Hey PK -- What would you say you do here?

[BurntOrange&White 39,931]

linebackers and safeties suck, we have no pass rush. the end

[CurlyDumps 4,471]

 

PK, defensive mastermind.

[Atticus 3,973]

7 minutes ago, CurlyDumps said:

 

PK, defensive mastermind.

This season. Collins has clearly gotten more run as the season progressed. He apparently had an effort issue earlier that TFB may have even reported on.

What are the numbers for the last 3 games? 

[GringoSalado 1,651]

11 minutes ago, CurlyDumps said:

 

PK, defensive mastermind.

[Had Enough 2,081]

I think their presence is supposed to deter teams from trying us deep where we will likely get burned anyway. They might also have the most missed tackles as a position group, which is terrifying since they are generally the last line of defense. It's crazy that we've recruited so many safeties, and corners who are actually safeties, over the years, yet still can't get serviceable play at the position.

It is a deterrent. Outside of the 2nd half versus Tech, deep ball attempts have been minimal. There were the two/three versus OU, but those were partially desparation attempts on 3rd and long and tip of the hat incredible catches. Granted OSU pass is not good, but they got a chunk of their pass yards from a screen and two throws in the flat. They had two double moves open up deep, but that’s partly attributable to playing off coverage.

Certainly as a percentage of tackles, the safety Miss rate is high. From a technical stats standpoint, does running by the guy with the ball count as a missed tackle? Even at 15-17 yards deep, there’s no excuse to not show up as a would be tackler after 10 yards. Then you need to do it Cris Carter style and just get the dude on the ground. There’s more shame in whiffing than being given a ride for 2-3 extra yards.

If Barron can legit play, it might be worth Josh T giving safety a try. We are who we are to an extent. No one’s morphing into a dominant pass rusher tomorrow (maybe Collins if we’re dreaming). The safeties gotta make more plays, more tackles.

Screw looking good doing it. Just win. Anyway we can.

[Tylerocks 2,553]

Speaking of safeties...am I crazy or was Chris Adimora solid last year and has been quite invisible this year?

I hope this bye week provides the staff with some meaningful evaluation time..Obviously with Overshown out, Ford/Gbenda will be playing more.  To me, that's a good thing.  At this point, if you're going to give up a bunch of yards anyway, you might as well have your best athletes on the field.

 

[victory88 5,663]

PK's resume and player development from the draft obviously speaks for itself.  With that said, he hasn't exactly faced the coaches and offenses you see in the Big 12 like on a consistent basis like he did in the PAC 12.  I understand the scheme.  They want to create turnovers and limit teams to FGs and limit the big plays.  His defense relies on the D line holding his blocks and letting the linebackers eat.  The problem we're having is that we have a very talent and depth deficient LB room.  Our team keeps giving up big plays when the entire defense is built to prevent that.  Our edge defenders cannot hold up and we get absolutely get abused in the run game when they go outside.  He needs to get way from what he is comfortable with and he needs to stop forcing this team into his scheme.

I watched Keondre Coburn play very well the last 2 years.  We're asking him to take on double teams and that is not his strength.  We have plenty of talent on the interior D-Line.  We should not be asking them to hold blocks and letting a weak position group try to make the plays.  He needs to go to a 4 man front and ask our D-Line to to simply beat their blocks and get pressure.  I really believe this defense would play a lot better.  Right now, we can't get a pass rush with this 3 DL scheme... we are starting walkons and backup transfers from other programs at LB/Edge, and our Safeties are terrible.  Right now his scheme is resulting in teams being able to run on us and because we can't get pressure, they're able to pass on us as well.  I would go with a lineup of Collins- Coburn- Sweat- Ojomo.   Any OL is going to have a tough time running on a big line up like that and Ojomo and Collins are athletic enough to get pressure.  There's obviously no Joesph Ossai, but I bet you no LT wants to go up against Collins every play.  Jett Bush should never see another snap.  Ask your DL to simply play physical, collapse the pocket, and pray that your LBs and DBs can make the plays they need.

When he can get the players needed for his scheme, go ahead and play this bend but don't break 3 DL scheme.  But until then, he needs to figure out how to best utilize our personnel instead of forcing them into his scheme.

