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Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 13)

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

(Jeff Howe) Instant Reactions: Texas manhandled by No. 14 Baylor, 24-10

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WACO, Texas — Texas has been eliminated from contention for earning a berth in the Big 12 championship game. Heading into the 2019 season that would’ve been a sentence worthy of highlighting a disappointing season and now, it’s merely a footnote in a campaign that’s circling the drain following a 24-10 loss to Baylor on Saturday. McLane Stadium is the site of the worst loss by Texas (6-5, 4-4) in the Tom Herman era and it was within one point of being the most lopsided defeat of Herman’s career as a head coach. Sam Ehlinger and the offense couldn’t get anything going and the defense eventually buckled under the pressure of having to carry the squad for the entirety of the afternoon.

While Matt Rhule has taken the No. 14-ranked Bears (10-1, 7-1) from a 1-11 disaster to qualifying for the Big 12 title game in two years, Herman and the Longhorns appear to be headed nowhere as an unfulfilling season draws to a close. There will be no conference title, no nine-win season and — depending on how the Longhorns rebound from a second-straight loss — there’s a chance could finish the season with a losing record. That’s looking at the worst-case scenario, but that’s where the Longhorns find themselves after a day where they were dominated by a program that was burned to the ground just a few years ago.

It was over when…

Sam Ehlinger tossed an interception on the second play of the fourth quarter with the Longhorns trailing by three scores, 21-3, one possession after Brewer hit Denzel Mims for a 12-yard touchdown. The defense did what it could to hold things together and try to give the offense a chance to get going, but the interception by Ehlinger on an underthrown deep ball was, for all intents and purposes, the last gasp with momentum firmly on the Baylor side of the field. Baylor tacked on a field goal at the end of the 8-play, 59-yard ensuing drive. At that point, all that was left to be determined was whether or not the Longhorns could make the final score respectable.

Top Offensive Performer

One player will get mentioned later in this article, but Devin Duvernay deserves a mention for being the only player who consistently brought something positive to the field. Even though Baylor held him in check, the bright moments he had when he was able to get the ball on the move or catch it down the field showed that the Longhorns are going to miss him desperately next season while he’s furthering his career at the next level.

Top Defensive Performer

DeMarvion Overshown continues to be a bright spot since returning from injury, playing a big role with the coaches doing what they can to get him on the field. He’s proving to be someone the Longhorns can build something around moving forward, recording a tackle for loss, a pass breakup (it could’ve easily been an interception as he made a great play to break on a throw to the sideline in the first half) and a forced fumble on the afternoon.

Reason(s) to Feel Optimistic

If there’s a reason to feel good about things it's that with a 7-5 record being the best the Longhorns can do in the regular season, Herman is probably going to be forced to make some changes on his staff and in how he’s running the program. A 9-3 or even an 8-4 finish could’ve been sold as the Longhorns stemming the tide and getting their house back in order, but 6-6 being reality can’t be sugar-coated.

It’s a step back and, depending on what happens next week when Texas Tech comes to town, it’s potentially a huge one that could make for an extremely long offseason on the Forty Acres. The defense delivered a first-half that kept the Longhorns in the game. Nevertheless, with the offense unable to bust a grape the dam eventually broke, even though Todd Orlando’s charges kept swinging into the fourth quarter when the outcome seemed obvious from afar.

Reason(s) to be Pessimistic

The Longhorns continue to suffer from being a squad that’s losing games based on a lack of attention to detail. Nowhere was that more evident defensively than on a 9-play, 61-yard drive in the third quarter that ended with the aforementioned touchdown pass from Brewer to Mims where Texas jumped offsides for the second week in a row on fourth down (Mims made an incredible catch along the sideline on a free play, so the Bears converted on fourth-and-5 from the Texas 44 the old fashioned way) and then and allowed Baylor to move the chains one play before the touchdown when Jalen Green grabbed Jared Atkinson on third-and-9 from the 27 to draw a pass interference call.

On the previous drive by the Texas offense, the Longhorns failed to convert on fourth-and-3 from the Baylor 39, but Ehlinger’s pass intended for Brennan Eagles one play earlier was dropped. Dropped passes were among the issues that kept the offense out of rhythm for nearly the entire afternoon. Heading into the fourth quarter, the offense had an average starting field position of their own 20, which included starting drives at their own 18, 6, 4 and 2-yard lines. That’s due in no small measure to the lack of a punt return game. The bottom line is Texas didn’t play well enough to win in any of the three phases of the game.

