to dominate and destroy the KSU run game, and played real coverage depth - often with twin safeties, the Longhorn surrendered 3 defensive points for the rest of the game while Thompson went 12 of 21 for 118 yards. If you were expecting this postmortem to be a pat on the back for Orlando, no dice. Taking a quarter to settle into a self-evident game plan isn't praiseworthy.

DL

13 combined tackles from our primary front three when KSU ran only 26 running plays is outstanding. KSU was held to 51 yards rushing and while their dearth of quality runners was part of that, the consistent winner at the LOS was obvious. Graham had a very active 5 tackles. Coburn was dominant in stretches and blew me away with his power and motor. He had four tackles, including a brilliant -4 yard TFL on the opening play of KSU's 2nd possession. He is still picking the KSU center out of his scat on that one.

Roach also added our tackles and gave some good pressure snaps and was called for a tough offsides penalty on 3rd down that the officials blew. Liked what I saw from both Sweat (2 tackles, clean up sack) and Ojomo in relief (QB hit, fumble recovery). Ojomo is consistently a problem for people and I have fantasies of pairing him with Coburn inside next year at the 1 and 3 techs. This unit is a real strength.

LB

Mitchell had some spirited stunts that resulted in some nice hits on Thompson and some run plugs, but both he and Adeoye are fairly lost when not being used as blitzers. The angles Adeoye takes are criminal at times. Being predictable with LB blitzes is better than being predictable with pointless DB blitzes. At least the LBs eat up a blocker and give a DL a 1 on 1 and aren't vacating big green spaces deep. Every now and then, they get a free shot and a sack.

Ossai played a fair number of snaps at the LOS. That's good. He had a couple of bad containment plays, that's bad. But on rewatch, I'm still trying to figure out if he's actually being taught to crash that way and surrender his outside shoulder. While fundamentally poor football, it wouldn't surprise me. When allowed to rush the passer, he is effective. I counted four pressures and two QB hits.

DB

I'm not sure how to grade their effort given the obvious misuse in the first quarter when they're just executing what the puppeteer wants. They also had several missed open field tackles and exhibited little understanding of how to attack KSU's late perimeter passing game. Pretty much the only thing the Wildcats had going once the Texas headsets pulled their heads out. There are large fundamental gaps here that simply can't be put on the individual player. That said, there were also some terrific individual efforts.

D'shawn Jamison had a wonderful break up on a 3rd and 9 throw with 6:57 left that would have been a TD. Terrific play on the ball and man on that vertical route. Brandon Jones forced a crucial fumble in Texas territory that, had he not made the play and given the Texas defensive staff some time to get oxygen to their brains, I'm pretty sure we would have seen KSU go up 21-7 at halftime. That and his awesome punt return helped me forget his two missed tackles.

BJ Foster's tip PBU on 3rd and 10 prevented a big Wildcat conversion. Great to see him back looking like BJ. Jalen Green was OK in coverage but had two missed tackles before his mindless targeting penalty. Pointless. Right in front of the official. Cost us 15 yards, extended a Wildcat drive, and took our best corner away for the 1st half of ISU in Ames. Caden Sterns did a solid job covering ground. Missed tackle, but he finished with 5 stops and looked good when allowed to range deep. He'll continue to get into game shape.

Special Teams

Props to Chris Naggar who came in with very limited experience and had three good punts at 43+ yards per. The kick coverage on the KSU 98 yard TD return was hilariously bad. I don't even know where to start. Thankfully, Brandon Jones made that a near wash with a dynamic 53 yard punt return that set up a Texas score. Gotta credit Dicker with the clutch game winner. He should make that, but nothing is certain in a pressure situation.

Final

Texas matched up beautifully with Kansas State's offense. I'm not sure why it took Texas so long to realize that. Once the Horns did, the Wildcats were held to their season average of 5.7 yards per play and the Texas defense got it done for three quarters of play.

LTtxfan · November 12, 2019

Reading Scipio..... WHY does Texas coaching SUCK SO MUCH??

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Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 11)

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