[Atticus 3,973]

36 minutes ago, victory88 said:

PK's resume and player development from the draft obviously speaks for itself.  With that said, he hasn't exactly faced the coaches and offenses you see in the Big 12 like on a consistent basis like he did in the PAC 12.  I understand the scheme.  They want to create turnovers and limit teams to FGs and limit the big plays.  His defense relies on the D line holding his blocks and letting the linebackers eat.  The problem we're having is that we have a very talent and depth deficient LB room.  Our team keeps giving up big plays when the entire defense is built to prevent that.  Our edge defenders cannot hold up and we get absolutely get abused in the run game when they go outside.  He needs to get way from what he is comfortable with and he needs to stop forcing this team into his scheme.

I watched Keondre Coburn play very well the last 2 years.  We're asking him to take on double teams and that is not his strength.  We have plenty of talent on the interior D-Line.  We should not be asking them to hold blocks and letting a weak position group try to make the plays.  He needs to go to a 4 man front and ask our D-Line to to simply beat their blocks and get pressure.  I really believe this defense would play a lot better.  Right now, we can't get a pass rush with this 3 DL scheme... we are starting walkons and backup transfers from other programs at LB/Edge, and our Safeties are terrible.  Right now his scheme is resulting in teams being able to run on us and because we can't get pressure, they're able to pass on us as well.  I would go with a lineup of Collins- Coburn- Sweat- Ojomo.   Any OL is going to have a tough time running on a big line up like that and Ojomo and Collins are athletic enough to get pressure.  There's obviously no Joesph Ossai, but I bet you no LT wants to go up against Collins every play.  Jett Bush should never see another snap.  Ask your DL to simply play physical, collapse the pocket, and pray that your LBs and DBs can make the plays they need.

When he can get the players needed for his scheme, go ahead and play this bend but don't break 3 DL scheme.  But until then, he needs to figure out how to best utilize our personnel instead of forcing them into his scheme.

I think Orlando had them holding blocks more often than PK does. We actually end up rushing 4 pretty often too. We also see guys like Byron Murphy and Sweat getting penetration from time to time. Vita Vea, Danny Shelton, Greg Gaines are clear examples for what Coburn could be doing, and he was also rated higher than all of them out of HS. 

Edited October 19, 2021 by Atticus

[hookem48 4,687]

3 minutes ago, Atticus said:

I think Orlando had them holding blocks more often than PK does. We actually end up rushing 4 pretty often too. We also see guys like Byron Murphy and Sweat getting penetration from time to time. Vita Vea, Danny Shelton, Greg Gaines are clear examples for what Coburn could be doing, and he was also rated higher than all of them out of HS. 

yea, I thought the one thing everyone like about this hire was that his dlineman would penetrate and not just tie up blockers.

[HtownHorn 14,677]

I'm beginning to come the realization that the more specialized roles a defense has, the shitter it is at Texas.

Just play a simple 4 man front and let the DL eat. Shit I would try a jumbo DL of Collins, Coburn, Sweat, and Ojomo just to see if they can stop the running game.

Collins outside on run downs, he moves inside 3rd and longs.

No more 3 man fronts, especially on 3rd and medium.

Edited October 20, 2021 by HtownHorn

[USNALonghorn 5,078]

Four man front and de-emphasizing our weakness at LB seems like a short term fix and also the best way to take advantage of in state recruiting. Run a 4-2-5 scheme and let the DL rush the passer, instead of eating blocks. Glad to see I’m not the only one wondering how we would have fared if we kept Ash. He seemed like a good fit for the type of defensive talent that comes to Texas. Our run defense improved a lot over the course of last year.

[SarkAfterDark 1,688]

8 hours ago, Tylerocks said:

Speaking of safeties...am I crazy or was Chris Adimora solid last year and has been quite invisible this year?

I hope this bye week provides the staff with some meaningful evaluation time..Obviously with Overshown out, Ford/Gbenda will be playing more.  To me, that's a good thing.  At this point, if you're going to give up a bunch of yards anyway, you might as well have your best athletes on the field.