Modest Proposal

Whether there's a coordinator change or not, the passing game needs to be completely reworked in the offseason. Along with looking listless without Collin Johnson on the field, the Longhorns simply couldn’t get receivers open even Ehlinger had time to get rid of the football. Either the route concepts are faulty, the players aren't being coached up properly, or the struggles through the air can be chalked up to a combination of both. Regardless, the passing game as a whole has regressed as the season has progressed and it might've hit finally bottomed out on Saturday Give Baylor credit for doing their job on the back end, but this isn’t the first time Texas has struggled to move the football against a defense with a pulse. Currently, the thought of the Longhorns trying to throw the ball in 2020 without the services of Johnson and Devin Duvernay should make the burnt orange faithful uneasy, to say the least.

Drive of the Game

The 2-play, 68-yard drive right before late in the second quarter that ended with a 48-yard Cameron Dicker field goal. The offense had trouble getting anything going until the final play of the first half before Dicker’s field goal, which was a great run by Keaontay Ingram coming off the goal line. With 18 seconds to play until intermission and backed up to their own 2-yard line, the Longhorns lined up in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) to try and get some breathing room. With Baylor not appearing to attack and opting to play a base defense, the offensive line and tight ends were able to create enough room for Ingram to get the second level and he did the rest, making a sharp cut to lose Henry Black in traffic before burning off for a 68-yard run down to the Baylor 30 with five seconds left on the clock. The longest run from scrimmage in the Herman era was the biggest bright spot in an otherwise forgettable first half of football on offense for Texas.

(Chip Brown) Snap Judgments: Longhorns' lost season continues

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#1 … Eleven games into the season, the Texas offense has no identity. And now it appears to have no Keaontay Ingram after suffering an ankle injury on a 68-yard run — UT’s biggest offensive play of the game — which set up UT’s only first-half points (a 48-yard Cameron Dicker field goal on the final play of the half).

#2 … Texas has failed to improve as a team over the final six games of the season, when its goal of reaching the Big 12 title game was still totally in sight.

#3 … With one regular-season game left, Texas has yet to play a complete game.

#4 … This Texas team has failed miserably at playing complementary football over the last six games. The defense made a big play on D'Shawn Jamison’s forced fumble, recovered by Chris Brown, on Baylor’s first drive of the game. But after three first downs, the ensuing drive by the offense stalled at the Baylor 44, making it the seventh straight forced turnover by the UT defense that resulted in zero points by the offense.

#5 … The Texas defense played winning football last week at Iowa State and for the first half against Baylor.

#6 … Chris Naggar has been excellent in relief of Ryan Bujcevski since late in the TCU game. But Baylor punished his first shank of the season (a 19-yarder to the 50 late in the first quarter) by scoring a short-field touchdown for the Bears’ only score of the first half.

#7 … With Collin Johnson out, guys like Brennan Eagles needed to step up big. Eagles had a chance to make a big play on third-and-3 from the Baylor 39 midway through the third quarter, after BU had just scored to go up 14-3. But Eagles dropped what would have been a contested catch for a 20-yard gain. Tom Herman then decided to go for it on fourth-and-3 and went right back to the same play, a 20-yard, back-shoulder throw to Eagles, and Sam Ehlinger short-armed it. Turnover on downs.

#8 … Denzel Mims is headed for SportsCenter’s Top 10 with the catch he made against solid coverage from Jalen Green with 2:42 left in the third quarter. Green responded by breaking up a pass to Mims in the end zone a few plays later, followed by a pass interference flag against Mims.

(Jeff Conner) C-BOG: Failure

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A bulletin board in the hallway of the small, early college high school where I teach is filled with “failure flaps.” The outside of the flap, laminated over colorful card stock, about 6” by 4”, contains a verbal description of a famous person’s failures: “Sexually and physically abused as a child; pregnant at age 14; fired from her first TV job for being unfit for television.” Then you open the flap and discover the person’s identity: Oprah Winfrey.

