Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 7)

[satyanash 14281]

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

(Joseph Cook) Rapid Fire Thoughts: Texas 27, Baylor 16

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Texas wasn't overly impressive, but they played a mostly clean game after a rough start. Here are rapid fire thoughts on Texas' 27-16 victory over the Baylor Bears.

Pre-halftime thought: Ryan Bujcevski has regressed immensely. After his dismal performance in Dallas and two weeks of practice, he continued to struggle with the lights on in Austin. His first two punts traveled a total of 53 yards. Punting is one of the most individual aspects of football. There’s not much to be said aside from do better, and players know this. Which is why it must be incredibly frustrating for Bujcevski right now.

Pre-halftime thought: Defense came to play in the first two drives. Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer’s arm strength greatly limited what the Bears were able to do. His accuracy hasn’t waned too much, as he was 14-of-22 for 124 yards, but his arm strength his a massive governor on the Baylor offense. Texas did allow some over the middle passing, but there’s nothing on the perimeter for the Bears.

Pre-halftime thought: Tom Herman spoke during the bye week that the team improved the most at rushing offense and rushing defense. It wasn’t particularly clear in the first half. Texas ran the ball nine times for 38 yards. It was the emphasis obviously, as UT completed one single pass in the first quarter for a loss of one yard. The passing game came to life in the second quarter, but it was by no means a riveting offensive performance.

Pre-halftime thought: Missing two starting offensive linemen, Baylor found ways on their third drive to take the pressure off the OL and get the ball out quickly both on the perimeter in screens and over the middle. However, the pressure did mount on Brewer and the Bear run game as the half went on. BU rushed 12 times for 28 yards, with 11 yards on one John Lovett carry.

Pre-halftime thought: Baylor’s third drive ended in the red zone with three points. It was their only red zone opportunity of the half. Pre-halftime thought: Sam Ehlinger’s first quarter stat-line: 1-of-2, -1 yard. 2 rushes, 5 yards. Pre-halftime thought: The first penalty wasn’t on a player, but rather on the coaching staff after they spoke about additional punishment for penalties.

Pre-halftime thought: The Longhorn offense slept for most of the first half, and a second-quarter sack of Ehlinger deep in Texas territory made it appear as if that slumber would continue. Then, from an empty five wide set, Ehlinger found an open Tarik Black for 72 yards. Black couldn’t get to the end zone, but he helped revitalize a struggling offense with that catch and run. Speed would have helped, as Baylor held Texas out of the end zone after the Longhorns had first and goal on the nine, but Cameron Dicker added three points to give Texas a 6-3 lead.

Pre-halftime thought: Tom Herman has an impressive commitment to 12 personnel. Texas brings two tight ends on the field for a significant number of snaps. Epps and Wiley both had one target apiece in the first half with no catches to show for it. Pre-halftime thought: Cameron Dicker is a good kicker. He is not exceptional, he is not poor. He is a good kicker in a sport where quality can be tough to find.

Pre-halftime thought: Moore can jump and receive. He has become Texas’ go-to deep threat not only for his solid footspeed, but also for his elite vertical jumping ability. He was targeted twice and caught both targets including one for a touchdown.

Pre-halftime thought: Nothing about this first half was impressive, however Texas played a B+ game in every facet (with some generous grading for special teams) while Baylor’s defense was the only real positive for the green and gold.

Post-halftime thought: After a scoreless third quarter in their last appearance, Texas marched down the field out of halftime 75 yards to make the game 20-3. It started with Bijan Robinson, was aided by Brennan Eagles and Jake Smith, and was finished off by Ehlinger with a one-yard rush. After Texas’ woes in the game’s third quarter this season, a steady touchdown drive was a major bonus.

Post-halftime thought: Ehlinger has taken plenty of hard hits, and the decision to go to Keaontay Ingram twice inside the five instead of running a consistently reliable QB power play Ehlinger. Texas eventually called 11’s number, but following his score he had to enter the medical tent for the second time. He eventually left it, but it was evident he was feeling the effects of several big hits.

Post-halftime thought: Baylor’s offense did not come out of the gate strong in the second half, but did move down the field on it’s second possession following a Texas three and out. Brewer worked the quick passing game, about all he can do, and Baylor did run the ball well. The drive was snuffed out by a sack from Ta’Quon Graham and a tackle for loss from Juwan Mitchell. Once again, a decent Baylor drive was held scoreless after John Mayers missed a 43-yard field goal.

Post-halftime thought: Joseph Ossai hurt his shoulder at the end of the first half. He entered the locker room early and left it after the second half began. Jett Bush played the series, and the Longhorns held Baylor scoreless. On the next bears possession, Bush took the field again, and Ossai remained on the sideline.

Post-halftime thought: Targeting is so improperly enforced, it’s a joke. D’Shawn Jamison tackled like they teach in the instructional videos. At least they got the call right upon review.

Post-halftime thought: Juwan Mitchell led the Longhorns with 12 tackles, including two for loss. Eight different Longhorns logged a pass breakup. Still, despite a good game from the Longhorn defensive front, Texas managed a single sack from Moro Ojomo.

Post-halftime thought: After allowing Baylor to score its first touchdown of the game, Ehlinger dropped back on third and medium and looked for Jared Wiley. He thought Wiley was open, but Mark Milton left his assignment and cut across to Wiley and deflected the ball. JT Woods ended up with it, and gave Baylor the ball with a short field.

Post-halftime thought: Even though it was evident Charlie Brewer struggled with deep passing, Texas still decided to respect it for much of the game. As a result, many short routes were open for the Baylor quarterback. Texas did a decent job of tackling, but the limited nature of the Baylor offense should have been evident from the start.

Post-halftime thought: Baylor made it a 11-point game with 7:37 left following the Woods interception. They were aided by a short field, but Texas’ defense was unable to stop the dink-and-dunk Baylor offense.

Post-halftime thought: An 11-point lead with 7:37 left typically results in conservative play-calling from Tom Herman. On this occasion, the play-calls were outside zone, then a big pass over the middle to Wiley. They faced a third and short following Wiley’s reception, ran a trick play, and was held short. It didn’t look like Herman’s typical conservative play-calling, but the end result was the same.

Post-halftime thought: Baylor had 4:01 to score 11 points, and luckily for Texas Joseph Ossai returned to the field. On fourth and two with the game on the line, it wasn’t Ossai who made the play but rather Chris Brown.

Post-halftime thought: Overall, Texas exited with a win. It wasn’t impressive, but it was a win nonetheless and those haven’t come easy for the Longhorns this year.

(Jeff Howe) Instant Reactions: Texas ends two-game skid with win over Baylor

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Texas needed a win in the worst way following two straight losses and while the fourth quarter wasn't near as clean as head coach Tom Herman or anyone with a dog in the fight would've liked, the end result — a 27-16 win over Baylor on Saturday at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday — is a far better fate than the one the Longhorns faced in each of their last two games. Texas (3-2, 2-2 Big 12) snapped a two-game losing streak thanks to Sam Ehlinger throwing for a touchdown and running for two more to pace the offense and a defensive performance that saw the Longhorns hold Baylor (1-2) to 64 rushing yards and just 4.9 yards per play.

It was over when...