 

He had a distinct role in the scheme last year at nickel that doesn't exist in this defensive scheme. He would need to be able to play safety in the current scheme, and he is slower than Schooler, Foster, and Thompson. This defense is desperately missing a rangy safety. As crazy as it sounds we probably would have been better at safety if Sterns came back.

[LTtxfan 49,170]

18 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

I'm beginning to come the realization that the more specialized roles a defense has, the shitter it is at Texas.

Just play a simple 4 man front and let the DL eat. Shit I would try a jumbo DL of Collins, Coburn, Sweat, and Ojomo just to see if they can stop the running game.

Collins outside on run downs, he moves inside 3rd and longs.

No more 3 man fronts, especially on 3rd and medium.

 

5 minutes ago, USNALonghorn said:

Four man front and de-emphasizing our weakness at LB seems like a short term fix and also the best way to take advantage of in state recruiting. Run a 4-2-5 scheme and let the DL rush the passer, instead of eating blocks. Glad to see I’m not the only one wondering how we would have fared if we kept Ash. He seemed like a good fit for the type of defensive talent that comes to Texas. Our run defense improved a lot over the course of last year.

 

Email both these to SARK and PK please...  😋

[USNALonghorn 5,078]

5 minutes ago, SarkAfterDark said:

He had a distinct role in the scheme last year at nickel that doesn't exist in this defensive scheme. He would need to be able to play safety in the current scheme, and he is slower than Schooler, Foster, and Thompson. This defense is desperately missing a rangy safety. As crazy as it sounds we probably would have been better at safety if Sterns came back.

Spot on. Sterns and Chris Brown being back would be almost as big as Ossai and TQ Graham for the front side.

[dcar00 14,181]

why did we have to give up hundreds of yards rushing a game when it was obvious before the season that LB was a huge problem?  I get the DC's have a base scheme but got dam you are getting paid 1M+ for a fucking reason.

[Had Enough 2,081]

Four man front and de-emphasizing our weakness at LB seems like a short term fix and also the best way to take advantage of in state recruiting. Run a 4-2-5 scheme and let the DL rush the passer, instead of eating blocks. Glad to see I’m not the only one wondering how we would have fared if we kept Ash. He seemed like a good fit for the type of defensive talent that comes to Texas. Our run defense improved a lot over the course of last year.

The stuff we convince ourselves of is well interesting. I realize adjusted numbers matter. But some straight numbers provide some context. I think it’s fair to wonder whether we’d be better with Ash.

Our next to last game last year. K-State had a cool 274 yards rushing. Rushing at 6 yards a pop. They had another 174 passing.

The game prior Iowa State had 312 passing and 121 rushing.

OSU had 400 yards passing. Guess Spence Sanders got a lot worse. They got 130 rushing but lost a lot on sacks. Hello Joe Ossai and TQ Graham.

WVU had 43 net rushing yards but 317 passing.

Colorado had 196 passing and 182 rushing.

Year to year comparisons. TCU total yards 458 last year versus 351 this year. OSU 530 last year versus 396 this year. OU 469 last year to 650+ this year. OU did get penalties called last year. TTU 441 last year versus 520 this year.

Ultimately I’m not sure how much better last years defense was. How much of that is losing Ossai, Brown and Graham? The KState effort late in the year says run defense was not greatly improved at the end of the year. Then you got a mediocre run D effort versus CU. But we did handle BU and WVU run games. Also in game 1 last year, UTEP had 43 yards rushing. So hell if I know how much the run D improved.

I’ll choose to be hopeful we improve the rest of the season. We use the bye week to regroup and come out with more consistent production. Collins becomes more of a playmaker. The offense has fewer unproductive drives and gets our opponents chasing points.

[HtownHorn 14,677]

He never should have taken a no from Will.

[dcar00 14,181]

17 minutes ago, Had Enough said:

The stuff we convince ourselves of is well interesting. I realize adjusted numbers matter. But some straight numbers provide some context. I think it’s fair to wonder whether we’d be better with Ash.

Our next to last game last year. K-State had a cool 274 yards rushing. Rushing at 6 yards a pop. They had another 174 passing.

