Jump to content

Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 3)

satyanash

By satyanash
in Football

 Share

Recommended Posts

satyanash

satyanash 14281

Posted
Posted

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

(Jeff Howe) Instant Reactions: Texas escapes Texas Tech in overtime, 63-56

Quote

LUBBOCK, Texas — After SaRodorick Thompson pulled away from the Texas defense to give Texas Tech a 56-41 lead with 3:13 to go in Saturday's Big 12 opener at Jones AT&T Stadium, the win probability for the Red Raiders according to ESPN's Football Power Index was 99.8 percent. Unfortunately for Texas Tech, the No. 8-ranked Longhorns didn't get the memo as two touchdown passes by quarterback Sam Ehlinger (one to Brennan Eagles and one to Joshua Moore) sandwiched a recovered onside kick by Malcolm Epps, helping get the game to overtime where Texas finished the job, somehow leaving Lubbock with a win, 63-56.

It was over when …

This one wasn't over until it was truly over, which is when Caden Sterns intercepted Alan Bowman in overtime on fourth-and-14 from the Texas 29-yard line to send everyone home. On a day when the defense by no means played championship-caliber defense, they made a winning play when it mattered most.

Top Offensive Performer

Keaontay Ingram played well, especially in the second half. The junior got the start at running back on Saturday and ran hard from the jump, including a couple of physical runs on a fourth-quarter scoring drive that ended with a 26-yard Cameron Dicker field goal to give Texas a chance to get its act together. Ingram also had several clutch receptions on the late-game drive that sent the game to overtime after Epps recovered the onside kick.

Top Defensive Performer

On top of the fact that he returned an interception 71 yards to set up a touchdown after Texas Tech blocked a punt, Chris Adimora was perhaps the most consistent player on defense from start to finish. Adimora's tackle of Texas Tech's Dalton Ridgon shy of the first-down marker to bring up a fourth-and-5 on the final regulation drive for the Red Raiders kept the home team from getting in position for a potential game-winning field goal.

Reasons to Feel Optimistic

Other than two three-and-out drives in the first half, the Longhorns got points on five of their seven first-half possessions en route to a 31-point half where the offense averaged 5.4 yards per play. The production came while the running game was completely hit or miss over the first two quarters and with the way the defense was playing, Texas needed every one of those points, including the two drives on sudden changes due to interceptions by the defense. The latter portions of the fourth quarter and overtime showed that when Ehlinger has a chance to go win a game, Texas can't be considered out of it. Ehlinger's arm and legs is what the offense needs to revolve around moving forward.

Another reason to be optimistic is that when the offense had a hard time getting going in the second half, the defense (a three-and-out and a 12-play drive resulting in a missed field goal to open the third quarter and a huge three-and-out in the fourth quarter after Texas fell behind) and special teams (a blocked punt by Tyler Owens returned by Jahdae Barron for a 2-yard touchdown) helped out.

Reasons to be Pessimistic

Alan Bowman taking Texas Tech down the field 75 yards in six plays on the first drive of the game (ending with a 13-yard touchdown pass to KeSean Carter to tie the game), a series where the Texas defense missed at least five tackles (the official missed tackle numbers for the UTEP game were in the single digits according to Chris Ash) set the tone for a performance that showed the Longhorns have a long way to go on the defensive side of the ball to be considered anything close to a championship-caliber unit.

The total number of missed tackles reached into double digits by halftime, which was disappointing considering how much of a focus teaching sound, fundamental tackling has been for Ash since he arrived on the Forty Acres. To say tackling in space needs to improve is easier said than done, but that looks to be the biggest thing Texas needs to fix defensively coming out of the game.

To say the special teams needs to get it together feels like low-hanging fruit. To take an optimistic at a reason for pessimism, it's hard to believe the third phase having a worse outing for Texas in 2020. As bad as those two phases were, the offense in the second half (until crunch time) was abysmal. The second half for Ehlinger and Co. was every bit as bad as the lows of 2019, which were the kind of lulls Mike Yurcich was hired to resolve.

Modest Proposals

Ash needs to evaluate the middle linebacker position and see if there might a position switch or something he can do to help in coverage. Juwan Mitchell got the start over Cort Jaquess and was picked on through the air, especially in the first half in what looked reminscent of the times the second level of the Texas defense was exploited in 2019. The reality is there's probably not an answer to a problem the Longhorns knew they were going to have in 2020.

With that said, something has to be done to help Jaquess, Mitchell and the rest of the middle linebackers on the roster in coverage because the Longhorns looked vulnerable on Saturday in area where they were routinely attacked last season. Offensively, the running game was far too inconsistent for the Longhorns to have gone to the well as much as they did. Texas just doesn't appear wired right now to be a ground-based offense (especially on early downs that got the offense behind the chains in the second half) with the offensive line looking like it has a long way to go.

Drive of the Game

The comeback wouldn't have happened if the offense hadn't immediately rebounded from the Thompson touchdown run. Ehlinger engineered a four-play, 59-yard drive that took only 34 seconds off of the game clock, setting the table for the insanity that took place in the closing moments of regulation.

Best Offensive Play

Sticking with the theme, the game doesn't get to overtime if Ehlinger doesn't hit Eagles on a two-point conversion to tie the game, 56-56. The play design was exceptional and the natural spacing of the formation created an easy pitch-and-catch situation.

Best Defensive Play

The defense's two first-half interceptions — the first by Chris Brown and the second by Adimora — were huge for reasons other than the fact that they were tremendous plays made that took the ball away from the Red Raiders. Brown's interception where he rotated from the wide side of the field to the hash closest to the boundary and easily picked off a Bowman pass came on the heels of Texas Tech's Trey Wolff recovering an onside kick while Adimora stepped front of a Bowman pass and returned it 71 yards to the 19-yard line after the Red Raiders blocked a Ryan Bujcevski punt.

What's better is the offense got points on both drives. The turnovers came when Texas Tech had a chance to take the lead, but the offense was able to push the margin back up 10 points on both occasions.

Biggest question heading into the next game

Was the one sloppy game a championship team is known to have along the way or is it a sign of thing to come?

Blackwell Commentary: Hot day - and a win - in Lubbock...

Quote

My free phone weather app indicates that Saturday the temperature in Lubbock, Texas, will be either 96 or 97 degrees, with wind of course. All of which will having nothing to do with the fact that Texas will beat the Texas Tech Red Raiders by the approximate score of 44-17, come heat, hail, wind, or high water.

I'm telling you this now so that, if you choose, you can go about your day without having to monitor every play in the ballgame, worrying about whether Texas will struggle because "weird stuff happens in Lubbock." The truth is, while weird stuff does happen in Lubbock (like the Red Raiders barely beating the Baptists of Houston), that weird stuff usually doesn't include Tech beating Texas.

And this year, like most, will be chalk for the Longhorns, whose offense will move at will and whose defense merely has to hold Tech to under about 40 points to ensure the victory. Covid-19 is much more of a threat to Texas than the Red Raiders this week. Much more.

One of the reasons Texas will have little trouble dispatching Tech is, well, the family of Caden Sterns. The Texas defensive back has a couple of brothers who are wideouts for Houston Baptist, and those brothers absolutely torched the Red Raiders, who escaped with a 35-33 win over the Huskies.

Caden's bronot only ran roughshod through the typically porous Tech defense, but also provided Caden with somewhat of a scouting report. "I called them," Caden said this week. "My mom told me about my brothers going off. So I was like, 'Yo, how was it?' Really, they just told me their defense wasn't doing too good. Other than that, they said they were a pretty good team."

If the Sterns brothers are reliable in their assessment, Texas will cruise to the win.

My two new favorite Texas players, Alfred Collins and Brenden Schooler, should wreck Tech pretty handily, and I'll continue to believe that Keaontay Ingram is a powder keg ready to go off, if only he can hold off freshman phenom Bijan Robinson as the starter. Toss in a dose of Roschon Johnson and it's clear that Tech's defense will not be able to withstand a steady stream of talented running backs, who oh by the way will be fed the ball by one of the country's best quarterbacks in Sam Ehlinger, who will also be able to throw at will.

In short, the Red Raiders have no chance.

 

  • Hook 'Em 3
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
satyanash

satyanash 14281

Posted
  • Author
Posted

(Bobby Burton) Snap judgments: Texas escapes near-death experience at TTU

Quote

Do you believe in miracles? After a four-plus hour game, I'll keep this first section short and sweet. It was the single most surprising Texas comeback I've ever witnessed. Perhaps the only game even reasonably close was a Longhorn win over Virginia at home on a heroic last-second kick by Phil Dawson exactly 25 seasons ago. The Horns scored 15 points in the final 2:39 of the game and added a touchdown in overtime while holding Tech to a four-and-out. Quite frankly, I'm not even sure what I just watched. It was like three games wrapped into one.

**

Until Texas recovered the onside kick with about 2:30 remaining in the game, I thought my headline had already written itself. The headline? Up in Smoke. As in the Texas season had gone "poof" into thin air.

**

The Texas offense looked brutally bad most of the second half. Between penalties on the offensive line, errant or ill-advised throws by Sam Ehlinger and a Tech defense that even sacked Ehlinger with a three-man rush, Texas looked listless. But Ehlinger kept playing, and his receivers came through in the clutch. So did a perfectly executed onside kick by Cameron Dicker. And then Mike Yurcich made a great play-call on the two-point conversion.

The Texas defense looked lost at times itself, routinely giving up big plays to a talented Tech offensive skill group. But Chris Ash's unit stepped up on the final two possessions against the Red Raiders. Even special teams was a mixed bag. The Horns gave up an onside kick, muffed a fumble and had a punt blocked. Of course, the Horns also blocked a punt for a score and executed an onside kick, too.

**

We learned several things today.

- Texas has some fight in them. Even though the game looked out of reach, the Horns kept plugging.

- Texas sorely missed both Jordan Whittington and Jake Smith at receiver. Josh Moore looked like the only receiver out there who could get open against man coverage for most of the day.

- Chris Ash was welcomed to the Big 12 like so many defensive coordinators have been. This conference has such good quarterbacks and skill talent that the idea of shutting teams down is just so rare.

- The offensive doldrums to start the second half on offense continued on to this season. But the offense is at least starting games faster. The Horns scored 17 points in the first quarter today.

- Texas is still not getting enough pressure on the quarterback. Perhaps Alan Bowman was getting the ball out quickly on a lot of his attempts, but Texas still didn't push the pocket enough for my taste.

- Texas needs better play from its safeties. B.J. Foster whiffed on a tackle on a touchdown. Caden Sterns missed a couple of tackles and Chris Brown jumped on the wrong route on a third-and-17 completion that changed the momentum of the game and gave Tech renewed life (in the third quarter).

- The offensive line is supposed to be a strength of the team. They didn't look like it on Saturday. From penalties, to poor pass protection, to a lack of creating running lanes, Herb Hand either needs to improve this group, be replaced himself, or find other players who can make things go, Right now, an alleged team strength looks anything but.

- Juwan Mitchell needs to be the starting linebacker and get the lion's share of plays against spread teams. He's the only middle linebacker with any range.

- Josh Thompson did not look as good as he did a week ago. In fact, he looked like he was a step slow against T.J. Vasher, and Vasher is not known for his speed.

- Mike Yurcich had no answers in the third quarter. Texas can not afford to go such long stretches in the game and not score in this conference.

- Texas is a very talented team. But the Longhorns are far from a great team. They must improve in all three phases of the game.

