Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Alamo Bowl)

satyanash · January 1, 2020

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

(Jeff Howe) Instant Reactions: Texas pounds No. 11 Utah in Alamo Bowl, 38-10

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SAN ANTONIO — Utah didn’t want to be there. Texas is back. The Longhorns still lost five games. This doesn’t matter. As the hot takes rain down following Texas punking No. 11-ranked Utah in the Valero Alamo Bowl, 38-10, on Tuesday, the burnt orange faithful shouldn’t care. All that matters is Texas showed a glimpse of the product head coach Tom Herman can put on the field when everything’s clicking and ended Herman's third season on the job on a high note.

The nation saw the Longhorns slap the Utes around from one end of the Alamodome to the other, racking up 438 yards (7.8 yards per play) on one of the nation’s best defenses while recording five sacks, limited Utah’s offense to 4.2 yards per play and holding the Pac-12 runner-up to a 4-for-14 effort on third down. Any way one wants to slice what happened as Texas (8-5) won a bowl game for the third year in a row (the first time that’s happened for the Longhorns since a five-year run starting in with the 2004 Rose Bowl and ending with the 2009 Fiesta Bowl), all that matters is Utah (11-3) had no answers for what the Longhorns brought to the table.

The 2019 season was what it was, but the way it ended is something everyone with a dog in the fight can feel good about heading into 2020.

It was over when…

Devin Duvernay completed a 15-yard touchdown catch in the end zone on a corner route to put Texas ahead by three touchdowns, 31-10, with 8:58 remaining in regulation. The play capped a 7-play, 75-yard touchdown drive where Duvenay hauled in a 37-yard strike from Sam Ehlinger and saw Utah nickelback Javelin Guidry get flagged for defensive pass interference. It didn’t matter. Duvernay finished the play with Guidry draped all over him to put an exclamation point on one of the finest seasons a Texas wide receiver has ever put together.

Top Offensive Performer

Ehlinger had a solid night by his standards, so the honor goes to Keaontay Ingram. The 49-yard touchdown run he jetted off for in the fourth quarter is the kind of explosive run everyone has been waiting to see from the sophomore. With 108 yards on 13 carries, Ingram delivered his fourth 100-yard effort of the season, which doubles the number of 100-yard games by Texas running backs in the Herman era prior to 2019. Throw in an 11-yard touchdown reception and Ingram had an outing he can feel good about heading into the offseason.

Top Defensive Performer

Joseph Ossai hadn’t had a sack since the team’s Sept. 21 home win over Oklahoma State. By the 11:34 mark of the fourth quarter, Ossai had three, which is going to make his season-long total look a little bit better. The misuse of Ossai might’ve been the biggest indictment against Todd Orlando in his final season as the program’s defensive coordinator. Thankfully, interim coordinator Craig Naivar unleashed the beast and gives to new coordinator Chris Ash a player who has the potential to truly be one of the country’s best edge defenders.

Reason to Feel Optimistic

A defense wins with players more so than it wins with a scheme and the Alamo Bowl performance showed Ash is going to inherit players who can get Texas back to playing consistent winning defense in 2020. Along with Ossai, Ta’Quon Graham had one of his better games of the season up front and the back end looked different in a good way with a B.J. Foster and Caden Sterns healthy, Jalen Green and the other cornerbacks playing closer to the line of scrimmage and Chris Adimora looking like a potential answer at nickelback.

Reason to be Pessimistic

Look, this is a season that didn’t meet anyone’s expectations regardless of what the final score was or what the win total wound up being. With that said, for tonight, there will be no complaining. Yes, there was a failed fourth-down conversion, a Utah touchdown that might’ve been overturned on a replay had Herman burned a timeout to get another look at it, but it’s hard to complain about what’s going to go down as far and away the most impressive performance by the Longhorns in 2019.

Modest Proposal

Let D’Shawn Jamison have his hands on the ball as much as possible because all the guy does is make plays. Along with the 71-yard punt return he had to set up the first touchdown of the game, Jamison had a 25-yard return in the fourth quarter. On the season, he had a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the win over Rice in September and returned a blocked extra point for two points in the win over Kansas in October.

Drive of the Game

A 7-play, 75-yard drive in the third quarter that took 4:52 off the clock and ended when Ehlinger scored up the gut on a 6-yard touchdown with six seconds left in the period open up a 17-point lead, 24-3. The biggest play of the march was a 31-yard run on third-and-2 from his own 33. If that wasn’t it, it came when Ingram hurdled a defender on a 10-yard run with the Utes getting flagged for a personal foul to move the ball to the Utah 12-yard line. Ehlinger reached the end zone two plays later to finish off an impressive march on one of the nation’s best defenses.

Best Offensive Play

It didn’t lead to a touchdown due to a failed fourth-down conversion, but Ehlinger dropping a ball over the shoulder of Duvernay for 40 yards on a slot fade in the second quarter was one of the best throws he’s made throughout the season. Ehlinger took a while to get revved up and Duvernay didn’t have quite the impact he should have considering how depleted Utah was in the secondary, but the throw and catch was a play for the highlight reel on a night that put a cap on the work done by a lethal connection that was a true bright spot on offense in 2019.

Best Defensive Play

Most will look at the fourth-down stop in the third quarter where Ossai led the charge to stop Huntley and turn the Utes away on fourth-and-1 from their own 45 and call it the best play the Longhorns had. However, the honor goes to Adimora for the open-field tackle he had one play earlier when he brought down Solomon Enis short of the line to gain on third-and-6. As mentioned previously, Adimora had a heck of a night and did a lot to help his cause heading into 2020 with what he did in bowl practices. A loaded secondary looks even more so due to Adimora’s postseason emergence.

Biggest question heading into next season

Can the Longhorns learn from the offseason following the Sugar Bowl and be ready to truly rock and roll in 2020? Hindsight is 20/20, but nobody handled the Sugar Bowl win over Georgia the way they should have inside the Moncrief Complex. While that’s true, Herman has made the kind of staff change heading into his fourth season on the Forty Acres and the roster is going to be made up almost exclusively of players the current regime recruited and developed.

Herman is right when he talks about the best the Longhorns have being good enough to beat just about anybody in the country. However, the best wasn’t brought to the table with the consistency needed to save jobs among members of the coaching staff and meet expectations. Everyone needs to enjoy this win because it’s been a long year, but when things get kicked up in January it will truly be time to go back to work.

(Bobby Burton) Snap Judgments: Unexpected Domination

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From start to finish, Texas played hard. The Horns were rewarded with a complete and utter dominant victory.

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While the offense scoring 38 points was probably the game’s biggest surprise, it was the move of Joseph Ossai into the defensive front four that was the most eye-opening development. Ossai was a man among boys. It’s an absolute shame that his sophomore season was wasted trying to compete downfield and in the flat in coverage instead of playing closer to the ball. The anemic pass rush we talked about all season may not have been so anemic if Ossai would have been let loose sooner. Where was this all year? That may be the reason Todd Orlando was let go. He failed to put Ossai, the team’s best defensive piece, in the best position for the team.

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The Texas offense sputtered in the red zone in the first half. Adhering to his regular season script, Tom Herman opted to go for the first down inside the Utah 10-yard line. Yet again, the Horns came up empty. A field goal would have put the Horns up 13-0 but instead, the decision gave the Utes the chance to get within one score before halftime if they could just score a field goal.

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But that wasn’t going to happen. Playing under Craig Naivar, Texas smothered the Ute run game. Only the QB keeper on the zone read had any success at all against Texas. BJ Foster and Ossai combined for a huge fourth-down stop that maintained the momentum.

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Herman also came up with a couple of wrinkles in this game. The aborted shovel pass ended up in a TD run for Ehlinger. The throwback to Keaontay Ingram for the first score of the second half was another excellent call, especially given the inexperience of some of Utah’s secondary.

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The big run by Keaontay Ingram was a thing of beauty. Texas hasn’t scored on a run like that since D’Onta Foreman was in the backfield. Ingram had a terrific game overall.

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Devin Duvernay may not have had his usual number of catches, but he certainly made all of them count. Duvernay beat Utah deep twice and then made another contested catch in the end zone for a TD.

**

On defense, Cort Jacquess got the start over Juwan Mitchell at linebacker. The former walk-on played every snap of the first half while Mitchell and Ayodele Adeoye split reps at the other spot. Jacquess performed well, particularly against the interior run of the Utes.

**

Malcolm Roach, Ta’Quon Graham and Keondre Coburn all flashed in this game. No doubt some of that had to do with Ossai also occupying more blockers up front. Moro Ojomo and T’Vondre Sweat also saw significant action and played well.

**

Chris Adimora played the most he has all season. He was a sure tackler and made a nice pass break up on a deep post to finish out Utah’s last series of the first half.

**

D’Shawn Jamison made not one but two nice punt returns. His first return set up Texas’ first touchdown. His second return gave the Horns the ball at midfield and was immediately followed by Ingram’s long TD run. Of course, Jamison also bobbled a punt inside the Horns’ 10, too.

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Hats off to the Texas OL, Ingram and QB Sam Ehlinger. Texas was able to run the ball effectively against the nation’s no. 1 rush defense. And the Horns never abandoned the run at any point in the contest. They stuck with it, and it paid dividends. The Horns dominated from start to finish.

(Dan Sorensen) Post Game Thoughts: New Year's Nightmare Edition

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Winning is more fun than losing. Losing a bowl game to end what was a really special year on a two game losing streak isn't very much fun at all. Especially when the Utes got their proverbial teeth kicked in in both losses. Here are a few of my thoughts following Utah's 38-10 loss to Texas.

WHAT I LIKED

    Bradlee Anae, the New Mayor of Sack Lake City: They gave Anae half a sack in the first quarter and he became Utah's all time career sack leader. What a way to end a career as a consensus All American. When he was first recruited to Utah, Morgan Scalley told me Anae was going to be special. I don't think anyone (except maybe Bradlee) envisioned what he would become. It was truly a pleasure to watch him play and I'm glad he got the record.
    First Half Fight in the Defense: For a defensive secondary that was beat up, battered, bruised, and missing two All Americans, I thought they had a pretty good game. Yes, there was the 40 yarder to Duvernay in the first half, but Guidry had excellent coverage on that. It was just a dime by the QB. Utah was a little more "bend but don't break" tonight. They played well in the red zone, forcing the field goal on the first long drive and the pick on the other opportunity in the first half.
    Ben Lennon's Best Game: I don't know what happened to Lennon over the holiday, but he had his best game of the year and actually started punting like we expected him to following the spring.
    Thanks, Hallandale Trio: The result wasn't what we wanted, but it was cool to see those guys suit up one final time. Huntley fought with the heart of a lion. It was great to see Simpkins get in the end zone. Moss didn't put up eye popping numbers given the fact that Texas' sole concern on defense was stopping him, but he had moments of his usual greatness and it was good to see him put on that number 2 one last time.
    Tyler Huntley's Fight: No one can ever deny that kid's heart, competitiveness, and toughness. He fought long after others stopped. I'm going to miss him.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