A great many of these names and stories you already know from pop culture: Albert Einstein didn’t speak until he was four years old, flunked an entrance exam to a polytechnic school, and washed out as an insurance salesman after graduating from college. Michael Jordan was initially kept off his high school varsity basketball team and was assigned to the junior varsity. Dr. Seuss’ first book “And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street” was initially rejected by 28 publishing houses. Stephen King’s “Carrie” was rejected by 30.

Charlie Chaplin’s father abandoned him and his mother was committed to an insane asylum, all by the time he was nine years old. Walt Disney, Henry Ford, and Bill Gates all had businesses that went belly up. Fred Astaire’s first Hollywood audition ended with this note: “Can’t act. Slightly bald. Dances a little.” At this point, the message is clear: we are not defined by our failures. The key to success is not how many times we are knocked down, but how many times we get back up.

Cliché. Cliché. Cliché. Blah. Blah. Blah. The truth is this: failure stings. It burns. It humiliates. Failure makes a nest in some rat-infested crawl space in the corner of the attic of our brains and whispers things to us when we dream at night. Nasty, hateful things. Go back and watch Michael Jordan’s 2009 Hall of Fame induction speech to see the long-term effect of failure on our collective psyches. Jordan was moved to the JV team his sophomore year in high school: 1979. Thirty years later, it still burns like a bright red cooktop coil and festers like an open boil.

So before assessing the failures of the Texas coaching staff – and make no mistake, there were stupid, arrogant, glaring, colossal, humiliating, face palm failures – I must consider my own failures so I can judge appropriately. And I have failed. Far too many times and in too many ways to feel comfortable discussing them in detail in this forum. Failed as a human being. Failed as a teacher. As a Christian. As a son. As a brother. As a husband. As an uncle. Teacher. Musician. Pet owner. Athlete. Student. Friend. Employee. Driver. Money manager. Role model. I sometimes fail as a writer in this sacred space we call Inside Texas.

When one of my students flunks an Algebra 2 test, I don’t want them to feel shame. Shame is an almost worthless emotion. It is poor motivation. Shame rarely changes people’s long-term behavior. Shaming a kid is an act of weakness and desperation – an admission that a teacher has run out of ideas and skills. What I want is for my failing students to be motivated by self-respect and a love of education to learn the material and become good at logical, sequential problem solving.

I want to find out exactly what part of the math problem they don’t understand, narrow in on the particular concept with which they struggle, and reteach it in a different way that connects with the unique way they learn until they understand. I don’t want drama. I don’t want stories. I don’t want excuses. Just fix it. Same thing with the Horns. I don’t want Coach Tom Herman’s guilt, shame, or remorse. I don’t want his explanations or excuses. I don’t want to punish him or fire him or curse him or slander him or mock him or belittle him. I don’t want to act like I know more about football than he does. Just fix it.

I am weary to the point of physical exhaustion of watching my beloved, mighty, fighting Texas Longhorns lose football games by grossly underperforming. It’s been a decade since we consistently outcoached the other team, maybe more. Absolutely nothing can erase this failure. It is indelibly stamped in the record books and the future history of Longhorn athletics, a finger forever poking the open wound the 2019 season has become.

But Coach Herman can stop it from happening again. Put that big Mensa brain to work. Take these great, athletic kids who were so carefully vetted and recruited, coach them up, and put them in a position to succeed. Do whatever the heck it is they pay you $5.2 million per year to do. Just fix it. Hook ‘em.

A 1986 graduate of the University of Texas, Jeff Conner has held many jobs in his life: husband, brother, uncle, son, oil field roustabout, short-order cook, sandblaster, irrigation pipe mover, musician, retail assistant manager, attorney-at-law, public school teacher, preacher, cartoonist, and writer. While he does have a hot, young wife, Conner is neither as clever nor as good-looking as he believes himself to be. Jeff is currently teaching Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and A.P. Statistics at Legacy Early College High School in Taylor, Texas. Conner’s regularly submitted commentary appears in InsideTexas.com and Inside Texas Magazine. The opinions presented do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inside Texas editorial staff.

Wescott Eberts: Texas flops in listless 24-10 loss to Baylor

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Pick an indelible image from the terrible, no good, very bad day for the Texas Longhorns at McLane Stadium in Waco against the Baylor Bears in a pathetic performance that resulted in a 28-3 loss. There was head coach Tom Herman head-butting senior defensive end Malcolm Roach before the game to no effect except to spark jokes about Herman concussing himself. There was Baylor running back Jon Lovett stiff-arming Texas sophomore cornerback Jalen Green to the ground early in the fourth quarter with the Bears looking to build on a 21-3 lead.