**

I still can't believe I'm writing a column about Texas winning. Someone wake me up, because about an hour ago, I swear this game was supposed to be over and Tech had won. What a comeback!

Chip Brown: What went right and wrong for Texas in OT win at Texas Tech

Quote

Sam Ehlinger got hot at just the right time and kept Texas’ season from becoming a disappointment just two games into the season. Caden Sterns, whose brothers — Jerreth and Josh — torched Tech for more than 300 yards receiving and four touchdowns in Lubbock two weeks ago - torched Tech’s comeback hopes by sealing UT’s 63-56 win in overtime with an interception.

As clean as Texas was in a 59-3 rout of hapless UTEP, the Longhorns were equally inconsistent against Texas Tech and outright nightmarish for most of the final quarter and a half. But Ehlinger went 10-of-11 passing to finish the game, leading Texas on three straight touchdown drives — two at the end of regulation to erase a 56-41 deficit in 3:13 — and one in overtime to pull off an improbable win in the highest-scoring game in the Texas-Tech series.

Ehlinger’s phenomenal finish included touchdown passes to Brennan Eagles and Joshua Moore and a two-point conversion pass to Eagles before connecting with Moore in overtime. After Eagles’ score and a perfectly executed onside kick by Cameron Dicker, recovered by Malcolm Epps, Texas overcame back-to-back penalties on Denzel Okafor and Derek Kerstetter before Ehlinger connected with Moore for an 18-yard touchdown and then hit Eagles on a slant in one-on-one coverage for the two-point conversion to tie the game 56-56 with 40 seconds left.

In OT, Tech deferred the ball to Texas first. Ehlinger hit Brenden Schooler, who led Texas with seven catches for 58 yards and a touchdown, with a 1-yard pass. Then, Keaontay Ingram, who led Texas with 12 carries for 89 yards, ran for 12 yards. And then Ehlinger found Moore on a perfectly thrown, 12-yard TD pass to give Texas the comeback win. Ehlinger finished 27 of 40 passing for 262 yards and five touchdowns with one interception and ran 16 times for 69 yards and a touchdown.

Texas made big plays on offense, defense and special teams en route to four different, 10-point leads (17-7, 24-14, 31-21 and 38-28). But the Longhorns also committed huge blunders on offense (third-quarter interception by Ehlinger), defense (penalties and missed tackles on a 75-yard TD run by SaRodorick Thompson that put Tech up 56-41) and special teams (a fumbled punt by D'Shawn Jamison recovered by Tech for a TD) that threatened to turn

But Ehlinger went 10-of-11 passing as Texas erased a 56-41 deficit in the final 3:13 and scored on three straight drives, including in overtime, for an improbable, 63-56 win.

B.J. Foster walked out on his team late in the third quarter of the Longhorns’ win over UTEP, frustrated about his lack of playing time. I’m told coaches told him, if he worked harder than he ever had, he’d be rewarded with more playing time. Foster rotated in at safety with both Chris Brown and Caden Sterns throughout the game. Foster finished as Texas’ leading tackler (seven).

But indicative of Texas’ inconsistencies all game, Foster was also guilty of missing a one-on-one tackle by throwing a shoulder instead of wrapping up on KeSean Carter, allowing Carter to turn what should’ve been a 15-yard gain into a 22-yard, catch-and-run TD in the second quarter.

Texas had three special teams blunders in the game, and the Longhorns finally paid for it on the third blunder. UT was caught off guard on a successful onside kick and suffered a blocked punt in the first half, though neither of which led to Texas Tech points. But Jamison’s mishandled punt early in the third quarter was recovered in the end zone by Tech’s Thomas Leggett, which cut the Longhorns' lead to 31-28.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR TEXAS:

Texas escaped with an absolutely improbable win and has plenty to work on before facing TCU next week.

EHLINGER CONNECTS WITH MOORE, EAGLES TO TIE GAME: After a perfectly executed onside kick recovered by Malcolm Epps, Texas overcame back-to-back penalties on Denzel Okafor and Derek Kerstetter before Ehlinger connected with Joshua Moore for an 18-yard touchdown and then hit Brennan Eagles on a slant in one-on-one coverage for the two-point conversion to tie the game 56-56 with 40 seconds left.

Cameron Dicker executed a perfect onside kick, and Malcolm Epps recovered it, giving Texas the ball at the Texas Tech 42-yard line with 2:37 left, trailing 56-48.

EAGLES’ TD CUTS TECH LEAD TO 56-48: After Tech kicked off with a pooch, Texas only had to go 59 yards, and covered that in four plays as Ehlinger found Schooler for 27 yards, Kai Money for 20 yards and then Brennan Eagles for a 13-yard touchdown, cutting Tech’s lead to 56-48 with 2:39 left.

DICKER FG CUTS TECH’S LEAD TO 42-41: Incredible extra effort by Roschon Johnson on a fourth-and-1 run for two yards to the Texas Tech 19 that was stopped dead initially. Johnson never stopped driving his legs, twisting and turning and moving the pile forward. It would’ve been a huge play in the game if Texas had been able to convert it into a touchdown. But UT settled for a 26-yard, Cameron Dicker field goal that cut Tech’s lead to 42-41.

A blitzing Juwan Mitchell and Alfred Collins combined to stuff SaRodorick Thompson for a 4-yard loss on third-and-6 from the Texas 24, forcing a 46-yard field goal attempt by Trey Wolff that sailed wide right with six minutes left in the third quarter and Texas leading 38-28.

UT SPECIAL TEAMS ANSWERS WITH BLOCKED PUNT TD: Officials missed a pass interference flag on Caden Sterns, who had T.J. Vasher hooked on a third-down play right before Texas’ Tyler Owens blocked a Tech punt, recovered by Jahdae Barron for a touchdown.

SCHOOLER TD PUTS TEXAS UP 31-21: Derek Kerstetter made a veteran move and tapped the helmet of a Tech defender who jumped into the neutral zone before the defender could get back onside, drawing the flag on Tech, moving the ball from the Tech 6 to the 3, setting up an Ehlinger screen to Brenden Schooler for a 3-yard TD pass on the next play.

TURNOVER FORCED No. 2: Chris Adimora did a great job intercepting Alan Bowman and keeping his knee from hitting the ground, returning the ball 71 yards to the Tech 19 with 2:35 left in the second quarter (leading to an Ehlinger-to-Schooler TD pass). Joseph Ossai did a great job fighting through his blocker to get pressure on QB Alan Bowman. Initially the play was ruled a fumble, recovered and returned for a TD by Juwan Mitchell. After review, it was ruled Ossai’s pressure impacted Bowman’s arm, but did not dislodge the ball from Bowman’s hand - incomplete pass.

EHLINGER RUN SETS UP ROJO TD: After a 24-yard run by Ehlinger on second-and-10 from the Tech 25, Roschon Johnson ran it in for a 1-yard touchdown, putting Texas up 24-14 with 7:48 left in the second quarter. Ehlinger converted two third downs on the nine-play, 51-yard TD drive on passes to Cade Brewer and Keaontay Ingram. Sam Ehlinger connected with Cade Brewer for 11 yards on third-and-7 in the second quarter, bailing out Junior Angilau, who committed a false start on the previous play.

TURNOVER FORCED BY BROWN: Chris Brown intercepted an under thrown pass by Alan Bowman on a post route intended for T.J. Vasher, stuffing a Tech drive after a successfully executed onside kick.

JOSHUA MOORE TD PUTS TEXAS UP 17-7: After Ehlinger got dropped for a 1-yard loss, he found Moore for a 31-yard touchdown pass with 41 seconds left in the first quarter. It was a great throw by Ehlinger, and Moore did a great job high-pointing the ball over Tech’s Ja’Marcus Ingram. Moore’s TD catch was the first chunk play of the game for the Longhorns.

Ehlinger ran for 11 yards and a first down with a great downfield block by Marcus Washington on the drive. After the Texas defense allowed Alan Bowman to go 5-of-5 passing for 73 yards on Tech’s opening drive to a touchdown, the defense bowed up for a three-and-out on Tech’s second possession.

TEXAS TAKES 10-7 LEAD ON DICKER 43-YARD FG: After a 42-yard kick return by Jamison and an eight-play, 32-yard drive that stalled after an incomplete pass to Brenden Schooler in the end zone, Cameron Dicker booted a 43-yard field goal, putting Texas up 10-7 with 4:24 left in the first quarter.

Brennan Eagles did a nice job of coming back for the ball after Ehlinger got flushed on an 11-yard pass for a first down in the first quarter. Jamison had a 42-yard kick return (to UT’s 42) to start Texas’ second possession of the game midway through the first quarter.

EHLINGER PUTS TEXAS UP 7-0: Following a fourth-and-2 offside call on Texas Tech, putting the ball on the Tech 2-yard-line, Ehlinger followed a great block by Keaontay Ingram into the end zone, putting Texas up 7-0 with 9:11 left in the first quarter. Ehlinger was 4-of-4 passing for 37 yards on UT’s opening, 13-play, 75-yard drive that took 5:49 off the clock.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR TEXAS:

BAD UT FIELD POSITION, SETS UP TECH: Texas was forced to punt from its own end zone (after a series of miscues), Tech had great field position at the Texas 44. The Red Raiders converted third-and-2 on a SaRodorick Thompson 5-yard run before Alan Bowman converted three straight passes of 12 and 13 yards to Dalton Rigdon and a perfectly placed, 18-yard TD strike in the back of the end zone to T.J. Vasher against decent coverage from Josh Thompson. Just a better throw. It put Tech up 49-41 with 6:12 left.

Denzel Okafor was flagged for a blatant hold, negating a 16-yard pass completion to Brenden Schooler. Instead, Texas went backward from there, including a third-down sack of Ehlinger for a 9-yard loss, forcing Ryan Bujcevski to punt from UT’s end zone Marcus Washington had a step on Texas Tech cornerback Alex Hogan on a go route from the Tech 30, but Ehlinger’s pass was slightly under thrown, allowing Hogan to catch up and break up the pass in the end zone.

TECH CONVERTS UT TURNOVER INTO 41-38 LEAD: After Ehlinger was intercepted on a third-down pass that was returned 24 yards to the Texas 10, Tech converted the turnover into a 10-yard SaRodorick Thompson touchdown run, giving Texas Tech a 41-38 lead going into the fourth quarter.

EHLINGER INTERCEPTION COSTLY: Ehlinger was just a touch late on a comeback route to Brenden Schooler, who should’ve kept coming back to the ball, and Texas Tech’s Alex Hogan picked off the pass in full stride and returned it 24 yards to the Texas 10 just before the end of the third quarter.

VASHER RUNS THROUGH UT SECONDARY: Tech’s 6-foot-6 Vasher beat Jalen Green on a quick slant and then made Chris Brown, B.J. Foster and Anthony Cook miss en route to a 29-yard, catch-and-run touchdown that cut Texas’ lead to 38-35 with 44 seconds left in the third quarter.

Anthony Cook was flagged for a personal foul facemask late in the third quarter (and could’ve also been flagged for shoving the ball carrier out of bounds). Joshua Moore left the game with an injury late in the third quarter. Bijan Robinson caught a swing pass from Ehlinger and tried to leap over a Tech defender, only to get flipped in the air and take a helmet from another defender right in the back, bending Robinson backward and arching his back in a horrifying way. But Robinson bounced right up after his 11-yard gain.

Jalen Green dropped a sure interception (and might’ve had a pick-six) with 12:35 left in the third quarter. (UT ended up blocking a punt for a TD two plays later.)

