2020 Texas Football Season Thread: Win or GTFO

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And another great one...

 

Edited December 23, 2020 by LTtxfan

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Let's give Mensa a permanent vacation...

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Youth will be served as Alamo Bowl sets table for Texas in 2021

ByJEFF HOWE 51 minutes ago

It didn’t take Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger long to come up with an answer when he was asked ahead of Tuesday’s Alamo Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN) which young Longhorn he’s excited to see take the field when No. 20 Texas (6-3, 5-3 Big 12) faces Colorado (4-1, 3-1 Pac-12). Ehlinger has seen plenty of true freshman running back Bijan Robinson in recent weeks, but after handing him the ball nine times in a 69-31 win over Kansas State on Dec. 5 (the last game for the Longhorns before the clash with the Buffaloes inside the Alamodome) and watching the No. 1-ranked running back prospect in the 2020 recruiting cycle (both in the Top247 and the 247Sports Composite) run for 172 yards (a single-game school record of 19.1 yards per rushing attempt) and three touchdowns, Ehlinger is ready for an encore.

“I'm excited to see Bijan play again,” Ehlinger said after last Wednesday’s on-campus bowl practice. “I'm always excited to see him play.”

Trailing only Graylon Wyatt (7.8 yards per carry in 1974), Vince Young (7.4 yards per carry in 2003) and Jamaal Charles (7.4 yards per carry in 2005) in yards per carry among the 18 Texas freshmen to ever run for 500 or more yards, Robinson (520 yards rushing, 6.8 yards per carry in eight games) is one of six true freshmen expected to start for the Longhorns in San Antonio. Between injuries and players opting out to get ready for the 2021 NFL Draft, Robinson is one of three members of the 2020 signing class projected to start against Colorado along with center Jake Majors and offensive tackle Andrej Karic while defensive lineman Alfred Collins, inside linebacker Jaylan Ford (Juwan Mitchell is suspended for the first half due to a targeting ejection in the second half of the K-State game) and safety Jerrin Thompson are expected to draw starting assignments on defense.

"Just talking to the [2020] class, they understand that fully and they know that the production of this game will set the demeanor for next season," Robinson said following last Wednesday's on-campus bowl practice. "They always come out just saying, 'we've got to produce this game. We've got to come strong this game,' because this is leading to what I feel can be very special with this team, with this whole program, for the city of Austin. I feel they could see, [Tuesday] when we come out on that field and produce, to see what is going to happen coming up with this team."

Such news would give a head coach reason to think a bowl game could be a rough outing. That’s not the case for Texas head coach Tom Herman, who saw Robinson, Majors (the Longhorns piled up 608 yards of total offense, scored their most points since 2005 and averaged 10.1 yards per play with Majors logging every snap at center in his first career start in Manhattan) and Thompson (three tackles, one pass breakup and one interception, which set up a first-quarter touchdown run by Roschon Johnson) start in the win over K-State with Collins, Ford and Karic getting significant playing time in the second half.

“Playing against Kansas State with the people that we had, it really gave us kind of a precursor to what we'll have available to us in this game,” Herman said Monday in his final press conference before the Alamo Bowl. “The guys have been great. Obviously, the offensive line will look a bit different as well as some different positions, but we played a game with similar personnel our last regular-season game and we've been practicing all week with the same guys in the same positions and feel good about the guys that we'll be able to put out on the field.”

Even along the line of scrimmage — where in addition to two true freshmen starting on offense the Longhorns are expected to go with redshirt freshman Tyler Johnson in place of Denzel Okafor, who isn’t expected to play due for reasons related to COVID-19 according to Horns247's Chip Brown —, Herman isn’t concerned as he otherwise should be. The 156.8 rushing yards per game Colorado allows (No. 50 nationally) and the 4.9 yards per carry the Buffaloes are giving up (No. 96 in the country) would rank sixth and ninth in the Big 12 respectively and while Football Outsiders ranks the defensive line in the top 15 nationally in every run-defense statistic the publication charts, Herman is confident in the type of performance Herb Hand’s charges are capable of putting together.

On the other side of the ball, Colorado would rank No. 1 in the Big 12 in rushing yards per game (218.4) and third in the conference in yards per rushing attempt (4.75) with Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year Jarek Broussard pacing the ground attack as the nation’s No. 2 leading rusher (162.6 yards per game). Unlike their defensive counterparts, the raw numbers are impressive but Football Outsiders doesn’t like the Buffaloes offensive line, ranking Colorado no better than No. 85 in any running game metric, which bodes well for a Texas defensive line where Collins is replacing the departed Ta'Quon Graham with a by-committee approach of Jett Bush, Reese Leitao and Prince Dorbah taking over the snaps up for grabs due to the departure of All-American outside linebacker Joseph Ossai at the JACK position.

Herman certainly respects the Buffaloes in the trenches, but he believes the young Longhorns are up for the challenge.

“I think when you're playing a really good team like Colorado, obviously, up front is something we'll be keeping our eye on on both sides of the ball,” Herman said. “Again, these are guys that have played in a game and have played meaningful snaps for us for at least one game and then throughout bowl prep. Not really worried, but certainly going to keep an eye on both sides of the ball on the line of scrimmage.”

Herman said there’s been no lack of enthusiasm on the Forty Acres about heading back to the Alamo Bowl for the second year in a row following a season where the Longhorns had a goal of playing for the Big 12 championship, one that failed to come to fruition. A bowl game serves two purposes, Herman said, and the purpose to "springboard our young guys into the offseason of 2021 and get one last game under their belt” is the biggest reason for anyone who follows the program to be excited about Tuesday’s game, especially considering how much young talent could be setting the table for big things to come in the not-too-distant future.

“We'll be excited to watch them go play a full game,” Herman said. “For some of them, it'll be their first full game. For some of them, it'll be their first start. There will definitely be a lot of youngsters out there, but some youngsters that have had some snaps under their belt, too.”

https://247sports.com/college/texas/Article/Texas-Longhorns-Alamo-Bowl-young-players-Bijan-Robinson-Alfred-Collins-true-freshmen-starting-2021-preview-157980692/

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Trash Talk...

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Most said LeBron...

 

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Not playing tonight...

On radio they just said Tarik "May be academically ineligible and may head to NFL" 

 

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SMDH...

 

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