The game prior Iowa State had 312 passing and 121 rushing.

OSU had 400 yards passing. Guess Spence Sanders got a lot worse. They got 130 rushing but lost a lot on sacks. Hello Joe Ossai and TQ Graham.

WVU had 43 net rushing yards but 317 passing.

Colorado had 196 passing and 182 rushing.

Year to year comparisons. TCU total yards 458 last year versus 351 this year. OSU 530 last year versus 396 this year. OU 469 last year to 650+ this year. OU did get penalties called last year. TTU 441 last year versus 520 this year.

Ultimately I’m not sure how much better last years defense was. How much of that is losing Ossai, Brown and Graham? The KState effort late in the year says run defense was not greatly improved at the end of the year. Then you got a mediocre run D effort versus CU. But we did handle BU and WVU run games. Also in game 1 last year, UTEP had 43 yards rushing. So hell if I know how much the run D improved.

I’ll choose to be hopeful we improve the rest of the season. We use the bye week to regroup and come out with more consistent production. Collins becomes more of a playmaker. The offense has fewer unproductive drives and gets our opponents chasing points.

vaughn did rip us for 12.5 per carry.  we ended up giving up 3.6 per carry and 140 per game for the season and we didn't play 2 shitty teams which would have likely helped those stats.

CU and KSU we were up big in 2nd hafl and started playing somewhat conservative.  Also, CU ripped a 44 yard run late I believe that skewed it some.

that said.  I don't think anyone is saying 2020 was some amazing D.  it got a lot better and sans KSU we weren't giving up tons of yardage rushing.  we've already had 2 games with 300+ rushing and another with 200+.  We are giving up 200 a game.

we'll see where he ends up.  if he adjusts, fixes some shit and we win out it will be basically a repeat of last year.  Hello Alamo Bowl!

[Atticus 3,973]

1 hour ago, Had Enough said:

The stuff we convince ourselves of is well interesting. I realize adjusted numbers matter. But some straight numbers provide some context. I think it’s fair to wonder whether we’d be better with Ash.

Our next to last game last year. K-State had a cool 274 yards rushing. Rushing at 6 yards a pop. They had another 174 passing.

The game prior Iowa State had 312 passing and 121 rushing.

OSU had 400 yards passing. Guess Spence Sanders got a lot worse. They got 130 rushing but lost a lot on sacks. Hello Joe Ossai and TQ Graham.

WVU had 43 net rushing yards but 317 passing.

Colorado had 196 passing and 182 rushing.

Year to year comparisons. TCU total yards 458 last year versus 351 this year. OSU 530 last year versus 396 this year. OU 469 last year to 650+ this year. OU did get penalties called last year. TTU 441 last year versus 520 this year.

Ultimately I’m not sure how much better last years defense was. How much of that is losing Ossai, Brown and Graham? The KState effort late in the year says run defense was not greatly improved at the end of the year. Then you got a mediocre run D effort versus CU. But we did handle BU and WVU run games. Also in game 1 last year, UTEP had 43 yards rushing. So hell if I know how much the run D improved.

I’ll choose to be hopeful we improve the rest of the season. We use the bye week to regroup and come out with more consistent production. Collins becomes more of a playmaker. The offense has fewer unproductive drives and gets our opponents chasing points.

I was coming to post something similar, but this gets the general point across. Other than OU, we gave up more yards in each game last year than we did this year. That's with Sam's drive extending heroics, Ossai's crazy motor, TQ Graham, even Juwan Mitchell's better athleticism over Brock.

We let Tech score 56 pts in regulation, that Ash vanilla stuff got eaten up and heavily outschemed. Remember Duggan running up the alley untouched for the game sealing TD? Come on now.

[dcar00 14,181]

4 minutes ago, Atticus said:

I was coming to post something similar, but this gets the general point across. Other than OU, we gave up more yards in each game last year than we did this year. That's with Sam's drive extending heroics, Ossai's crazy motor, TQ Graham, even Juwan Mitchell's better athleticism over Brock.

We let Tech score 56 pts in regulation, that Ash vanilla stuff got eaten up and heavily outschemed. Remember Duggan running up the alley untouched for the game sealing TD? Come on now.

you are ignoring Arkansas.