SPECIAL TEAMS BLUNDER FINALLY COSTS UT POINTS: Jamison mishandled a punt at Texas’ 17 after the UT defense bowed up on Tech’s first possession of the second half. Jamison tried to beat a Tech defender to the loose ball, and they ended up booting the ball back into the end zone, where Tech’s Thomas Leggett recovered it for a TD that cut Texas’ lead to 31-28.

DeMarvion Overshown went for an unsuccessful scoop-and-score instead of falling on a mishandled lateral by Tech that would’ve given Texas the ball at the Tech 22 with about 30 seconds left in the first half. Instead, Tech recovered and let the clock run out on the next play.

Chris Adimora had four Longhorn defenders running with him on his 71-yard interception return in the second quarter. If any of them had looked to their left, they would’ve easily blocked Tech offensive lineman Josh Burger, who made the tackle at the Tech 19. (UT ended up

Tech’s Jacob Morganstern fought through a block by Cade Brewer to get his arms in front of Ryan Bucjevski’s punt, blocking it and giving the Red Raiders the ball at the Tech 17 late in the second quarter. (A Chris Adimora interception kept Tech from capitalizing.) Tech converted three third downs on an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took 3:04 off the clock, capped with a 19-yard TD pass from Bowman to Erik Ezukanma over the top of Jalen Green, cutting UT’s lead to 24-21. Junior Angilau was called for a false start on third-and-2 in the second quarter, bringing up a third-and-7. (Cade Brewer bailed Angilau out with an 11-yard pass for a first down.)

Texas was caught off guard by Texas Tech’s kicker Trey Wolff, who did a great job executing and recovering an onside kick after Tech scored on a touchdown to cut Texas’ lead to 17-14. B.J. Foster whiffed on a head-to-head tackle attempt of KeSean Carter on Carter’s 22-yard touchdown catch and run that cut Texas’ lead to 17-14. Josh Thompson was flagged for pass interference after hooking the receiver, giving Tech the ball at the Texas 18 on a Tech TD drive in the second quarter.

It appeared Brenden Schooler had a chance to make a great, over-the-shoulder, 26-yard catch in the end zone on third-and-6 in the first quarter, but the ball got through his hands. It was the first incomplete pass by either team with 4:35 left in the first quarter. After having missed tackles in the single digits against UTEP, Texas seemed to miss about five on Tech’s opening drive to a touchdown, giving Tech about 30 yards after the catch on pass plays of 22-,18- and 12-yard receptions.

TECH TIES GAME AT 7-7: Alan Bowman went 5-of-5 passing for 73 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown strike to KeSean Carter between three Texas defenders (Chris Adimora, Chris Brown and DeMarvion Overshown)

 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
satyanash

satyanash 14281

Posted
  • Author
Posted

(Joseph Cook) Texas 63, Texas Tech 56: Ehlinger leads Longhorn comeback in Lubbock

Quote

LUBBOCK -- With 3:13 left in the game, Texas was down 56-41 after a 75-yard scoring run from Texas Tech’s SaRodorick Thompson. That jaunt seemed like the dagger, yet another Red Raider score resulting from Longhorn lapses in basic football fundamentals. A lot of UT fans likely turned the game off at that point, and with good reason. Texas was atrocious on special teams, flailing on defense, and the offense was not keeping pace with what Alan Bowman and the rest of the Red Raiders through 56:47 of game time.

But Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger was not ready to give in, not even close. “Our quarterback actually looked at me and said, ‘they left us too much time,’” Longhorns head coach Tom Herman said. “He said ‘we’re going to tie this thing up and win it in overtime.’ And I believed him, too.”

Texas had Ehlinger find Brennan Eagles from 12 yards out to make it 56-48, recovered an onside kick, drove 42 yards in two minutes to make it a two-point game after a Joshua Moore touchdown reception, converted the two-point conversion, scored first in overtime via another Moore touchdown, and held the Red Raiders out of the end zone to leave Lubbock with a 63-56 victory.

Ehlinger was not perfect, he threw his first interception of the season late in the third quarter and TTU scored to take the lead on the very next play. When Texas needed him most, he delivered. Ehlinger was 10-of-14 passing in the fourth quarter and overtime, including the three touchdowns. He had six total touchdowns, including his 100th as a Longhorn. “Just unbelievable belief in my teammates, and just having faith to continue to press on regardless of the circumstances,” Ehlinger said.

Ehlinger’s uplifting performance on the field was important, but so too was his steadying presence on the sideline. Herman remarked after the game that he would buy oceanfront property in Arizona, a landlocked state, if Ehlinger was selling it. Ehlinger had an effect not only on the coach, but on his teammates too. “He just never loses faith,” Moore said. “That’s a guy that always brings energy not even in times like this, but in practice, walkthroughs, no matter what it is. He’s a guy that I’ve gotten to know a lot, and I told him after the game I appreciate you so much for believing in me and giving me the opportunity that you’ve given me.”

Texas took over possession with 3:13 remaining with that mentality. A quick pass to Brenden Schooler followed by another one to Kai Money put Texas on the Tech 12. Ehlinger found Eagles on the very next play, making it an eight-point game. Cameron Dicker lined up for an onside kick and the sophomore who has come up big at several points during his UT career came through once again. The ball dribbled along the ground before taking a huge bounce, eventually finding the hands of sophomore Malcolm Epps.

“We couldn't control the way that we were playing in the previous plays, but we could control was how we're going to continue to go out and try to continue to win,” Ehlinger said. “That’s what we did.” Needing to go 42 yards to get a chance to tie it, Ehlinger drove the Texas offense to the Red Raider 18. Moore broke open, and Ehlinger floated a ball over several defenders’ heads to find the sophomore from Yoakum in the end zone.

With momentum, the Longhorns quickly scored in overtime. Ehlinger once again found Moore from 12 yards out, and the Longhorn defense held Texas Tech out of the end zone to seal the come-from-behind victory. “I told (Ehlinger) after the game, ‘I appreciate you so much for believing in me and giving me the opportunity that you’ve given me,’” Moore said. “Yeah, we were down. But the feeling and momentum that we had, we knew as a team, as a whole, that there’s no way we would leave this field with a loss.”

Without Ehlinger, Texas’ flight back from Lubbock would have been much longer.

The Longhorns had several major special teams miscues. D’Shawn Jamison dropped a punt in the third quarter and TTU’s Xavier Martin recovered the football in the end zone. The Longhorns were caught by surprise by an onside kick in the second quarter and allowed Tech’s Jacob Morgenstern to block a punt off the foot of Ryan Bujcevski a few drives later.

Luckily for the Longhorns, Sam Ehlinger is on their team, and Bowman is on the Red Raiders. Bowman squandered the opportunities created by the special teams gaffes. On the first play following the onside kick, he was intercepted by senior Chris Brown. On the first play following the blocked punt, he was intercepted by sophomore Chris Adimora. Both of those interceptions led to Longhorn touchdowns.

The Longhorn defense and special teams did not have their best days as the scoreboard would suggest. Chris Ash’s defense allowed 441 yards including 325 through the air. Short fields created by Longhorn turnovers likely ate into some of TTU’s potential yardage total. The Longhorns did not officially record a sack or a QB hurry. But there were highlights like the interceptions. When Texas needed it most, the defense held the Red Raiders out of the end zone. There will be plenty to learn from this game, even Herman acknowledged as much.

“Obviously not our best performance, but to go on the road, make the mistakes that we made continually, especially defensively and on special teams, and to find a way to gut it out at the end, just extremely proud,” Herman said. “We know we’ve got a lot of work to do. We need to do it. We need to start with tackling on defense. We need to obviously be better on special teams.”

But they are learning via a win and leave Lubbock 2-0 overall for the first time in the Herman Era, and they are doing it thanks to Ehlinger. “Number 11,” Herman said. “I don’t think anybody on the team, as long as we’ve got that guy and there’s a few ticks left, I think everybody on the sideline believes we have a shot to win the thing.”

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
satyanash

satyanash 14281

Posted
  • Author
Posted

(Jeff Howe) 'They left us too much time:' Sam Ehlinger leads Texas' comeback

Quote

LUBBOCK, Texas — With his squad looking an embarrassing defeat to Texas Tech right in the face, down 56-41 with 3:13 to play after SaRodorick Thompson appeared to seal a smackdown of an upset of Texas with a 75-yard touchdown run up the Longhorn sideline, Tom Herman didn’t need to offer words of encouragement to his offense. Sam Ehlinger said everything the head coach needed to hear, words that foreshadowed Saturday’s indescribable 63-56 comeback victory in overtime over the Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium.

“Our quarterback actually looked at me and he said 'they left us too much time,'” Herman said following a win that has a Texas (2-0, 1-0 Big 12) off to an unbeaten start through two games for the first time in his tenure. “He said 'we're going to tie this thing up and win it in overtime.’ I believed him.”

It’s a good thing that Herman did since nobody else with a dog in the fight had any reason to believe the Longhorns would do anything other than possibly make a sobering defeat better from a cosmetic standpoint. The Longhorns had not only blown a 10-point halftime lead by that point in the game, but Thompson’s touchdown run also accounted for the final score in a 35-point second half by Texas Tech (1-1, 0-1).

Texas looked no part of the No. 8-ranked club in the Associated Press Top 25, let alone an 18-point favorite (the largest road point spread in Big 12 play ever favoring a Herman-coached Longhorn team). What happened over the final three-plus minutes of regulation and in overtime was Ehlinger putting shine on an otherwise sluggish performance by his standards (27-for-40 through the air for 262 yards with five touchdowns and interception; 69 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 official rushing attempts), making the sixth game-winning drive of his career (one shy of Major Applewhite’s school record of seven) arguably the best of his storied tenure on the Forty Acres.

Saturday’s comeback from 15-points down late in the game (overcoming a Texas Tech win probability of 99.8 percent according to ESPN’s Football Power Index when Trey Wolff failed to properly execute a called sky kick by Red Raiders head coach Matt Wells) could be the first of what the burnt orange faithful hope are many Heisman Trophy-caliber moments in Ehlinger’s senior season. The man who leaves Lubbock responsible for 104 career touchdowns (second only to Colt McCoy’s school record 132) said none of the plays he made in the victory were Heisman worthy, nor was he chomping at the bit to mention the win over Texas Tech alongside his head-to-head victory over Kyler Murray and Oklahioma in 2018, the team’s triumph over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl that same season or any other great games the new school record holder for games with both a passing and rushing touchdown (15) has played.

“I sure hope not,” Ehlinger said. “It’ll be mentioned as 2020 in a nutshell.”

On a day in college football when No. 3-ranked Oklahoma suffered a second loss to Kansas State in as many seasons and No. 7-ranked LSU began defense of the national title it won last season by losing at home to Mississippi State in Mike Leach’s debut with the Bulldogs, a win beats the alternative. For Texas, it took Ehlinger hitting Brenden Schooler for 27 yards one play after the botched sky kick and Kai Money two plays later for 20 yards to set up a 12-yard touchdown to Brennan Eagles to keep the Longhorns in the game, trailing 56-48 with 2:39 to go.

Even before that, when Texas Tech scored on an 18-yard pass from Alan Bowman to T.J. Vasher with 6:12 to play to take a 49-41 lead, after which the Texas offense had a three-and-out and a punt, Ehlinger’s confidence appeared to be as strong as it was when the game started.