There was Texas junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger underthrowing sophomore wide receiver Brennan Eagles, who was open behind the defense, resulting in an interception. There was the Longhorns defense once again getting called for an offsides penalty that resulted in an opposing first down. There were Baylor students taunting Texas with chants of “DBU” as the Bears ran away with the game. There was Herman calling a timeout with five seconds remaining and the Longhorns down 21 points to score a meaningless touchdown and extend the miserable game for a few more minutes.

Any one of them could stand alone in summing up the worst game of Herman’s tenure in Austin, which is rapidly tearing apart at the seams with the team sitting at 6-5 and an incredible distance from the preseason expectations or the optimism that surrounded the program even after the close loss to LSU back in September. Frustration started to boil over in the fourth quarter, as senior center Zach Shackelford was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, then senior left guard Parker Braun was ejected for his own unsportsmanlike conduct. Junior right tackle Derek Kerstetter threw in another for good measure.

After Herman termed the contest a “character game” for Texas, the Longhorns revealed it on Saturday and it was an exceptionally ugly sight — as many unsportsmanlike conduct penalties as points until the final seconds. If one of the significant achievements for Herman through most of his first three seasons was avoiding the type of blowout losses that defined Charlie Strong’s failed time at Texas, now that’s unequivocally gone, too.

Against one of the best defenses in the Big 12, the Longhorns struggled to create explosive plays without senior wide receiver Devin Duvernay beyond a 68-yard run by sophomore running back Keaontay Ingram. In a sign of how things went for Texas, Ingram suffered an ankle injury on the play and did not return. Other than that run, Texas only had one play over 20 yards as the running game struggled for the second time all week, the perimeter passing game was negated by a fast, physical defense. When Ehlinger had time in the pocket, the wide receivers struggled to create separation. Just as often, Ehlinger didn’t have time, suffering five sacks by the Bears defense thanks to an offensive line that has consistently regressed over recent weeks after a strong start to the season.

The Horns didn’t even get the ball inside the Baylor 25-yard line until late in the fourth quarter, then promptly gave up a sack. Fitting. An offensive attack that was trending towards becoming the school’s best in the last decade is now stagnant and predictable. The defense played average football, but struggled to get the Baylor offense off the field quickly, forcing only one three and out and not getting enough stops on third down. While the tackling has improved in recent weeks, the defense is still committing too many penalties and not making enough game-changing plays to help spark the offense.

Texas recorded only a single sack and two tackles for loss. After the regular season ends next week with Friday’s game against the Red Raiders, a team that still has a lot of young players will have a chance to get better during the month of bowl preparation, but it’s become clear that there need to be some changes during the offseason. Saturday’s debacle flat out wasn’t good enough for a team that has been trending in the wrong direction for weeks.

 

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satyanash

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(Ian Boyd) Five quick thoughts: Out-coached again

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In the Big 12 conference, coaching staffs are pretty ruthless about game planning to personnel. The nature of a spread league is such that if teams can find a weak spot on your depth chart, they can expose it in high stakes situations. There were a number of matchups in this game that needed to be game planned by either side to avoid problems and then a few matchups that offered opportunities.

Baylor's gameplan properly mitigated and incorporated the various matchup issues in this contest, Texas' did not. That created a dozen advantages for Baylor that took their toll over the course of the game and resulted in a lopsided margin. Before the game Tom Herman was caught on camera getting into the pre-game circle and banging his helmet on Malcolm Roach's to pump up his team, but it ultimately just served as a metaphor for what Texas tried to do in this game. Namely, bang an uncovered head against a blunt object hoping that sheer force of will would make the difference.

Texas slips to 6-5 on the year and 4-4 in conference play in what has been one of the least impressive seasons in a long, unimpressive decade.

Quick thought no. 1: Texas played 9 on 11 on offense

It's baffling why Texas' solution to losing a guard on offense is to insert Denzel Okafor to RT and slide Derek Kerstetter inside. Kerstetter is a pretty good offensive tackle that can be trusted to hold up now and again against a good edge rusher, Okafor routinely struggles to hold up when teams come after him off the edge. Texas' slavish devotion to playing what they seem to think is the "best five" left them pretty vulnerable against the best defensive player (player period?) in the Big 12. Baylor lined up James Lynch over Okafor and were rewarded with several sacks and a great deal of disruption in Texas' ability to get much from their spread passing sets.