Charlie Brewer's pass of fourth-and-7 from the Baylor 25-yard line intended for R.J. Sneed fell incomplete with 2:19 to play. It was an uphill climb for the Bears, facing a nine-point deficit, but the odds got a lot longer when offensive tackle Michael McNair was whistled for a false start penalty to take Baylor out of fourth-and-2. Whatever opportunity Baylor had to come back was officially squashed at that point.

Top Offensive Performer

Jared Wiley not only gave Texas a lift in the running game when the Longhorns went to 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends), but the sophomore tight end turned his three targets into two receptions for 70 yards. Wiley's 47-yard reception helped set up a 9-yard Ehlinger touchdown run to give Texas a 24-point lead at the end of the third quarter, 27-3, and his 23-yard catch on a fourth-quarter drive helped the Longhorns burn time off of the clock.

Top Defensive Performer

Given how tough things have been for the linebackers through the first four games, that group seemed to hold their own and was led by Juwan Mitchell. The junior led all Longhorn defenders with 12 tackles (five solos) and two tackles for loss.

Reason to feel optimistic

It can't be stated enough how bad Texas has been in the third quarter in Big 12 play, getting outscored by Texas Tech, TCU and Oklahoma by a combined 38-14 whole three conference foes outgained the Longhorns by a combined total of 370-124 in those three quarters. Saturday was much different with Texas outscoring Baylor 14-0, winning the yardage battle 143-55, holding the Bears to 0-for-2 on third down and topping Baylor in yards per play (6.8 for the Longhorns, 4.6 allowed by the Texas defense).

Reason to feel pessimistic

Texas didn't blow  24-point lead, but the fact that the Longhorns have up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one of which came after an interception by Ehlinger put the defense on a short field (Baylor's final touchdown drive was a 5-play march that covered only 25 yards). Credit Texas for doing enough for not allowing Baylor to make it a one-possession game, but it would've been nice for the burnt orange faithful to see the Longhorns put their foot on someone's neck and finish them off with when faced the a chance to put an opponent away.

Modest Proposal

Bijan Robinson got into a rhythm and even though the coaches kept the running back rotation going throughout the game, the true freshman appeared to be most effective runner on the day to the point that he needs to continue to get opportunities. Robinson ran for 55 yards on 12 carries and only four of his rushing attempts went for fewer than four yards, he had no runs for no gain and only one of his carries went for negative yardage.

Drive of the Game

Texas had been abysmal in the third quarter in Big 12 play prior to Saturday's game, but the third quarter of the win over Baylor got started off with a bang. A series to start the second half buoyed by three Robinson runs for a total of 24 yards on the first three plays of the drive, the Longhorns polished off a 12-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard Ehlinger touchdown run. Between the Texas Tech, TCU and Oklahoma games, Texas had six combined first downs in the the third quarter. The Longhorns had five on that series alone.

Best Offensive Play

After a first quarter where the Longhorns had only 37 yards of total offense, Ehlinger took a 10-yard loss on a sack on the first play of the drive that started with 10:09 to go in the first half. In a 3-3 game and with Baylor in a position to swing the momentum, Ehlinger found Tarik Black behind the Bears' secondary for a 72-yard gain down to the 20-yard line. Texas had to settle for a field goal on the series, but the longest reception of Black's five-game career with the Longhorns got the offense going.

Best Defensive Play

It didn't seem like a significant play at the time, but Keondre Coburn getting underneath the Baylor offensive line to stone Brewer on a quarterback sneak attempt on a third-and-1 from the Baylor 34 in the second quarter proved to be one of the game's turning points. After the Bears punted, a 42-yard reception from Joshua Moore highlighted a 7-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Ehlinger to Moore to give the Longhorns a 10-point lead, 13-3, with 1:53 to go until halftime.

Biggest question heading into the next game

Can Texas handle success? A nine-point win over Baylor might not move the needle for a lot of folks, but the Longhorns are feeling good about themselves for the first time in a long time. With that said, Texas has been here before and the results haven't been great coming off of a win. The 59-3 season-opening win over UTEP led to a letdown of a performance in Lubbock, which saw Texas need to rally from a 15-point deficit in the closing minutes to turn what would've been a disastrous loss into an overtime.

Following the comeback victory, the Longhorns were sloppy in a home loss to TCU the following Texas. Under Herman, Texas hasn't won consecutive conference games since the first two Big 12 games of last season when it beat Oklahoma State and home and West Virginia on the road. If the Baylor win is going to mean anything, the Longhorns have to turn the positive result into an inspired, winning performance in Stillwater on Halloween.

 

 

Edited October 24, 2020 by satyanash

[satyanash 14281]

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1300948890247511

[satyanash 14281]

(Bobby Burton) Snap Judgments: Texas does its job in win over Baylor

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Winning is hard. I believe a certain coach espouses that belief and for a few anxious minutes in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns appeared set on making that adage come to fruition. The Horns' offense went into turtle mode for much of the fourth quarter, while the Texas defense held on to the lead.

**

The Texas defense dominated the first three quarters of play. Even though Baylor was able to move the ball with some consistency between the 20s, the Bears were only able to put three points up on the board because of big third-down stops, sure tackling and well-timed pressure on Charlie Brewer. The Horns dropped three possible interceptions. While D'Shawn Jamison and Chris Brown literally dropped interceptions, it's impossible for me to blame B.J. Foster for his given that he is literally playing with one arm.

**

Another thing the Horns did very well on defense? They did not give up the big play, something the Bears have relied on in recent years with their focus on speed.

**

The Baylor OL was clearly outmatched by the Texas defensive front. However, the Baylor DL held its own against the Horns OL. While Texas eventually got the running game going to a degree, it was never a free reign. The personal foul penalty by Derek Kerstetter, a team captain, was simply uncalled for. His play after the whistle a couple of weeks ago cost Texas points. He should have learned from his mistake.

**

Moro Ojomo may have had his best game yet. The Katy product combined with Ta'Quon Graham to routinely beat the Bears OL. Ojomo's one-handed sack was one of the more impressive defensive plays of the game. Chris Brown loves to "flex" after a pass break up or a tackle. His play to end the final Baylor threat was worthy of it, although his ordinary tackles probably weren't.

**

Bijan Robinson got the start at running back and looked good. Keaontay Ingram had a solid game. Roschon Johnson returned for one series and immediately made his physical presence known. Sam Ehlinger had a pedestrian game. He was late over the middle and on deep throws to the outside a few times. Jared Wiley and Cade Brewer both made key plays in the passing game. Wiley is becoming a downfield threat from the tight end position while Brewer's fourth-down reception and subsequent slide down inbounds to seal the game may have been the smartest and most self-aware move I've seen a Texas player make this year.

**

The play of the game? Joshua Moore's 42-yard catch down the right sideline put the Horns in scoring position and it eventually led to the Horns' having a two-score lead going into halftime. Plays like that can be a difference in the game.

**

It was an ok performance by Texas. If the Longhorns could have played like the second and third quarters for the entire game, it would have been better than ok. Unfortunately, the Horns won't be able to go into turtle mode next weekend in Stillwater and emerge victorious. The Horns are going to have to be at the top of their game for an entire four quarters — an effort we have yet to see this season — and despite the win, we certainly didn't see it this Saturday afternoon.

