Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 14)

[satyanash 14281]

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

(Taylor Estes) Final: Texas dominates Kansas State, 69-31

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Texas will look to get back on the winning side of things Saturday morning when the Longhorns take the field in Manhattan, Kansas to face Kansas State. Both the Longhorns and the Wildcats enter Saturday's game coming off of heart-breaking late game losses with Texas falling to Iowa State and Kansas State losing to Baylor last week. Horns247 will provide live game updates throughout the day as Texas takes on K-State for the second to last game of the regular season.

FIRST QUARTER UPDATES

10:34 left in Q1: Texas found the end zone on its first offensive series of the ball game. The Longhorns started their opening drive from their own 20-yard line and marched down the field on Kansas State. The series ended when QB Sam Ehlinger pitched the ball to true freshman running back Bijan Robinson, who ran it in for a 12-yard touchdown. The TD marks Robinson's first career touchdown at Texas.

Texas 7, Kansas State 0 (Longhorns' scoring summary: 7 plays, 81 yards, 2:33 used)

4:38 left in Q1: The Longhorns have extended their lead over the Wildcats. After Kansas State missed a 53-yard field goal attempt, the Texas offense took over on their own 35-yard line and drove the ball into Kansas State territory. But the Wildcats held the Longhorns out of the end zone, which led to Texas settling for a 28-yard field goal by kicker Cameron Dicker.

Texas 10, Kansas State 0 (Longhorns' scoring summary: 9 plays, 54 yards, 3:20 used)

4:19 left in Q1: Texas is dominating K-State to open the game. The Longhorns' defense made a huge play when true freshman safety Jerrin Thompson intercepted Kansas State QB Will Howard and returned the ball to the KSU 3-yard line and gave the Longhorns' offense a chance to seal the deal. And they responded when sophomore RB Roschon Johnson ran in a 3-yard touchdown to extend the lead.

Texas 17, Kansas State 0 (Longhorns' scoring summary: 1 play, 3 yards, 4 seconds used)

00:54 left in Q1: The Wildcats are on the board. After Texas held Kansas State out of the end zone for the majority of the first quarter, true freshman running back Deuce Vaughn took matters into his own hands when he ran in a 19-yard touchdown to cut the Longhorns' lead.

Texas 17, Kansas State 7 (Wildcats' scoring summary: 8 plays, 64 yards, 3:19 used)

END OF 1ST QUARTER: Texas 17, Kansas State 7

SECOND QUARTER UPDATES

14:53 left in Q2: Robinson is at it again. The true freshman running back took the first possession of the second quarter and made it count when he ran in a 19-yard touchdown to extend the Longhorns' lead.

Texas 24, Kansas State 7 (Longhorns' scoring summary: 4 plays, 59 yards, 52 seconds used)

11:40 left in Q2: Kansas State has trimmed the Longhorns' lead early in the second quarter. While the Wildcats did not get into the end zone, credit to the Texas defense once again taking care of business, but they did hit a 47-yard field goal to put their score into the double digits.

Texas 24, Kansas State 10 (Wildcats' scoring summary: 7 plays, 46 yards, 3:13 used)

8:17 left in Q2: It's all about the running backs inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The Longhorns have now scored four rushing touchdowns against the Wildcats with the latest being a 9-yard run for a TD by Johnson midway through the second quarter.

Texas 31, Kansas State 10 (Longhorns' scoring summary: 8 plays, 70 yards, 3:17 used)

1:20 left in Q2: The Wildcats have cut the Longhorns' lead. Kansas State picked up 7 points when true freshman RB Deuce Vaughn juked and jumped his way into the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown run late in the first half.

Texas 31, Kansas State 17 (Wildcats' scoring summary: 12 plays, 80 yards, 5:10 used)

END OF 2ND QUARTER: Texas 31, Kansas State 17

THIRD QUARTER UPDATES

14:44 left in Q3: Robinson is on fire. On 2nd and 10 from the Texas 25-yard line, the true freshman running back took a handoff 75 yards for a touchdown to open the third quarter.

Texas 38, Kansas State 17 (Longhorns' scoring summary: 2 plays, 75 yards, 16 seconds used)

11:24 left in Q3: The Wildcats answered the Longhorns on their first offensive possession of the game when Howard connected with Malik Knowles for a 7-yard touchdown pass.

Texas 38, Kansas State 24 (Wildcats' scoring summary: 8 plays, 76 yards, 3:20 used)

11:01 left in Q3: The Longhorns answered in a big way against Kansas State. Following the Wildcats' scoring drive, junior cornerback D'Shawn Jamison returned a kick back to the K-State 1-yard line to give the Longhorns' offense excellent field position on their second possession of the ball game. Johnson took over from there when he ran in a one-yard touchdown to extend the Longhorns' lead.

Texas 45, Kansas State 24 (Longhorns' scoring summary: 1 play, 1 yard, 1 second used)

9:13 left in Q3: It's a third-quarter scoring spree in Manhattan, Kansas. The Wildcats answered the Longhorns' scoring drive with a touchdown of their own when Howard once again connected with Knowles for a 29-yard touchdown.

Texas 45, Kansas State 31 (Wildcats' scoring summary: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:48 used)

7:01 left in Q3: The scoring spree continues midway through the third quarter. After the Wildcats picked up a touchdown, the Longhorns added another TD to the scoreboard on a reverse to redshirt freshman wide receiver Jordan Whittington, who ran in a 15-yard touchdown for Texas.

Texas 52, Kansas State 31 (Longhorns' scoring summary: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:12 used)

2:18 left in Q3: Ehlinger threw his first touchdown pass of the game. The senior QB connected with senior tight end Cade Brewer, who took it to the house for a 15-yard touchdown reception.

Texas 59, Kansas State 31 (Longhorns' scoring summary: 8 plays, 86 yards, 2:53 used)

1:06 left in Q3: Texas is dominating Kansas State down the stretch of the game. After redshirt freshman linebacker David Gbenda intercepted Howard, the Longhorns added seven more points to the scoreboard when Ehlinger connected with redshirt sophomore tight end Malcolm Epps for a 32-yard touchdown.