[Atticus 3,973]

4 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

you are ignoring Arkansas.

Did I miss Arky on the schedule last year?

Arkansas is easily the worst game of the year for this entire team and staff. Only possible way to see that game.

[dcar00 14,181]

3 minutes ago, Atticus said:

Did I miss Arky on the schedule last year?

Arkansas is easily the worst game of the year for this entire team and staff. Only possible way to see that game.

the point is we've given up 300+ twice and 200+ once.  we gave up 200+ once last year and won that game by 30 points.

we are giving up 1 more point a game and 1 full yard per play more this year.  406 yards per game last year 434 this year.  3.6 per rush last year v 5.2 per rush this year.

by any metric we are objectively worse than last year.

we'll see where he ends up. Jones getting hurt is a problem but he has to get Bush and Brock off the field.  not sure what to do about foster and schooler.

[ousux 5,597]

Been putting off rewatching the game until now. Talk as much shit as you want about the defense, they got Oklahoma to plenty 3rd and longs. Watch every explosive play OU had and just about every DL player is being held. 
I hate to be “blame the refs” guy but Sark has to get on the field and chew someone’s ass. Maybe he did it and I couldn’t see it on the TV feed. JFC. 

Also, the Jett Bush experiment needs to end. Our defensive depth is shit. 

We definitely got jobbed in the blowU game. It was questionable live, watching the replay later at home left no doubt. It would have been interesting to see how the game was called if we also came in undfeated, especially since blowU had looked pretty underwelming in their wins up to that point.

[Thatguy 8,686]

21 hours ago, Had Enough said:

Ford played pretty well. The LBers have played reasonably well this season, but we can continue the narrative that they’re shitty. A bit inconsistent sure. Lacking some physicality sure. Shitty is not an apt descriptor. Depth has been limited, but it could be coming on. I’m still not sure we have any Dline that require a double team which is a problem for running the light box.

I see nothing out of Choate to say he’s doing a sorry job. I’d agree on the scheme too. It’ll take time.

The issue with this defense is the deep safety play. The scheme asks too little of them at times. Then they’re too aggressive when PK gets them free in the backfield. They’re not aggressive enough otherwise. The top 3 guys had 5 tackles versus OSU. Someone else mentioned it but Cook should drop back to safety. Maybe not full time, but he shouldn’t come off the field at all. No idea why our corners play off when the safeties are deep.

   This right here. This scheme has to have at least one guy eating up two blocks to be effective. With no one capable of that the unoccupied O-line just meanders to the second level which is a huge problem for finesse type LBs. Safeties are guarding grass and opposing OCs have figured that out to an extent. They know they can eat a full meal underneath in the passing dept and run on us all game.

[USNALonghorn 5,078]

9 hours ago, Had Enough said:

The stuff we convince ourselves of is well interesting. I realize adjusted numbers matter. But some straight numbers provide some context. I think it’s fair to wonder whether we’d be better with Ash.

Our next to last game last year. K-State had a cool 274 yards rushing. Rushing at 6 yards a pop. They had another 174 passing.

The game prior Iowa State had 312 passing and 121 rushing.

OSU had 400 yards passing. Guess Spence Sanders got a lot worse. They got 130 rushing but lost a lot on sacks. Hello Joe Ossai and TQ Graham.

WVU had 43 net rushing yards but 317 passing.

Colorado had 196 passing and 182 rushing.

Year to year comparisons. TCU total yards 458 last year versus 351 this year. OSU 530 last year versus 396 this year. OU 469 last year to 650+ this year. OU did get penalties called last year. TTU 441 last year versus 520 this year.

Ultimately I’m not sure how much better last years defense was. How much of that is losing Ossai, Brown and Graham? The KState effort late in the year says run defense was not greatly improved at the end of the year. Then you got a mediocre run D effort versus CU. But we did handle BU and WVU run games. Also in game 1 last year, UTEP had 43 yards rushing. So hell if I know how much the run D improved.

I’ll choose to be hopeful we improve the rest of the season. We use the bye week to regroup and come out with more consistent production. Collins becomes more of a playmaker. The offense has fewer unproductive drives and gets our opponents chasing points.