 

[satyanash 14281]

Chip Brown: Good, Bad & Ugly from Texas' 27-16 victory over Baylor

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Like a boxer attacking the opponent’s body early in a fight, Texas made a commitment to running the ball against Baylor, and good things seemed to follow. Even after an interception thrown by Sam Ehlinger allowed Baylor to score two unanswered touchdowns and cut Texas’ lead to 27-16, the Longhorns’ body-blow, ground game and subsequent play-action pass game had paid off enough dividends for the win.

As we reported in the INSIDER this week, the Longhorns made running the ball the top offensive priority during its off-week, following a four-overtime loss to Oklahoma in which Texas abandoned the run. Actually, Texas abandoned the run at different times in each of its first three Big 12 games against Texas Tech, TCU and OU. Not Saturday against a Baylor team playing only its third game of the season after being unable to practice from Oct. 7 until last Sunday due to COVID-19 concerns.

Texas finished the game with 47 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Even though Texas only averaged 3.4 yards per carry, UT’s commitment to the ground game helped set up pass plays of 72, 42, 16, 47 and 23 yards - with four of those pass plays helping set up three touchdowns and a field goal. It also helped Texas win time of possession - 32:07 to 27:53 - to help a defense that had been giving up 47.3 points per game in Big 12 play.

The scariest moment for Texas, which has a road trip to conference leader Oklahoma State (4-0)  up next, was seeing leading tackler Joseph Ossai go to the locker room with a left shoulder injury just before halftime. After the game, Tom Herman said Ossai should be ready to go next week at OSU.

The Longhorns’ list of things to clean up had included: running the ball, stopping the run, no special teams snafus, a better third quarter  and no foolish penalties. Texas held Baylor to 64 yards on 21 carries (3.0 ypc) and zero touchdowns on the ground and just 5-of-14 on third down while recording two sacks among seven tackles for loss and dropped three potential interceptions.

Other than a 19-yard punt by Ryan Bujcevski following UT’s first possession, special teams graded out OK as Cameron Dicker made both of his field goals (from 42 and 23 yards). Texas dominated the third quarter 14-0, winning the time of possession 10:03 to 4:57 while taking a commanding, 27-3 lead. Texas had only four penalties - none of them egregious - until senior center and captain Derek Kerstetter was flagged for a personal foul for shoving a Baylor defender in the back, out of bounds and into a Baylor coach in the fourth quarter.

Texas suffered its first turnover of the game on a deep pass from Ehlinger intended for Jared Wiley with 9:51 left to play. Ehlinger waited too long to throw the ball, which went through the arms of BU corner Mark Milton into the hands of BU tipped the ball into the air and into the hands of safety J.T. Woods, who returned it 32 yards, setting up a Baylor touchdown.

Texas got off to a slow start offensively, opening with a three-and-out, capped by a 19-yard punt by Ryan Bujcevski, followed by a six-and-out. But the Longhorns’ defense held Baylor to just a first-quarter field goal after the Bears went up-tempo on a 12-play drive and had first-and-goal from the UT 10.

Texas sticking to the run paid small dividends in the second quarter on two drives to Cameron Dicker field goals of 42 and 23 yards. Then, UT’s 13 carries for 49 yards in the second quarter paid off with play-action passes to Keaontay Ingram on a third-down conversion and on a 42-yard pass from Ehlinger to Joshua Moore to BU’s 7-yard-line. Two plays later, Ehlinger found Moore again on a beautiful crossing route in the back of the end zone for a 3-yard score and a 13-3 lead at halftime.

Nomination for play of the game: Moore going up against good coverage and high-pointing the ball for a 42-yard reception that helped set up a TD pass to Moore a couple plays later in the second quarter. With Oklahoma State up next in Stillwater following the Cowboys' 24-21 win over Iowa State Saturday, Texas will have to continue to take BIG steps forward to have a chance to pull the upset over the undefeated and sixth-ranked Cowboys (4-0). For now, let's take a look at the GOOD, BAD and UGLY from UT's win over Baylor:

THE GOOD:

- Sam Ehlinger finished 15 of 23 passing for 270 yards and one touchdown pass (to Joshua Moore) with one interception. Ehlinger ran 15 times for 51 yards (3.4 ypc) and two touchdowns.

- Keaontay Ingram kept two hands on the ball in traffic and finished with 16 carries for 57 yards (3.6 ypc) while Bijan Robinson finished with 12 carries for 55 yards (4.6 ypc).

- Juwan Mitchell led Texas in tackles with 12.

- On fourth-and-2 on UT’s final possession, Ehlinger found Cade Brewer for a 13-yard pass, and Brewer took a knee at the Baylor 4 with 1:53 left to help Texas simply run out the clock.

- Ehlinger found tight end Jared Wiley alone, down the middle of the field for a 47-yard completion to the BU 14 late in the third quarter.

- Ta’Quon Graham dropped Charlie Brewer for a 2-yard loss, setting up a third-and-9 for Baylor that resulted in Moro Ojomo getting penetration and forcing BU’s Josh Fleeks right into the arms of Juwan Mitchell for a 5-yard loss. Baylor kicker John Mayers then missed a 43-yard field goal attempt (showing why BU passed on a 47-yard attempt earlier and instead punted from UT’s 30).

- Roschon Johnson, who is battling rib, neck and shoulder injuries, fought through three tackles on a 7-yard, catch-and-run in the third quarter.

- The Longhorns overcame their recent third-quarter woes by pounding the ball on the ground eight times in a 12-play, 64-yard drive that took 4:35 off the clock and put Texas up 20-3. Bijan Robinson had three carries for 24 yards, while Ehlinger had three carries for 9 yards, including a 1-yard TD run.

- Texas converted third-and-3 on its opening drive of the second half with a 16-yard pass from Ehlinger to Brennan Eagles.

- Bijan Robinson started off the third quarter, which had been 15 minutes of agony for Texas the past three games, with three straight runs of 8, 4 and 12 yards.

- Texas put together a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive at the end of the first half that included a third-and-8 conversion on a 10-yard pass from Ehlinger to Keaontay Ingram, followed by a 19-yard run by Ehlinger and a 42-yard pass from Ehlinger to Joshua Moore to the BU 7. Two plays later, Ehlinger hit Moore on a nice crossing route in the back of the end zone for a 3-yard score that put Texas up 13-3 with 1:53 left in second quarter.

- Ehlinger ran for 5 yards on third-and-4 from the Baylor 14, extending a drive to Cameron Dicker, 26-yard field goal that put Texas up 6-3 with 6:15 left in the first half.

- After suffering a 12-yard sack, Ehlinger found Tarik Black behind Baylor’s secondary on a busted coverage for a 72-yard, catch-and-run to the BU 20 early in the second quarter.

- B.J. Foster, playing with a cast on his right forearm, had a nice pass breakup and near interception early in the second quarter.

- Chris Adimora did a nice job fighting through a block to re-route BU’s Trestan Ebner, who was dropped for a 1-yard loss by Moro Ojomo and Caden Sterns.

- Baylor punted from the Texas 30-yard-line (and it was a touchback, netting a 10-yard punt) instead of attempting a 47-yard field goal with kicker John Mayers, who hit a 22-yarder in the first quarter but came into Saturday 1-of-3 on attempts.