Beyond that, Texas also maintained their emphasis on 11 personnel and subbed in true freshman Jared Wiley for Reese Leitao as the starter. That's right, the underweight freshman who played QB last year for Temple HS was asked to help Texas win the point of attack against the best DL and overall defense in the Big 12. That didn't go particularly well, although it went better than perhaps a reasonable person would have suspected.

Texas also mixed in a 10 personnel package that played both Devin Duvernay and Jake Smith in the slot positions rather than using a big body with questionable ability to get open underneath. They ran that on a few third downs early in the game, most of which were thwarted because Okafor couldn't block Lynch, before finally turning to that package just before the fourth quarter while asking Sam Ehlinger to dig them out of the hole. Things looked promising until Ehlinger short-armed a deep shot to Eagles in the end zone and was picked. Another somewhat promising drive, albeit in a desperate period of the game, included the same set as well as consistent double teams on Lynch was thwarted by some penalties on the offensive line.

Quick thought no. 2: Texas ignored the scouting report on Charlie Brewer

Heading into this contest there were two obvious Brewer strengths that anyone could see with minimal scouting. The first is that he's a very capable runner and Baylor has used him heavily in that role on read plays, designed runs like QB power or draw, and then also as a scrambler to bail them out of tough looks. Brewer ended up with 18 carries for 75 yards and a score before taking Chris Brown's helmet off his own and heading into the concussion protocol. But the damage was done, Baylor picked up a few key third downs on two different touchdown drives and handed the back-up a safe lead before the gritty Austinite was knocked out of the game.

The other scouting point was that Brewer has looked dinged up of late and his already iffy arm strength can be particularly exposed if he's not throwing into the boundary and not working with room to step into his throws. This was evident on multiple occasions when Brewer opted to scramble under pressure or one-hopped throws to the field. Nevertheless, Texas failed to bracket Denzel Mims in the boundary and instead asked Jalen Green to cover the most dangerous Bear in the most accessible area of the field in press-man without either a 1/2 safety or even a cheating deep middle safety. Mims had seven catches for 125 yards and a score.

Quick thought no. 3: The offense is undergoing an epic collapse

It's remarkable how bad this unit has been since the LSU game. All season long they've sought to maintain the 2018 identity as a two-back, downhill squad that can mix in play-action before using spread passing sets to hunt matchups on third down. The problems have included the lack of a blocking Y-back, an OL that isn't controlling the line of scrimmage as expected, and then a rash of injuries to the RB position that would have thwarted this entire design if not for freshman QB Roschon Johnson proving a stunningly capable no. 2 ballcarrier.

Without some of these key ingredients, Texas has actually resembled a Mark Dantonio Michigan State offense. Running the ball for minimal gains on standard downs before finally turning to the good spread passing stuff on third down while asking the QB to bail them out of trouble. It's gone about as well for Herman's Texas as it has for Dantonio's Spartans. This team gives itself no margin for error because they can't actually control the line of scrimmage.

Ehlinger ended up with 19 carries for 79 yards, including some of the numerous Baylor sacks into that figure. The offense did next to nothing for the entire game save for the long, 68-yard run by Keaontay Ingram before the end of the half when Baylor missed a run fit against 12 personnel. The other positive gains had similar origins, generally related to Ehlinger improbably escaping a sack before hitting a desperate heave down the field.

Next season Texas will likely have improved play at TE and perhaps RB as well, but this approach to offense doesn't make much sense for this league. Texas is trying to carefully control games with narrow margins when they should be using their access to the state's best recruiting talents to attack opponents and blow them away with high paced scoring.

Quick thought no. 4: The late timeout and TD by Tom Herman was weak

If you didn't watch the end of the game, Ehlinger scrambled for a big gain down to the Baylor four while down 24-3 and rather than letting the clock expire, Herman called a timeout. Then Texas ran one of their only create plays of the game, lining up in the touchdown formation before using Duvernay motion to confuse the assignments for the Bears and powering Danny Young downhill for a TD.