    Losing the Pac-12 Title Game Twice: There was a bit of concern that Utah would have a hangover after losing the way they did to Oregon. Given how flat they looked at the start of the game, it's hard to not think that they let the Ducks beat them twice. Utah hasn't exactly been a quick starting team this season, but the sluggishness on offense in the first half was a huge concern, even after the defense figured it out.
    Watching Utah Get Bullied: For the second straight game Utah was straight up physically dominated. This is a team that prides itself on toughness, on a "fight you in a phone booth" mentality. And they straight up got their butts whooped in the trenches on both sides of the ball. So uncharacteristic.
    Offensive Line Play: For two consecutive games, the Utah offensive line has been absolutely manhandled at the point of attack. They couldn't get push in the run game. They couldn't figure out the pass rush. For a unit whose pride was hurt in the Pac-12 title game, they did very little to restore that pride. Four of those players are coming back and its going to be soul searching time in the offseason. Who is going to hit the film room the hardest? Who is going to spend more time in the weight room? Who wants to be great? Because they had a chance this year and came up short when it counted the most.
    Short Yardage Offense: On a related note... given Utah's offensive line struggles, it was particularly frustrating to see Utah fail time and time again in short yardage situations. Texas not only overloaded the line with bodies, but Utah's blockers couldn't even pick up the guy lined up in front of them that wasn't a blitzer. Not sure why we didn't see more throws to try to catch the Longhorns in one on one situations in the secondary.
    First Half Missed Opportunities: Champions take advantage of opportunities when they're presented and Utah did not. They drop a sure fire pick six. They drop a wheel route that would give a third down conversion and take them deep into Texas territory. They are within field goal range when an illegal formation, a drop, and an intentional grounding penalty take them out of scoring position altogether.
    Second Half Implosion: For the second straight game, the wheels absolutely fell off for the Utes in the second half. Penalties, missed tackles, missed blocks, giving up sacks, more penalties. Whatever could have go wrong, did.
    Sending Seniors Out With a Loss: These guys gave so much over the past four years. It would have been great to send them out with a W and a happy memory. Alas, it was not to be.

It's a bummer to end such a great year with two losses. Especially the way they went down. But I'll invoke #TeamFun and still say it was a pretty awesome year (until the end, that is). Spring football starts in two months. With so many position battles in play, it'll be a big one and we'll be there every step of the way. It was a tough loss, but don't let it ruin your new year's celebrations. Go hug someone you love and we'll think about football tomorrow.

(Ian Boyd) 5 quick thoughts: Things to remember from the Alamo

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The conventional wisdom going into this game was that 11-2 Utah who always plays with a chip on their shoulders was going to pound disappointing, coordinator-less Texas in the Alamo Bowl. The problem with that wisdom was that Utah has feasted on teams that don't have the athleticism or skill of Texas and have been able to live between the tackles. Go watch them against Oregon or USC this year and you'll see something similar to the team that showed up in San Antonio.

Texas did show up, and while they did struggle to move Utah's 330 pound DTs in the inside run game, they dominated the Utes most everywhere else and made a mockery of their passing game and inside run game with a typical, Todd Orlando-esque gameplan.

The Longhorns out-rushed the Utes 231-128 and out-gained the Utes overall 438-253. Complete subjugation of the foreign invaders, ideally Texas would not play in the Alamo Bowl again in the coming decade. They did go 2-1 there this decade.

Quick thought no. 1: Good gameplan by the reduced staff

This was an easy assignment for Craig Naivar, believe it or not. The Utes used some tempo, motion, and sweeps to generate some leverage and advantages here and there but as noted in the preview, what they really want to do is go downhill with Zack Moss. Well downhill is where Keondre Coburn lines up, and Taquon Graham, and Malcolm Roach. The interior is where Texas' D is designed to regularly shoot the A-gaps with ILB blitzes by explosive players like Juwan Mitchell. It's an inhospitable place and if your gameplan is geared towards downhill runs but can't prevent Texas from shooting LBs through those gaps then you're going to have a bad day. Sure enough, Utah had a bad day.

What's more, their passing game was really heavy on play-action sets from protections that weren't capable of blocking Texas' athletes on the blitz. Soon Tyler Huntley had his head down and was running for his life and taking shots from all directions.

On offense the gameplan was similarly effective and perhaps a little more impressive. Credit to Naivar for doing a good job and maintaining Texas' normally effective packages while mixing in their four-down stuff a little more for Ash's benefit (Orlando may have done that anyways though if he was being retained simply because of the matchup). However, the Texas offense had the tougher task and they had a very good plan.

One of their big wins was the bunch set, playing with the TE in an H-back set like normal but then keeping the slot and outside receivers fairly tight as well. The problem for Utah here was their emphasis on man coverage and the way these sets allowed Texas to create rubs, especially for the RBs and TEs breaking outside. But Texas did some real damage on their normal tight zone play from that bunch formation:

With hard cutbacks by the RBs, Texas could turn the tight zone play into a "Keaontay Ingram/Roschon Johnson vs the CB" matchup in space when they ran that play to the wide side like this. It was wildly effective, accounting for that 49-yard scoring run by Ingram and a pair of 20-yarders by Roschon.

Quick thought no. 2: What a season by Devin Duvernay

Duvernay, the workhorse, turned in a final's day of work with three catches for 92 yards and a TD, hauling in a pair of beautiful throws with fantastic over the shoulder catches. Facing man coverage by the Utes, Texas got into a trips formation a couple of times with Brewer working in space to run a stick route and then Duvernay flexed a little wide and running a slot fade. Utah didn't really catch on either time Texas ran this set and the result was 40 and 37 yard completions.

He also caught a flag route for a TD with a Ute trying to tackle him before the ball arrived. His final line on the year was 103 catches for 1294 yards and eight touchdowns. Salute to the other senior wideout who proved to be the key one in 2019.

Salute to Collin Johnson as well, who was unlucky with injuries this season but still showed up for the final and caught three balls for 62 yards and a score. Like so many other Longhorns in this soon ending decade, his story has too many "what might have been" chapters.

Quick thought no. 3: Joe Ossai, nightmare on the edge

Because of Utah's tendencies and formations, Joe Ossai got to play strictly as an edge player in this game. It went well.

Nine tackles, six of them for a loss, three of them sacks. Unbelievable domination from number 46, I'm sure many will be cursing Orlando forever that he wasn't allowed to play on the edge all season. Utah was a uniquely good matchup for Texas and I'm inclined to give Ossai credit for doing what he had to do this year, but they definitely should have let him play on the edge more. Spilling the ball to him with Coburn and the ILB blitzes yielded tremendous results.

A play you may or may not have fully noticed though was the 4th and 1 attempt on Utah's first drive after the half. The Utes ran a zone-read from a double TE set. They read TQ Graham and had BOTH TEs blocking Ossai so that Huntley could win to the edge for the first down. Guess what happened? Ossai got off the blocks and tackled Huntley for a loss. Ossai will be on the edge full time next season...that could be very effective even if he doesn't land six TFLs and three sacks ever again.

Quick thought no. 4: Don't count out Keaontay Ingram

Everyone wants to count this guy out because Roschon Johnson is a really tough runner and consummate teammate and Bijan Robinson is a future star who could definitely execute the bunch set tight zone play diagrammed above. All that said, Keaontay Ingram is pretty good too. He leapt over a man, caught a pass with a hit coming on the throwback (similar to the one he dropped vs LSU only nearly covered this time), and murdered Utah on a quick out from the bunch set as well. 13 carries, 108 yards, two catches, 26 yards, two total touchdowns, nice game. He has some toughness as a runner and his lateral agility hasn't gone anywhere.

Btw, a reminder that I've seen Mike Yurcich's 2014 playbook and they still had the diamond formation in there that Dana Holgorsen installed when he came to Stillwater and found a bunch of talented RBs and not a lot of depth at other positions. I don't see any good reason why Texas couldn't run a diamond formation with some combination of Ro, Ingram, Bijan, and Whittington next season.

Quick thought no. 5: Secure Sam and put this decade in the past

Sam Ehlinger is virtually a lock to come back. He's waiting on the NFL papers but he'll get a better grade after his senior year and there's a long tradition of QBs that stuck in college having better success both in the draft and in the NFL. There's a lot to be gained by sticking around with Yurcich, continuing to clean up his game, and ideally being handed the keys to calling the shots at tempo.

Tom Herman has proven that he can get this team up for big games and bowl games. Now it's time to get this new staff together, put together a compelling vision that excites these players and prepares them for another offseason grind, and go have a season where they can plan and prepare well enough to inflict more blowouts like this one rather than giving away games they should win against scrappy Big 12 opponents. USF and LSU loom on the schedule as the first tests in a new decade for Texas football. This one is finally over.

satyanash · January 1, 2020

Joseph Ossai getting a ton of praise thrown his way after tonight.

satyanash · January 1, 2020

satyanash · January 1, 2020

Some reactions from former players

satyanash · January 1, 2020

HornSports: Texas uses strong defensive performance to power over #11 Utah

Home-field advantage? Finally healthy team? Maybe. Domination? No doubt. Behind a strong performance from a pair of defensive underclassmen, Texas finishes a roller coaster of a season on a high note with a 38-10 win over #11 Utah in the Alamo Bowl for their third consecutive bowl win.

Since filling in for injured starters in the secondary, true freshman Chris Adimora has proved his worth from the safety position as the Horns used a strong performance from the 2019 four-star recruit to limit the Utes to just 126 passing yards. Joseph Ossai rounded out a phenomenal sophomore campaign with a 9 tackle (6 for loss), 3 sack performance as the front seven played arguably its best game of the season in limiting Utah’s stellar rushing attack to just 128 yards, over 100 yards under its average.

Texas got on the board first out of the gate with a Cameron Dicker 29-yard field goal on the opening drive of the game to go up 3-0. The defense held firm in the first half as they kept the Utes scoreless through the first two frames, Utah’s second such occasion in a row after also putting up a goose egg in the Pac-12 Championship Game against Oregon. Sam Ehlinger fired his 30th touchdown of the season at the start of the second quarter to Collin Johnson from five yards out after a 71-yard punt return inside the 10 by D’Shawn Jamison to power Texas to a 10-0 halftime lead.

The Longhorn offense stayed hot out of the locker room though as Ehlinger found the end zone again, this time to Keaontay Ingram from 11 yards out. After Utah got on the scoreboard with a 32-yard field goal, Texas led a 7-play 75-yard drive over nearly five minutes and capped it off with a six yard rushing score to go up 24-3.

The Utes followed that up with their first touchdown of the night on a controversial pitch-and-catch from Tyler Huntley to Demari Simpkins from four yards out to cut the deficit to 24-10. However, the Texas defense held firm down the stretch as the offense tacked on two more scores to secure the rout and their biggest win over a ranked opponent since their 52-17 win over #10 Texas Tech in 2005.

Sam Ehlinger finished with 201 passing yards along with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. The junior quarterback also rushed for 73 yards on one score. Keaontay Ingram tacked on his fourth 100-yard performance with 108 yards and 1 score. Texas finishes the season with a 8-5 record as they eclipse the eight win mark for back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2011-2013. The Longhorns will open the 2020 season on September 5, 2020 against South Florida at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

satyanash · January 1, 2020

(Chip Brown) My Take: Texas' first complete game nice way to ring in New Year

SAN ANTONIO — What started off as a month of uncertainty after Tom Herman let go of both coordinators leading up to signing day ended as a perfect way or the Longhorns to ring in the New Year. Texas practiced only eight times (of an allowable 15) leading up to Tuesday night’s 38-10 destruction of No. 11 Utah. The curtailed practice schedule - Herman said - was due to recruiting efforts leading up to signing day on Dec. 18 as well as UT being short-staffed after Herman let go of defensive coordinator Todd Orlando and receivers coach Drew Mehringer in addition to reassigning receivers coach Corby Meekins on Dec. 1.