“That's the GOAT right there,” defensive lineman Keondre Coburn said. “That's the Tom Brady of college for me. Just put it in his hands this because when they scored that second touchdown and they had to punt the ball, he came to me talking about, 'D! We need one more stop and we’re going to win this game!' Just the fact that he kept the same energy, the same praise and emotion in the game that he did from the first quarter to the last quarter, it was just amazing. That's the great leader that we have on this team.”

Prior to the four-play, 59-yard drive that took only 34 seconds off of the clock, the offense was every bit as bad as it was when it went into lulls last season. After a first half where the offense’s first seven possessions resulted in 31 points, Mike Yurcich saw his attack average 2.9 yards per play in a third quarter where Ehlinger fired his first interception of the season with Alex Hogan’s theft setting up the go-ahead score (a 10-yard touchdown run by Thompson gave Texas Tech a lead heading into the fourth quarter, 42-41).

Ehlinger’s confidence (and in turn the offense’s) never wilted. When he had every reason to throw in the towel and chalk up the loss to the numerous reasons why a team might have issues in a conference road opener in a season ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ehlinger stayed strong.

“I think that we understood that we had to control we could control,” Ehlinger said. “We couldn't control the past, we couldn't control the way that we were playing in the previous plays, but we what we could control was how we were going to continue to go out and try to continue to win. That's what we did. We tried to focus on the next play and it ended up working out for us.”

Indeed, it worked out for the Longhorns with Ehlinger and Co. taking the field after Malcolm Epps recovered an onside kick by Cameron Dicker that couldn’t have been more cleanly executed. After connecting with Joshua Moore on touchdown tosses for the second (an 18-yard score with 44 seconds to go in regulation) and third time (a 12-yard strike in overtime) on Saturday — plays sandwiched between a two-point conversion hookup with Eagles — Ehlinger finished the fourth quarter and overtime a combined 10-for-14 passing for 114 yards and three touchdowns.

“It's like he just never loses faith,” Moore said. “That's a guy that always brings energy, not even in just times like this, but in practice, walkthroughs, no matter what it is.”

Ehlinger’s immediate reaction where he poo-pooed where the victory stands in the pantheon of his career (pun intended since Herman confirmed his quarterback left the playing field in third quarter so he could use the bathroom) likely won’t stand in the way of a feel-good flight back to Austin. For everyone around him, there’s no doubt that as long as No. 11 has the ball and time on the clock, Texas has a chance to make 2020 a season to remember.

“If Sam Ehlinger was trying to sell me oceanfront property in Arizona, I'd probably write him a check,” Herman said. “He's usually right on and he was right.”

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
satyanash

satyanash 14281

Posted
  • Author
Posted

(Scipio Tex) 2020 Texas Tech Post-Mortem: Offense

Quote

Win probabilities cannot measure the size of a Longhorn heart! And no scale can measure how badly I’d like to punch Tim Brando in the face. That was quite a win. As @Gerry Hamilton texted us after the game,"Shaka can't score 63 against Tech!" This is what it must feel like to win a spam eating contest. You're utterly disgusted with the process and yourself and never want to repeat it, but you're also a winner and the Spam Queen is eyeing you and that $50 gift certificate to La Quinta you just won isn't going to spend itself...

I have seven pages of notes on the Texas offense, defense, and special teams and that was before the Longhorns scored the final 22 unanswered points of the game during the last 3:13 of game play and the first possession of overtime. I can’t read half of my notes, because my handwriting deteriorates when I’m irritated or exuberant, so the 2nd half is mostly just descriptive verbs, curse words, multiple ??????’s (IZ on 2nd/20, huh???) and some Sanskrit.

So let's take a deep breath and break down an offense that was at different times and in varying degrees: efficient, precise, unambitious, gutless, disappointing, totally unstoppable, and frustrating all within the confines of the same game. And quarter.

What went well:

Sam's Run Game. He was incorporated early and often, then again late, and the box score (16-69-1) belies how crucial he was in providing clutch third down conversions and getting us deep into the red zone when the rest of the offense seemed a little short of ideas.

Winnerness. Sam stuck with a tough game (and game plan) and rallied his teammates to a huge, improbable win. Late game script dictated that Texas had to run its best tactical approach - spread 'em out, speed it up, let Sam make plays - and that he did. Why being down 15 deep in the 4th quarter dictated what seemed fairly clear coming in is odd, but nonetheless, Ehlinger engineered the sixth game winning drive of his career. Props to #11 and his teammates for playing until the final gun and then one overtime beyond.

Josh Moore. I don't know if he has the size and durability to be a #1 wide receiver, but #1.5 will do. 5 catches, 73 yards, 3 tds. He was shaken up a bit, but returned to the game and provided several big catches. His early 31 yard touchdown catch was a tremendous example of pure ball skills between two Tech defenders.

The early quick game. Texas counted up Tech's D and threw it out wide when the numbers favored. The receivers blocked hard for each other. This was a good approach and taking early candy is never a bad thing, but the failure to have much opponent specific game plan beyond that on a two week break is odd.

What did not go as well:

In the second half, the offensive staff wanted it one way, but it’s the other way.

Loss of tempo/aggression. Much of the second half featured tepid offensive play calling and an unwillingness to press the Red Raiders defense. No vertical stretch and a complete neglect to attack the middle of the field on play action, despite Tech safety Thomas Leggett sprinting up in run support like he was shot out of a cannon, and the Red Raiders playing as many of their 240+ pound linebackers on the field as possible. Early on, it looked like a bleed 'em underneath and tire 'em out attack that we'd exploit later with bigger plays down the field. That didn't happen until 3:13 was on the clock. Then we saw what an exhausted Tech front looked like pass rushing with some of their best LBs on the sideline. When the field got big, Tech got small.

Stubborn 12 personnel. Started manageably with what Tech was allowing, but Wiley and Brewer were non factors for most of the game and the 1st half RB Texas running game featured 21 carries for 66 yards running the same two runs. I’m not sure why we’d expect any DC to honor our TEs as threats. The best attribute of Tech's defense is good LB play and decent run stopping big bodies inside. Why allow Tech to keep those linebackers on the field or in the box where they’re comfortable? Even without Smith and Whittington, the match ups dictated making the field bigger, not smaller. Anyone see the HBU game? Texas actually ran the ball better from 2x2 or 3x1 split wide by forcing a lighter box.

OL cohesion. The box score will show that Texas scored 63 points and allowed two sacks and six tackles for loss. Who could possibly be down on the OL? Other than Sam Cosmi, I'm pretty down on some of the key mistakes that they made. The two sacks they surrendered were against three man rushes, one of them on a T/E stunt where the end ran between an unoccupied Kerstetter and Okafor. The OL also had multiple penalties at key moments that were absolute drive killers. Offsides. Blocker downfield. Chop block. Holds. The game plan didn't exactly set them up for success in the running game, but the lack of displacement or their ability to get hats on a 2nd level defender was notable.

Pad level is also too inconsistent in the running game. This is a basic coachable thing. It doesn’t require talent. Zone blocking doesn’t mean you stand up. 27 minutes of the second half. Until Texas went to hurry-up tempo late, the Horns logged the following 2nd half possessions:

4 plays, 16 yards PUNT
6 plays, 4 yards PUNT
3 plays, 3 yards INTERCEPTION
12 plays, 64 yards FIELD GOAL
3 plays, -21 yards PUNT

That's five possessions totaling 66 yards and a field goal while setting Tech up with three short field touchdowns. Down 15, Texas went tempo, spread it out, and rattled off three touchdowns on 13 plays to score 22 points and win the game. Winning is hard.

RPOs & Misdirection. The RPO - at least true RPO reads - went through long stretches of absence. Misdirection was also notably missing, unless you're counting the Josh Moore throwback pass that was nearly intercepted going the other way. What happened to all of the window dressing and eye candy that characterized the UTEP game plan to freeze linebackers and make safeties doubt their eyes?

3rd Down. Texas was 5 of 16 on 3rd down. 31%. Against Tech? Not acceptable.

In all, Texas gained 476 yards on 89 plays. 5.3 yards per play. That’s a grind. It didn’t have to be. It felt like a Tom Herman game plan.

QB

Sam totaled 6 touchdowns. His passing box score wasn't all that great (27 of 40 for 262, 5 tds, 1 int) and he had some inaccurate throws and a tough pick in Texas territory. But he also willed the team to the win with the final 22 points of the game and had a couple of big passing plays dropped or lost to a Tech defender out-completing his WR. He was also throwing dimes late. I had no problem with the easy money Texas was taking early in the WR screen game, but the inability to game plan much beyond that was evident in Sam's comfort level and the lack of options we had prepared for Tech’s preferred personnel. Big late game performance by a senior QB who just wouldn’t accept the loss.

RB

Whether Texas tried to force the run or was patient with it may be a matter of perspective. What is more obvious to me is that the run game was very vanilla and the coaches didn’t do enough by personnel, formation, or constraints to help it. Ingram got the start and was very efficient on his touches, totaling 89 yards on 12 carries and adding another 20 yards on 3 catches. Good cuts, got upfield, broke arm tackles. It also helped his yards per carry that he got the bulk of the work when Texas spread it out and created a lighter box. Roschon had a tough 44 yards on 16 carries. He lost out on a couple of potentially bigger runs by going down at first contact, but his negative or no gain runs were on Tech guessing right on our predictable run game, not anything he did wrong. His move the pile 4th down conversion was a good effort. Bijan Robinson looked and played like a freshman. Went down at first contact and his ill-advised hurdle attempt loss of ball security was not his finest movement. If you look at the angles created in our running game, a lot of it just doesn’t look good.

WR/TE

Josh Moore played lights out as mentioned above and Brenden Schooler gave us some nice plays - most notably his 27 yard catch on an Ehlinger strike late. 7 catches, 58 yards, 1 touchdown. Good blocker as well. Eagles gave a much better effort than against UTEP both as a receiver and blocker, but he was sluggish trying to accelerate into a couple of deep routes and his route running is still poor. 3-31- 1 touchdown and a gimme slant on the 2 point conversion in single coverage where the poor corner never had a chance. Eagles probably needs to be reimagined as a big possession WR. Not an X Deep threat. So far, he just can’t separate. Tarik Black was a no-show. Kai Money was solid on some underneath stuff (4-39) but he’s a poor blocker. Just not strong enough. Marcus Washington allowed a PBU on a well thrown TD pass.

We featured the tight ends by personnel grouping and they did very little. Brewer had a nice 3rd down conversion against a soft zone, but was out-competed on two other targets and a negligible blocker. Wiley was not targeted. He also let a free defender run by him on pass pro. If we’re going to split out a TE, put in Liebrock. He has some elusiveness and he’ll block smalls on the perimeter.

OL

Cosmi was good.

Kerstetter forced a very savvy offsides call on the Tech defender when he tapped the guy’s helmet when he entered the neutral zone, forcing a ref flag. But he also a blew a pass pro inside and had another holding penalty on the same run as the one he was flagged on against UTEP. He’s allowing the nose to create space on his fit and let the ref see the grab. When you hold inside, get snug, and drive your feet. Don’t allow daylight so the ref can see the grabbed cloth.

Angilau had a false start on a 3rd and 3 and was beaten badly by a backside defender on a run play that resulted in a TFL. Okafor had an egregious hold late in the 4th and Christian Jones added an illegal chop block on another key down. Allowing two three-man rush sacks is unacceptable. This unit needs to come together and the coaches need to run offense that helps put their defenders into conflict or out of position.