Texas 66, Kansas State 31 (Longhorns' scoring summary: 1 play, 32 yards, 7 seconds used)

END OF 3RD QUARTER: Texas 66, Kansas State 31

FOURTH QUARTER UPDATES

7:48 left in Q4: Ehlinger has been sent to the sidelines for the remainder of the game and was replaced by redshirt sophomore QB Casey Thompson for his first series of the ball game. While Thompson couldn't lead Texas to the end zone, Johnson and he helped get the Longhorns into K-State territory, though they settled for a 21-yard field goal.

Texas 69, Kansas State 31 (Longhorns' scoring summary: 6 plays, 63 yards, 3:22 used)

(Ian Boyd) 5 Quick Thoughts: Texas blows out Kansas State

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Texas secured a fourth place or higher finish in the Big 12 this season with a 69 to 31 victory in Manhattan today. The stakes for this game weren't really high other than playing for the pride and tradition of the University and respect for the game. There was enough pride from the remaining Longhorns to absolutely wipe out the even more depleted Wildcats.

Kansas State has been going steadily downhill this season, starting with the loss of Skylar Thompson weeks ago and further exacerbated by COVID losses that lead to constant lineup shuffling and the very freshman-like play of quarterback Will Howard in his place. Early in the game they had starting middle linebacker Elijah Sullivan lined up at strong safety to fill out their lineup and after getting a face full of Bijan Robinson early in the game he was done for the day. If this was the last game for the 2020 Longhorns it was a nice sendoff but too little, too late. Fans could only ask, "where has this been?"

Quick thought no. 1: Kansas State wasn't up for this

K-State quarterback Will Howard threw two bad interceptions where he didn't see Longhorn freshmen Jerrin Thompson or David Gbenda lurking in the throwing lanes, both of which were returned and lead to quick touchdowns for the Longhorns. He also fumbled a power-option mesh to running back Deuce Vaughn that Texas recovered on the K-State side of the field. Some long D'Shawn Jamison kick returns also made for short fields, including a one-yard touchdown drive, and while Texas piled up XXX yards of total offense, it would have been even more were it not for the short fields.

Beyond those errors, Kansas State also surrendered a 75-yard touchdown run to Bijan Robinson on the second play of Texas' first drive after the half. The Wildcat defense was totally worn down and unable to fight the good fight against Texas on this day, which combined with the errors on offense and special teams, kept this game from ever getting as interesting as Texas games tend to become in the Tom Herman era.

All that said, the Wildcat power-option game gave Texas serious problems on defense. Will Howard had 18 carries for 79 yards, at 4.4 ypc executing a variety of option keepers and quarterback trap runs. Chris Vaughn's son Deuce had 10 carries for 125 yards at 12.5 ypc and two touchdowns along with 4 catches for another 45 yards. Texas' defenders will have their eyes open on the difficulty of handling his quickness next season.

Fellow Texan Malik Knowles had his best game of the year with 6 catches for 95 yards and two scores. This would have been his breakout season had Skylar Thompson not been lost to injury but he should be back for the 2021 campaign. Those three will be a nice foundation for future Kansas State teams whenever Will Howard has better overall field awareness and pre-snap reads and the defense isn't a depleted sieve. All of their offensive line starters from this game will also return, this won't be the last word from Kansas State in the Big 12.

Quick thought no. 2: Where was this earlier in the year?

Texas really let the K-State defense have it in this game. Granted the Wildcats were starting yet another different lineup and have been running on fumes for much of the year amid injuries and COVID losses, but Texas' effort and personnel deployment in this game was much sharper. Establishing Bijan Robinson as the no. 1 running back was basically a matter of time, but the gap in ability between Bijan and almost everyone else to even play running back for Texas this decade is sizable.  He has fluidity and burst at 220 that would make for a good 185 pound back.

Texas was finally able to get their stretch blocking scheme going for Bijan, mostly due to insertion of Jake Majors at center. At 6-3, 295 with natural quickness and a knack for reaching defenders, Majors was the outside zone center Texas has needed all season and routinely reached the Wildcat defensive tackles. With that established, Texas was able to execute the play properly with multiple potential creases across the front for Bijan to threatened thus the potential for either off tackle darts to the sideline or lethal cutbacks against the grain.

On top of the improved blocking on this base running scheme, Texas also ran a fair number more RPOs, particularly backside glance and hitch routes to punish the Wildcats when they tried to bring safeties down. Tom Herman's refusal to run RPOs regularly when not facing Kansas State has certainly been baffling in recent seasons. Texas' offense was also mixing in misdirection, reverses, counter plays designed to protect their main concepts, and a full gamut of useful schemes.

Quick thought no. 3: Texas had some younger players flash

Jake Majors is clearly the future of the center position, he actually provided an upgrade over Kerstetter who shone early as a tackle and is better on the perimeter at this level where his height works for him rather than against him. In both the run game and on the various screens Texas mixed in, Majors was regularly reaching defenders and finishing blocks down the field.

When Andrej Karic got in the game for the second half he was also routinely caving in the left side and finishing blocks. Texas has a pair of athletic run blockers in these two Bijan Robinson will surely be happy to see on the field more often in the future. Certainly we'll all wonder what might have happened had Texas kept together the league's best offensive tackle tandem and taken some chances with freshman Majors at center from the beginning of the year.

Jerrin Thompson had a great start to the game, picking off Will Howard as the backside poach safety on a tight end crossing route and then almost closing and picking off another. He plays decisively and covers ground effectively on the back end, he also had some good tackles in space albeit with his own share of moments in which he was made to look silly by Deuce Vaughn. David Gbenda got nice depth on his interception and brings the level of athleticism you need to play linebacker in this league.

Then there's always Bijan Robinson who completely dominated the Wildcats. Nine carries for 172 yards at 19.1 ypc with three touchdowns isn't just indicative of a beat down defense but a special athlete. Robinson added three catches for 51 yards as well, he's a special talent and the offseason priority for Texas will be maximizing the run game and constraints around him with a young, talented offensive line and quarterback room.