- Texas converted third-and-6 early in the second quarter with a nice throw from Ehlinger to Brennan Eagles for 12 yards, extending a drive to a 41-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker, tying the game 3-3.

- UT set the tone for the running game in the first quarter with nine carries for 38 yards (4.2 ypc) compared to two pass attempts.

- The Texas D-line got a nice surge and B.J. Foster was credited with stuffing back-to-back, goal-to-go runs by Charlie Brewer, forcing a BU field goal that put the Bears up 3-0.

- Josh Thompson was initially flagged for pass interference against Baylor’s Tyquan Thornton in the end zone, but the officials picked up the flag. Nice pass breakup by Thompson.

- Moro Ojomo fought through a hold to sack Charlie Brewer for a loss of 8 yards on third-and-14, forcing a punt on BU’s second possession.

- T'Vondre Sweat led a charge to drop Baylor’s Gavin Holmes for a 4-yard loss on first down of BU’s second possession.

- Chris Brown broke up a Charlie Brewer pass and nearly had the interception on BU’s first possession.

THE BAD:

- Derek Kerstetter was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct personal foul after a late hit out of bounds on a third-and-2 play in which Joshua Moore was dropped for a 1-yard loss on reverse. Instead of punting from the BU 43, Texas punted from the UT 43. It recalled Kerstetter’s dead ball personal foul against OU after shoving a player in the back, because this also involved Kerstetter shoving a Baylor defender in the back (and into a BU coach on the sideline as both fell like dominoes).

- Texas suffered its first (and only) turnover of the game on a deep pass from Ehlinger intended for Jared Wiley with 9:51 left to play. Ehlinger waited too long to throw the ball, which went through the arms of BU corner Mark Milton into the hands of BU tipped the ball into the air and into the hands of safety J.T. Woods, who returned it 32 yards, setting up a Baylor touchdown.

- Ehlinger went into the team’s medical tent after taking a big shot on his 1-yard touchdown run with 10:25 left in the third quarter.

- Ehlinger misfired on a third-and-goal pass in the end zone to an open Jake Smith by leading Smith just a little too much. Texas settled for a 26-yard, Cameron Dicker field goal with 6:15 left in the second quarter.

- William Bradley-King made a nice inside move against Sam Cosmi and sacked Sam Ehlinger for a loss of 12 yards - back to the UT 8 - to open Texas’ possession with 10 minutes left in the second quarter. (Fortunately, Ehlinger hit Tarik Black for 72 yards on the next play.)

- Jalen Green was flagged for pass interference against R.J. Sneed one play after getting beat by Sneed for a 20-yard reception.

- Texas was flagged for delay of game on a 41-yard field goal attempt early in the second quarter, pushing the attempt back to 46 yards. (But then BU was flagged for offside, moving it back to 41 yards, and Dicker made it.)

- Baylor went up-tempo on its third possession and reeled off three straight first downs on an 11-yard run by John Lovett, a 13-yard pass to R.J. Sneed and a 10-yard pass to Josh Fleeks.

- Ryan Bujcevski’s first punt of the day went for 19 yards.

- Texas’ first possession was a three-and-out.

- UT’s first pass of the game went to freshman Kelvontay Dixon - for a loss of 1 yard.

THE UGLY:

Seeing team leading tackler Joseph Ossai leave the field and go to the locker room with :40 left in the first half, holding his left arm. (Ossai was replaced by former walk-on Jett Bush.)

 

[satyanash 14281]

 

[satyanash 14281]

(Scipio Tex) 2020 Baylor Postmortem: Defense/Special Teams

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Baylor's offense was as bad as I promised they would be and the Longhorn D got a confidence boost after some tough spots against the last few opponents. The Bears were missing two starting offensive linemen and Charlie Brewer looks like he's permanently depleted from the beatings he's taken over the last few years, but encouragingly, Texas didn't make many mental mistakes and Chris Ash honed in on the handful of competencies that the Baylor offense has.

Baylor's longest throw of the contest? 21 yards. Longest run? 11 yards. That's how you hold a team to 316 total yards and 65 plays (4.9 yards per play) and a feeble 8.5 yards per completion while only allowing 5 of 15 conversions on money downs. That written, that's not hugely different from what Baylor was doing coming in, so let's not get too ahead of ourselves.

Baylor only had 11 possessions (if you want to play good defense, play less of it) and scored their final touchdown on a 25 yard short field afforded by a Sam Ehlinger interception. It was also nice to see the Texas D tap Baylor out on downs on the ensuing possession as the Bears sought to make the game's final moments interesting.

Had the Texas defense struggled with this offense, we would have extreme cause for concern. But they didn't. For me, the most encouraging fact that can be taken from the defensive performance was the absence of stupid penalties or mindless play from the players and better basic X&O awareness from the booth than what we saw against TCU and OU on Important Downs. Let's not get carried away, but this unit progressed.

DL

Moro Ojomo played his best game at defensive end this year. He repeatedly collapsed the pocket, notched a sack (the first of his career!?!), had a beautiful blow up of a jet sweep on a 3rd and 9 with Baylor threatening deep in Longhorn territory, and was generally very active for four quarters. Good football from #98. Jacoby Jones had his best game as a pass rusher, with a big QB hit at the end of the first half to force an incompletion, two other pressures, and four tackles. Either something clicked a little with Jones and Ojomo or Baylor's book ends are that bad. I'm undecided on that one.

Joseph Ossai was injured in the late first half, but returned later in the game. He was clearly depleted after his injury but still notched three tackles. Tough guy, great leader by example. Jett Bush saw a run of snaps in relief and was OK - Baylor didn't really go after him.

Alfred Collins and Coburn both notched batted balls, with Keondre's coming on a key 3rd down, and Graham had a beautiful tackle for loss. T'Vondre Sweatt logged a good number of snaps as well. The DL held up well against a Baylor running game that managed only 64 yards at 3 yards a carry and they did a pretty solid job of rushing in their passing lanes and walking back the Baylor OL into Brewer to constrict his vision and limit his ability to hurt us with scrambles.

LB

Juwan Mitchell played OK after some shaky moments. The Bears were doubling playside DL and were content to let Mitchell run free and see if he could make the play. Bit of a coin flip. He got lost a few times in inside zone runs, but he had a nice clean up on the jet sweep that Ojomo disrupted and did a good job on a Baylor short yardage QB sneak, submarining and getting penetration. He notched 2 tackles for loss overall and led the defense in tackles. Overshown had a pass break up and five tackles. Better gap awareness, but he missed two tackles, one of them on a Brewer scramble on 3rd and 6 where Brewer ran through DMO's diving arm tackle. Overshown gets really good drops in pass coverage some times, but he needs to work on his understanding of where the likely hot routes are going.

DB

Good game from the defensive backs that could have been great if they'd grabbed any of the balls that they got their hands on. Brown, Jamison, Thompson, and Foster all had shots at INTs but couldn't come up with it. 7 total PBUs from pass coverage is great, but 4 PBUs and 3 INTs is a lot better.