You have to remember that Ash had a very short, COVID-19 affected off-season to install his scheme and to try remove the Orlando rot from the team. The defense improved substantially over the course of the season. Bottom line, Ash’s defense demonstrated it could take away at least one aspect of the offense (usually the run game). In the KSU game, we had most of our NFL draft bound starters sitting out and we were sitting on a big lead, so I would take those stats with a grain of salt.

I don’t necessarily think that PK can’t recover from this situation, but his personnel and formation choices show that he still has a lot to learn. We don’t have great personnel, but we shouldn’t be in the bottom of the FBS. We’ve played only one really decent offensive team. The fact that he had trouble with Stanford’s traditional offense is concerning. Personally, I would’ve liked to see us keep Ash, based on his resume and looking at the situation from a continuity standpoint. 

[Had Enough 2,081]

You have to remember that Ash had a very short, COVID-19 affected off-season to install his scheme and to try remove the Orlando rot from the team. The defense improved substantially over the course of the season. Bottom line, Ash’s defense demonstrated it could take away at least one aspect of the offense (usually the run game). In the KSU game, we had most of our NFL draft bound starters sitting out and we were sitting on a big lead, so I would take those stats with a grain of salt.
I don’t necessarily think that PK can’t recover from this situation, but his personnel and formation choices show that he still has a lot to learn. We don’t have great personnel, but we shouldn’t be in the bottom of the FBS. We’ve played only one really decent offensive team. The fact that he had trouble with Stanford’s traditional offense is concerning. Personally, I would’ve liked to see us keep Ash, based on his resume and looking at the situation from a continuity standpoint. 

Yeah Covid was a tough transition. And you are correct in that it seems we took away the run game in most cases. I’d compare KState a bit to Tech this year. The numbers are not a huge deal because the offense ran away with it.

This year the defense needs to learn to finish. In all 3 losses, we play well to decent til the end of the 3rd. If they can learn to finish, that will be huge. Even TCU. If we shut that 99 yard drive down, very solid defensive performance. And I will say PK put a defender in position early in that drive to make a 3rd down stop. The player, not coach, messed it up.

By no means am I saying I’m happy or satisfied, but I’m also choosing to find some positives. We’d probably be further along with a continuance of Ash’s scheme and him simply knowing his personnel’s ability for longer.

OU is a bit hard to judge in my opinion. QB change. No penalties called. They could have easily called back about 200 yards worth on OU. Arkansas offense may be better than anybody we played last year. They’ve gone over 600 yards twice, 2nd most yards vs the Aggies with their QB missing most of a half. Georgia dominated them defensively, but I don’t think many in the country can. Then TCU has been right or above 500 yards 3 times, which doesn’t include Duquesne. We held them to their lowest output. OSU we were good for 3 quarters. Two penalties and pick 6 kept it from being over.

Defense needs to learn to finish. Why it’s not happening or how you do it is the question that needs an answer.

[LTtxfan 49,170]

Thx for this @satyanash  

(Scipio Tex) 2021 Texas-Oklahoma State Post Mortem: Defense/Special Teams

Quote

Texas unveiled a true 3-4 personnel package that saw a lot of early game success against Oklahoma State's offense. Ovie and Ray Thornton played on the line of scrimmage setting hard edges while Ojomo-Coburn-Collins lined up inside. The result was a five man front, 5-2 alignment that freed up the Longhorn DL considerably. Ojomo and Collins were able to line up in gaps and consistently attack instead of playing catch-and-watch. Thornton and Ovie (14 combined tackles) were big beneficiaries with several easy clean ups from the interior pressure created by the Texas DL. One downside of that look is that it took Anthony Cook off of the field. I'd consider removing a Longhorn safety before taking our best tackling DB out.