Utah, a seven-point favorite, came in with the higher ranking, the nation’s top-ranked rush defense (70.3 yards per game on the ground), a 1,300-yard rusher in Zack Moss, one of the nation’s sack leaders in Bradlee Anae (12.5 sacks) and an 11-2 bowl record under Kyle Whittingham. But absolutely none of that seemed to matter to a group of Longhorns who played by far their most complete game of the season - in all three phases.

Texas dominated Utah defensively thanks to a great game plan from interim coordinator Craig Naivar, made a huge play on special teams thanks to a 71-yard punt return by D’Shawn Jamison that set up a second-quarter touchdown as well as an offense that couldn’t be stopped in the second half. Sam Ehlinger was named the offensive MVP of the game after completing 12 of 18 passes for 201 yards, including three touchdown passes and one interception as well as 11 carries for 73 yards and a 6-yard TD run.

But the offensive MVP award could’ve gone to Keaontay Ingram, who had 12 carries for 101 yards and an electrifying, 49-yard TD run as well as two catches for 26 yards, including an 11-yard TD catch. Or the offensive MVP award could’ve gone to Devin Duvernay, who caught three passes for 92 yards (30.7 yards per catch), including a you-got-Mossed, 15-yard TD catch in the second half.

In a first half dominated by the defenses, D’Shawn Jamison provided the game’s biggest play from a momentum standpoint for Texas with a 71-yard punt return that set up UT’s only touchdown in the first half. Jamison added a 25-yard return midway through the fourth quarter. Texas sophomore linebacker Joseph Ossai was the defensive MVP of the game with a team-high nine tackles, a jaw-dropping six tackles for loss, including three sacks.

It was the Texas defense that set the tone from the beginning. Through the first half, it seemed interim defensive coordinator Craig Naivar was making his case for a position on incoming DC Chris Ash’s staff: Utah’s five first-half drives all ended in punts. The Utes’ vaunted running game, led by senior 1,300-yard rusher Zack Moss, averaged just 2.8 yards per carry. Texas had three sacks among five tackles for loss, including two sacks by Ossai. And the Utes’ didn’t cross midfield until the final two minutes of the first half. Texas then opened the second half with B.J. Foster stuffing a fourth-and-1 rushing attempt by Tyler Huntley for a 2-yard loss.

Longhorns’ Nation will be leary to make too much out of this win, which improves Herman’s bowl record to 4-0, after Texas beat Georgia in last season’s Sugar Bowl to reach 10 wins only to follow it up with a 7-5 season. But considering the uncertainty of the rest of the month of December, Tuesday night’s thumping of Utah (which extends the losing streak in bowl games of teams losing in the Pac-12 title game to 0-8), this sure was a nice way for Longhorn Nation to ring in a New Year and a new decade!!

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR TEXAS:

The first complete game of the season - in dominating fashion!! Only four penalties for 38 yards - none in the first half.

DUVERNAY TD CATCH PUTS TEXAS UP 31-10: All Devin Duvernay did against Utah was make spectacular catches downfield, including his leaping, you-got-Mossed, 15-yard TD catch with 8:58 left to play in the corner of the end zone over a Utah defender, putting Texas up 31-10. The seven-play, 75-yard drive was fueled by a 20-yard run by Roschon Johnson and a spectacular, 37-yard reception by Duvernay down the left sideline against tight coverage from Javelin Guidry.

EHLINGER TD RUN PUTS TEXAS UP 24-3: Texas overcame first-and-20 after a holding call on Brennan Eagles as Ehlinger ran for 31 yards on third-and-2 to the Utah 36. Then, Utah imploded with back-to-back personal fouls (unnecessary roughness after DT Maxs Tupai hit Ehlinger late while Ehlinger was on the ground; and a facemask on the next play). That set up Ehlinger for a 6-yard touchdown run, putting Texas up 24-3 with :06 left in the third quarter.

INGRAM DOES IT ALL ON TD DRIVE FOR 17-0 LEAD: After the Texas defense stuffed Utah on a fourth-and-1 run at the Utah 43, Keaontay Ingram ran for 5 yards, caught a pass for 15 yards (plus a personal foul facemask on Utah) and then caught an 11-yard touchdown strike from Sam Ehlinger, putting Texas up 17-0 with 10:30 left in the third quarter.

The Texas defense continued a suffocating first half on Utah’s opening drive when B.J. Foster stuffed a fourth-and-1 rushing attempt by Utah QB Tyler Huntley for a 2-yard loss. That gave Texas the ball at the Utah 43, and the Longhorns quickly turned that field position into a three-play, scoring drive capped by an 11-yard TD pass from Ehlinger to Keaontay Ingram, putting Texas up 17-0 with 10:30 left in the third quarter.

Chris Adimora made a nice play on the ball, breaking up a deep ball in Texas territory on a third-and-23 pass attempt by Utah just before halftime. After driving from their own 1 to the Texas 35, Utah was called for an illegal formation penalty and then was slapped with an intentional grounding call that brought up third-and-23 from the UT48. Joseph Ossai was credited with an 8-yard sack on the play.

On third-and-3 near midfield, Ehlinger threw a perfect deep ball over the right shoulder of Devin Duvernay against blanket coverage by Utah’ Javelin Guidry, and Duvernay reeled it in for a 40-yard gain to the Utah 16 late in the second quarter. (Unfortunately, that drive resulted in zero points after a failed fourth-and-2 pass was intercepted.) Ta’Quon Graham sacked Utah QB Tyler Huntley for a 9-yard loss on first down to start Utah’s fourth possession of the game. Later, on the same drive, Caden Sterns blitzed and flushed Huntley right into the arms of Joseph Ossai for a 5-yard sack that helped force a fourth straight punt by the Utes midway through the second quarter.

JAMISON PUNT RETURN SETS UP TOUCHDOWN: After D’Shawn Jamison recovered his own muff on his previous punt return, he took a step to his right and cut up field for a 71-yard punt return to the Utah 6 with 14:07 left in the second quarter. Two plays later, Sam Ehlinger found Collin Johnson for a 5-yard touchdown pass, giving Texas a 10-0 lead with 13:24 left in the second quarter.

Roschon Johnson came into the game on UT’s third offensive series, and he popped an outside zone to the right side that went for 17 yards late in the first quarter. Wide-open, Utah running back Henry Cole dropped a third-down pass that would’ve gone for a nice gain. Instead, Utah punted on its second straight drive to start the game. Ryan Bucjevski, back from a shoulder injury suffered on a run/fake punt against TCU, boomed a 49-yard punt on his first attempt.

The Texas defense, showing a lot of four-man front on Utah’s opening possession, forced a punt after producing two negative-yardage plays - a combined TFL for a 1-yard loss by Joseph Ossai and Ta’Quon Graham and a 4-yard TFL by Keondre Coburn.

DICKER FIELD GOAL CAPS 10-PLAY DRIVE: Texas took the ball after winning the toss and promptly marched down the field on a 10-play, 63-yard drive that took 4:34 off the clock, capped by a 29-yard Cameron Dicker field goal. The drive bogged down after Sam Ehlinger was sacked for a 1-yard loss on first down from the Utah 14. Texas won the toss and took the ball for only the second time all season (Rice was the other) and opened with a deep ball over the middle from Ehlinger to Collin Johnson for 34 yards.

WHAT WENT WRONG:

Samuel Cosmi was called for holding, negating a touchdown run by Sam Ehlinger midway through the fourth quarter. (But UT scored on the drive anyway on a Devin Duvernay TD catch.)

UTAH SCORES TD AFTER PERSONAL FOUL ON COBURN: The Texas defense appeared to get the ball back for UT’s offense after stopping Utah 1 yard short on fourth-and-7 from the Texas 11. But Keondre Coburn was flagged for a personal foul (illegal participation) because he continued to pursue the play after his helmet came off. That gave Utah first-and-goal from the 2. After Joseph Ossai tackled Zack Moss for a 2-yard loss, Tyler Huntley found Demari Simpkins for a 4-yard TD pass (although it looked like Simpkins juggled the ball and didn’t have control before going out of bounds - but UT didn’t call timeout to challenge it). The score cut Texas’ lead to 24-10 with 11:34 to play.

Texas picked up its first two penalties of the game in the third quarter: a personal foul facemask on Joseph Ossai that helped extend a Utah drive to a field goal; and Brennan Eagles being flagged for holding on a 6-yard reception by Devin Duvernay. (UT went on to score a TD on the drive.) With a 10-0 lead at the 3:30 mark of the second quarter, Tom Herman went for it on fourth-and-2 from the Utah 8 instead of kicking a 25-yard field goal after taking a timeout. Ehlinger was intercepted on the 1 by Utah’s Javelin Guidry with 3:24 left in the second quarter.

Texas announced in the second quarter junior safety Chris Brown wouldn’t return to the game with an ankle injury. On UT’s second possession, Ehlinger threw deep and incomplete to Collin Johnson but had Brennan Eagles wide open deep on the left side of the field and never saw him. That drive ended two plays later when Ehlinger was sacked for a 3-yard loss on third-and-11 by Utah’s Leki Fotu.

On third-and-6 from the Utah 10 on UT’s opening drive, Ehlinger held the ball too long, and by the time he threw to tight end Cade Brewer, Utah had it sniffed out and nearly came up with an interception that might’ve gone for a pick-six.

NOTABLES:

Senior Brandon Jones, who missed a lot of practice time leading up to the bowl game with shoulder and ankle injuries, warmed up with the defense and was available to play but sat out with his injuries. The starting linebackers for Texas were Ayodele Adeoye, Cort Jaquess and Joseph Ossai. Linebacker Juwan Mitchell, who started five games this season, didn’t get into the game until Utah’s third offensive series (he replaced Adeoye).

satyanash · January 1, 2020

Joseph Cook: Longhorns bully No. 11 Utah in 38-10 Alamo Bowl victory

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SAN ANTONIO -- The Utah Utes entered the Alamo Bowl with the No. 3 total defense, allowing 256.2 yards per game. Teams averaged 70 yards per game on the ground against a talented and disciplined defense. Texas amassed 231 yards on the ground against the No. 11 Utes as part of a convincing 38-10 Alamo Bowl win where second and third string Longhorns were able to receive playing time in the final stages of the game.

"We knew coming into that they're an incredible front seven,” Sam Ehlinger said. “Offensive linemen knew they had to be physical and win their matchups, and I think they did exactly that." Ehlinger won player of the game honors for the second straight bowl game. He passed for 201 yards and three scores and added a rushing touchdown as part of Texas’ dominating night on the ground. His 73 yards didn’t earn the honor of being the game’s leading rusher; that belonged to Keaontay Ingram.

Ingram rushed for 108 yards on 13 carries, including a 49-yard touchdown run that put the game at its final 38-10 score. He added 26 yards and a touchdown through the air., and had a highlight-reel hurdle of a Ute defender. The 49-yard touchdown from Ingram was one of six different rushing plays of 10 or more yards. “Our players, wow did they play hard and we knew that’s what it was going to take,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said.