24-10, take that Bears! It reeked of an attempt to narrow the margin, save face, or otherwise refuse to accept the extent of the beating they endured. There was nothing to be gained save for an injury to someone, although at least Texas didn't punch it in with Ehlinger ducking his head into the line one more time while risking injury. I imagine Tom Herman will be asked about it and give a lame answer related to the competitive spirit of his team. This was identified by Herman as a "pride" game beforehand and Texas indeed played like a team to prideful to accept the reality about this team.

Quick thought no. 5: A .500 finish is in question for this team

The Longhorns are basically in a free-fall now and Texas Tech will not fail to gameplan them and throw their best shot at all of Texas' proven weak spots. Pending their contest with Kansas State tonight, they may be playing for bowl eligibility (they're currently 4-6). Watching it coming on after this game and I just saw Jett Duffey pick up 16 yards on first and 20 so I'd say it's pretty feasible. Texas is guaranteed to go to a bowl game but if they were to lose out, which isn't unthinkable, they'd be 6-7. Shades of the 2014 season.

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A particularly poetic ending would be to lose to Shane Buechele and the Air Raid SMU Mustangs. After a season in which Texas fought into contention in the Big 12 and appeared ready to make another step, they instead totally ceded that place to the rebuilt Baylor Bears before getting absolutely ripped by said team to conclude the season. A fitting conclusion really, that put the season in stark relief. It should be clear to Tom Herman that the entire vision for the program needs to be rethought, although there were some things that were clear about the Baylor game that Texas still failed to realize.

 

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Meh. Whatever this was expected. I’m surprised the line was as low as it was heading into this game.

Also, I love the current line from the former kool-aid drinkers like Boyd that Herman suddenly forgot how to coach this season. He’s the same guy he was last year. 

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satyanash

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Not much from Bobby Burton this week:

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I don’t pretend to have all the answers. But it’s not my job to. It’s clear to anyone with a pulse that there must be changes at Texas moving forward. The offense - with a third-year starter at QB - is as close to a train wreck as can be. His staff was clearly out-coached for the second game in a row.

 

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6 minutes ago, TheMailBox357 said:

Hmmm.....Listening to this week's Horns247 podcast episode a few days ago, Jeff Howe feels the big issue with Herman's staff X&O's-wise is they're trash at scouting. Based on this piece Ian Boyd just put out, looks like he agrees.

Everybody agrees/agreed. The entire staff is below average, we waste off-seasons and do not teach well, this is the result. The team plays like its coach, tough and dumb.

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(Chip Brown) My Take: Texas implodes at Baylor

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WACO, Texas — Little by little Texas came apart Saturday afternoon in Waco until the Longhorns simply imploded in a 24-10 loss that sends Baylor and its third-year coach Matt Rhule to the Big 12 title game.

The low point - down 24-3 midway through the fourth quarter … after Keaontay Ingram and DeMarvion Overshown had left the game with ankle injuries … after Sam Ehlinger had absorbed his umpteenth hit while failing to cross the Baylor 30 until the final four minutes of the game … and after Denzel Mims had enough third-quarter highlights for his own SportsCenter segment … senior captain center Zach Shackelford was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct personal foul … and then senior left guard Parker Braun was flagged for the same personal foul and appeared to be ejected.

Facing third-and-34, Ehlinger barely got off an incomplete pass before being crunched by Baylor defensive end James Lynch. Somehow, Ehlinger got up and kept fighting. Unfortunately, Ehlinger is leading a run-for-your-life offense that has become unrecognizable and failed to get into the end zone until there was one second left in the game (on a 4-yard touchdown run by Daniel Young).

It was only thanks to the blood, guts and heart of Ehlinger that Texas drove from its own 45 with 43 seconds left for the score, which kept the Longhorns from failing to score a TD in a game since a 31-9 loss to TCU on Nov. 25, 2016, the night UT officials met with Tom Herman and hired him to replace Charlie Strong. A coaching staff that didn’t believe in Ehlinger enough to throw down the field last week with four minutes left (and Texas holding a one-point lead), failed Ehlinger again with a shoot-ready-aim game plan.

Everyone wondered which team - Texas or Baylor - would respond better following their respective heartbreaks last week, when Baylor lost a 25-point lead to OU, and the Horns lost on the last play of the game at Iowa State. After seeing the Texas offense in the first half, there was no wondering. Texas had run 16 times for 44 yards (2.8 ypc) until Keaontay Ingram took a handoff at the UT 2 and ran 68 yards to the Baylor 30 with :05 left in the half, setting up Cameron Dicker for a 48-yard field goal.