Quick thought no. 4: It's a cruel world for Derek Kerstetter

It was thought Derek Kerstetter might opt out because of an ankle injury he was battling, but instead the senior decided to grit it out and help Texas better protect his longtime friend and teammate Sam Ehlinger. Texas then moved him out to his old position at right tackle to make room for Jake Majors, and he got his foot caught underneath him and consequently injured his ankle so badly they had to take him to the hospital.

There's a million ways to look at this with regards to who should or shouldn't opt out. One thing is certain, Kerstetter appeared to be trying to do right by his teammates and paid a massive price. Without yet knowing specifics for the injury it certainly seems questionable whether he'll hear his name called in the 2021 draft now. He'll have more tough decisions to make now and a rehab to undergo. It's possible he could return to Texas for another year pending the diagnosis and what the recovery will look like. Obviously Longhorn nation hopes for the best for Derek Kerstetter and hope that whether his next step in football is returning to Texas, landing on an NFL roster, or moving on from playing, it'll go well and find a sure path.

Quick thought no. 5: And now we wait

Texas fans are left asking a lot of questions after this game. Where was this all year? What does this mean for Tom Herman? Was Urban Meyer watching when Bijan housed that run from 75 out? This game isn't going to make a difference for Tom Herman. His fate and the season were truly sealed when they came up short at home against Iowa State, or perhaps when they came up short at home against TCU, or when Sam Ehlinger was photographed singing the eyes of Texas without any teammates after dragging the team to overtime against Oklahoma.

The real questions regard when and how Texas will move to initiate the offseason. While next year's team will be young, this offseason is going to be crucial and Texas will want the right leadership in charge. There's a lot of talent in the 2021 and particularly 2022 classes that would love a reason to come to Texas and a very talented roster assembled by Tom Herman if clumsily deployed. This next week could be one of the most carefully watched and discussed in Texas football history.

 

 

 

[satyanash 14281]

Cody Daniel: Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson carry Texas to comfortable 69-31 win over Kansas State

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Amidst swirling rumors of a coaching change in Austin and numerous injuries and key players opting out, the Texas Longhorns had a game to go win on Saturday afternoon against the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan.

They did exactly that, thanks in large part of a dynamic showing from true freshman running back Bijan Robinson, who headlined what became a game with back-and-forth scoring after Texas established early control and ultimately cruised to a comfortable 69-31 win.

The action opened in ideal fashion for Texas. Back-to-back tackles for loss from linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and defensive end Moro Ojomo forced a quick and easy K-State three and out. The Longhorns offense, on the other hand, went to work in short order. On Texas’ second play from scrimmage, quarterback Sam Ehlinger connected with Jordan Whittington on a quick slant, and Whittington flashed his abilities when healthy, bursting for a 32-yard gain.

But capping a drive that began with Ehlinger connecting with his receivers on four consecutive attempts was Robinson, who hauled in Ehlinger’s fifth completion of the morning and scampered 13 yards to put Texas in striking position at the K-State 12-yard line. Two plays later, Robinson was on the receiving end of a lateral from Ehlinger and turned 12-yards of turf info his first career rushing touchdown to give the Horns an early 7-0 edge.

KSU’s ensuing drive kicked off with much more success, as backup quarterback Will Howard found a crease up the middle on a misdirection and broke free for 25 yards. But the Wildcats enjoyed little success after Howard’s run quickly placed K-State at midfield, converting only one more first down on a drive that ended with the Umpire’s head forcing an incomplete on 3rd and 7 and ultimately, a 53-yard field goal attempt by Blake Lynch, which clanked off of the right upright.

Not to be outdone, Texas’ second drive featured a heavy dose of Roschon Johnson, who chewed up 37 yards on four consecutive carries, including a 22-yard burst and bullish 12-yard gain to ultimately put Texas in position for a Cameron Dicker field goal to push the lead to 10-0.

Only moments later, though, Johnson was back on the field and into the end zone for his first touchdown since the Texas Tech game — a three-yard burst — after true freshman safety Jerrin Thompson, who started in place of Caden Sterns (opt out) and B.J. Foster (hamstring), recorded his first career interception and returned it 21 yards to K-State’s three-yard line.

“This is a kid that as a true freshman has a knack for the football,” Texas head coach Tom Herman told Longhorn Network prior to the game. With Texas owning a comfortable 17-0 first quarter edge and the game seemingly getting out of hand early, K-State finally sustained some success.

Three consecutive runs to begin the drive, the last of which was a 12-yard run by Howard, move the chains on third down and moved KSU into Texas territory. After a flex-worthy hit from Chris Brown on K-State receiver Chabastin Taylor forced an incomplete on a deep strike the following play, the Wildcats found some space through the air, with Howard connecting with Malik Knowles for a 25-yard catch and run on first down to reach the red zone.

And then the Deuce starting getting loose, with freshman running back Deuce Vaughn elusively evading multiple Longhorns for a 19-yard touchdown run to cut the Texas lead to 17-7. The Longhorns wasted little time responding, though.

Courtesy of a D’Shawn Jamison kick return that gave Texas great field position at the 41-yard line, the Horns needed only four plays to chew up 59 yards. Three of those plays featured Robinson, who began the drive with back-to-back physical carries for 15 yards, and capped the drive with an excellent cut and the line of scrimmage and a 30-yard touchdown sprint — his second of the afternoon — for a 24-7 lead.

On K-State’s ensuing drive, though, Vaughn picked up right where he left off, turning a slant across the middle into 20 yards to quickly reach Texas’ territory. On the very next play, he broke free 25 more yards, so despite a Joseph Ossai third down sack, Vaughn’s two explosive plays put Lynch in position to drill a 47-yard field goal to trim the lead to 24-10.

But like clockwork, Texas responded, with a 27-yard catch and run by Robinson that featured the freshman running over multiple Wildcats headlining another touchdown drive, capped by Johnson’s second rushing score, this time from seven yards out for a 31-10 lead.