Chris Brown had three pass break ups with 5 tackles and did a very good job of patrolling the middle of the field and jumping likely routes. Some of his best plays came from dissuading Brewer's first read. His best play of the game was perfect coverage on Baylor's RJ Sneed on 4th down & 7 with the game still in some theoretical doubt. BJ Foster is playing with a casted broken wrist, so I'm not going to give him grief for losing a contested ball in the first half. #25 notched 6 tackles, a PBU, and also put some friendly fire on a Horn or two on special teams. Sorry Kitan! Props to Foster for playing both hurt and injured. Speaking of, Caden Sterns returned to the playing field and notched 5 tackles. He had a bad missed tackle in the second half on a zone run where he made a business decision. Our traditional two safeties are now played by three men in more or less a time share.

The corners played well again. Covering the back shoulder throw isn't easy and they did a good job of avoiding careless PI's to make it an ineffective tactic for Baylor's depleted passing game. I was impressed with our corner play against OU and they did a nice job here as well. Josh Thompson had a nice PBU on a Baylor receiver in the end zone playing through his hands. D'shawn Jamison had a nice break that should have been an INT. Jalen Green got flagged for a PI, but played physically overall.

Chris Adimora was strong in run support (5 tackles) and gave up nothing in the intermediate/deep passing game. That's the box score we want from our SPUR. Texas gave up less than 6 yards per attempt and zero deep balls. Say what you want about Baylor's ineffective offense - and I've said a lot - but these guys were finally on the same page for four quarters.

Special Teams

Ryan Bujcevski was benchable in the first half. Two horrendous first half shanks, averaging 26.5 yards per punt and giving the Bears very favorable field position. He averaged 48.5 yards per punt in the second half, so perhaps there's something to build on for next week. He doesn't trust his protection and given the track record, he may have reasonable concern. But we need to get right here and stop bleeding hidden yards.

Dicker the Kicker did his job, nailing kicks from 42 and 23. The former occurred after Texas drew a delay of game penalty before a field goal attempt. That's a special brand of game management. Baylor gave the five yards back with an offsides. Dicker nailed all of the kicks anyway. Baylor kick returner Trestan Ebner was a concern, but Longhorn coverage teams held him to a 6 yards per punt return and 17.5 per return on kickoffs. That's a win for Texas against a Baylor team that could only beat us with some cheap scores.

Final

Baylor's offense is poor. But if you look past their deficits and just focus on Texas, this was a cohesive defensive effort. That's encouraging and something Texas can continue to build on. Let's see if Ash can continue to progress this unit as the year unfolds. When Texas doesn't beat itself, this defense has a solid floor.

 

[satyanash 14281]

Jeff Howe: Everything Tom Herman said after a Texas win over Baylor

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For the vast majority of Saturday’s 27-16 win over Baylor at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Texas head coach Tom Herman saw the Longhorns get back to the formula with which he’d like to see his club use to win games. In snapping a two-game losing streak, Texas (3-2, 2-2 Big 12) won the battle in the trenches (won the rushing yardage battle 159-64 and had seven tackles for loss), won the play differential (70-65) and time of possession (32:07-27:53) by controlling the ball via the ground (recording 47 official rushing attempts moves Herman to 19-0 when the Longhorns run the ball at least 40 times) and didn’t shoot itself in the foot with a slew of penalties (five for 50 yards), turnovers (one when up by 18 points in the fourth quarter) and other self-inflicted wounds, all of which added up to a much-needed win over Baylor (1-2).

The final margin could’ve certainly been more decisive with the Bears scoring the final 13 points of the game to cut into a 24-point Texas lead entering the fourth quarter. With that said, the fact that the Longhorns put together a performance the opposite of the ones they did in consecutive losses to TCU and Oklahoma is a positive sign for a squad looking for a few to cling to in what’s been a rather forgettable October.

Herman indicated in his postgame comments that he and the coaching staff liked a lot of what they saw in the program’s first victory since Sept. 26. At the same time, it’s clear Texas remains a work in progress heading into what looks and feels like a season-defining (and for Herman, a potentially tenure-defining) game at Oklahoma State next Saturday.

Herman’s opening statement covered what the head coach felt Texas did well in a win that keeps the Longhorns in the hunt for a berth in the Big 12 championship game. Along with winning the rushing yardage battle and Ryan Bujcevski getting off four clean punts (including a 47-yarder in the fourth quarter that thanks to great coverage by Anthony Cook and Kitan Crawford pinned the Bears at their own 9-yard line with 4:01 to play), Herman liked seeing his squad enjoy a strong third quarter for the first time in conference play.

“Really, really pleased to deliver a win for our fans in the stadium and, obviously, our millions of fans at home. With a few exceptions, I thought we played so much cleaner. Five penalties, very few missed assignments from what I could see. I thought the points of emphasis over the last two weeks: our punt protection was very solid; we ran the ball effectively, which opened up some downfield throws; and we stopped the run. To hold that team to 64 yards rushing and only one explosive play — we've got a lot of work to do. We're still playing a lot of catch-up from the installation of a new offense, a new defense, some new special teams stuff. Still playing a lot of catch-up, but [Texas] was very, very productive over the bye week and our guys really, really bought in. Then, the third point of emphasis — again, punt team, run the ball/stop the run — third quarter. We came out, scored a touchdown in the third quarter to start the third quarter and held our opponent to a three-and-out. I thought really having challenged them all week and then at halftime, just extremely proud of the response to those challenges by not only myself and our coaches, but the leaders on our team really stepping up, challenging their teammates. Really, really happy for our program, for our university, for our fans to get a much-needed victory. We know that we've got a big one this week, too. We're going to celebrate this with our teammates and our families tonight and get right back to work — 10 a.m. lift tomorrow with meetings and practice in the afternoon to try to get ready for Oklahoma State.”
Ehlinger briefly went into the team's sideline medical tent in the third quarter to treat a calf injury. (Photo: Scott Wachter, USA TODAY Sports)

In addition to getting Caden Sterns (toe), Jake Smith (hamstring), Chris Brown (shoulder), Reese Leitao (knee) and Tyler Owens (hamstring) back from injury, the Longhorns avoided two scares on the health front in Saturday's win. Sam Ehlinger (15-for-23 passing for 270 yards; 51 yards rushing and three total touchdowns) said his trip to the medical tent in the third quarter was due to a direct hit by a Baylor helmet to his calf (he returned to and finished the game) while Joseph Ossai (three total tackles) came back to play after suffering a shoulder injury, according to Herman.

“You guys saw Joseph Ossai went down. Returned to the game. Had a shoulder injury that we put a brace on. It's going to take a lot more than that to keep Joseph Ossai out of the game. We expect to have him ready to go on Saturday in Stillwater.”
Wiley's 47-yard catch led to a touchdown in a 14-point third quarter for the Longhorns. (Photo: Scott Wachter, USA TODAY Sports)

In three previous Big 12 games, Texas was abysmal in the third quarter. Between a win over Texas Tech and losses to TCU and Oklahoma, the Longhorns were outscored by a combined 38-14, outgained by a combined 370-124, had a cumulative 1-for-10 performance on third down (opponents moved the sticks at a 7-for-13 clip) and faced 64 total plays (5.8 yards per play allowed) while running only 36 themselves (3.4 yards per play). In the win over Baylor, Texas was light years better coming out of halftime. Herman was asked what changed in a 14-point quarter where the Longhorns won the quarter-long battles in total yards (155-43), rushing yards (55-27), first downs (8-5), total plays (21-12), yards per play (6.8-4.6), time of possession (10:03-4:57) and third downs (a 4-for-5 effort while holding the Bears to an 0-for-2 showing).