“We knew this was probably going to be the most physical team that we played all year, and our guys rose to the occasion.” D’Shawn Jamison’s 71-yard second quarter punt return set up Texas’ first touchdown, a five-yard touchdown reception by Collin Johnson. That was the only six-point score of the half by both teams.

Interim defensive coordinator Craig Naivar took over playcalling duties and spun a gem in his first time in the role at Texas. Utah totaled 254 yards on 60 plays, 128 of them on the ground and 126 through the air. The Ute offense didn’t cross midfield until just before halftime, and that drive ultimately ended with a punt. The Longhorns fared much better in their ability to finish drives. Of Texas’ 11 drives, only the second drive ended with a three-and-out. Six of them ended in scores, and only the first ended with a field goal.

His gameplan consistently put Joseph Ossai on the edge rather than off the ball, and Ossai excelled. He recorded a game-high nine tackles including 3.0 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss. “Craig Naivar and that defensive staff did an unbelievable job getting these guys ready for what they were about to face,” Texas head coach tom Herman said after the game.

Ossai had several young teammates with him on the field including former walk-on linebacker Cort Jaquess, who received the start at middle linebacker in his hometown. Freshmen Chris Adimora, and first-year player Juwan Mitchell contributed to the defensive effort. “We just trusted them,” Ossai said about the interim defensive staff. “We bought in 100 percent and went out there and executed. I think that was the key thing tonight was executing.”

Texas’ 28 second-half points allowed the backups to enter the game late, with Casey Thompson receiving mop up snaps at quarterback. Though Texas’ 2019 disappointed at many junctures, the end gives the 2016 senior class their third straight bowl win. No senior class at Texas this decade could say that save for Malcolm Roach and his fellow Longhorns.

“It just shows you what you could do when you stay together with your brothers,” Roach said. “We’ve been through so much together and the way we led this year, it wasn’t always on the same page, but it always was the same message that we wanted to get through to the whole team. I couldn’t be more proud of everybody in my class.” Texas enters an important offseason hoping it can parlay another bowl victory into loftier achievements in 2020.

It’s a lot easier to do that with a win, and Texas will try to ride that as much as they can before the first snap of the 2020 season. “It can take us a boost us into the offseason,” Ossai said. “We can have that on our shoulders and going through the offseason because there’s no ball game. So if you need to be reminded of something, it’s definitely great to go into the offseason with a win like this.”

satyanash · January 1, 2020

Taylor Estes: Herman, Longhorns discuss dominating performance against Utah

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SAN ANTONIO — The 2019 season finale could not have gone any better for the Longhorns as Texas wrapped up an adversity-filled year with a dominant 38-10 win over No. 11 ranked Utah. The Longhorns controlled the game from start to finish at all three phases: offense, defense and special teams.

Texas managed to upset yet another team for the third-straight season, allowing head coach Tom Herman and his assistants to continue their perfect record in bowl games since they were hired at Texas. Herman and a number of players took over the microphones in the post game press conference interviews, which can be read in its entirety below.

HEAD COACH TOM HERMAN: Hats off to the university. Very classy organization in our dealings with them throughout the Bowl week. I couldn't be more impressed and certainly you don't win 11 games in the regular season without being an extremely well-coached team. I've got a ton of respect for Coach Whittingham, and the way that he does things, and just, you know, getting a chance to spend a couple different times with him at length, very impressive coach and I look forward to continuing a relationship with him because he's one of the good ones out there.

Hats off to our fans. Wow. That certainly felt like a home game. I think I saw up on the scoreboard, 60,000-something in attendance. What an awesome job for them to come support us. And then finally, our players. Wow, did they play hard and we knew that's what it was going to take. We knew that this was probably going to be the most physical team that we played all year, and our guys rose to the occasion.

You know, we were about as healthy as we've been in quite some time. We were fresh. The guys enjoyed the Bowl experience, the entire month leading up to it. They had fun with each other. They bonded. And you know, they took care of their bodies, and when it was time to work, they worked their tails off. Had a great few weeks of preparation, and couldn't be prouder of the way they played tonight, not just only in execution, but in effort and physicality. Just so impressed by them.

Q. Tommy, in your three seasons, you've always had your best success when you're imposing your will on the opponent, metaphorically punching them in the mouth, and you did it again tonight. How do you get them to do it consistently, week-in, week-out, 13, 14 games?

HEAD COACH TOM HERMAN: Well, we've got to be healthy. We're not to the point yet where our depth is where it needs to be. We've got to develop that depth to do that, and it's got to be a mentality that permeates the entire organization. It can and it will, and that's my job is to make sure -- I don't have all the answers right now on New Year's Eve as to how to get that done. But I'm excited for the off-season to challenge these guys to understand what they are capable of when they do play that way.

This was an unbelievable learning experience for a lot of those pressure men and sophomores in that room. Those guys, you know, we had our ups and downs with that crew throughout the season, but I think throughout -- not just tonight, the four hours tonight, but throughout the Bowl preparation, I think the label went on as to what it takes to win as a championship level, and I'm excited to carry over those lessons into the off-season.

Q. How many practices did you end up having for this Bowl game and how many are allowed? I think you said you weren't going to hit the allowable or something. And for Joseph and Malcolm defensively, just talk about, you know, what was going on, you guys dominated the game, set the tone. Were they playing you any differently, Joseph, tonight?

HEAD COACH TOM HERMAN: We only practiced eight times. I think we went Friday and Saturday when our coaches got off the road and then we went Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, the guys home for Christmas, came back the day after Christmas, had basically what would be a Tuesday practice. We practiced twice here and had family Friday yesterday; that's not really a practice. Yeah, it's a misnomer. Everybody thinks that you get 15 just like spring ball. You get as many as you want, is my understanding.

So we've got to be smart, and certainly with the early signing period that has changed a lot of that dynamic with really only two weeks, and if you play in the Championship Game, one week to wrap up or mostly wrap up a signing class, so it leaves you much less time to practice. But it's worked out well for us the last couple years because our guys are fresh.

But we've been doing that -- we like to have fun during Bowl prep, we really do. These guys have learned when it's time to relax and have fun, we're going to do that and we're going to do it full tilt. But when it's time to lock in, these guys have really grown up and matured; that, okay, now it's time to practice and meet and walk through and all that stuff and these guys have been dialed in to do that.

JOSEPH OSSAI: What was your question, how did we feel dominating?

Q. For Joseph and then for Malcolm, the dominating performance on defense and what was going on out there.

JOSEPH OSSAI: What was going on out there was just us having fun, and us having confidence in the defense, the defensive scheme. The coaches, I know they put a lot of time into preparing this game for us, and they wanted to put us in the best situation and the best situation possible. So we just trusted them, we bought in 100 percent and went out there and executed. I think that was the key thing tonight was executing. We've done a poor job -- I myself have done a poor job in the past of executing, and today I feel like we executed at a high level and the result was pleasing.

MALCOLM ROACH: I'm just so proud of us and proud of the defense. With eight practices, we put in almost a whole new defense that we never ran before, and you know, the way we brought it down and just got it down, reps after reps, knowing when it's time to lock in and learn the defense, and me and Joe switching sides almost every play. The communication of the defense tonight was big, just being able to talk.

Those guys run a lot of 12, 13, 14 personnel. They try to play real, real physical with us and we started up front, made me and Joe's job easy tonight. All we had to do was set edges and force the ball back to the linebackers and we did that all night. The way we got down this defense and the way we went out there and played with each other and for each other, it was something I'll never forget. I'm just proud of all those guys in that locker room, that's all I can say.

Q. You always talk about how you want your guys to be pros, and you know, they had a lot of things that could have been distractions with, you know, new coaches coming in, but they stayed focused and dialed in. Can you just talk about that aspect of them being professionals and avoiding the distractions that could have been there?

HEAD COACH TOM HERMAN: Well, you've got, you know, three captains up here and one future captain, and a lot of other leaders in that locker room that -- distractions are only that, if you choose to let them be. These guys did a great job of tuning out the noise. I thought our staff did a heck of a job of not allowing all of that outside noise become a distraction, as well and two really good games. I mean, unbelievable games.

Craig Naivar and that defensive staff did an unbelievable job getting these guys ready for what they were about to face, and you know, the entire offensive staff with some wrinkles and adjustments in order to attack some things that we saw on film. You know, this is -- it would have been very easy; it would have been human nature for coaches to scatter, for players to scatter, for everybody to kind of splinter, especially knowing that the regular season was not what we had hoped going in.

But I think everybody knew that, you know, we had three or four weeks to rectify some of the wrongs that happened throughout the regular season, and these guys are, again, they are competitors. They want to win and they want to be put in the best position to win, and be taught how to execute it, and then go out and do it with their hair on fire, so to speak. I can't say enough about the leadership in the locker room, but also the staff and how professional they were in preparing these guys for this type of Bowl game.

Q. First for Sam and then Devin. Sam, from your vantage point what were you seeing from the line of scrimmage that allowed your offensive schemes to be so effective against a pretty stout defense? And Devin, take us through the three amazing catches, the separation -- there wasn't much, but take us through those three pretty amazing catches.

SAM EHLINGER: We knew coming into it that they were an incredible front seven, and the offensive lineman knew they had to be physical and win their matchups and they did exactly that. That allowed us to open up the run game and they had to load guys up in the box and they tried to take that away and you had guys like Devin and Collin and Brand the whole wide receiver room, it's really hard for them to stop us. All credit goes up front. Those are some really talented, All-American defensive players, and our guys did a great job of winning their matchups.

DEVIN DUVERNAY: Yeah, I knew 28 could run and he was a good player. I knew I was just going it have to out-technique him and out-physical him. Sam did a great job putting the ball where I could get a chance in all three of those plays, and just made a play, come down with the ball.

Q. Sam, a couple days ago, you mentioned that it would have been easy for guys to have one foot out the door and Coach Herman touched on this before, but what did you see in these weeks of practice? What did you sense that made you feel that these guys were capable of this, because y'all were very confident heading into this game.

SAM EHLINGER: I think it's a credit to our coaching. There was never any sense of unfocusness -- I guess that's really not a word. But it was very professional. We understood what was on the table and we understand that's the competition, and we knew the opportunity we had to play such an incredible team. Obviously they were fighting for a playoff spot a few weeks ago and we got the chance to play them. We knew the opportunity and we wanted to finish the season off right for these seniors because of the things they have gone through this program.

You think about the difference between their freshman year and now, I would say they have built a foundation of getting everything back to where we're playing better football, and they have been through a lot, and it's a testament to their character and who they are as people. A lot of guys in their class have left, and these are the guys that stayed, and they are captains, some of our best players. Everybody wanted to play for them because of the love that we have for all those guys.

Q. Over these eight practices, what did you and your defensive staff see from Cort to have confidence in giving him a start today, and with you being down a few linebackers, how big was his play?

HEAD COACH TOM HERMAN: Oh, yeah, Cort's a great story. You know, if there was a Scout Team Player of the Year award, he would have won it probably back-to-back years. He's really tough, really physical and just understands football. He sees the game really, really well, and we knew that -- you know, we were going to be short in that area, especially with Joe and Jeff playing close to the line of scrimmage needing those guys to play close to the line of scrimmage. We were going to need him to be in that rotation and he came through in a big way.

Q. Malcolm, you've been the emotional leader of this team. You guys came out with a lot of juice early on defense. What message did that send to Utah, and also, how do you think your class has left this place going out, and what message did that send to your younger teammates coming back?