Only moments later, the Longhorns offense was back on the field after Thompson botched a handoff to Vaughn on the first play of the drive, and defensive end Jacoby Jones quickly recovered at KSU’s 16-yard line to put Texas back in position for another score. What came next, though, seemingly drained the life from the Longhorns throughout the remainder of the half.

On the second play of the drive, Ehlinger was sacked on 2nd and 5, but the story of this short drive was senior Derek Kerstetter, who slide over from center to right tackle, having to be carted off the field after suffering a gruesome leg injury as part of the cluster of bodies falling during the sack. Two plays later, kicker Cameron Dicker missed a 30-yard chip shot field goal and Vaughn and the Wildcats went right back to work.

After Howard found Knowles on a deep out to move the chains on 3rd and 5, Vaughn broke free for a quick 13-yard run to move the chains again. Moments later after Knowles move the chains again on third down with another catch, Vaughn followed suit with a 10-yard first down catch on the next play, and then with another first down reception two plays later.

Again, it was Knowles and Vaughn shouldering the offensive load, with Knowles inching towards the goal line with a three-yard run on first down, and Vaughn finishing the job, leaping over Thompson along the way for a four-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 31-17 entering halftime.

After an intermission to regroup — likely more emotionally than anything after Kerstetter’s injury — Robinson went right back to business in short order, escaping free from a mass of bodies and using his hand to maintain balance to break free for a 75-yard touchdown run on the second play of the drive. This run — the most explosive of his young career in Austin, brought his afternoon total to 180 yards and three touchdowns on only nine touches.

In maintaining the offensive theme, though, familiar faces continued finding success for K-State on the other end. In capitalizing on a Juwan Mitchell targeting call that transformed a 3rd and 8 into 1st and 10 in Texas field position, Vaughn broke free again this time for 19 yards to the Texas 8-yard line. And again, Howard found Knowles, who built upon his big day by breaking two tackles for a seven-yard touchdown strike.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the Longhorns refused to allow any consistent momentum. Only moments later on the ensuing kickoff, Jamison exploded down the sideline and dragged a K-State defender approximately 25 more yards. After 98 yards in total, the Longhorns drive started at the 1-yard line, and Johnson needed only one play to bully his way into the end zone for his third score and a 45-24 Texas lead.

Trailing 45-24 early in the third, Kansas State didn’t lie down, and the recipe for success was a similar one. Following a quick first down, Vaughn bursted around the edge and up the sideline for 31 yards into Texas territory, paving the way for Howard to find a wide-open Knowles on the very next play for a 29-yard touchdown strike. And once again, we have a two-score game at 45-31 at only the 9:13 mark in the third quarter.

Not to be outdone by Deuce, though, Robinson wasted no time picking up where he left off. After a quick five-yard carry on first down, Robinson sliced through the K-State defense for another 27 yards, and two plays later, he flashed again, hauling in a dump-off pass from Ehlinger and freezing the KSU defender in place to turn a near no gain into an 11-yard first down. A quick 17-yard catch and run by Moore later and the Longhorns were into the red zone at the KSU 15-yard line, from which Whittington finished the job, turning a reverse into his first career touchdown to push the lead back to 21, 52-31.

The very next play, Vaughn again made his presence felt on the kickoff, turning a 40-yard return into 55 yards after a touchdown-saving horse collar tackle by Dicker. This time, though, three plays produced only one yard and a punt back to Texas.

Johnson headlined the ground game this time around, turning three quick carries into 32 yards. After being forced into a 3rd and 4, Jake Smith tallied 30-plus yards of his own with a 33-yard catch and run, setting up 15-yard touchdown in which Ehlinger lateraled to right end Cade Brewer, who tip-toed the sideline and on through K-State’s defense for the score.

And thus, with Texas owning a 59-31 cushion towards the tail end of the third quarter, the landslide finally began — only made worse by the first interception by linebacker David Gbenda and Ehlinger finding wide-open tight end Malcolm Epps for a 32-yard touchdown on the next play. Just like that, following back-and-forth action that helped K-State stay alive, two touchdowns in less than two minutes extended the Longhorns lead to 66-31 and for all intents and purposes, ensured a Texas win before the fourth quarter was underway.

One what amounted to a meaningless drive, K-State couldn’t answer, turning the ball over on downs in Texas territory, despite some help on the drive by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Ta’Quon Graham.

Up convincingly in the fourth, Texas made the switch at quarterback, with redshirt sophomore Casey Thompson seeing some action. Nevertheless, the drive didn’t feature a pass, as Johnson joined Robinson with 100-plus yards after back-to-back bursts of 16 yards and 43 yards brought his total to 139 yards before two carries from Thompson brought Dicker out for a 21-yard field goal.

Notably, this drive saw Robinson and Johnson become Texas’ first pair of 100-yard rushers in a single game since D’Onta Foreman ad Chris Warren did so against Oklahoma State in 2016. Furthermore, Texas’ seven rushing touchdowns were the most of the Tom Herman era.

In addition to his three receptions for 51 yards, Robinson’s afternoon finished with 172 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries, while Johnson produced another 139 yards and three scores with his 14 carries. On an afternoon when Ehlinger surprisingly wasn’t the headliner, he pieced together an efficient performance, completing 20-of-27 attempts for 274 yards and two touchdowns.

All told, a Texas offense that has been inconsistent throughout much of the season produced 608 yards, including 334 on the ground, and 69 points to guide Texas to 6-3 overall and 5-3 in Big 12 action. Next up, the Horns will close the 2020 regular season on the road against the Kansas Jayhawks.

 

[satyanash 14281]

(Bobby Burton) Snap Judgments: Bijan is big-time

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With his back against the wall and butt halfway out the door, Texas coach Tom Herman helped the Horns put together the best offensive performance of the year. Led by freshman running back Bijan Robinson, the Horns’ offense was rarely stopped, or even slowed, all day long. But it wasn’t the running game that got Texas off to a hot start. Instead, Ehlinger completed passes on the first five offensive plays of the game. Yet unlike last week when the Texas O started off strong only to later falter, this week the Horns never took their foot off the pedal.