“I wish I could tell you that there was some magic thing that we did. There wasn't. We made an emphasis on it. In my opinion, once is an anomaly, twice as a coincidence, three times as a pattern. There was definitely a pattern there and we wanted to make our guys aware of that. Roschon Johnson gave a very impassioned speech. I call it a speech — 30 seconds, whatever it was — but reminded our team before we left the locker room to head out in the third quarter, reminded them of the emphasis that we'd been placing on it. Again really proud of the way our kids responded.”
Mitchell (6) and Brown (15) made plays for the defense in the unit's best Big 12 performance to date. (Photo: Scott Wachter, USA TODAY Sports)

The Texas defense enjoyed its best third-down performance in conference play, holding Baylor to a 5-for-14 afternoon. A 35.7-percent conversion rate is right around where Chris Ash would prefer to hold opponents, a benchmark the Longhorns haven’t come close to reaching since holding UTEP to a 3-for-16 night on third down in the season opener. Herman was pleased with the defense’s ability to get off of the field (by and large) on schedule.

“It was really big and when you factor in that fourth-down stop, it was really 5-of-15 of getting off the field in terms of stopping drives. Again, you get what you emphasize. We practiced a lot on third down over the last couple of weeks and early in the game, I was a little disappointed because we did get off the field, but it was after a couple of first downs and we were giving our offense some pretty long fields to operate with, but we got that settled down. Again, you get what you emphasize and there weren't any magical calls or anything. I thought we pestered the quarterback pretty well and they completed some balls underneath us, but we rallied and tackled.”

Texas ran the ball at Baylor in a similar manner to how TCU and Oklahoma attacked the Longhorns on the ground. While the running game churned out only four explosive runs (10 or more yards) for a total of 51 yards (43 carries for 108 yards on runs of nine or fewer yards), the game plan by Mike Yurcich featured Texas remaining committed to the ground attack knowing good things would eventually happen. The Longhorns experienced success and it was Bijan Robinson leading the way for most of the afternoon. A few minimal gains (and one run for negative yardage) in the fourth quarter when the Longhorns were trying to milk the clock cut into his overall production (55 yards on 12 carries), but the No. 1-ranked running back in the 247Sports Composite in 2020 got the start and averaged 6.1 yards per attempt on his first seven carries to cap a two-week stretch where Herman admitted “a lot” of time was spent getting him ready to handle a heavier workload (14 carries through the first four games).

“I thought Bijan responded well. I thought our O-line, we had a few breakdowns — No. 2 is a helluva player, Terrel Bernard. I think I said that in my Monday press conference and he showed it again today. We have a ton of respect for him. He made some plays for them in the run game, but credit to Coach Yurcich and the offensive staff for sticking with it and understanding that when you're playing as good of a defensive player as he is, combined with the other guys that he has around him, they're going to make a few plays. We had a couple of 1-yard, 2-yard runs. That's OK, but we also had some 9-yard runs, 11-yard runs, 12-yard runs. I don't know exactly, to be honest with you, I don't want to give a ton of trade secrets away on 'what was working,' but, we challenged the offensive line, we challenged the tailbacks — challenged, really everybody on offense because the perimeter blocking too is a key part of that as well. I mean, last week — we practiced Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and it was run period, run period, run period, run period. Both sides of the ball improved because of it. We didn't get any of those in a spring ball, or we got very limited amounts of those in training camp. We wanted to make the most of the bye week and improve our areas of deficiency. For at least a week, I felt like we did that.”

The controversy surrounding the program’s handling of the postgame participation in “The Eyes of Texas” thrown on top of two sloppy, preventable losses with a bye week providing plenty of time for the brewing toxic stew to simmer made for a long three-week stretch for the Longhorns. Asked how important it was to get a win simply to turn down the noise, Herman came out of the win feeling like his charges took to heart a few of the internal talking points that popped up over the last few weeks.

“I would like to think that our players are trained to drown out the noise. I thought having Ryan Holiday come speak to the team about kind of his three tenants that he wrote bestsellers on and the biggest one, I think that really hit home was the stillness is the key. You've got to have a still mind, you've got to have a focused mind, you've got to have a mind free from distraction and free from any of the noise, as you call it. You're only as good as your next ballgame. We're going to enjoy this one, but we know we've got a very, very tall task ahead of us this week as well.”

Of Ehlinger’s 270 yards through the air, 200 of them came on five completions that were explosive in nature (15 or more yards). A 72-yard strike to Tarik Black to set up a second-quarter field goal by Cameron Dicker got the offense out of a lull, but Joshua Moore winning a one-on-one battle down the field with Baylor’s Mark Milton for a 42-yard gain later in the period set up his own 3-yard touchdown reception from Ehlinger, making his grab one of the afternoon’s truly pivotal plays. One of the things Herman stressed coming out of the loss to Oklahoma was the need for the receivers to do a better job getting off of the jam and beating man coverage. The 6-foot, 169-pound Moore isn’t the biggest perimeter playmaker on the roster, but him beating Milton on a jump ball is the kind of play that’s been few and far between in terms of those made by Texas wideouts through the first four games of the season.

“I don't want to downplay it, but that's an area where through four games, we've had a lot of [opposing] receivers make plays on 50/50 balls and we haven't. Not near as many as our opponent and Josh, I thought, did a great job going up fighting for the ball and then was rewarded with a touchdown catch later. I think when you play quarterback, too, there's a lot of trust that goes into that, especially when you're dealing with one-on-one coverage. For all of you young receivers out there, prove your trust to your quarterback in practice every day by making him look good, versus one-on-one coverage. Josh does that and Sam's got a ton of trust in him. It did provide us a very, very powerful spark.”
Herman moved to 3-1 against Baylor in his tenure and is now 28-17 in 45 games as head coach. (Photo: Scott Wachter, USA TODAY Sports)

The heat underneath Herman’s seat was turned up to a level felt on the Forty Acres when the program's final seasons under Mack Brown and Charlie Strong began trending in the wrong direction. Asked if he was relieved to get a win, Herman sounded like a coach who’s likely to sleep easier than he has in recent weeks, if only for one night.

“I'm always relieved to get a win. I told you guys, my bosses and myself are completely aligned and on the same page. I have made a habit of — I don't get on Twitter very often. I use it to recruit and every now and again celebrate momentous occasions. I don't know that the relief of a win was any more today than any other time we win. Winning is intoxicating, but it is also a very, very big relief anytime you get a win.”

Along with the third-down performance, Ash’s defense was the best it’s been in Big 12 play in a number of statistical areas. Even though it was the first time in his five-game run as defensive coordinator where Texas failed to record a takeaway, the Longhorns held Baylor to conference-play bests in first downs allowed (22), total yards allowed (316), rushing yards allowed (64) and yards per rushing attempt allowed (3.0). The Longhorns also held the Bears to 16 points on four red-zone possessions with one touchdown coming while trying to defend a short field after JT Woods returned an Ehlinger interception to the Texas 25-yard line in the fourth quarter. Herman said it was “really big” for the defense to put together a complete game.