MALCOLM ROACH: You know, game day consists of a lot of walk-throughs and meeting together, being around each other a lot on game day. You know, we had two walk throughs today and Coach just had great juice. Just keeping everybody amped up. We're in the walk-through, basically doing a run-through because we're so hyped up, ready to play. He's giving great speeches and things like that and once the juices are flowing and you're out there playing loose and you know the game plan and you're able to go out there and play fast and play with a lot of confidence, and on defense we did that.

Just being able to fly around and make plays and have that swagger, and -- what do I want to say -- have that swagger and just have fun doing it. The way ball is supposed to be played; you shouldn't be uptight playing ball. We out there having fun, celebrate with your teammates and things like that. That was great and that confidence rolled into the game from the first half to the second half.

My class and our legacy, you know, the ultimate goal is to win a National Championship, and win the conference championship. We didn't do that, but we won three Bowl games in a row. That hasn't been done here in ten years I think. It just show what you can do when you stay together. My class came in, we had a humongous class. We found a lot of people, and I think there's only eight of us left -- I can't remember. It's not a lot of us left.

It just shows you what you could do when you stay together with your brothers. We've been through so much together and the way we led this year, it wasn't always on the same page, but it always was the same message that wanted to get through to the whole team. I couldn't be more proud of everybody in my class. Man, you know, the bond we formed together is unbreakable is. This dude sitting to my right is like one of my best friends.

He barely talking, and I talk a lot and how we become best friends, I don't know (Laughter). But without us being here that, would have never happened. You know, I'm proud I got to meet these guys and proud that I got to spend some of the best years of my life with these guys, and pour out blood, sweat and tears every day with them. Our legacy is we stay solid with each other. We stay solid from the first day. We could have broke, but the core of our class stayed solid and I'm so proud.

Q. How much was this about simplifying and letting athletes do their thing? What is it about you and Bowl games?

HEAD COACH TOM HERMAN: Yeah, I think there's an element of simplification. You want to be simple but not predictable. I think that's the best way to describe winning defense and you know, when they know what to do and they can fly around, but you don't want to play 100 percent of the same thing or else you're going to get schemed up, so there is a bit of a cat-and-mouse in terms of adjustment.

I thought our third-and-long package was at its best tonight that I've seen in a long time. You know, I thought Coach Naivar called a great game and had a great game plan. These guys they bought into it and they flew around and they played really physical. As for me and Bowl games, I don't know. I have really good players. We, again, have always had kind of a philosophy of having fun during that time and working when it's time to work and having fun when it's time to have fun. Because again, you're talking about a month in between ball games.

These guys, the first couple weeks, week and a half after the Texas Tech game, they are worried about passing their finals. Some of them graduating, all of that. Jamari needed to pass British Lit to graduate and he did it. We were so excited for him. I don't know that I could pass British Lit. So that first week and a half or so is about, you know, going down the wire academically, and then when school is out, there's a lot of bonding that goes on and a lot of fun to be had.

You know, I think we've got really good coaches that when given extra time to prepare can find weaknesses, can find chinks in armors, and our kids buy in that -- I mean, when you look at the four Bowl games that I've won as a head coach, it's always been about physicality. Even going back to, you know, the University of Houston and Florida State, we held them to I think 30-something yards rushing, and we ran the ball really well.

And then, you know, the Texas Bowl, we're playing the No. 1 offense in the SEC and we hold them to 13 points. And then last year, we run the ball, which was not our strong suit certainly last year. But we found ways to be physical against a physical Georgia team, the best rush defense in the country and found a way to rush for 231 yards. All of that credit and hold them to 128 yards rushing -- so all that credit goes up front. But I do think the coaching staff deserves a small amount of that credit for finding ways to put our guys in position to be physical and fast.

Q. Sam and Joseph, a performance like this breeds a lot of optimism. What do you think will be the key, and how optimistic are you that this program can take that step again and get back to that 10-win kind of level?

SAM EHLINGER: Yeah, I think when we are healthy and having fun and playing for each other, and playing mistake-free, we're really, really hard to beat. I'm very optimistic about the guys coming back. There's a lot of young guys that have a lot of experience and are really, really good football players, so I'm very optimistic.

JOSEPH OSSAI: The one good thing, it's never good to be injured, but the one good thing that came out of all the injuries was the young guys that got to play and the experience you gained, and that's something you can only get during playing time. I'm optimistic about them coming back and the guys coming in with this new signing class and getting to get molded by Yancy McKnight. Excited about next season and to see what we do.

HEAD COACH TOM HERMAN: Just a side-bar to that, we were walking through special teams today, and I was looking at the starting 11 guys on the coverage team, and ten of the 11 were either freshmen or sophomores. Then I looked at the punt return team and I think it was 9 of the 11 were freshmen or sophomores. You know, was a little bit nervous, but it's also very exciting to see these young guys go out and make plays, and I think you saw that, certainly, with the punt returns that D'Shawn had tonight, too.

Q. Obviously last year's win in the Bowl game, it was seen as a program-shifting win. How do you view this from a prism of moving forward as this being a big one that you guys can build off of?

SAM EHLINGER: I think it taught a lot of the young guys that when you play together, you play mistake-free, you have fun, and then you lock in and play mistake-free; that our talent can take us pretty far, and then once you add in mistake-free football, watch out. And so I think that it's a great -- I don't know how to word this -- but I'm not going to do this again (Laughter). I'll leave it at that.

HEAD COACH TOM HERMAN: Smart move.

JOSEPH OSSAI: Yeah, this was a great game. Gave the guys a lot of confidence in what we can do and what we stand for and what we can be on defense and how dangerous we can be on defense and equally on offense. It was definitely an energy-booster and I'm glad we did what we did because now we have that confidence. It can take us and it can boost us into the off-season.

We can have that on our shoulders and going through the off-season, because there's no ballgame, so if you need to be reminded of something, it's definitely great to go into the off-season with a win like this. So we are going to take this win into spring ball and we are going to keep working on our craft and we are going to try to come back next season even better.

satyanash · January 1, 2020

(Kaelen Jones) Finishing strong: Texas ‘played with a purpose’ in ending disappointing season with dominant Alamo Bowl win

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SAN ANTONIO — Sam Ehlinger had to think about it. Almost exactly one year before, the Texas quarterback blurted an answer into a microphone on a national stage without even being asked; the same assertion he walked back less than a full season later. His “We’re back” response after last season’s Sugar Bowl win had become a constant external gauge and needling point during a disappointing 2019 regular season.

Now, after Texas’ 38-10 win against No. 11 Utah in Tuesday night’s Alamo Bowl, the question came — what does the victory mean for the program? “I don’t know how to word this,” Ehlinger said, pausing momentarily. His response — “But I’m not going to do this again” — drew a few laughs. “Smart move,” coach Tom Herman added, from two seats over. Ehlinger did offer this: “Our talent can take us pretty far,” he said. “So I think that it’s a great (result).”

As the calendar flipped on what’s been a mostly forgettable decade for Texas, after the offensive and defensive coordinators were reassigned or fired after a long regular season, the Longhorns (8-5) rediscovered reason for optimism in 2020. It was more measured than exuberant as confetti rained down in the Alamodome, but Texas understands that beating the Utes, the Pac-12 runner-up that nearly reached the College Football Playoff, is something to build on.

Yes, it may only go so far. The momentum of the 2018 10-win season dissipated halfway through the 2019 campaign.

But Texas on Tuesday finished strong, earning an emphatic victory. Perhaps Utah — which boasted only one win against a ranked opponent this season (former No. 17 Arizona State, which fell out of the AP top 25 after Week 8 and finished 8-5) — wasn’t as formidable as its ranking suggested. Perhaps the Utes’ motivation wasn’t there after missing out on the Playoff with their loss to Oregon in the Pac-12 title game. Their best defensive backs Julian Blackmon and Jaylon Johnson didn’t play. Quarterback Tyler Huntley suggested the Utes lacked drive.

“I just feel like this last game we took more of a vacation than really preparing for a game,” he said. “That really came to bite us in the butt.” Regardless, it ultimately, didn’t matter. UT made sure of that. “They played hard,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said of the Longhorns. “They were well-coached. I don’t know if angry is the right word, but they certainly played with a purpose and I didn’t think we came out there and you know, sleep-walked. We didn’t play as well as they did.”

The Longhorns needed this. They looked galvanized. They had fun. They played with swagger, as senior defensive lineman Malcolm Roach put it. “The way ball is supposed to be played,” Roach said. “You shouldn’t be uptight playing ball. We were out there having fun, celebrate with your teammates and things like that. That was great.” UT practiced eight times leading up to the bowl. “We like to have fun during bowl prep,” Herman said. “We really do. These guys have learned when it’s time to relax and have fun, we’re going to do that and we’re going to do it full tilt.”

Herman praised the staff, led by interim coordinators, for the job it did in developing a game plan. More moves will be made with new hires Mike Yurcich and Chris Ash now free to get to work. Tim Beck, UT’s former offensive coordinator who worked as quarterbacks coach through the bowl game and is on an expiring contract, will become N.C. State’s offensive coordinator, according to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman.

Offensively, the Longhorns diversified their attack Tuesday, throwing in wrinkles and making adjustments to keep the Utes — who entered ranked No. 1 in total defense, No. 1 rush defense and 12th in passing defense — on their toes. It resulted in several big plays. Ehlinger, named Alamo Bowl offensive MVP, threw three touchdowns and rushed 11 times for 73 yards and one score. His star senior targets, Collin Johnson (three catches, 62 yards, one touchdown) and Devin Duvernay (three catches, 92 yards, one touchdown) combined to haul in three receptions of 30 yards or more. Sophomore tailback Keaontay Ingram rushed for 108 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries (8.3 yards per carry) and added two catches for 26 yards and one score.

The Longhorns played for the first time without former defensive coordinator Todd Orlando on their sideline. Interim defensive coordinator Craig Naivar said earlier in the week that he would utilize Orlando’s scheme. But Roach said they made significant changes, with he and sophomore linebacker Joseph Ossai, the game’s defensive MVP, alternating spots along the edge.

The Longhorns limited Utah to 254 total yards (4.2 yards per play). The Utes didn’t cross midfield until their final offensive possession of the first half. “We just trusted (the coaches),” said Ossai, who finished with a career-high six tackles for loss and three sacks. “We bought in 100 percent and went out there and executed. I think that the key thing tonight was executing.”

This is the type of performance Herman expects from his Longhorns. This is the type of physically imposing identity he wants. It’s what he attributes to being unbeaten in bowl games as a head coach. “When you look at the four bowl games that I’ve won as a head coach,” Herman said, “it’s always been about physicality.”

On Tuesday night, the Longhorns were more physical than one of the most physical teams in the nation. Having a nearly fully healthy squad — senior defensive back Brandon Jones missed Tuesday’s game with an injury and junior defensive back Chris Brown was forced out of the contest after suffering an ankle injury in the first half — played a significant role.

“We were about as healthy as we’ve been in quite some time,” Herman said. “We were fresh. The guys enjoyed the bowl experience, the entire month leading up to it. They had fun with each other. They bonded. And you know, they took care of their bodies, and when it was time to work, they worked their tails off.” I think when we are healthy and having fun,” Ehlinger said, “and playing for each other, playing mistake-free, we’re really, really hard to beat.”