Final

Looking at the scoreboard to evaluate the offense can be very deceptive. Particularly when lots of points and short fields are getting created by other means. Texas lost the second half on offense badly for 27 minutes until game script forced a different approach and we played Hurry Up Hero Ball from the spread. This team can’t afford to have entire halves of offensive lethargy. Two weeks post UTEP, it would be hard to argue this offense took a step forward.

Really happy to have some teaching material for this staff and the team with a W rather than a L. Props to this team for believing it could still win and making it happen.

 

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
pacman

pacman 7331

Posted
Posted

https://www.espn.com/college-football/insider/story/_/id/29946431/college-football-top-10-freshmen-2020-far

#10 Alfred Collins

Collins, a 6-5, 305-pound defensive end, was the No. 52-ranked prospect in the 2020 class. The Texas staff gushed about his potential as a prized recruit. Not only that, but he is a legacy player, as his mother played basketball for the Longhorns.

Collins has one sack for Texas, and as his playing time increases and he gains more confidence through experience, he should see his stats progress as well. His teammates are already calling him a "Big Dog," and he should have the attention of his opponents going forward too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
satyanash

satyanash 14281

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Chip Brown: Was Texas Tech the wake-up call Texas needed?

Quote

LSU had an edge-of-the-cliff moment on third-and-17 against Texas last year and answered en route to a special season. Texas and the entire Big 12’s seasons were on the brink when Texas Tech had a 56-41 lead with 3:13 left Saturday in Lubbock. The Longhorns overcame a nightmarishly long list of miscues — and answered — as well. So, is it possible Texas' are-you-kidding-me, 15-point comeback en route to a 63-56 overtime win over the Red Raiders was the wake-up call the Longhorns needed?

“Great teams have a game or two like this,” said a relieved Tom Herman after the highest-scoring game in UT history (119 points). "We saw the two teams in our conference championship last year have a couple nail biters like this. They all count the same. But for us to find the intestinal fortitude and not hang our heads down 15 with three minutes and some change left and find a way to win that thing - I think there’s a lot of confidence that can come from that. But also a lot of humility. Hopefully this humbles some guys in there who thought this was going to be easy and thought every game was going to be like UTEP.”

Oklahoma had already squandered a big lead in a comeback loss at home against Kansas State. And after taking four different 10-point leads, Texas was suddenly facing more than a two-touchdown deficit in the closing minutes. “It was 2020 in a nutshell,” quarterback Sam Ehlinger said of the good and evil committed by every phase of the Longhorns' team in perhaps UT's most improbable comeback ever.

All Ehlinger did was overcome a costly interception (nearly returned for a touchdown) by going 10-of-11 passing to end the game, including three touchdown passes and an essential two-point conversion pass on a slant in man coverage to Brennan Eagles that forced overtime (56-56) at the end of regulation. “That’s a special two-point conversion play we ran against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl,” Ehlinger said. “I asked Brennan, ‘You want a slant or you want a fade?’ He said, ‘Slant.’”

By the end of the game, the offensive line was a mess - getting flagged for costly penalties, including two on the UT’s final, game-tying drive at the end of regulation. When asked how his offensive line played, Herman said, “Just OK.”

A defense that came up with three interceptions — two by Chris Brown and Chris Adimora that both led to touchdowns — rotated a bunch in the secondary to keep guys fresh and struggled mightily against a Tech offense that had nine passes of 15 yards or longer, including four toiuchdown passes of 22, 19, 29 and 18. “Any time you give up 325 yards passing and five touchdowns, it’s not a good day,” Herman said.

There were too many missed tackles to count, including the lowest point — somehow letting SaRodorick Thompson, while pressed against the sideline, get by four Texas tacklers inbounds and run 75 yards for a touchdown that put Tech up, 56-41. Texas’ inability to shove Thompson out of bounds caused flashbacks to Michael Crabtree somehow getting by Curtis Brown and Earl Thomas, pressed against the sideline for the game-winning touchdown the last time Texas lost at Tech in 2008.

“I couldn’t believe the missed tackles. I thought it was last year,” Herman said, referring to UT’s 172 missed tackles in 2019, among the worst in FBS. Redshirt sophomore nose tackle Keondre Coburn said, “I’m happy and disappointed. We gave up too many points. We’ll get to practice and correct our mistakes, and hopefully, it will never happen again.”

Crabtree was honored in Tech’s Hall of Honor this weekend, and it seemed like Tech was going to honor him with another upset of Texas likely derail any title hopes the Longhorns would’ve had - just like in 2008. But the Longhorns pulled off a more improbable comeback than its national title victory over USC when Texas was down 12 with 6:42 to play.

Texas was down 15 with 3:13 to play and needed a perfectly executed onside kick by Cameron Dicker to pull off a comeback. The Longhorns got that, along with a great recovery by Malcolm Epps, and a 10-of-11 passing finish from Ehlinger to get it done. “Our quarterback actually looked at me and said, ‘They left us too much time. We’re gonna tie this thing up and win it,’” Herman said. “And I believed him.”

Ehlinger said, “Everyone kept believing.” Coburn added, “We didn’t blame each other. Teams in the past might have. But this team is different.”

Playing without starting slot receiver Jake Smith (illness) and backup Jordan Whittington (knee), Texas needed receivers to step up. No one stepped up bigger for Ehlinger than Moore and Eagles when it mattered most. Moore left the game in the third quarter after landing hard and slamming his head on the turf. But his injury wasn’t ruled a concussion, and he returned to the game.

“Being on the sideline with our team down, it was the same feeling I had last year when I was suspended and wanted to get out there to help my team,” said Moore, who was suspended the entire 2019 season following a misdemeanor unlawful gun possession charge. “I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I wasn’t able to come back and help my team.”

Herman was asked if this near-death experience can end up helping the Longhorns? “Yes, I think so,” Herman said. “A couple players said that to the team after the game.” When Ehlinger was asked how he helped pull off the comeback, he said, “The only way we had a chance is by continuing to believe, so why wouldn’t you do that?”

If only it were that easy. But after two weeks of hearing how great they were and climbing into the Top 10 following a rout of UTEP, the Longhorns now have one week to show it can clean up some rotations, clean up a ton of mistakes and maybe get receiver Jake Smith back before TCU comes to Austin next Saturday. Maybe, just maybe, a near-death-to-your-title-hopes experience in Lubbock is just what the Longhorns needed.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
satyanash

satyanash 14281

Posted
  • Author
Posted

(Bobby Burton) Texas vs. Texas Tech grades: Offense stumbles its way to a win

Quote

Quarterback

Sam Ehlinger produced a terrific first quarter, a meandering second quarter, an abysmal third quarter and most of the fourth. But down by two scores, the senior led an improbable comeback. After going 5-13 for just 26 yards and throwing an interception, Ehlinger woke up with just more than three minutes left in the game, going 6-7 for 75 yards and two TDs and adding a two-point conversion to tie the score. In overtime, Ehlinger relied more on his legs until the final TD throw to Joshua Moore. It was an erratic performance for Ehlinger, who finished 27-40 for 262 yards, with five TDs and one INT. He simply cannot endure those types of let downs on a regular basis if the Horns hope to win the Big 12.

Grade: B-

Running backs

Keaontay Ingram clearly had the hot hand but by the time Texas coaches realized it, the game was already swinging to a shootout. Yet it was Ingram’s key run for a first down in OT that set Texas up for the eventual game-winning TD. Ingram also made two important catches on check downs on the final drive of regulation. It’s something Ehlinger certainly needs to employ more often. Roschon Johnson ran hard but was either swarmed or couldn’t find a crease. Bijan Robinson tried to hurdle an upright defender and paid for it dearly. But Robinson also made a nice catch and run out of the backfield. The Horns need to get their backs in the passing game more. I really like the grit of these three backs. Despite not seeing the big yardage, they contributed heavily to the win.

Grade: B+

Wide receivers

Brenden Schooler has been a revelation. He led the team with seven catches on Saturday. His 24-yard catch over the middle from Ehlinger sparked the first TD drive of the fourth quarter and he also had several short, productive catch-and-runs on the outside. Joshua Moore has cemented himself into early consideration for an all-conference award, scoring three TDs on the day, including the final two when it mattered most. Brennan Eagles also flashed his enormous potential by creating space on a quick slant for the game’s tying two-point score. Marcus Washington and Kai Money also had solid games. However, the immense amount of substitution may be causing some consistency issues in the passing game. At least that appeared to be part of the problem in the third quarter and part of the fourth when no receiver appeared open. Tarik Black was injured and was in and out the game as well. Texas notably misses both Jake Smith and Jordan Whittington.

Grade: B+

Tight ends

Texas tried to overpower Tech, often deploying two tight end personnel. That game plan didn’t work. The blocking of Cade Brewer and Jared Wiley either wasn’t good enough to help spring the running backs regularly or, in Wiley’s case, misread an assignment entirely leading to a tackle for loss. Brewer also dropped a couple of contested catches, even though he made a key third down catch leading to an eventual score in the first quarter.

Grade: C

Offensive line

After halftime, the Horns’ OL was ridiculously bad and all but cost Texas the football game. The group committed six penalties and gave up multiple sacks and pressures in that time frame. They rarely created running lanes and just generally looked disjointed against a Tech front that is average at best. Herb Hand should be on notice. As should every member of the OL save Samuel Cosmi. Derek Kerstetter’s transition to center is still underway; he gave up a huge sack in the fourth quarter. Denzel Okafor had multiple infractions and lacks quickness. Christian Jones gave up a TFL in the third quarter. And Junior Angilau is not someone who moves laterally well enough to effectively run stretch plays to the opposite side. If anyone tells you that any OL outside of Cosmi and perhaps Jones graded out well, I wouldn’t believe them for a second.

Grade: F

Offense

The game plan worked for the first half and not for the second. Texas tried to stay with the two tight end approach way too deep into the game after it was clear that the Red Raiders were willing to stop the run game at all costs. Texas played right into their hands. Instead of attempting to prey on the Red Raiders weak pass defense, the Horns stubbornly tried to win the game between the tackles and all Tech did was keep crashing more people into the box. It felt like Tom Herman and Mike Yurcich overplayed their hand, thinking the Texas OL and tight ends were good enough to overcome a loaded box. They aren’t and they weren’t. Hopefully, Texas has learned its lesson but given Herman’s proclivity to the power run, I’m not so sure. I guess we’ll see in the weeks to come. If an opponent has a weakness, attack that. Don’t try to force a square peg into a round hole. Alas, the penalties and ineffectiveness of the OL, the subpar play from Ehlinger for a large portion of the second half and the inability to get skill players in space is why this grade — despite scoring so many points — is necessary. The game never should have been this close had the Texas offense not been so stubborn.

Grade: C

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
satyanash

satyanash 14281

Posted
  • Author
Posted

(Bobby Burton) Texas vs. TTU grades: Defense staff gets taste of Big 12 offense

Quote

Defensive line

The Horns controlled the line of scrimmage for the most part but often failed to pressure the quarterback. That's been the story for the first two games of the season, although the Horns did get an important pressure late in the contest, flushing Alan Bowman out of the pocket on the game's final play. Joseph Ossai also forced a couple of early throws, too. But by and large, the interior just isn't getting enough push to create problems for the opposing QB. Ossai remains the unit's top player, but Ta'Quon Graham also made a couple of big stops and T'Vondre Sweat continues to be a solid contributor. Alfred Collins came off the bench and flashed for a couple of plays, too. The Horns are solid up front, but they need their big guys to make more game-changing plays in future contests.