Oklahoma State got us out of that look by going 3 wide and spreading the field. Oddly, even when OSU clearly wanted to run the ball, Texas would go back to the 3-4 variant, but the DL would stop gapping, edge responsibilities got soft from the very clear alignment early, and the Horns went into read n react mode. Jaylan Warren would read the disposition of the front, slide laterally, make a decision, and then slip upfield for big gains. Kwiatkowski was also playing some rotations in some key moments that did not represent our best run stopping lineups. More crucially, the defense was largely back into catch-blocks mode, and the onus for run stopping was placed back on the linebackers and safeties while the edge would either sprint upfield taking himself out of the play or stand somewhat passively and get pancaked. You saw the results of that approach in the second half in Jaylan Warren's 193 rushing yards. In fact, you've seen the results of that approach all year.

Pete K clearly doesn't believe he can craft a viable defense where the DL gap and attack. Jett Bush didn't play, so the reason their run game exploded in the 4th quarter will need another whipping boy. While the Texas D absolutely did its job for most of the contest against a very mediocre Oklahoma State offense, limiting OSU to only field goals for three quarters of play, this is what the 4th quarter looked like on OSU's last three offensive drives that didn't involve a kneel down:

10-80 TD
9-51 FG
3-42 TD

173 yards and 16 points on their last three possessions (went for 2, didn't get it). 145 of those were rushing yards. In one quarter. Warren ran for 110 on those three drives and never had a run longer than 28 yards. The Texas run defense just collapsed.

LB

Jaylan Ford got the start after Overshown went down with a concussion and notched 12 tackles. #41 played well and wasn't contact shy at all, he repeatedly met Cowboy runners and blockers in the hole, but like all of our off-the-ball linebackers (and a lot of the team), he's physically weak and he got beaten down over the course of the game. Nice 1 on 1 tackle on the 2 point conversion. Luke Brockermeyer played extremely hard, notching 9 tackles, including two for loss. David Gbenda had 7 stops. Gbenda plays hard, but sometimes it's pointed the wrong way.

Ray Thornton had his most productive game as a Longhorn - 6 tackles, 3 tackles for loss. His effectiveness was directly tied to how Texas played the interior DL. Ovie Oghoufo, same. It's interesting to see how their effectiveness waned in the final quarter. Watch the Texas LB/S triangle here here:

 Ford, wrong way. Gbenda, whatcha lookin' at? BJ Foster made me inadvertently giggle in his run support from deep there.

When you see an edge play like this, it's hard to even know where the disconnect is between Foster and Thornton and the overall team concept... Skip to 9:34

 

 BJ Foster sprints up the field. Is he supposed to have the edge there? If so, why didn't he immediately flatten out? Why is Thornton playing like he has two gaps to defend there? I saw way too much of this in the 4th quarter. Skip to 8:02 Here's the entire edge just getting physically overpowered on a play that should be a zero yard gain.

A little physicality check below. Watch Spencer Sanders when he becomes a blocker after the option pitch on Ovie Oghoufo. Skip to 17:45

Hmmm.

DL

Seven games into the season, the Texas defensive coaching staff realized that Alfred Collins is talented and should have a role that plays to his strengths.

Collins drew the start and was credited with 5 tackles, a tackle for loss, and a QB hit, but his impact was felt even more than that. Oddly, our best pass rushing DL was taken off the field multiple times on 3rd and long. Moro Ojomo played well and made a number of plays where he spoiled the original run and created an easy clean up for an exterior defender. Keondre Coburn played with more energy for the second straight week, but a foolish horse collar personal foul gave the Cowboys a new set of downs. His three tackles nearly matched his output in the prior six games.

Vernon Broughton continues to play for mystifying reasons, including one stretch where Oklahoma State ran the ball all over us. Murphy and Sweat were solid.

DB

The Cowboys didn't do much in the passing game, but Texas corners playing off coverage on 3rd down with the game on the line was odd to see. The safety position doesn't need more discussion, but Schooler drew most of the snaps over Jerrin Thompson. Jamison had a solid pick on an errant Sanders throw and Thompson had a smart PI when he was beaten up the sideline.

Final

Oklahoma State has a poor to middling offense and the Texas D did its job for three quarters before unraveling against the Cowboy running game. And, if you were wondering, yes, Texas did purposefully let them score in order to get the ball back more quickly down 32-24.