Tuesday’s result is a reminder of what UT’s potential can produce. Even as it gained contributions from departing players, such as Duvernay and Johnson, a majority of its core is still intact. Ehlinger, after seeking NFL feedback, is expected to return for his senior season, Herman said.

Underclassmen played significant roles on both sides of the ball this season. Herman joked that when the Longhorns went through walkthroughs before the game, he noticed most members of his special teams units were sophomores or freshmen. Perhaps, even as injuries helped sully what was expected to be a monumental season, they’ll prove useful in the long run.

“The one good thing that came out of all the injuries,” Ossai said, “was the young guys that got to play and the experience you gained, and that’s something you can only get during playing time. I’m optimistic about them coming back and the guys coming in with this new signing class and getting to get molded by (strength and conditioning coach) Yancy McKnight. Excited about next season and to see what we do.”

The expectations, hope and pressure will be there again next season, a pivotal one in Herman’s tenure. “There’s a lot of young guys that have a lot of experience and are really, really good football players,” Ehlinger said. “So I’m very optimistic.”

Christopher Kamrani: How Utah’s propitious 2019 season stumbled at the finish line with a loss to Texas

Quote

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — There was no one in the driver’s seat, so Bradlee Anae, barefoot and drained after the 14th game of the season, took it upon himself to get his guys back to the locker room. With their season now over, Utah’s star defensive end took the wheel still in his jersey and shoulder pads. Quarterback Tyler Huntley rode alongside in shotgun. Zack Moss and Devin Lloyd took a seat on the back and away the golf cart went in the tunnel of the Alamodome. Anae drove by Texas band members celebrating, beyond cheerleaders sprinting, past Longhorns doing celebratory postgame TV hits, past the table of Chik-fil-A that was on the table outside the Texas locker room.

The ride from the press conference area to the Utah locker room wasn’t all that far — a long, straight shot down the tunnel — but still, it had to be particularly rough weaving through wave after wave of burnt orange and a sea of smiles. It wasn’t all that long ago that these same Utes couldn’t stop grinning, couldn’t stop thinking of what might lie ahead if their stellar run through fall would never come to an end. But it did, emphatically, four weeks ago inside Levi’s Stadium, leaving the Utes somewhere between imaging playing for a college football title to, on New Year’s Eve, basically playing a road game against Texas an hour from Austin.

Since Utah was drawn to face the Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl, the one resounding question that would not be answered until the ball flew off the tee Tuesday night was going to be this: could the Utes shake off the disappointment, could they shake off the constant what-ifs and get after it one last time? Utah did not look like the No. 11 team in college football Tuesday. It looked like a team that spent the last several weeks wondering, pondering, somewhere between pissed off at itself and pissed off that on the stage that mattered most, it fell well short.

In the last hours of 2019, Utah just got outclassed for four quarters. “For whatever reason,” Kyle Whittingham explained, his voice trailing off at the end, like him saying it out loud made it even more real, “the last two games of the season, we were not ourselves.” Utah was, for a second straight game, nowhere to be found in the 38-10 loss to Texas in the 2019 Alamo Bowl.

The Utes finish 11-3, their 11 wins against average to very mediocre teams, in and out of the Pac-12 Conference. Their three losses? They came against the three most-talented teams on Utah’s 2019 regular and postseason schedule. Oregon and Texas are atop that list, 1-2, and they made short order of the Utes. Against the Ducks, Utah at least made them earn in the second half. The Longhorns, it seemed like, hardly broke a sweat. They brought the wood to Utah and the Utes seemed somewhere between overwhelmed and outmatched. The offensive line could not pass protect against a solid defensive line, Huntley had to scramble again and again, the running game never got going, and Utah’s defense, minus its two best members of the secondary, was no match for Sam Ehlinger, Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay.

Zack Moss, who finished his historic Utah career with 57 yards on 16 carries, said Texas was blitzing 80 percent of the time. Utah could not handle it. That, Whittingham said, echoing the analysis of his running back, was the theme of the evening. Utah couldn’t protect, and it also couldn’t get the ground game going, and couple those two things and you have the makings of a very, very bad night in Texas against Texas. “I feel like they were just playing a little bit harder than us,” Huntley said.

Leave it to Huntley, long the emotional heartbeat of this year’s team, to refuse to give into cliches or anything resembling some sort of dusting Utah’s evening in something sweet. When asked why the Utes officially ran out of the steam they’d picked up throughout September, October and November, when they’d won eight straight games en route to a second-straight Pac-12 title, Utah’s senior quarterback provided the honest insight many wondered.

“I just feel like, this last game, we took more of a vacation than really preparing for the game,” he said, “and that really came to bite us in the butt.”

Is that an indictment as a sort of post-Pac-12 title game malaise or just the reality of the situation? Before the loss to the Ducks, the Utes were starry-eyed, just like their rabid fan base. To be fair, a large portion of the college football media landscape was bought in, too. They saw the Utes suffocating subpar teams week after week, saw Huntley and Moss putting the offense on their backs and making a case that maybe, just maybe, the Pac-12 had something serious finally cooking, following season after season of chasing college football’s collective pack.

Turns out, the Utes aren’t who so many thought they were. They were good, not great. They were balanced, but not dynamic enough on the outside, lacked depth at key secondary positions and the young offensive line cracked against the better defensive fronts it faced. “It’s the time of year where you judge everything, take a step back, keep things in perspective and understand what you accomplished, what your deficiencies are and what you need to work on going forward,” Whittingham said.

What Utah accomplished in 2019 was what most college football programs dream of doing: getting to a conference title game with a shot at College Football Playoff berth. An 11-win season means the Utes are trending in the right direction. You don’t have to look that far to see that with the way they raked in big-time recruits during the early signing period last week. People were taking notice before and on the heels of a double-digit season, but that also means there is change on the horizon.

Twelve senior starters move on. Eight on defense. Throw in junior Jaylon Johnson who declared for the 2020 NFL Draft early and that’s nine starters from a nationally-renowned defense that has to be replaced. “The seniors put in so much time into this program and whenever you’re not able to go out there and finish, it’s just a failure,” said sophomore linebacker Devin Lloyd. “Obviously it hurts, but we’ve got to come back and learn from this stuff.”

This departing senior class made an everlasting impact. Got Utah to games with stakes never before seen in program history. In one three-hour-plus burnt orange blur, it was over, their eras ended, and it’s onto what the returners in 2020 and newcomers to the program can bring and build upon what these Utes did not only this year but in their entire tenures. “They know the recipe,” said Moss, who became Utah’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards in the loss. “It was different when we came in.”

“(The end of the year) does not tarnish one iota what the senior class accomplished,” Whittingham said. “These guys have left their mark on Utah football. The third-highest win total in Utah football history and keep in mind the other two win totals were in a different conference in a different time. Way, way different.”

That eight-game win streak that had everyone believing is long in the past now. What went wrong? What changed? Utah played good teams, better teams, and got outplayed. “I think we had that eight-game stretch, we had our foot on the gas pedal and we just kind of took it off toward the end and I think that’s where it was as far as intensity on both sides of the ball,” Anae said. “We just kind of let off.”

Anae eventually let off the pedal on the golf cart near Utah’s locker room when they got near the end of the tunnel. They all went in together, one last time, proud of all they’ve done, miffed about lasting shortcomings, knowing that very soon, nothing will ever be the same.

Llewelyn Moss · January 2, 2020

8 hours ago, satyanash said:

I’d like to know which OKC station hated on the guy Kaelen (who does a good job in general and seems like a genuinely nice dude). My money is on the afternoon drive time guys on 107.7

Edited January 2, 2020 by Llewelyn Moss

taybo20 · January 2, 2020

The sports animal in Oklahoma City was always homer garbage. I mean I get it to be homer, but it was straight garbage shit. Been awhile since I’ve been there so not sure if it’s still around

alphahorn · January 2, 2020

After having 24 hours to digest it and rewatch most of it, all I can take away is we played much better than we did most of the year, but Utah is way the fuck overrated. We really don't know what this win means. They lost for a reason to USC, Oregon and Texas, dominated by Oregon and Texas. They play old school boring offense, and are exposed on defense when they play elite speed. Still 38-10 (3), is a dominating performance against a team we should dominate if we are the team we want to be, so...............off to next year and our trip to Baton Rouge.

Edited January 2, 2020 by alphahorn

taybo20 · January 2, 2020

15 minutes ago, alphahorn said:

After having 24 hours to digest it and rewatch most of it, all I can take away is we played much better than we did most of the year, but Utah is way the fuck overrated. We really don't know what this win means. They lost for a reason to USC, Oregon and Texas, dominated by Oregon and Texas. They play old school boring offense, and are exposed on defense when they play elite speed. Still 38-10 (3), is a dominating performance against a team we should dominate if we are the team we want to be, so...............off to next year and our trip to Baton Rouge.

Mostly where I am. UTAH played absolutely shit teams this year and against actual competition struggled or lost. We played simple and executed very well which eventually just allowed our athletes to win at the point of attack. The truth is we have a long way to go because we can’t be losing as many games as we did this year. 1 game doesn’t absolve the season. The new coordinators need to start righting their ship and making these players better.

TheMailBox357 · January 2, 2020

@satyanash Do you have the Stream of Consci__sness?

dcar00 · January 2, 2020

Im guessing Utah is much better than TCU or KU and we looked like complete shit against them so I'm going to say that I'm happy we looked competent against a, for certain, top 20 team and it was nice to get after the QB and play closer to the line of scrimmage. we hadn't really done that at all against a P5 team all year.

was nice to see our O look good as well.

all that ain't gonna matter in October in Dallas but hopefully it helps us close out the class while the new coaches get to work.

satyanash · January 2, 2020

1 hour ago, TheMailBox357 said:

@satyanash Do you have the Stream of Consci__sness?

Eric Nahlin: The Alamo Bowl Win is SOC Worthy

The favorable matchup caveat notwithstanding, that was an excellent win. The spectrum of Tom Herman coaching performances has a Mo Bamba wingspan but that was up there with his best efforts. The interesting thing with Herman is the bowl prep is counter to the team’s week in, week out intensity during the season-long grind. I wonder if there’s anything to learn from that, anything at all. Rather than come out slow and uncoordinated, they came out fast and well choreographed. They may not have converted big points early but they were in full control of the contest as they dictated from start to finish.

It’s going to be incumbent on Tom to figure out why his teams are so Jekyll and Hyde. Coordination plays a part in it but it isn’t everything. There are mental roadblocks that rear its head in-season that seem to dissipate as Herman takes his foot off the gas during bowl prep.

THREE CHEERS FOR CRAIG MOTHERF****** NAIVAR

Excuse the language but I prefer to speak to people in their native tongue when possible and this ode is to Craig Naivar. I’m with Ian in believing this game set up well regardless of if Todd Orlando or Craig Naivar game-planned it, but having the right plan going in and executing it are two different things. Naivar put his athletes in position to play to their rankings potential and they did just that. In the process, the huge talent disparity came to the fore.

If you watched all 13 games in a row without knowing which opponent was good or bad, you’d say this is the game where Texas held its greatest talent disparity. Texas was faster than Utah vertically and quicker laterally. They were more physical up front (on both sides of the ball) despite Utah being a mature team both in development and age. Team pursuits was excellent; all 11 were game tacklers. This effort underlines what happens when talented players are put in position to play fast rather than paralysis by analysis. Some of that is thanks to Utah’s offensive limitations but not all of it.