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Both Robinson and Roschon Johnson had terrific days against K-State. But it was Robinson who was the star of the show. His 75-yard run on the first drive of the second half put a punctuation mark on one of the best runs a Longhorn has made in a long time. Robinson also caught the ball well out of the backfield and delivered blows running the ball. He is clearly the most talented RB Texas has had on campus since Jamaal Charles.

**

With Sam Cosmi out, Texas inserted true freshman Jake Majors at center, so I focused on him much of the first half. Majors is a natural center. His quickness gives him a chance to be a plus-player for the Horns next year and beyond. His ability even makes me second guess the line-up the Horns went with most of this season because I don’t think there’s a huge coincidence that Texas ran the ball better today than they have all season with his insertion, despite losing Sam Cosmi prior to the game and Derek Kerstetter to a nasty injury in the second quarter.

**

Texas out-athleted K-State all day. Not only with Robinson, but the kick return by D’Shawn Jamison changed the complexion of the game after the Wildcats had brought the game back to within two scores in the third quarter.

**

Jerrin Thompson played well in his first start, making one interception. Texas also forced turnovers on a fumble recovery by Jacoby Jones and a nice interception by David Gbenda. Juwan Mitchell took himself out of the game with a silly tackle attempt that resulted in a targeting call. In his stead, Jaylon Ford saw his most extensive action of the season.

**

Hats off to Deuce Vaughn. His father, Chris, is a former Texas assistant and a friend of mine and I couldn’t be happier to see him succeed Texas was gashed in the run game by K-State most of the day. Luckily, the Horns’ offense more than made up for things or it could have been a real shootout.

**

I felt like Casey Thompson made a couple of poor reads on the zone read plays in his two series.

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The hit of the day for the Horns? I’d give the nod to Kitan Crawford, the true freshman corner delivered a big-time hit in the fourth quarter in mop-up duty.

**

The Horns are now 6-3. Not horrible but not anywhere near expectations.

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I think we all wish a healthy recovery to Derek Kerstetter. He was playing injured this week in an effort to help his team, unlike two players who opted out. I’m not sure Texas missed either of those opt outs today.

 

[satyanash 14281]

(Jeff Howe) Instant Reactions: Texas offense buries Kansas State, 69-31

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The trend of Texas playing tremendous football under head coach Tom Herman when there’s nothing to lose continued Saturday with a 69-31 drubbing of Kansas State. One week after the Longhorns were all but mathematically eliminated for a berth in the Big 12 title game, they put together arguably the best offensive performance of Herman’s tenure by scoring the most points by a Texas (6-3, 5-3 Big 12) team since the start of the 2017 season, recording the largest margin of victory in the Herman era over a Power Five opponent, piling up 608 yards of total offense and averaging a blistering 10.1 yards per play.

Sam Ehlinger had his most efficient and productive outings in recent weeks on a 20-for-27 day throwing the football for 274 yards and two touchdowns, but he was far from the story offensively. Bijan Robinson ran for 172 yards and three touchdowns and while he averaged a blistering 19.1 yards per carry, Roschon Johnson ran for 139 yards (9.9 yards per attempt) and three scores on a day where the offensive line played without Samuel Cosmi and lost Derek Kerstetter to an awful leg injury in the first half.

K-State (4-6, 4-5) ran for 274 yards with Deuce Vaughn going for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The big day for the Austin-area product wasn’t enough, however, to save the Wildcats from getting slaughtered by an offensive attack for Texas that looked as good as ever under Herman.

It was over when...

Texas took a 66-31 lead at the end of the third quarter thanks to scoring 21 points in less than six minutes. After Jordan Whittington scored on a 15-yard run with 7:01 to play to stretch the lead back to 21 (52-31), a defensive stop was converted into points with Ehlinger finding flipping a ball to Cade Brewer for a 15-yard touchdown to cap an 8-play, 86-yard drive.

The Longhorns capitalized on the great field position courtesy of the third K-State turnover of the game (an interception by David Gbenda) thanks to Ehlinger and Malcolm Epps, who hooked up for a 32-yard touchdown on a one-play scoring drive. Texas scored 35 points, racked up 269 total yards and averaged 14.9 yards per play in an explosive third quarter where they expanded on a 14-point halftime lead in a big way.

Top Offensive Performer

After a 27-yard gain in the third quarter, Robinson’s day was done with a career-high in yardage achieved. On only nine carries, he put together the best rushing yardage performance of the Herman era and had the finest outing by a Longhorn running back since D’Onta Foreman ran for 251 yards in a road loss to Kansas in the penultimate game of the 2016 season. Johnson's yardage was a career-high 139 yards marked the first time in the Herman era had two running backs go over 100 yards in the same game.

Top Defensive Performer

The dominance the Longhorns exherted in the other two phases of the game cancels out a largely forgettable day for Chris Ash's group, but in the spirit of celebrating a win the honor goes to Joseph Ossai. Ossai's fifth sack of the season in the second quarter came on third-and-3 from the Texas 20 in the second quarter, which forced the Wildcats to settle for a 47-yard Blake Lynch field goal, which helped maintain a two-touchdown lead, 24-10, opposed to K-State cutting the deficit to 10.

Reason to feel optimistic

In addition to Robinson showing why he probably should've been the bell cow in the backfield a few weeks ago, Texas managed to get a lot of young players into the game and featured key pieces on both sides of the ball who will help the program in 2021 and beyond. Whittington and Jake Smith combined for 105 all-purpose yards; Jake Majors got his first career start at center on a tremendous day for the offensive line; Jerrin Thompson had the first interception of career and so did Gbenda; after Juwan Mitchell was ejected for targeting in the third quarter, Jaylan Ford logged a lot of reps at linebacker; Jalen Green missing the game with an ankle injury opened the door for Kitan Crawford to see more action in the secondary than he would have otherwise.