Grade: B

Linebacker

Neither Juwan Mitchell nor DeMarvion Overshown had their best games of the year. However, both seemed to get better in pass defense as the game wore on. Mitchell made what looked like a game-ending play only for it to be called an incomplete pass. He also seemed to get a better feel for the passing lanes the more attempts Tech went at him. He certainly did his part in man coverage against the Tech RBs. Overshown missed a couple of tackles, including on the long Tech TD run, but also had a pass deflection in overtime and a tackle for loss. Ayodele Adeoye plays okay against the run but too often looks lost in pass coverage. On one Tech TD — a slant route — Adeoye accidentally took out two Texas defensive backs because of a poor angle.

Grade: B-

Secondary

Sloppy tackling by Caden Sterns and B.J. Foster cost Texas extra yardage multiple times. D'Shawn Jamison was out-muscled by Tech's large outside receiver, forcing the Horns to use Jalen Green more in his place as the game wore on. Both Green and Josh Thompson gave up deep balls for TDs. Foster took a poor angle on Tech's first TD, and Chris Brown jumped the wrong route on a third-and-16, giving T.J. Vasher single coverage against Thompson on a simple post route for a key first down. Chris Adimora was the lone bright spot. Even though he was picked on early, Adimora seemed to up his level of play as the game wore on. The Horns secondary only gave up 325 yards passing, so it's not like they were sliced and diced into oblivion. And the three INTs were all impactful.

Grade: B

Defense

At times, I was impressed by the Texas D. The group forced several three and outs during the game and nothing looked "too easy" for the Red Raiders, except perhaps the 75-yard TD run that I thought had iced the game. The Horns' D played particularly well to end both halfs, giving up no score to end the first half and to force Tech to punt at the end of the game. That's vastly different than what we saw from Todd Orlando's unit a year ago. I also liked the way Chris Ash chose to mix coverages and go to a man-under look to finish the game. Yet the Horns gave up some simple plays, like the post route on 3rd and 17, and didn't manage a consistent pass rush to disrupt the Tech passing game. Despite the score, this was not an abysmal performance from the D. But as a unit, it must do better. Take away the punt block, the muffed punt for a TD and the Sam Ehlinger interception, and Texas is more likely to give up in the 35-point range in this contest. Hardly stellar, but not surprising with Tech's offense.

Grade: C

Special teams

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Just like a Dickens novel, the Horns' special teams unit produced a roller coaster of emotions. Jamison muffed a punt for a TD, Tech executed an onside kick to perfection that took the Horns by complete surprise and the Red Raiders also blocked a punt by Ryan Bujcevski. Yet on the other side of things, Tyler Owens raced through the Tech punt team and blocked a punt that Jahdae Barron snatched out of the air after a weird bounce for a TD, and the play that changed the game was unquestionably the onside kick by Cameron Dicker and recovery by Malcolm Epps. Dicker also hit his only field goal attempt, whereas his counterpart at Tech missed his only opportunity. If you want consistency from your special teams, this wasn't the game you were looking for. But the Horns ultimately held serve. Is that good or bad? I tend to prefer more reliable special teams.

Grade: C-

 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Zeus

Zeus 5950

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, bschoolprof said:

We gave up 56 points, 325 yards passing, Tech was 8/16 on third down, and Burton was impressed, at times?  The defense should get a failing grade.  Period.  

The offense and special teams weren't doing them any favors. Defense needs a bit of momentum, they got some turnovers, they got some stops, which is all I ask for in this league.

Defense gets a C from me

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mikey4

Mikey4 2476

Posted
Posted
We gave up 56 points, 325 yards passing, Tech was 8/16 on third down, and Burton was impressed, at times?  The defense should get a failing grade.  Period.  

Defense was not that bad. The only areas where we struggled were getting pressure up front, covering receivers, and tackling. Everything else looked great.

 

(obligatory /s)

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
C-Man

C-Man 27069

Posted
Posted
The offense and special teams weren't doing them any favors. Defense needs a bit of momentum, they got some turnovers, they got some stops, which is all I ask for in this league.
Defense gets a C from me


We missed how many tackles again? Around 19 based on Rod Babers’ count. Nearly 38% of Tech’s yardage came after missed tackles. Not sure how that grades out to a ‘C.’
Link to comment
Share on other sites
LTtxfan

LTtxfan 48993

Posted
Posted (edited)

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2910734-no-8-texas-avoids-upset-from-texas-tech-in-narrow-ot-win

No. 8 Texas Avoids Upset from Texas Tech in Narrow OT Win

Notable Game Stats

  • Sam Ehlinger (Texas): 27-40, 262 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT; 16 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD
  • Keaontay Ingram (Texas): 12 carries, 89 yards
  • Brenden Schooler (Texas): 7 catches, 58 yards, TD
  • Joshua Moore (Texas): 5 catches, 73 yards, 3 TD
  • Alan Bowman (Texas Tech): 31-51, 325 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT
  • SaRodorick Thompson (Texas Tech): 16 carries, 104 yards, 2 TD
  • KeSean Carter (Texas Tech): 7 catches, 77 yards, 2 TD
  • T.J. Vasher (Texas Tech): 4 catches, 74 yards, 2 TD

 

Interesting segment:

"Texas was moving up and down the field in the first half, including scoring drives on each of its first three possessions. Ehlinger was 13-of-17 for 127 yards and one touchdown through the first 30 minutes.  Coming out of the break, the Red Raiders defense looked like a completely different group until late in the fourth quarter. It only gave up three points—Texas scored a special teams touchdown on a blocked punt—from the start of the third quarter until 2:39 mark of the fourth quarter."

Edited by LTtxfan
Link to comment
Share on other sites
satyanash

satyanash 14281

Posted
  • Author
Posted

(Mike Craven) Texas report card: Grades are in for the 63-56 overtime thriller at Tech

Quote

Eighth-ranked Texas had to rally late to force overtime and then beat Texas Tech in Lubbock, improving to 2-0 on the season and a 1-0 start in Big 12 play. Grades for the Longhorns:

image.png

Quarterbacks: B+

Sam Ehlinger played like a Heisman front-runner (outside of the third quarter). His ability to stay calm and in charge allowed the Longhorns to erase a 15-point deficit in the final minutes and then win in overtime. He finished with 262 yards and five touchdown passes to just one interception. He was 27-of-40 through the air, adding 69 yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts. This wasn’t an A game for Texas’ best player, but he led the team to 63 points, including 25 in the fourth quarter and overtime. His composure and talent allowed the Longhorns to remain in control of their own destiny in the Big 12.

Season stats: Ehlinger 52-73-688 yards, 10 TDs, 1 pick

Season average: A

Running backs: B

Keaontay Ingram individually deserves an A; he led the team with 89 yards, averaged 7.4 yards per carry and added three receptions. Roschon Johnson added 44 yards on 16 carries while Bijan Robinson had a pedestrian 12 yards on four carries before leaving the game with an injury. The running backs weren’t great besides Ingram, who didn’t get enough touches to make a major impact. If you add Ehlinger’s 69 yards on 16 carries, Texas’ rushing game averaged 4.5 yards per carry.

Season stats: Ingram 21-133-0, Johnson 24-82-2, Robinson 9-50-0

Season average: B

Wide receivers: A-

The receivers turned in another solid performance. Joshua Moore continues a strong return to the team, collecting five catches for 73 yards and three touchdowns. He has four scores for the season. Grad transfer Brenden Schooler recorded a team-high seven catches from the slot in place of the injured Jake Smith and Jordan Whittington. Brennan Eagles caught three passes for 31 yards and a touchdown and converted the key two-point conversion to force overtime on a tremendous slant route. The trio of Moore, Eagles and Schooler appear to be the go-to targets with Whittington and Smith out. Walk-on Kai Money caught four passes for 39 yards. Marcus Washington had two catches for 13 yards.

Season stats: Moore 11-200-4, Schooler 9-123-2, Tarik Black 5-80-1, Eagles 4-66-2

Season average: A

Tight ends: D

The tight ends were quiet, accounting for only one of Texas’ 27 receptions. Cade Brewer caught one pass for 11 yards. Jared Wiley was utilized as a blocker. Malcolm Epps did recover the onside kick to save the game, though.   

Season stats: Brewer 4-51-1, Brayden Liebrock 2-11

Season average: C

Offensive linemen: C

The line didn’t play well despite the offense scoring 63 points. The running game averaged fewer than five yards per carry against a porous Tech front seven. The Red Raiders defense managed to pressure Ehlinger throughout the second half. Texas Tech had two sacks in the fourth quarter that could have ended the game had the UT defense not come up with a couple of important stops. The group was also responsible for several penalties, including a couple of costly holds and a 15-yard chop block. The right side of the line struggled.

Season stats: Ehlinger has been sacked twice in 73 drop-backs.

Season average: B

Defensive linemen: D

The defensive line escapes a failing grade because of its success in stopping the run on Saturday — save for that one 75-yard touchdown run by SaRondorick Thompson that appeared to put the game away in the fourth quarter. The pass rush was virtually non-existent; the Longhorns didn’t record a single sack against a Tech line that surrendered six of them to Houston Baptist two weeks ago. Expectations were high entering the season for new Jack end Joseph Ossai, but he has been quiet outside of one defensive series. Ta’Quon Graham had a team-high two tackles for loss and former tight end Reese Leitao flashed on a few plays.

Season stats: The Horns have two sacks in 91 quarterback drop-backs this season, and only one from a lineman.

Season average: C+

Linebackers: D

Juwan Mitchell and DeMarvion Overshown were OK in run support, but it was a mostly forgettable day for Texas’ starting linebackers. Missed tackles plagued the group, especially Overshown, who looked uncomfortable at times in his second game at the position. The former safety had two tackles, including one for loss. Mitchell finished with five tackles, which was tied for second most on the team.

Season stats: Overshown has 6 tackles, 3 TFL

Season average: C+

Secondary: F

The coverage was bad. The tackling was atrocious. The lone bright spot was that the DBs recorded three interceptions, including the one by Caden Sterns to end the game in overtime. B.J. Foster made headlines after the UTEP win when it was revealed that the former five-star recruit had quit the team sometime in the third quarter. He was back on the field Saturday in Lubbock, leading the team with seven tackles. Chris Adimora was close behind with five, and both he and Chris Brown had interceptions.

Season stats: The Longhorns have four interceptions so far. By four different defensive backs.

Season average: C

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TXpride

TXpride 533

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, taybo20 said:

DL is really what it comes down to for me. I want sacks and domination. All I really see is guys being blocked.

They were getting pretty good pressure most of the game. It's hard to get sacks when the QB can immediately throw to an open WR. 

Edited by TXpride
  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
texifornia

texifornia 56557

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, TXpride said:

They were getting pretty good pressure most of the game. It's hard to get sacks when the QB can immediately throw to an open WR. 

Yeah, Tech's best players are their interior OL and their WRs, which made it hard to run up sacks. We were getting consistent backside pressure, but Bowman usually had an outlet ready really quickly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
B00M

B00M 6280

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, TXpride said:

They were getting pretty good pressure most of the game. It's hard to get sacks when the QB can immediately throw to an open WR. 

Which only happened because we weren't challenging Tech's WRs at the line. We played scared of them and got torched for it. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
taybo20

taybo20 2815

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, TXpride said:

They were getting pretty good pressure most of the game. It's hard to get sacks when the QB can immediately throw to an open WR. 