If I’m Chris Ash, I absolutely gauge Naivar’s competency to coach linebackers. His familiarity with the Big 12 should be a bonus to someone who has been coaching north of the Mason/Dixon. There is also former Iowa State linebacker Jeremiah George to help at the position. George has a lot of knowledge at the position but the teaching ability — conveying what he knows — is still a work in progress for the young coach.

COMPLEMENTARY FOOTBALL

This is a term I once loved but have grown to get agitated with when hearing it uttered by Tom Herman. Teams that pull off complementary football are headed by total football coaches. Complementary football is a noble goal of course, but the way Herman employs the philosophy he leaves too much play in the joints. Games are almost always much closer than they should be. Hence the perpetual Las Vegas line confusion. Scoring points is a nice way to complement the defense and aggression played a big part in that last night. Vertical shots (11.2 ypa for Ehlinger), imo, and I don’t mean kegs stands. Texas was aggressive from the onset and lo and behold, we saw the best illustration of complementary football this season.

You know how else each side complemented the other? On the penalty ledger. Texas had four penalties for 38 yards, and 15 of those were on the ridiculous Keondre Coburn flag where he played after his helmet was ripped off. That was about as clean and complementary a performance as you’ll see. Other than maybe LSU versus OU or A&M.

DEVIN THE DUVE

It’s not how you start your career, it’s how you finish. Devin Duvernay should be a lesson to all who are quick to call players busts early in their careers. He should also be another reminder that putting players in their proper role benefits everyone. Fit, fit, fit. Duvernay is also a solid reminder that not transferring when you’re frustrated is rewarded more often than not. He found a home at slot this season, one he’ll make his own as he embarks for the real ‘greener’ pastures of the NFL payday.

Replacing that combination of reliability and playmaking will be difficult but we said the same after losing Lil’Jordan Humphrey. A reimagining of the offense should be fun to cover this offseason. Getting Jake Smith up to speed will be a big storyline over the spring.

KEY-RO-B

Watching Keaotay Ingram and Roschon Johnson run for 8 yards per carry versus the number one rush defense in the country should make everyone bullish on the future of the run game. But wait, there’s more — Bijan Robinson is a floor wax AND mouthwash! From a prospect standpoint, Robinson looks to combine the strengths of both Ingram and Johnson. He has Ingram’s natural traits of feet, balance, and vision. That’s not to say Roschon doesn’t have those, he’s just at his best when he hits the hole with reckless abandon. Getting downhill quick is a strength of Bijan, though we need to see it translate to the college field. If Robinson has 70% of Johnson’s determination he’ll live up to his five-star billing.

The offensive line should make one more incremental jump next year, and the promising tight ends who needed another year of physical development will have that. Blocking should be in place. Scheme is being addressed. The run game should excel. I’m not ruling out Jordan Whittington at running back, but I think I’d come up with a hybrid/slot/running back role for him to add another dimension to the aforementioned. This will be the most talented Texas backfield in quite some time.

CLOSING

With the decisive win, along with some promising hires, the offseason became a little more tolerable to cover. Texas needed some optimism both in the locker room and on the recruiting trail and last night it got that.

satyanash · January 2, 2020

InsideTexas: Offensive and Defensive Report Cards----Utah

Some games are fun to watch on both sides of the ball. We played loose and free on both sides. We always tend to overrate our talent because we are prone to thinking they will always deliver their best shots regardless of enemy. We have seen them at their best and want to believe they can produce those same results in critical situations when opportunity offers chance. Sometimes outside influences prevent players from fulfilling responsibilities---sometimes they just slow down the warrior with sluggish teachings. We dominated because of solid preparation and fundamental assignments without second thoughts. We eliminated the what if''s. It showed. We played easy and nasty---that's a good thing.

Most of the good stuff has been covered by Justin, Eric, Joe, Scipio, and Ian so I'm headed in the other direction. I think one of the most neglected aspects of our football team is just how good/important our two kickers are to our success on the field. I hate our kickoff coverage period. We tend to cover in waves which leaves two way cuts for the returners. Dicker the kicker eliminates that negative with booming end zone bombs last night. Did I mention Dicker has been seen drilling returners with contact shots when they did break a miss-hit. It's time Tom recognizes the young man---he makes fewer damn mistakes than the head ball coach. His name is Cameron by the way.

Ryan B. deserves the same tip of the cap. Separating a shoulder making a first down and punting from every angle imaginable is just part of his contribution to the team. Stalling every second before striking another high hanger gives our coverage bunch a better opportunity to make a play and reduces the chance of a missed assignment. Learn their names. These guys are good.

The good news on defense was the play of former walk-on Cort Jaquess at LB and Joesph Ossai as a weak nine technique. The bad news is Cort never scrimmaged a down in the second half but returned to special teams duty. We were smart enough to leave Ossai alone but whoever made the decision to effectively "bench" Cort took a large part of our successful execution out of the equation. He may not be fast enough. He may not be agile enough. He doesn't even look the part. The fact that he makes plays, doesn't bust assignments, and attacks with passion evidently isn't enough to keep him on the field. Having seen a belly-full of what his replacements have done this year I feel placing this decision in the wtf? file merits my kind of justice.

Good game to watch. Lots of quality morsels to digest. Definitely positive energy. Here are the grades:

1---Burt---pass

2---Johnson---pass+

6---Duvernay---pass+

8---Bujcevski---pass+

8---Thompson---pass

9---Johnson---pass+

11---Ehlinger---pass+

13---Eagles---pass

15---Washington---pass

16---Smith---pass

18---Wiley---pass

26---Ingram---pass+

32---Young---pass

52---Cosmi---pass+

56---Shackelford---pass+

68---Kerstetter---pass+

73---Braun---pass+

75---Angilau---pass+

80---Brewer---pass+

83---Woodard---pass

3---Green---pass+

4---Cook---pass+

5---Jamison---pass+

6---Mitchell---pass

7---Sterns---pass+

11---Adimora---pass+

23---McCulloch---borderline

25---Foster---pass+

31---Overshown---borderline

32---Roach---pass+

39---Estelle---pass

40---Adeoye---pass

42---Bimage---pass

46---Ossai---pass+

49---Graham---pass+

57---Jaquess---pass+

91---Chisholm---pass

93---Sweat---pass

98---Ojomo---pass+

99---Coburn---pass+

Viper · January 2, 2020

1 hour ago, dcar00 said:

Im guessing Utah is much better than TCU or KU and we looked like complete shit against them so I'm going to say that I'm happy we looked competent against a, for certain, top 20 team and it was nice to get after the QB and play closer to the line of scrimmage. we hadn't really done that at all against a P5 team all year.

was nice to see our O look good as well.

all that ain't gonna matter in October in Dallas but hopefully it helps us close out the class while the new coaches get to work.

Good point

TwiceHorn · January 2, 2020

16 minutes ago, satyanash said:

The interesting thing with Herman is the bowl prep is counter to the team’s week in, week out intensity during the season-long grind. I wonder if there’s anything to learn from that, anything at all.

I wonder . . . .

Jkwellborn · January 2, 2020

I think that was Overshowns worst game this season. Didn’t seem like he did anything.

satyanash · January 2, 2020

(Scipio Tex) Utah Post Mortem: Defense & Special Teams

That was a gratifying win led by a dominant defensive performance. Today, the Salt Lake brims with tears.

The Utes punted on all five of their first half possessions and opened the 2nd half by turning the ball over on downs on their side of the field. So much for the obligatory first possession opponent touchdown. Texas showed the merits of playing with a lead and a fast start and when Utah did finally string together some offense (with their touchdown enabled by a helmet-less Keondre Coburn), it was far too little, too late. Utah only had ten possessions overall. If you want to play great defense, play less of it.

Interim DC Craig Naivar and a skeleton defensive staff put in a good game plan and installed some basic structure in only eight practices. Texas could have had as many as 15 sessions to prep the Alamo Bowl, but hiring necessity was the mother of invention and Herman's lack of intervention meant a rested defense that actually knew their positional assignments. Sure minds, fast legs.

Against a favorable personnel and schematic match-up, the Texas coaches correctly identified that Utah wasn't going to bully a physical Longhorn DL with their power sets when the Horns ran fronts featuring as many as 4 DL + Ossai (he's good on the line of scrimmage - who knew?) backed by run stopping ILBs tasked only with attacking gaps between the tackles. The bully got bullied.

What about trying finesse? That certainly worked on Texas all year. The Utes had little chance punishing Texas deep with a subpar receiver corps when our DBs were allowed to run simplified assignments paired with Joseph Ossai doing his best Lawrence Taylor impersonation applying pressure while the Longhorn DL actually got favorable pass rushing angles. Texas also noticed that Utah's TE merited a jam and safety attention on passing downs and that Huntley wasn't going to really hurt us running the ball. There's your game plan. Sometimes football isn't hard.

Consequently, Utah's longest completion downfield was a measly 19 yards and a big strike Utah passing game averaging well over 10 yards per attempt was held to 126 yards passing and 5 sacks. Little surprise that the Utes were held to 4 of 15 on money downs, repeatedly running their heads into a brick wall on 3rd and 4th down and short. Utah hurt Texas very briefly playing tempo, but that's not their identity and their receivers couldn't consistently separate against superior athletes. They pretty much threw in the towel in the 4th quarter and accepted their fate.

While these pregame scouting points were pretty obvious, obviousness eluded this defensive staff for much of 2019. So kudos to competence.

DL

A heavy rotation of Sweat, Graham, Roach, Ojomo and Coburn yielded sixteen tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks, and multiple QB hits while completely stoning Utah's power run game. Texas played multiple fronts and Roach got heavy rotation as a 4-3 DE and even a 3-4 OLB (really almost an old school 5-2 at times). Utah star RB Zack Moss totaled 57 yards on 16 carries - nearly half of his total coming on a 26 yard scamper on a blown assignment on the second level. Utah can't play the ball control game if they can't convert 3rd and short or face repeated 2nd and 12s after Longhorn DL penetration. Their formula can't work absent reliable gains.

The Utes totaled 128 yards rushing in all - a decent bit of it coming when the game was already decided. It's been a frustrating season trying to convince everyone that our DL is much more talented than our coaches scheme them to be. It was nice to show what players like Graham, Coburn and Ojomo are capable of when Texas actually sets the edge, stops making DL take lateral steps at the snap, and employs tactics understanding football is a lot more than white board sanskrit with mindless Xs running to spots. The best way to improve a unit is to teach and develop the position.

LB

Perhaps Chris Ash will notice Joseph Ossai's best attributes so that he doesn't have to "break out" every year in the bowl game playing on the edge.

Joseph Ossai should probably be up on battery charges today. Properly employed with fresh legs (and shoulder), #46 was a terror. He finished the game with a remarkable 9 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks. That's a stat line I haven't seen from a Longhorn defender in a very long time. He also registered at least three teeth rattling hits. Seeing him dominate Utah tight ends, tackles and RBs wasn't fair - his ability to play the edge with leverage, speed, and strength are rare and valuable attributes best not wasted playing ILB or standing over a slot receiver. Orlando made the mistake of thinking that just because a player CAN do something, he then necessarily should. In fact, that's a pretty good description of player misuse for a lot of versatile Texas defenders.