Reason to feel pessimistic

The defense recorded three takeaways and made stops when the outcome of the game was still in doubt, but the second level that had grown so much in recent weeks got exploited by Vaughn and Malik Knowles (95 yards receiving and two touchdowns) for huge chunks of yards.

Modest Proposal

Assuming the Kansas game gets played (multiple sources on both sides told Horns247 in recent days the game is expected to be played), there's no reason for the Longhorns to let up. The state of the program is going to render a 38-point win in Manhattan almost meaningless for a large portion of the fan base, but if Texas can put a foot on the Jayhawks' throat next Saturday in Lawrence and continue to get more inexperienced players some experience, the better the 2021 product will be for it no matter who the head coach is going to be.

Drive of the Game

The opening 7-play, 81-yard drive set the tone for day.

Best Offensive Play

Robinson's 75-yard run was the longest play of the Herman era.

Best Defensive Play

Thompson's interception was returned 21 yards to the K-State 3-yard line. One play later, Johnson was in the end zone and the Longhorns had a 17-0 lead with 4:19 to go in the opening quarter.

 

[satyanash 14281]

 

[satyanash 14281]

(Chip Brown) Quick Takes: Texas blocks out distractions in 69-31 rout of KSU

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Kudos to Tom Herman, his coaching staff and Longhorns’ players for blocking out a week of distractions with reports of Herman possibly being replaced as well as two captains (left tackle Samuel Cosmi and safety Caden Sterns) opting out to control Saturday’s victory from start to finish. Texas even overcame a devastating ankle injury to senior offensive lineman Derek Kerstetter, who was carted off the field in the second quarter.

The offense came out laser-focused and finished with 608 yards, including 334 yards on the ground, led by freshman Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson.Robinson had nine carries for 172 yards (19.1 ypc) and touchdown runs of 12, 30 and 75 yards. Johnson had 14 carries for 139 yards and three touchdowns. The win improved Texas to 6-3 (5-3 Big 12) with one game left in the regular season - at Kansas - next week.

…

Freshmen played a big role in the victory for Texas in addition to Robinson's monster day. Safety Jerrin Thompson had an interception that led to a Texas touchdown (and nearly had another pick). Jake Majors was rock solid in his first start at center. Andrej Karic looked good at left tackle. Redshirt freshman Jordan Whittington, who had a 15-yard touchdown run on a reverse and three catches for 35 yards. Linebacker Jaylan Ford finished the game with seven tackles - second on the team behind safety Chris Brown's 12 solo tackles. Ford also had a tackle for loss.

…

The play of Jake Majors at center was one of the biggest stories of Saturday’s game. I understand that K-State’s defense is depleted, but Majors was solid pre-snap, making calls, and did a nice job in the run game with both man/gap and zone blocking as well as pass protection. Freshman Andrej Karic got reps at left tackle as the game wore on and also looked comfortable and confident - a nice sign for the future.

…

On Roschon Johnson’s 3-yard touchdown (that put Texas up 17-0) following Jerrin Thompson’s interception in the first quarter, freshman center Jake Majors did a great job of walling off K-State defensive tackle Drew Wiley, creating the seam for Johnson to get into the end zone.

…

Bijan Robinson’s 12-yard touchdown run on the Longhorns’ first possession was keyed by a great, downfield block by Cade Brewer. Bijan Robinson had a huge day Saturday at a time when his team really needed him. Everyone will talk about the 75-yard touchdown run to open the second half. But what makes Robinson so special was on display on a 27-yard catch-and-run on a screen in the second quarter.

Robinson has great balance, which allows him to make the most of his power and speed, because he gets low and squares his pads to oncoming tacklers, and, more importantly, runs through tackles from the side. That’s what NFL scouts love about him already.

…

Don’t tell D'Shawn Jamison Manhattan, Kansas, is a tough place to play. His 98-yard kickoff return in the third quarter set up a 1-yard TD run by Roschon Johnson that put Texas up 45-24. In Texas’ 19-14 victory at K-State in 2018, Jamison returned a punt 90 yards for a touchdown. You can tell Jamison just loves playing football. So much fun to watch.

…

You love Juwan Mitchell’s aggressiveness - except when it comes against a defenseless quarterback, drawing his second ejection of the season on Saturday. Mitchell’s ejection from the first half of the TCU game for targeting definitely impacted the outcome of that game as Texas’ defense struggled in his absence. On Saturday, Mitchell made a really poor decision to lower his shoulder into a sliding Will Howard, delivering a glancing blow to Howard’s helmet. What’s worse is the crown of Mitchell’s helmet ended up crashing, head-on into the helmet of Moro Ojomo in a scary collision that caused Ojomo to get up slowly and leave the game.

…

Say what you want about Derek Kerstetter and some of his early season personal fouls, but he sucked it up and played center this season, because coaches asked him to make the position switch from right tackle. On Saturday at K-State, Kerstetter was back at his favored right tackle spot, playing with an injured left ankle suffered against Iowa State, and now that ankle is broken, and his season is done. Kerstetter could’ve stopped his season after last week, like some of his teammates, because of an injury. He didn’t. He played hurt. He sacrificed for his team and paid a tough price for it.

…

Joseph Ossai did a great job of chopping K-State freshman tackle Carvis Willis’ hands to get separation and drop KSU quarterback Will Howard for a 9-yard sack on third-and-3 at the Texas 20, forcing a field goal. Credit the coverage in the secondary, too, for making Howard hold the ball a little too long.

…

Credit left guard Junior Angilau with a great second-level block on K-State linebacker Cody Fletcher to spring Bijan Robinson’s 30-yard touchdown run with 14:53 left in the second quarter.

…

At 5-foot-5, K-State freshman running back Deuce Vaughn is a nightmare for defenders because his center of gravity is so low, it allows him to lean one way and then shift direction so quickly, he can make tacklers miss from point-blank range. No greater example of that than his 19-yard touchdown run at the end of the first quarter, cutting Texas’ lead to 17-7 and on his 4-yard TD run late in the second quarter.