Well we weren’t overly impressive against UTEP. Also not gonna compare is to Houston Baptist and what they did. But what I will say is that DL pressure is a theme for Texas and it’s something that has been an emphasis so I want to see it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
taybo20

taybo20 2815

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, TXpride said:

They were getting pretty good pressure most of the game. It's hard to get sacks when the QB can immediately throw to an open WR. 

Well we weren’t overly impressive against UTEP. Also not gonna compare is to Houston Baptist and what they did. But what I will say is that DL pressure is a theme for Texas and it’s something that has been an emphasis so I want to see it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
satyanash

satyanash 14281

Posted
  • Author
Posted

(Scipio Tex) 2020 Texas Tech Postmortem: Defense & Special Teams

Quote

The Texas defense matched the inconsistent output of the Texas offense. If I’m going to hold that the Texas offense wasn’t quite as good as 63 points on the scoreboard suggests, it’s only fair to point out that the Texas defense wasn’t quite as bad as a series record 56 points allowed implies. Texas had stretches of good defense and some alarming periods of incompetence and fundamental ineptitude. But they can’t be held responsible for Red Raider points via fumbled punts, short fields, and punt blocks. They sure as heck can be held responsible for surrendering five TD passes, Tech converting 8 of 16 on 3rd down, terrible tackling, and allowing 75 yard touchdown runs with the game in the balance.

As for special teams, well, don’t go grab a drink during a routine kick.

Tech opened the game with an easy opening drive touchdown. The Tech OC Yost played Canadian football the entire drive - they never faced a third down and only ran the ball once. I’m not sure how Tech shocks you going tempo and throwing it on rhythm if you have access to film, but it was an interesting Saturday. On that drive, Alan Bowman went 5 of 5 for 73 yards, with WR KeSean Carter doing the lion’s share of the damage on in cuts off of rub routes. That’s one of their trademarks, so again, I don’t think was a big surprise. Carter would finish the half with 5 catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns. Highly physical Erik Ezukanma also proved a problem early, grabbing 4-61-1td of his own in the first half of play. Bad tackling and a lack of overall awareness was on display in that drive and it foreshadowed much of what plagued this defense in Lubbock.

It is important to note that the Texas defense did eventually acclimate to the Tech passing game. And Tech never completed a pass for more than 29 yards. Aside from forcing three huge interceptions that created significant field position and momentum reversals, the Texas defense held Bowman to 16 of 30 for 153 yards passing in the second half. Absent TJ Vasher’s 2nd half playmaking, Tech really didn’t have much going in the passing game and both Carter and Ezukanma were largely erased after the half.

Similarly, if someone - anyone - simply does their job on SaRodorick Thompson’s 75 yard touchdown gallop, the Texas defense pitches a complete run game shutout. Frustrating. Texas struggled to get pressure on Bowman consistently and that was certainly not for a lack of bodies in the rotation trying to get after it. Tech has a very good pass blocking interior OL, but their tackles were vulnerable and Bowman dropped back 54 times to throw. We can’t log a sack? Or a half dozen QB hits?

As much as this game laid bare deficiencies at LB, a lack of pass rush, and revealed some members of the Longhorn secondary with more preseason press than on-field performance, it also highlighted some real ballers like Chris Adimora. We’ll need more guys like him to emerge. By my count, three Texas defenders were responsible for 9 missed tackles. The rest of the Texas defense missed four.

LB

Let’s take our medicine early. DeMarvion Overshown missed five tackles and blew a lateral fumble recovery that would have given the ball to Texas deep in Tech territory. That was bad football IQ. Overshown did show a lot of range. The problem is that his range allows him to miss more tackles over a larger area. He’s obviously too weak to tackle without great fundamentals and leverage and for a great athlete, he has a knack for finding himself in a bad athletic position in the open field. On the plus side of the ledger, he had a tackle for loss cleanup off of a D’shawn Jamison stunt and he erased a couple of Bowman throws with solid pass drops.

Juwan Mitchell was credited with five tackles. Debatable. He cleaned up some trash created by the DL’s excellent interior run stopping, but he was very poor in pass defense. He didn’t offer much outside of an assigned gap and he was negligible as a blitzer. In pass coverage, he’s dropping mechanically and just covering grass and failing to get deep enough to dissuade easy throws on in cuts or posts. Bottom line, Overshown and Mitchell are currently liabilities unless they dramatically improve their level of play.

DL

Joe Ossai had three really good pressures, two of which led to deflected balls, one of which led to a prospective TD that was correctly called back after replay revealed Bowman’s hand in motion. He was also held a half dozen times, but the refs ate their flags. Jett Bush got run in the second half when legs gave out in the heat and he was OK except for giving up the edge on the Thompson TD run. If he’s supposed to show inside on that call, fine, but he still has to pursue flat and get to the sideline. Jacoby Jones had minimal impact in his return. Moro Ojomo had some solid run stopping snaps and a solid open field tackle, but no consistent pass rush. Coburn and Sweat were strong inside against inside zone, but failed to collapse the pocket and had some struggles with the length of Tech’s interior OL in pass protection. Sweat also had a face mask penalty that cost 15 yards and bailed out Tech from a blown up run.

Ta’Quon Graham’s crucial -4 yard tackle for loss in overtime put Tech behind the chains and into panic mode. It was a massive play and deserves a call out as one of the key moments of the contest. Graham played well inside and had a couple of decent pocket pushes to go with good run D. Texas can’t play a 4-man DL against teams that will drop back and throw it 50-60 times if they can’t make their impact felt as pass rushers. Whether that’s letting them go, attacking gaps more, overloading on 3rd and long, more line games, stunts, better instruction in pass rushing, whatever, something needs to change rapidly.

DB

Chris Adimora played an excellent game. Very good tackling in the open field in 1 on 1 situations, made a brilliant play settling into a Tech receiver’s slant that created his interception and field flipping return, had a heads up batted ball on a stunt, and a terrific play on the ball on a 3rd down that forced a Tech punt. When we give him a cover over the top and let him play ball, he’s an impact player.

Josh Thompson erased TJ Vasher from the Tech game plan in the 1st half. His only first half hickey was an unnecessary PI on a jet sweep pass trick play where he had perfect position, but panicked when he couldn’t locate the ball. Still, I was really excited by what I saw from him early.

In the second half, TJ Vasher burned him on two slants (one converted a 3rd and 16, the other went for a TD as Texas safeties also blew their tackles) with Thompson playing off coverage, and then Vasher made an amazing fingertip catch in the end zone on a go-fade. Tip your cap on that last one, though Thompson didn’t get big enough piece of TJ early in that route. Beyond the plays Vasher made on Josh, there were a couple of other plays where he had a step on Thompson, but the ball was poorly thrown. Those failures on high leverage downs/situations just killed Texas. TJ Vasher was the second half Tech passing game. Thompson looked to be slightly hobbled, so I’m not sure if that played a role at all.

D’Shawn Jamison competed with Overshown for the missed tackle crown, but was edged late as he could only manage three. He got muscled by Ezukanma and a couple of others and also missed a tackle on the Tech RB in run support. Jalen Green logged some good snaps and had terrific coverage on the Tech receiver on the Chris Brown INT, but he also dropped an errant Bowman throw that hit him in both hands. Lost to Ezukanma on a 50/50 ball TD, but it was good coverage, an excellent DeAndre Hopkins imitation by Easy E, and Bowman took a throw it up Why not shot with the Longhorn offsides free play.

Chris Brown made a fine play on the bad Bowman throw into double coverage. Got beat on some bad angles supporting his corners inside. Otherwise, fine.

Caden Sterns missed two tackles, one resulting in a TD on the Vasher slant. Also had a clear PI that wasn’t flagged on 3rd down in man coverage. Took bad angles all afternoon. Registered one authoritative solo tackle in space, but also shied from a contact a couple of times. Sterns has a significant role to play against a team like Tech but that didn’t happen on Saturday.

BJ Foster got a fair amount of snaps. His most notable error was the combined Overshown-Foster-Ossai gaffe that led to the long Thompson TD run instead of a tackle for loss. Beyond that, he was active and a willing tackler. Anthony Cook had a face mask personal foul in limited snaps.

Special Teams

Well, they were exciting. Texas recovered an onside kick and had a punt block touchdown, but gave up their own punt block and onside recovery. Along with a lot more excitement that led to short Tech fields. So what happened? Cade Brewer didn’t perform his role as the personal protector at the point of contact on the Longhorn punt block. He has to make himself big and attack the incoming contact. Inside out.

D’shawn Jamison attempted to field a punt while turned SIDEWAYS, flubbed it, and Tech was gifted an easy 6. Obviously, Jamison is the most explosive returner Texas has, but that’s awful decision making and fundamentals. Jamison had a good kickoff return to the Texas 45 early in the game.

The onside kick was very well executed by Tech and they caught the Texas up men assuming instead of honoring their task of verifying the type of kick before retreating to set up blocks. Obviously, Tech saw something on film and exploited it. This is correctable. Tyler Owens made a terrific play on the punt block using his sprinter’s speed to block it right at the punter’s foot.

Jahdae Barron sealed the deal with the TD. Great play and Texas did a nice job creating Tyler’s free run. Great play all around. Dicker was perfect on the day, including a 43 yarder. Buj had a punt blocked and then shanked another under pressure. Punted better when protection cleaned up. Texas made some plays on special teams, but the effort was far too sloppy and they lost the overall battle in Lubbock. Pretty disappointing, but most of the errors are correctable by teaching or getting a new guy in there. I thought this unit would be a strength. They need to shape up quickly to have that prove out.

Final Thoughts

I promised Texas fans that Chris Ash would have some teaching opportunities with this Texas defense. He just got a big one. Let’s see what he can impart to his pupils and correct against TCU on Saturday. He also has his own learning curve with respect to the Big 12. Let’s see what Tech taught him.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LTtxfan

LTtxfan 48993

Posted
Posted (edited)

SIAP...

Bobby Burton -- MONDAY

Quote

After re-watching the more than four hour game a second time, here are a few additional thoughts that didn't make it into either the Snap Judgments I wrote immediately following the game or the grades of the offense and defense...

**

Brennan Schooler is a good receiver but he still lacks timing and understanding of where the ball is coming from Sam Ehlinger. The over the shoulder throw in the first quarter for a TD would have been a terrific catch, but I think if Schooler and Ehlinger had had more time to work together, that would have been more likely to be completed.

The same can be said for a third down throw that Ehlinger made behind Schooler in the fourth quarter. Schooler accelerated through his cut instead of perhaps settling into it. Most Texas receivers will settle into the open space created by that route.

Again, Schooler and Ehlinger weren't on the same page.

Yet Schooler also made multiple plays for Texas and Ehlinger wasn't wildly inaccurate at really any point of the game. Ehlinger was perhaps late with throws but maybe inaccurate only once or twice.

In other words, I think it is obvious that there is still meat left on the bone for Ehlinger and Schooler to get better together. The question is whether Schooler can adapt a little more to the Texas offense and Ehlinger can be aware of who his receiver is at the same time.

**

Upon rewatch, Juwan Mitchell had a real problem in zone pass coverage in the first half. Then he started picking things up in the second half. Then on the final couple of series in the game, Mitchell shadowed the Tech running back in man coverage and it was awesome to watch.

If you happen to have DVR'ed the game, go back and watch the fumble that was overturned by officials on the second to last play of the game.

Mitchell feigned a blitz into the middle of the Tech front only to haul butt to match up with the running back in the flat. Mitchell did it so well and was on top of the RB so quickly that it surprised the Tech RB and caused an incompletion (or fumble depending on how you saw it).