That kept Texas from being shutout in the first half for the first time all season. But then Texas announced at the start of the second half Ingram would miss the remainder of the game with an ankle injury suffered in his 68-yard run at the end of the first half. And the Baylor rout was on. Texas is 6-5 with a regular-season finale Friday against Texas Tech. The only questions Texas fans seem to care about are what changes will be made to correct this mess?

What went right for Texas:

Sam Ehlinger, as usual, fought to the end and helped Texas save face by at least scoring a touchdown in this game - even if it came with one second left. Ehlinger ran 19 times for 79 yards (4.2 ypc) and completed 22 of 37 passes for 200 yards with one interception on a deep ball early in the fourth quarter. Devin Duvernay had 10 catches for 78 yards. D'Shawn Jamison forced a fumble recovered by Chris Brown on Baylor’s first drive of the game.

Joseph Ossai led the team in tackles (8), and Ayodele Adeoye had Texas’ only sack of the game. DeMarvion Overshown stripped Baylor receiver Denzel Mims of the ball after a 26-yard, catch-and-run to the Texas 20, but the ball rolled out of bounds at the Texas 21.

INGRAM 68-YARD RUN SETS UP DICKER FIELD GOAL: After failing to cross the Baylor 44 the entire half, Keaontay Ingram took a handoff at the Texas 2 and ran 68 yards to the Baylor 30 with :05 left in the half, setting up Cameron Dicker for a 48-yard field goal from the left hash, cutting Baylor’s lead to 7-3 at halftime. Sam Ehlinger ducked out of what appeared to be a sure-fire sack in the end zone by Baylor’s Terrel Bernard and - while getting blasted by BU nose tackle Bravvion Roy - hit Malcolm Epps for a 15-yard gain late in the second quarter.

Malcolm Roach dropped John Lovett for a 1-yard loss on first down. Jalen Green and Caden Sterns broke up a pass to Denzel Mims on second-and-11, and DeMarvion Overshown laid out and nearly intercepted Charlie Brewer on third down, leading to a punt with 9:49 left in the second quarter. (Overshown nearly had a layout interception against Iowa State last week as well.)

Chris Naggar bounced back after a 19-yard punt with a 43-yard punt to the Baylor 14 in the second quarter. Derek Kerstetter picked up a stunt, giving Ehlinger time to find Brennan Eagles for 16 yards on third-and-9 early in the second quarter. DeMarvion Overshown closed like a bullet and dropped John Lovett for a 2-yard loss on first down, and Baylor couldn’t overcome second-and-12, leading to a punt on BU’s second drive of the game.

JAMISON FORCES EARLY TURNOVER: Brandon Jones got ahold of Chris Platt after a 44-yard catch-and-run, D'Shawn Jamison knocked the ball loose, and Chris Brown recovered it at the Texas 18 with 14:31 left in the first quarter.

What went wrong for Texas:

A lot. Texas was called for back-to-back unsportsmanlike conduct penalties - on Zach Shackelford and Parker Braun midway through the fourth quarter with Braun having appeared to be ejected. Denzel Mims went wrong for Texas in the third quarter, when he caught most of his seven receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown. Charlie Brewer led Baylor on the ground with 18 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown while completing 16 of 25 passes for 221 yards and a TD.

BAYLOR GOES UP 14-3 IN THIRD QUARTER: DeMarvion Overshown stripped Baylor receiver Denzel Mims of the ball after a 26-yard, catch-and-run to the Texas 20, but the ball rolled out of bounds at the Texas 21 before a Longhorn could jump on it. Four plays later, Charlie Brewer dove into the end zone for a 1-yard TD run, putting the Bears up 14-3 with 7:36 left in the third quarter.

Texas announced at the start of the second half Keaontay Ingram would miss the remainder of the game with an ankle injury suffered in his 68-yard run at the end of the first half. Parker Braun got beaten badly on a rush by Baylor linebacker Terrel Bernard, who sacked Ehlinger for an 8-yard loss on second-and-6. Texas couldn’t convert on third down, leading to Chris Naggar’s fifth punt of the first half. Texas got its best field position of the game (the UT 42) on its fourth possession and proceeded to go three-and-out for the first time.