Vaughn made three Texas defenders lean the wrong direction on the first TD run, and, on the second TD run, Vaughn dipped his shoulder inside, got Juwan Mitchell leaning the wrong way, and right when you thought Vaughn would dip back outside to get past Jerrin Thompson, he went airborne over Thompson into the end zone.

…

Moro Ojomo has been a much more disruptive player as the season has gone on. On K-State’s first series of the game, Ojomo helped snuff out a screen pass for a loss of 1 yard, and then on second-and-11 stuffed K-State running back Harry Trotter between the tackles for no gain. Then, on third-and-11, K-State threw a pass that was stuffed short of the sticks on a nice tackle by Chris Brown, forcing a three-and-out that began with Ojomo’s

 

[BrazilHorn 6576]

Love Ian Boyd leading with the "Texas secured a 4th place or better line" to start his recap. I guess Herman promised him some access if he humped that pony.

[satyanash 14281]

 

[Atticus 3923]

1 hour ago, BrazilHorn said:

Love Ian Boyd leading with the "Texas secured a 4th place or better line" to start his recap. I guess Herman promised him some access if he humped that pony.

IB was clearly being sarcastic there. 

[satyanash 14281]

(Scipio Tex) 2020 Kansas State Postmortem: Offense

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The Longhorns blew out the Wildcats in Manhattan 69-31, scoring 66 points in the first three quarters, including a 35 point 3rd quarter explosion. This was probably the best offensive performance of the Tom Herman Era. Not coincidentally, it was also one of the best and most coherent game plans.

Where has that Texas offense been all season? Because I'll be the first to tell you if that was purely a function of inept Wildcat defense. It wasn't. Texas averaged ten yards per play (60-608) even after taking a foot off of the pedal in the 4th quarter. No other KSU opponent averaged more than 7.8 yards per play all year and certainly no other eclipsed the 600 yard or 60 point barrier (ISU had been their season high allowed at 45 points). What happened? Game planning and execution.

Unrelenting tempo, heavy WR and RB screen game, throwing to the backs, spreading the field, RPOs, constant motion, consistent backfield action with fly and jet sweepers, throwing on time to conceded routes, constraint plays right and left, and outside zone run correctly as a find-the-gap, cut-and-go scheme that becomes a de facto downhill power run rather than a poorly developed group jog to the boundary where the RB struggles to ever square up his pads.

That was fun to watch and almost hard to watch. So much wasted potential. Whether it was injuries, the shock of a potential firing, or a head coach fully finally empowering his offensive staff to do what was needed, something was the impetus for a real game plan. This staff put together the adjustments that have been missing all year. In a week.

OL

 

The Texas OL did that all day.

Jake Majors got the start at center while Derek Kerstetter went back to his old spot at right tackle. It didn't take long to prove my contention that the staff's decision to make a good right tackle an average zone blocking center was a poor one. Freshman Jake Majors played really well, demonstrating a real ability to reach defenders in the zone run game and he had no problems coordinating the calls. Kerstetter shined at the point of attack before his injury, using his length and active feet to get fits and push on longer edge defenders.

This was also the first game all year where they ran outside zone consistently and effectively. Instead of every OL standing up and trying to reach block a play side defender while losing ground with the action telegraphed like Samuel Morse, the OL fired out hard and low laterally, got downhill wherever they didn't encounter contact, doubled wherever they found a play side defensive gapper, then let the back cut it hard upfield rather than fruitlessly string it to the sideline. That was aided by a constant motion fly or jet sweeper (usually Jake Smith) for backside constraint/LB eye candy and several Ehlinger RPOs when KSU tried to fill zone gaps with safeties. It all got timed up and well, coordinated.

That's how it's supposed to look, ladies and gentleman. And it only took 10 games. I hope Kyle Shanahan sends our staff a "You Did It!" scratch n sniff sticker. The literal proof of concept of these concepts was Derek Kerstetter going out with a horrific injury (get well soon, Derek) and the running game not missing a beat with a combination of Karic and Okafor playing tackle and Tyler Johnson at guard.

On his snaps, Karic showed terrific feet, mobility and get off. Christian Jones and Denzel Okafor both blocked their asses off at the point of attack (they were terrific in the red zone particularly) and Angilau carried blocks much better, proving that he's fully capable of blocking outside zone when Texas uses play side doubles to create seams and get the backs up the field ASAP rather than aim the run at a water cooler. This OL has talent and should have been the best unit in the league. Texas was dealt solid cards and played most of them poorly.

RB

Roschon Johnson ran his ass off with 14 carries for 139 yards, scored three touchdowns, ran through about eight tackles and...he was the third most dangerous runner on the field. What's a baller gotta do? Terrific game from RoJo. He brought the hurt on KSU all game and looked nimble on his 43 yard jaunt (phenomenal blocking on that play as well). Don't run out bounds when we're trying to burn clock though.

Oh my, Bijan Robinson. Everyone would like to have one of those. Was he back in Arizona high school again? 9 carries, 174 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns to go with 3 catches for another 51 yards. 225 yards on 12 touches is pretty solid. When you take away a runner's 75 yard touchdown run and they're still averaging over 12 yards per carry, things are going well. Seeing a nearly 220 pound back make cuts like that is shocking. His growth from early season scat back running straight up and down to a power back with wiggle and change of direction running through defenders like Wolf Brand Chili through a colon is remarkable. Hell of a football player.

WR/TE

 

Constant motion allowed Sam to read coverages and exploit some easy early wins to get KSU wrong-footed and concerned about covering all of the field. 16 of 20 Longhorn receptions went to Smith, Eagles, Robinson, Whittington, and Moore, with no receiver getting more than 4 catches. That's a byproduct of throwing it to the open guy and spreading out the wealth on manufactured touches in the screen game. I was largely pleased with all of the pass catcher's effort after the catch and run blocking. Probably one of the unit's most complete games. Epps chipped in a nice 32 yard touchdown catch on a lay-up sluggo seam route and Cade Brewer added a sideline tiptoe option catch when KSU's defense went fully no mas.