It was an excellent job by Mitchell. He used his athleticism and quickness to his advantage and surprised the Tech offense on a huge play during the game.

**

I watched and re-watched the offensive line multiple times.

I literally would be rewininding plays multiple times just to see what was happening across the board on diffferent plays.

There are several issues.

First, the lack of quickness laterally by both Junior Angilau and Denzel Okafor is a real problem. It is not allowing stretch plays to get going because neither is quick enough to maintain a backside block long enough, at least they weren't quick enough against Tech which is an average defensive front at best. That takes a key running play option away from the offense, and in fact makes it more likely to be a no gain or tackle for loss.

Second, Okafor still plays way too much over his feet and gets caught lunging and taking steps that are too big and not balanced enough. That will hurt execution on play side runs, and it cost him a holding penalty in the fourth quarter with Texas driving.

While Okafor has those issues, he is not a bad pass protector. He's actually better than Angilau in that regard. Once Okafor latches on, the defenders really can't push him much. Angilau, however, doesn't seem to have to same arm length and his lateral quickness can be an issue there.

Derek Kerstetter is clearly still learning the poisition. On the three-man rush that got to Sam Ehlinger, Kerstetter got caught not staying even and using his peripheral vision to watch both sides of the line and a free rusher went right by his earhole on a twist.

Christian Jones is an adequate blocker and adequate pass protector but he is not great at either at this point. So it's hard to pinpoint exactly what you can depend on him for.

The only relative strength, at least right now on the OL, is the play of Sam Cosmi.

So what does Texas do about this?

Is Isaiah Hookfin a potential answer at either right tackle or guard, or do the Horns try to push Jake Majors into a starting role at center and kick Kerstetter back out to tackle? Something needs to be done because right now, the group is not performing as well as it should. They just don't work well together as a group, in part because I think their strengths and weaknesses are too varied.

That's what I see as the problem for this OL. They're not great at any one thing.

**

An example of poor line play was the fourth down conversion in the fourth quarter by Roschon Johnson. Johnson was stoned at the line of scrimmage going right. The Texas O got zero push. Johnson only made it with an excellent individual second effort and a subsequent push by those same linemen.

**

DeMarvion Overshown should have jumped on that loose ball to end the first half. He clearly had visions of a scoop and score, like he thought Juwan Mitchell had done earlier in the half.

If Overshown jumps on that ball, Texas likely adds at least three to the scoreboard just before half.

Add to it that the Horns' D produced a three and out for Tech to start the second half before D'Shawn Jamison muffed a punt for a touchdown, and you're talking about a 10-point swing in the matter of just two minutes of play.

**

TaQuon Graham is in an interesting position. He may be too big to play end effectively and too small and not quick enough to play oin the interior.

Right now, he's not producing at an elite level despite making a big tackle for loss in overtime. Neither is Moro Ojomo.

Perhaps there's a spot to get more playing time from Alfred Collins. Collins is one of those players who all he does when he enters the game is wreck shop. Literally.

He is clearly as talented a defensive line prospect as Texas has seen in at least a decade. He definitely still needs some seasoning and experience, but even at a young age, he is making things happen when he's on the field.

**

Ryan Bujcevski may need to go to the rugby punt full time. He is not Michael Dickson part II. If he were, I might reconsider.

But Bujcevski averaged 40 yards a boot on Saturday. That's nothing to write home about but also not bad either. Going forward, I think the Horns should rather be safe with the rugby punt than sorry and look for an extra 3-5 yards on a regular punt.

**

Tarik Black may have all the physical tools you could want in a receiver, but he's clearly still learning the nuances of the position. He was a little nicked up on Saturday. Even so, he doesn't seem to have the advanced feel for the game of other players.

On the flip side, Brennan Eagles finally put together a consistent outing in the fourth quarter.

His TD catch in the back of the end zone showed him finishing a long route that he easily could have broken off at some point. But he stayed with the play.

His two-point conversion - even though he briefly bobbled it - has to be a confidence booster for him. For Tom Herman and the Texas offense to rely on Eagles for such a huge play that could make or break the season should cause Eagles to realize just what kind of impact he can make for the team, if he commits to playing every down to his fullest.

One play earlier in the game, the cameras isolated on Eagles on a goalline play and he clearly ran a half-hearted route. At this level, a player can be as talented as anybody on the planet, but unless you are reliable and giving 100-percent every down, you are just another guy in a uniform. Eagles can be more than that - he has showed us and his team. Now he just has to commit to it.

**

Many have bemoaned the poor tackling of the Longhorns back seven against Tech. I agree with it.

But I don't think it was poor "tackling". Sure, there were a couple of missed tackles and several poor angles.

The bigger issue, at least as I saw it, was a lack of awareness where receivers would try to sit down in their routes and then make yardage after the catch. The Horns were too rarely even close to the receiver against the Tech quick passing game.

With improved awareness, the Horns will tackle better.

One team I watched on Saturday who does a great job of it is Oklahoma State. They do not give up a lot of yards after the catch in the quick passing game. TCU typically does a tremendous job with awareness, too.

**

The Horns opened up the offense late in the fourth quarter and in overtime. The two tight end personnel went the way of the dodo bird.

I'm not suggesting Texas do away with it altogether. Far from it. But the Texas offensive braint trust should have considered that option earlier in the contest when the offense bogged down.

**

I don't call out officials regularly.

But the lack of holding calls on Texas Tech was outright ridiculous.

Even on the game's final play, Ta'Quon Graham was clearly held as Alan Bowman was flushed from the pocket but there was no call. That ball is somehow completed and you're talking about a season-ending no-flag call.

Then there was the clear hold on the nine-yard TD run by Tech. And the fact that the Tech runner clearly stepped out of bounds.

Furthermore, the side judge continually spotted the ball poorly. Whether it was the placement of the ball a yard short of the first down that ultimately created Roschon Johnson's fourth down push or numerous others throughout the game, the refs got it wrong again and again and it looked like it was out of laziness.

If you have the time and inclination (and the game recorded), go back and watch the very first pass and catch to Schooler along the left sideline. The side judge marks Schooler out of bounds a clear yard from where he actually stepped out and the ball went out.

Hidden yards like that can have big consequences.

I'll end the rant now only to say that there's no way Tech did not hold a single time all game on offense.

**

Ehlinger needs to start looking for Jared Wiley in his routes. Tech completely ignored Wiley at times with both linebackers pushing over toward Cade Brewer's release.

At the same time, Ehlinger needs to start checking down to his running backs more frequently.

**

The block of the game for me came from Keaontay Ingram.

He chopped down a free blitzer on Josh Moore's first touchdown reception. If Ingram doesn't make that block, there is no touchdown to be thrown.

**

The second best block?

There are two I want to mention.

I appreciated the all-out effort of Christian Jones on a third-down backside screen to Ingram that resulted in a first down. Jones got just enough of a linebacker in space to give Ingram the clearance for a first down.

The other is Brennan Eagles absolute domination on the goalline on Schooler's TD on the bubble screen. Eagles ate the dude up.

**

Texas needs to learn from this game. The Horns have to get better on the OL, either find a new solution or personnel group. They also have to react quicker to changes on offense. Long periods of doldrums on offense will kill you in this league.

On defense, the safeties and linebackers have to do a better job of spatial awareness in the passing game. And the Horns need to find a way to mount a better pass rush.

On special teams, they don't have to be special. They just have to punt it away, make the makeable field goals and secure the ball. Anything above that is a bonus.

 

Edited by LTtxfan
  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
satyanash

satyanash 14281

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Chip Brown: Five reasons the Texas defense struggled against Texas Tech

Quote

After watching the film, Tom Herman was the first to say the missed tackles in the Longhorns' 63-56, so-you're-sayin-there's-a-chance victory at Texas Tech were as bad as he thought after the game. “We realize we can’t accomplish our goals if we play like that on defense,” Herman said Monday as the Longhorns return home this week to face TCU (0-1), which lost 37-34 to Iowa State in Fort Worth Saturday but has won five of the last six against UT.

Quick note and perhaps incentive for the Texas defense: TCU gave up seven sacks to Iowa State between Horned Frog quarterbacks Matthew Downing (four) and Max Duggan (three). Duggan, who helped beat Texas last year as a true freshman, is expected to start against the Longhorns Saturday at 11 am CT (on Fox).

Herman, however, seemed relaxed about fixing the problems on defense that allowed Texas Tech to convert 8-of-16 third downs and reel off 11 explosive plays (runs of at least 10 yards and passes of at least 15 yards) - with six of those chunk plays going for touchdowns (on passes of 22, 19, 29 and 18 yards as well as runs of 10 and 75 yards).

That was more than twice as many explosive plays as Texas sets as a goal per game limit (less than five) for opposing offenses, Herman said Monday. Herman got lots of questions about if new defensive coordinator Chris Ash was caught off guard by the up-tempo attack of Texas Tech, which is indicative of many Big 12 offenses. Herman said no. After all, Ash sees Texas' offense, which goes up-tempo plenty, in practice every day.

After watching the film, Herman laid out five reasons why he believes his defense struggled on Saturday (with none of them being excuses and all of them being correctable):

No. 1 … Failing to ‘tackle the catch’

“People are going to complete passes,” Herman said. “We just need to make sure we’re there and get them on the ground when they do (catch it).”

No. 2 … Contrast in opponents

Texas went from UTEP, a Kansas State-type ball control offense on one of the worst teams in FBS the last two seasons, to the jet tempo of Texas Tech led by a veteran quarterback in Alan Bowman and a bunch of talented, swift skill talent. “After facing UTEP, Tech’s speed kind of snuck up on us,” Herman said. “They have really good athletes.”

No. 3 … Heat and conditioning

“Without the normal pre-season conditioning, we were tired,” Herman said. “That’s not an excuse. We were tired - and hot.” As a result, Texas rotated a high number of players into the game, including the back seven - something former defensive coordinator Todd Orlando rarely did. Orlando liked to set the lineup and then rely on his starters in the back seven as much as possible to eliminate any communication issues.

Herman said the heat - compounded by the speedy tempo of Tech - were more to blame than any communication issues caused by a heavy rotation of players. “I was pleased with the twos who went in and gave us some serviceable work,” Herman said. “It’s not difficult for us to rotate guys at all, especially with the experience we have on defense.”

No. 4 … Lack of live tackling dating back to no spring ball

“One of the drawbacks of no spring practice and a truncated training camp is the lack of live tackling,” Herman said. “We’ve put a lot of thought into how we’re going to drill this without putting our guys through a bunch of scrimmage situations with full tackling. That wouldn’t be smart.”

No. 5 … Lack of humility

By the way Herman was talking after the Tech victory as well as on Monday, perhaps this should be reason No. 1. Herman said after the Tech game he didn't think all of his players got the message from coaches to take Tech seriously. “You hope that game humbled some guys on our team who might’ve thought after beating UTEP the way we did that it was going to be easy,” Herman said Monday.

When I asked Herman for some tangible examples of a lack of humility within his team leading up to the Tech game, Herman said: “That was more of an assumption on my part based on all the nice comments being thrown their (players’) way on social media (the past two weeks).” As far as correcting the mistakes this week with TCU looming, Herman said he already has his team’s full attention.

“It does help when you learn some very hard lessons and still win the game, because you can coach them hard,” Herman said. “They’re embarrassed. They saw the film. They saw the same game everyone else did. Being able to coach guys who are hungry to be coached after a win instead of licking their wounds after a loss is certainly a huge advantage.”

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...