BAYLOR GOES UP 7-0 AFTER SHANKED PUNT: A 19-yard punt to the 50 by Chris Naggar, was followed up by a 7-play, 50-yard TD drive by Baylor, including six straight running plays to finish the drive, capped by John Lovett’s 28-yard TD run. That gave Baylor a 7-0 lead with 14:51 left in the second quarter.

Chris Naggar, who has been so good and pinned BU at its 10 on his first punt, hit his first clunker - for 19 yards - since taking over for Ryan Bujcevski in the TCU game. Baylor CB Raleigh Texada totally sniffed out a swing pass to Keaontay Ingram and dropped him for a 5-yard loss, bringing up third-and-15, and Texas couldn’t convert, resulting in a punt on UT’s second possession.

After D’Shawn Jamison’s forced fumble early in the first quarter, it marked the seventh straight turnover forced by the Texas defense resulting in zero points by the Texas offense. Ehlinger’s second-and-10 pass was batted down by Chidi Ogbonnaya, and then on third-and-10, Ehlinger couldn’t find an open receiver, and scrambled for only 5 yards, leading to a punt. Baylor’s first play of the game was an 11-yard run by John Lovett, and the second play was a pass to a wide-open Chris Platt, who ran all the way to the Texas 20 for a 44-yard gain (before Brandon Jones held him up, and D'Shawn Jamison forced a fumble).

OTHER NOTABLES:

Linebacker Juwan Mitchell didn’t start Saturday’s game after having an issue with someone on staff during the week, our Taylor Estes of Horns247.com learned.

 

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Coach pop a bitch

Coach pop a bitch 5459

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Red Five said:

If you're going to be an arrogant prick, you better at least win. He's disliked by pretty much everyone. 

 

1 minute ago, Red Five said:

If you're going to be an arrogant prick, you better at least win. He's disliked by pretty much everyone. 

Serious question do you think Tom would be awesome to party with? 

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Levi

Levi 2576

Posted
Posted
24 minutes ago, Goodman said:

Everybody agrees/agreed. The entire staff is below average, we waste off-seasons and do not teach well, this is the result. The team plays like its coach, tough and dumb.

A coach will only be as good as the assistants he hires. This team sucks because the assistance do a horrible job at taking some of the load off of the head coach. The madden champion could probably scout better than this staff. I think Herman can be a good coach; hell he game planned around a 3rd string QB and won a national championship. So it’s there but he also had added help. You can’t feel bad for him though because his dumbass put the team in the situation they’re in right now. 

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DixonHur

DixonHur 11236

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Fozzz said:

He’s not going to be fired one season removed from a Sugar Bowl win, and the team will be pretty good next season. Only fools expect him to be gone anytime soon. 

What team?  We've got recruits decommitting and I have a feeling the transfer portal's gonna be lit with UT players.

This is no longer about coaching X's and O's...the team has quit on Herman.  I don't see how this gets fixed until he's gone.

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Fozzz

Fozzz 152

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, DixonHur said:

What team?  We've got recruits decommitting and I have a feeling the transfer portal's gonna be lit with UT players.

This is no longer about coaching X's and O's...the team has quit on Herman.  I don't see how this gets fixed until he's gone.

The team hasn’t quit. Baylor and ISU are simply better teams and it should come with no surprise that we lost these games. 

  • Fuck You 6
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Fozzz

Fozzz 152

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

Did you lose your vision as a child or was it later in life?

I think the defense will take a big step forward next season with the experience they have accrued this season. We will also have a senior Ehlinger behind an experienced offense line. We probably won’t win the big 12 but they should win at least 8 games.
 

Remember in August when every one on this board was convinced this team would win at least 9-10 games?  

Edited by Fozzz
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Shaggy3.0

Shaggy3.0 1695

Posted
Posted
I think the defense will take a big step forward next season with the experience they have accrued this season. We will also have a senior Ehlinger behind an experienced offense line. We probably won’t win the big 12 but they should win at least 8 games.

 

Remember in August when every one on this board was convinced this team would win at least 9-10 games?  

 

 

Please stop. Who will coach this supposed better defense? Won’t win the big 12? Really? Isn’t that the goal for Texas, especially if mensa is still here for year four? Quick doubling down on stupid.

 

 

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