QB

 

That's pretty easy football when you've stretched every bit of the field and the run game is dominating.

Ehlinger was a highly efficient 20 of 27 for 274 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers. He made great decisions as an enabler rather than the sole originator of offense. Also very accurate throwing on time, particularly early. When you look at the ball distribution, pace, and variety in the offense, you're reminded that Ehlinger is fully capable of being a high level ball distributor rather than just a Hero Baller of necessity. A real shame it took a Cosmi opt out to install a distributor's game plan. Very good game from #11.

Final

That's what Texas is capable of on offense. Is that praise or an indictment?

(Scipio Tex) 2020 Kansas State Postmortem: Defense/Special Teams

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I'm a little disappointed in the defense. You generally don't write that after a resounding 38 point win on the road, but standards is standards.

Kansas State featured a smart misdirection heavy game plan focused on the Texas linebackers once they realized that powering the Texas DL wasn't going to happen. Add in a healthy Deuce Vaughn, one of the most enjoyable and uniquely gifted runners I've ever seen, and the Longhorns had trouble against a struggling KSU offense that is probably the third worst unit in the league. Fortunately, the Horns forced (or accepted, depending on your viewpoint) three turnovers to help put some lip gloss on the pig.

The Wildcats ran for 274 yards at 6 yards a clip (Vaughn 10-127-2 touchdowns) and were sporadically effective in the passing game, with WR Malik Knowles hurting the Longhorns for 95 yards and two touchdowns on blown zone coverages while Deuce tortured Overshown on jerk routes for another 45 yards.

Speaking of Deuce, he can run a 40 sideways and backwards as fast as he can run it going forward and while we'd all like to have seen better tackling and coverage on him, all of us would look incredibly stupid trying to corral him, too. You only stop guys like that with smart positioning and angles from second and third level defenders and ours were frequently not in proper position. I can also state with some confidence that Deuce has never been "it" in a game of tag in his life.

DL

KSU did a nice job of negating their impact, shelving most of their power game early and using guile and misdirection to get the Longhorn linebackers exposed. Ossai played really well on the edge notching a sack and two tackles for loss, but Coburn and Sweat were quiet (Sweat had a pressure on the Ossai sack) and Graham and Ojomo were also quiet once KSU made it a run support game. Jones had a gimme fumble recovery, but was otherwise somewhat lacking against the perimeter run game.

Alfred Collins a got a lot of work with the lead and looked really quick and active. 4 tackles. Jett Bush also saw significant play and used his mobility on the perimeter to notch 4 tackles himself. Let's get him moved back to inside linebacker next year.

LB

Juwan Mitchell was ejected (again) for a clear targeting, choosing to fire his ordinance primarily into Moro Ojomo's head. Texas disguised Mitchell for large portions of the year with good DL play, but his mask got ripped off in Manhattan like the end of a Scooby Doo episode. It was the butler dressed in the ghost suit all along! Right Raggy! "It would have worked too if it hadn't been for you stupid kids demanding gap soundness!"

Before that play, Mitchell was lacking, either standing flat-footed and watching the play develop right past him or advancing right past the runner, allowing the easy cutback. Mitchell doesn't really get the whole pursue inside-out concept and it's odd to see 350 pound Texas DL execute it better than an alleged MLB.

Overshown has taken great strides as a space defender against traditional Big 12 offenses, but defending KSU requires discipline and fundamentals that he currently doesn't possess. Deuce exploited him in pass coverage, but I don't hold that against him at all - had Jalen Green been healthy, I probably would have D'shawn Jamison on Deuce anytime they split him out. A 6-4 guy - even as one as athletic as Overshown - has zero chance against a hobbit with superpowers.

Jaylan Ford filled in for Mitchell after his friendly fire incident and he looked like a true freshman LB facing a solid misdirection offense. David Gbenda missed some plays in the running game, but he really moves well and if you re-watch his interception of Will Howard, what appears to be a QB just throwing it to dumbly to a defender was actually a terrific drop by Gbenda right into the TE seam route that killed us against Iowa State. File that away. '

DB

Howard turned it over as expected and was a middling 16 of 27 for 174 yards and a longest completion of 29 yards, but Texas also gave up some easy ones they shouldn't have. Had some unit struggles playing zone coverage, which is probably to be expected down two experienced safeties. Was less than impressed with third level run support as some missed tackles turned 5-10 yard KSU run gains into 20+.

True freshman Jerrin Thompson showed more than a opted out captain in pass coverage playing deep safety, stealing a Howard pick and then almost grabbing another on a terrific break on the ball outside the hash. He also messed up a zone coverage and had three missed tackles. Love his future potential. D'shawn Jamison dropped a pick he should have had and played well in man coverage. As did Josh Thompson.

Adimora had a very good run support for a tackle for loss setting the edge, but Vaughn took him on some aggressive angles. Anthony Cook got turned around twice in the slot and paid for it once, allowing an easy third down throw. Chris Brown largely had a good effort with 12 tackles, and a timely break up on a deep route where he put his helmet through the ball, but he whiffed on a goal line tackle that allowed a TD (Overshown hilariously stares him down after it) and he took a poor angle on another Deuce run.

Special Teams

Dicker whiffed on a gimme FG attempt from 30, but was otherwise very solid punting (45.5 per kick) and on his other two short field goal attempts.

D'shawn had a terrific 98 yard kickoff return (he had 3-150 overall), demonstrating his explosiveness and want-to, but observe the blocking once he made #19 miss. Excellent job by several Longhorns, including Cade Brewer (big pancake), Liebrock, and Epps. That was team return effort and they should all be commended. Texas won special teams against Kansas State in a big way. That's nice to write given our occasionally spotted history there.

Overall

When the offense and special teams drop 69 on someone, it takes the pressure off of the defense, but this game exposed some fundamental issues at LB and in how Texas defends this style of offense. It was nice to see some young players getting after it and this game experience will pay dividends down the road.