“I can't understate it. To finally have two really good weeks of practice, then translate into, again, 64 yards rushing and 316 yards of total offense. That provides a lot of confidence and when you're a defense that is — you're basically starting a bunch of freshmen out there. I know they're not by classification, but this is only their fifth game in this defense. They've taken the coaching, they've taken it to heart and I think a game like this should provide a lot of confidence. We know we've got a lot of work to do and we've got a top-25 team ahead of us. We're by no means a finished product on any side of the ball, but to have that kind of performance for three and a half quarters, I think was very uplifting for that side of the ball.”

Texas doesn’t have time to bask in the glow of a victory with sixth-ranked Oklahoma State up next on the schedule. The Longhorns will roll into Boone Pickens Stadium on Halloween to face the Cowboys (4-0, 3-0), the Big 12’s only unbeaten team after dispatching No. 17 Iowa State at home on Saturday, 24-21. Herman is 1-2 against Mike Gundy and with the three meetings getting decided by a total of 12 points, he was asked for his thoughts on why the series has been so strange lately (that’s dating back to Strong’s tenure, which included some questionable officiating in a 2015 loss and the Longhorns getting three extra points blocked in a 2016 loss in Stillwater). While a win would surely improve the chances Texas has of making it to AT&T Stadium in Arlington for the December title game, Herman said the Longhorns aren’t worried about the conference title chase.

“We don't talk about the race. I do think that the leaders on this team understand who we have left to play and that there's a long road ahead and a very positive one if we take care of what we need to take care of, but those things are very difficult to do, too. We don't talk about it. We talk about taking it one game at a time, but I do think that the guys that understand football in that locker room know exactly what we still have left to play for. As far as the craziness of the Oklahoma State series, I don't have an answer for why it's been crazy, but I know Coach Gundy's got usually got one of the better teams in our conference. They put up a great fight each and every week, especially in Stillwater, and we're going to have to bring our 'A' game, I know that.”

Charlie Brewer (30-of-43 passing for 256 yards and two touchdowns; 16 yards rushing on 10 carries) only had two completions of 20 yards or more and no play in the passing game of more than 21 yards. Unlike the other three teams Texas has faced in Big 12 play, the Bears didn’t attack the Longhorn cornerbacks vertically as much as Texas Tech, TCU or Oklahoma did. Herman credited a coverage adjustment by Ash when asked why it was hard for Baylor to get big plays down the field.

“We played a little bit more two-high shell to protect our corners a little bit. We knew that in order to push the ball down the field with any kind of double moves or switch routes, whatever it would be, that would take some time and we felt confident in our pass rush, too. We kind of understood or at least had the assumption that the game was going to be played underneath and we were going to make sure that it was too and protect our corners. Not get beat deep and we give it one explosive the entire day. I feel like that that worked really, really well, and credit to Coach Ash and the defensive staff for kind of organizing the game plan that way.”
Herman and the coaches determined they could get through the game without utilizing a banged-up Johnson. (Photo: Scott Wachter, USA TODAY Sports)

Keaontay Ingram fumbling on his final carry of the TCU game and on his first carry of the Red River Showdown left his status for the Baylor game in doubt. Nevertheless, even with Robinson getting the start and plenty of action, Ingram ran for a game-high 57 yards on 16 carries, which left only two touches for Roschon Johnson (a 1-yard run and a 7-yard reception). When asked about Johnson’s availability, Herman said the sophomore was ready to go if needed after dealing with rib and shoulder injuries in recent weeks. As it turned out, Herman and Co. felt the Longhorns didn’t need Johnson’s services for the running game to provide what Texas needed in order to make the ground game click.

“We didn't talk about it much on the headset, but he had one carry for one yard. He could have gone back in had we needed him to, but Bijan and Keaontay were carrying the ball well, the offensive line was doing a good job. Roschon is a freakin' warrior, man. He's a warrior. He played on the punt team, he ran down there. He played on the kickoff return team, but I think it was more of, 'can we win the game and still keep him from taking the pounding?' The answer was 'yes,' especially with Bijan and Keaontay running the ball and our offensive line doing as well as they did.”

 

[satyanash 14281]

(Bobby Burton) Texas-Baylor Grades: Far from perfect, but offense got it done

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Quarterback

Sam Ehlinger started sluggishly but warmed up in the second and third quarters, finishing the game 15-of-23 for 270 yards. He threw for one score — a beautiful play design — and ran for two others. He was far from perfect, however. His pick in the fourth quarter gave Baylor a ray of hope. Ehlinger was late on the throw and could have tucked the ball instead and walked for a first down. It was not an incredible performance overall, but it was vintage Ehlinger. Tough and hard-nosed with some terrific plays with his feet and then some late throws and poor deep balls. He was better than his counterpart on the other sideline and made the plays for a win.

Grade: B-

Running backs

Texas attempted to force the running game early to little avail. The Horns simply weren’t creating holes for starter Bijan Robinson or Keaontay Ingram. Ingram ended up leading the team in rushing with 57 yards on 16 carries. But Robinson averaged more yards per carry. Ingram also seemed focused on ball security (and rightfully so). Roschon Johnson played one series and was his usual physical self, shaking one big hit to gain a couple of extra yards on a pass play.

Grade: C+

Wide receivers

Joshua Moore’s big catch in the second quarter was outstanding, the off-schedule type that can change games. Brennan Eagles led the team in receptions with four, all on routes along the sideline. Jake Smith returned to action but took himself out after his lone catch of the day. Kelvontay Dixon saw his first extensive action of the year and contributed two catches. Of course, Tarik Black’s 72-yard catch and run will be remembered more for the fact that he didn’t score even though it was actually a big play in the game.

Grade: C

Tight ends

Jared Wiley continues to look more and more like a future star. The Temple product has the size, speed and athleticism to get deep downfield and make defenses pay for not attending to him. His blocking is also solid. Cade Brewer really struggled as a blocker against a quick Baylor front but also made a really smart decision to slide down near the goal line to preserve and assure the win.

Grade: B-

Offensive line

Baylor often got pressure with three- and four-man pass rushes. The running lanes for the Texas backs were few and far between. And there was yet another absolutely pointless penalty by senior captain Derek Kerstetter. I felt like the Texas OL played ok, but this was a Baylor front four the Horns should have dominated. That certainly didn’t happen but we should also give a nod to Baylor linebacker Terrel Bernard who finished with 19 tackles.

Grade: C

Offense

The sluggish start with just one first down in the first quarter could have buried Texas against a better team. But Texas got some rhythm in the next two quarters, only to revert in the fourth quarter. The Horns must find a way to be consistently good an entire game, otherwise they are prime for close games where a single bounce of the ball determines the outcome rather than the skill and execution of the athletes. It was a decent performance from the offense but nothing to write home about. One interesting fact: Ehlinger completed 15 passes, nine of them to different receivers. Who is his go-to option?

Grade: C

 

[satyanash 14281]

(Scipio Tex) 2020 Baylor Postmortem: Offense

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The Texas offense decided to match their white throwback uniforms to a little throwback offense paired with an opportunistic downfield passing game. 12 personnel ruled the day and the Longhorn spent most of the game with two tight ends on the field ex-stablishing the run and then hitting Baylor over the top when they busted coverages. The early part of the contest featured what I can only term "Hurry Up Inside Zone" (including an outside zone run for 3 yards on 3rd and 6) which led to a couple of Longhorn punts. Texas diversified with Sam's legs and hit some downfield shots and then things opened up a bit.