The other interesting development was seeing walk-on LB Cort Jaquess get the start inside. That's a good thing for meritocracy and if you ask Longhorn practice observers which Texas LB consistently brings the most violence coming downhill, many will mention #57. Downhill violence is what Texas needed most against Utah, as the scheme did a good job of shielding the ILBs from many responsibilities beyond attacking Zack Moss. Jaquess rotated with Adeoye and Mitchell throughout the game and the three combined for 15 tackles playing a run first simplified gap assignment defense. McCuloch even got a little run and chipped in another two stops. All of the linebackers delivered some good hard tackles between the hashes, even if some athletic deficits showed up on a cutback or two. Utah didn't really have the tools or mindset to exploit them, but Texas helped its own cause by assigning TE and RB coverage duties to DBs, content to let our corners play single man outside and let Caden Sterns be a football player.

DB

Anthony Cook and Jalen Green played well outside and that, along with our DL and Ossai, was really the key to Texas dominance. They overmatched Utah's wide receivers in coverage and it was nice to seeing them play with certainty and confidence. Traits regrettably absent in our season long attempts to give QB "looks" that only confused our guys while the opposing QB shrugged and threw it to green instead of into our carefully laid schematic traps.

Caden Sterns is a pretty damn good safety if you let him look at the QB and empower him to play the game. Eight tackles with a lot of range, featuring a terrific TFL solo tackle in space on Kuithe that was a chef's kiss of form tackling and recognition. He also showed good instincts for closing out from Cover 1.

BJ Foster didn't show up much in the box score (2 tackles) but he did a very good job attacking Utah's interior chain moving options in the passing game. Chris Adimora got heavy run in the absence of Chris Brown and Brandon Jones and he had a nice PBU on an iso deep route and a big hit when a Utah receiver alligator armed a post. Instinctive, physical football player with room to grow into his body. Demarvion Overshown played, looked somewhat lost, and was pulled. Start watching some LB tape, DO.

Special Teams

D'shawn Jamison showed easy speed on his 71 yard punt return after the Utah punter kicked a line drive past his coverage. That play set up a key Texas score before the half to put the Horns up by 10. It really was the first crack in the Utah dam. Jamison had 4 punt returns for 102 yards overall and that hidden yardage was key to Longhorn dominance. Ryan Buj looked healthy with a 47 yard punt average (Utah had only 1 yard in punt returns) and Cameron Dicker nailed a chip shot field goal. Texas dominated all three phases of the game.

Final

The Texas defense can hold its head high going into the offseason and several personnel flashed their true potential. One wonders what this defense might have been had Texas coached this unit starting back in the Spring instead of trying to scheme-f*** everyone playing God on the white board. But I'll take the dominating win and the offseason wind in our sails.

RPM · January 2, 2020

9 hours ago, alphahorn said:

After having 24 hours to digest it and rewatch most of it, all I can take away is we played much better than we did most of the year, but Utah is way the fuck overrated. We really don't know what this win means.

This was a quality win against a ranked opponent. It felt good, but beating UGA last year felt better. Let's hope the aftermath of the Alamo Bowl is better than the Sugar Bowl.

OnAComputer · January 2, 2020

On 1/1/2020 at 10:21 AM, satyanash said:

(Kaelen Jones) Finishing strong: Texas ‘played with a purpose’ in ending disappointing season with dominant Alamo Bowl win

Christopher Kamrani: How Utah’s propitious 2019 season stumbled at the finish line with a loss to Texas

Just a heads up, I believe the show was Triple M Ranch, because he went on Dec 11th at around 3:30pm

Any internet sleuths out there who can find that episode?

bejezuz · January 2, 2020

On 1/1/2020 at 10:21 AM, satyanash said:

I mean, they're not wrong. Kaelen Jones has been trash covering us on The Athletic. He basically just rehashes press conferences.

OnAComputer · January 2, 2020

2 hours ago, bejezuz said:

I mean, they're not wrong. Kaelen Jones has been trash covering us on The Athletic. He basically just rehashes press conferences.

They were mad he picked Texas over Utah

bejezuz · January 2, 2020

22 minutes ago, OnAComputer said:

They were mad he picked Texas over Utah

Maybe, or maybe they just thought he gave a poor interview. He just started covering Longhorn Football this season. I've heard him before on podcasts and was not impressed. He's writes decent copy but doesn't seem to have much insight to offer as a sportswriter. It's a drag, I'm pleased with the quality of The Athletic otherwise.

Edited January 2, 2020 by bejezuz

Zavala · January 2, 2020

3 hours ago, bejezuz said:

I mean, they're not wrong. Kaelen Jones has been trash covering us on The Athletic. He basically just rehashes press conferences.

Fuck Chip Brown and Kirk Bowels is all I know. Anyone would be better then those clowns.

satyanash · January 3, 2020

Scipio Tex: Utah Post-Mortem: Offense

Tom Herman with nearly a month of preparation is a pretty good offensive coordinator. He's now proven that in three consecutive bowl games. Of course, the problem is that a head coach playing offensive coordinator with a weak overall staff is going to roll out some dud efforts with limited scouting and preparation time in the season weekly grind. Too many fires to put out.

Texas scored the most points (38) and gained the most yardage (438) of any Utah opponent this year. While Utah's losses in the secondary certainly hit them hard given their preference for Cover 1 press coverage, the Texas offense was also more creative and wrinkle-filled than they likely anticipated. Hell - even more than many of us anticipated. Bunched wide receivers and snug formations everywhere! An expansive, creative running game with option and read elements built off of it. For once, Texas wasn't the most confused or indecisive defense on the field.

A lot of defensive systems number receivers to create clarity, can have conflicting rules on declaring strength to width of field and number of receivers in bunch (particularly if you're trying to match your best guy on ours), and pretty much guarantee man coverage on the "point" receiver (first guy in the bunch) -- all tools that are helpful for mucking up Utah's run support and passing game coordination on the back end. For once, it was nice to see another defense blow containment in the running game.

Texas really hit their stride in the second half, using the threat of the deep passing game to back Utah off and allow particularly big running lanes for Ehlinger, Ingram and Johnson. In a game that featured a constantly running clock, the Longhorns maximized ten "real" possessions (no offense to the reserves) into six scores, including four consecutive second half touchdowns. Before the 2nd team offense came in, Texas' last 18 plays went for 243 yards and the play-calling was particularly sound, highlighted by a beautiful throwback touchdown pass to Ingram on the short side field release. One of many solid calls on the night.

Utah got worked over pretty good.

QB

Sam went the hyper efficient route going 12 of 18 for 201 yards and three touchdowns. With one interception on a fairly bad 4th and goal play call (despite a good Texas game plan, 4th down play calling deserves some real offseason study). He also hurt Utah with his legs, rushing for 73 yards and a touchdown on a busted shovel pass. Nice to have a heady tough guy playing QB to fix plays like that on the goal line. Overall, Sam played a really good game other than a pair of sailed intermediate routes. We have one more year of a very good QB. Let's not waste it.

RB

A fresh, healthy Keaontay Ingram is a fun player to watch. The vision, lateral burst, acceleration, and balance were all there on New Year's Eve.

Keeping him fresh and healthy is the operative phrasing and I endorse the Alamo Bowl 15 touch pitch count (13 carries, 108 yards, 2 catches, 26 yards, 2 total TDs). Ingram isn't a workhorse running back. Accept that and it will mean a much saner fanbase and, for the coaching staff, a much more productive season long contributor. Roschon Johnson ran very hard in relief, notching 49 yards on 6 carries. Including a 20 yard burst behind a brilliant Junior Angilau block. RoJo finishes the season with 807 yards rushing and receiving combined. Not too shabby for a converted QB who just wanted to help the team.

OL

A unit that saw its level of play degrade over the second half of the year turned in a hell of a performance against one of the better DLs in college football. Aided by some terrific play calling and angle advantage, Texas flat wore them out. While Utah did win some battles early (3 sacks, 8 tackles for loss on the game) Texas delivered most of the punishment from the 3rd quarter on. Probably why a Utah DT chose to vent his frustration on Ehlinger late on an option play - he certainly wasn't having much success with guys his size.

Junior Angilau had a tough go of it early, allowing a sack and a tfl on back-to-back plays, but he crushed a Utah DT on the next possession to bust Rojo on a run and he didn't look back after that. His play was emblematic of the total OL effort. They each lost a couple against a very physical Ute DL early, but won twice as many down the stretch and on the latter portions of drives. Texas got stronger.

Sam Cosmi also looked like himself for the first time in a while. While quality OL play is certainly an offensive enabler, good offense, angle advantage, defenders in conflict, and creative play-calling is a boon to the big guys. You can block your OL better by virtue of quality play-calling, creating some indecision in defenders, and a little creative novelty. This game was proof of that fact.

WR/TE

ss

Devin Duvernay (3-92-1 td) went out fittingly. Three terrific catches, each one absolutely crucial to the win. I'll miss him as much as any receiver who has ever played here. No ego, just work and production. No matter the coverage, his injuries, the score of the game. If any of you had Duvernay totaling 1386 yards on 106 catches this year, please take your victory lap now and send me your best guesses on the Lottery. My takeaway on The Duve's career? Writing off very hard workers with measurables is a risky bet.

Collin Johnson was big early, punishing Utah with a 34 yard catch from the Snug formation on the 1st play of the game and catching a goal line TD pass after the Jamison punt return. He went 3-62-1td and, like Duvernay, every one of his catches felt important. Nice to see him back healthy.

Brennan Eagles was a non-factor, other than an untimely holding penalty. His first 10 catches of the season over four games (La Tech, LSU, Rice, OSU) went for 276 yards and four touchdowns. Over the next nine games, he totaled 22 catches for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns. He went from an athlete opposing DCs legitimately worried about to an afterthought. With his decline coinciding with Collin Johnson's absence, when the offense most needed him to step up. If Texas is going to get it done in 2020, Eagles will need to show some consistency.

Good snaps from young Jared Wiley. The strength and mass isn't there yet, but when it is, look out. Brewer had one of his better blocking games as the bunch formations allowed him to screen smaller Ute personnel.

Overall

That was quality game planning and dialed in players. It's fun to kick the **** out of people. Against Utah, the defense did it, special teams did it, and the offense did it. Let's do it more often. I could get used to this.

UDontKnow · January 3, 2020

15 hours ago, Zavala said:

Fuck Chip Brown and Kirk Bowels is all I know. Anyone would be better then those clowns.

*Kurt Bowels. Get it right, Lorenzo!

TreatyOak · January 4, 2020

On 1/2/2020 at 4:59 PM, Zavala said:

Fuck Chip Brown and Kirk Bowels is all I know. Anyone would be better then those clowns.

VaLonghorn99 · January 5, 2020

On 1/2/2020 at 5:57 AM, RPM said:

This was a quality win against a ranked opponent. It felt good, but beating UGA last year felt better. Let's hope the aftermath of the Alamo Bowl is better than the Sugar Bowl.

Major difference between Sugar and Alamo was no turtling in the latter. We played to score points and sealed the win. I am sure some situations call for turtling but it had become our MO resulting in too many close wins and losses against teams we should beat convincingly.

Jkwellborn · January 5, 2020

Tom wasn’t trying to protect his buddy calling the defense in the Alamo bowl.

LTtxfan · February 3, 2020

Sejjr · February 4, 2020

17 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

You’re welcome, Valero. Now fuck off.

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