67% of Longhorn plays from scrimmage were runs (47 of 70), and it was an offensive tactic that owed more to volume than efficacy. At least in the running game. Longhorn running backs totaled 29 carries for 115 yards at 4.0 yards per carry. Their longest run went for 12 yards. Four yards and a cloud of turf pellets. Texas didn't run inside zone very well, but they made up for it by running it a lot. Sam Ehlinger was the most effective Longhorn runner, averaging over 5 yards per carry (once you subtract out sacks) and he powered to two redzone touchdowns. He was also responsible for the longest Longhorn run of the day: a 19-yard scamper on a QB draw.

The Texas passing game featured three big plays that were the difference in the game. A good bit of that was exploiting the absence of Baylor's starting free safety Christian Morgan - his replacement Jairon McVea did not have a good day at the office - but you can't discount the idea that repetitive inside zone lulled some Baylor DBs and LBs to sleep, created some match-ups outside, and opened up the seam to the TE. The Longhorn passing game was high efficiency due to three huge plays in the passing game.

Big Play #1: On 2nd and 22 from the Texas 8 yard line, Sam Ehlinger hit a wide open Tarik Black on a busted Bear coverage for 72 yards. On that play, GPS monitors captured Black traveling at over 8.7 miles per hour. That play flipped the field and led to a Cameron Dicker field goal. Verdict: Busted coverage bails out a bad situation. But you need to exploit a defensive gift and Texas did that.

Big Play #2: On 1st and 10 near midfield, Ehlinger hit Joshua Moore for 42 yards to set the Horns up on the Baylor 7. Ehlinger saw 1-on-1 coverage on the boundary and zero chance of a safety getting over and he threw up a 50/50 ball to let Moore use his athleticism and make an incredible play in the air. Which he did. That play set up another Ehlinger-Moore connection for a 3 yard touchdown. Verdict: The running game helped create 1 on 1 coverage and Moore made a play.

Big Play #3: 1st and 10 on the Texas 39, leading 20-3, Ehlinger hit TE Jared Wiley in the seam for 47 yards. Another busted Bear coverage. Sam hit him earlier in the game on a similar concept for 23 yards. That big throw eventually led to an Ehlinger TD run. Verdict: Busted coverage, Jared Wiley continues to be a sneakily effective downfield weapon.

Those strikes of 72, 42, and 47 yards flipped fields and created 17 Longhorn points. Absent those plays, the Longhorn offense was a bit of a slog, but the Horns were able to control the ball by converting 9 of 16 on money downs. The Horns finished at over 6 yards per play and limited turnovers to one misguided Ehlinger throw in a throwback game that featured minimal possessions and a running clock.

Probably the most encouraging thing I saw all game was the Longhorn offense taking the opening possession of the 2nd half and scoring a touchdown on a decisive 75 yard drive. That broke an ugly trend and offered some hope for halftime being used for more than distributing orange slices.

QB

Ehlinger finished an ultra efficient 15 of 23 for 270 yards passing with 1 TD and 1 INT, largely powered by three big connections in the passing game. He added 51 yard on 15 carries and another two touchdowns. Per usual, he was a red zone warrior and averaged over 5 yards per carry on draws, scrambles, and QB power runs in the heart of the Bear defense. He also took some extremely hard shots to his lower body, ribs, and head that would have put a lot of QBs on Injured Reserve for the year. I don't think we can underestimate how much that affects his efficacy as a passer over the course of the game and season, but #11 is a pretty tough hombre who is going to leave it all out there every Saturday. He didn't identify a wide open Moore on the sideline before the half, but if you match up his view (collapsed pocket, trying to reset and find a window) you can see how it happened. A bad throw to Jared Wiley in the seam was an attempt to go back to the cookie jar but he laid it up there in front of rangy safety JT Woods and he paid the price with a pick that was brought back to the Longhorn 24 yard line. Other than that, #11 played well and with a ton of heart.

RB

Not a lot created at the point of attack and not particularly good execution or diversity in the running game. On Sunday, I watched the 49ers crush the Patriots starting their 4th and 5th string running backs and the difference in how they marry OL blocking rules, timing, and angles to the RB's angle of attack in contrast to our running game is stark. It looks like a different sport. Bijan had 55 yards on 12 carries and Ingram chipped in 57 yards on 16 carries. Both ran hard enough and we'd certainly like to see more broken tackles, but there's just not a lot there. RoJo provided a little inspiration breaking two tackles on a 7 yard catch, but he wasn't featured much in the game plan due to lingering injury.

On the year, no Texas runner averages more than 5 yards per carry and Ehlinger currently leads the team in rushing. The Longhorns have 9 rushing touchdowns on the year. Ehlinger has 7 of them. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

OL

Sam Cosmi got beaten twice inside, one of those yielding a -12 yard sack by William Bradley-King. Derek Kerstetter had another mindless penalty with a late hit on the boundary that cost Texas 15 yards. Maybe we should expect frustration penalties from one of the better starting right tackles in the league turned center because the program can't cultivate a viable inside option four years into their reign. Despite that hiccup, the OL avoided costly penalties and while the push in the running game can best be described as a nudge (47 carries, 159 yards, 3.4 yards per carry) and some very shoddy moments of pass protection were saved by Sam's legs, they didn't kill us with drive-stopping penalties and they gave Sam clean pockets on his big completions.

The game plan also assured Baylor LB Terrel Bernard of 1st Team All Big 12 honors as he racked up 19 tackles and two tackles for loss running stunts into running game options written on a matchstick. Very good player, but c'mon.

WR/TE

Joshua Moore had an exceptional effort on his 1 on 1 ball and then brought in a short TD pass for a 2-45-1 box score. Brennan Eagles (4-36) has been redefined as the possession receiver that I told you he actually is. There is a difference between play speed and theoretical speed. Eagles does have a big body and good hands, so as long as teams give him a clean release, he can get you 10-12 yard chunks working stops and outs. Telling statistic: until last Saturday, Eagles hadn't caught four balls since Iowa State last year.

Freshman Kelvontay Dixon got the start, but little to show for it with 3 yards receiving on 2 catches. Jake Smith added a single grab for 14 yards. Tarik Black flipped the field converting a lay up and had an early Halloween monster jump on his back, but we'll take it. If we want this receiving corps to reach league average, we've got to get Jake Smith involved and continue to cultivate a consistently reliable chain mover.

Texas also may want to involve Wiley more in our 11 sets. Jared Wiley had two big catches totaling 70 yards and he continues to demonstrate that a 6-7, 255 dude on the move presents a pretty nice target in the seam. Brewer chipped in a play action catch for 13. Neither he nor Brewer impressed at the point of attack as blockers. Brewer blew a block on Bernard on a sprint pass that led to a goal line PBU and neither is particularly adept leading in the hole as a motion lead blocker.

Final

My colleagues tell me Tom Herman was clutching a laminated play sheet on Saturday. The play calling seems to confirm that. While an effective, diverse running game paired with a big play downfield passing game is a viable and winning offensive strategy, I'm not sure Texas has the execution level needed to make that happen against opponents with good DL play or secondaries that don't bust. Nonetheless, a win is a win. And Texas needs a lot more of them. Let's go get another in Stillwater.