 

 

[SarkAfterDark 1,688]

I think its a safe assumption Ash defense would look a lot different without Ossai and Graham. Stern and CB was also a better safety combination last year.

[Sawbonz 27,546]

🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

[Eskimohorn 5,633]

I think its a safe assumption Ash defense would look a lot different without Ossai and Graham. Stern and CB was also a better safety combination last year.

Or Year 2 of the defense players develop more and Collins wrecks shop from Day 1. Longterm the jury’s still out, but we’re seeing bad defense here.

[burdine 522]

The Defense is the biggest disappointment this year.

Deemphasizing big DL which we have a good supply of, and conversely, emphasizing LB and Edge guys which we have in short supply, seems really shortsighted.

It's cost us one or two games so far.

[ClubWhatever 12,128]

1 minute ago, burdine said:

The Defense is the biggest disappointment this year.

Deemphasizing big DL which we have a good supply of, and conversely, emphasizing LB and Edge guys which we have in short supply, seems really shortsighted dumb

It's cost us one or two games so far.

 

[FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2,652]

I’m nearly convinced we only have one loss if ash was still DC.    

[dcar00 14,181]

1 minute ago, Xian said:

I’m nearly convinced we only have one loss if ash was still DC.    

nearly?

[FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2,652]

3 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

nearly?

Totally 

[Eskimohorn 5,633]

I’m nearly convinced we only have one loss if ash was still DC.    

One Yard Xian you may be right

[FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2,652]

2 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:

One Yard Xian you may be right

Wish they would change my name

[Eskimohorn 5,633]

Wish they would change my name

I asked for 10-inch Eskimohorn and it hasn’t happened yet

[USNALonghorn 5,078]

I think it’s plenty obvious that our defense would have regressed after losing Ossai, Graham, and Sterns. Those arguing that keeping Ash would have been the better choose aren’t denying that. The reasons for keeping Ash would have been continuity and better optimization of our defensive roster. I wouldn’t expect us to have a top 25 defense in FBS, but it certainly wouldn’t have been in the triple digits after being gashed by OU. I could see us ranked in the 50s or 60s in total defense with Ash’s scheme. He’s not my first choice by any means. However since we couldn’t land Muschamp, Ash could’ve been a convenient fallback.

[Slacks 6,819]

On 10/22/2021 at 8:18 AM, burdine said:

The Defense is the biggest disappointment this year.

Deemphasizing big DL which we have a good supply of, and conversely, emphasizing LB and Edge guys which we have in short supply, seems really shortsighted.

It's cost us one or two games so far.

I've been trying to believe that staying the course will fix our longstanding problems of not having LBs.  It is possible to get LBs ready to go in a season or two... And then keep the position loaded... Right?

[bschoolprof 6,252]

 

[dcar00 14,181]

19 minutes ago, bschoolprof said:

 

summed up as "PAC 12"

[Hookem2147 21,208]

30 minutes ago, bschoolprof said:

 

Last years rush defense was not good. I don't care what the ranking is. Allowed 227 rushing yards to TCU, 208 rushing yards to OU, 130 rushing yards to OSU, 274 rushing yards to Kansas State, 182 rushing yards to Colorado and would have allowed 200 rushing yards to Tech until they figured out they could just throw the ball on every down.  Our stats got padded by allowing under 100 yards rushing to UTEP, West Virginia and a Baylor offense that averaged 2.2 yards per carry the entire season. 

Miss me with the S&C crap when 75% of OU's rushing yards this year came after missed tackles and we bottled up OSU's running game for the most part until we left our defense on the field for the entire 4th quarter. I'm not going to pretend there aren't issues with this defense but acting like we were the '85 Bears in previous years is fan fiction.

We can also go ahead and stop talking about how you were never going to "out-physical" Texas under Herman. Like we should get to pound our chest that our players had big biceps and grunted hard as they were getting blown off the ball by OU or Iowa State or TCU. That is an absolute joke.

Edited October 27, 2021 by Hookem2147

[NTVTXN 1,432]

On 10/11/2021 at 9:10 AM, LTtxfan said:

Not a Lake Travis fan...

LT is short for "Long Time"

I learned something today!

[westexhorn 2,017]

1 minute ago, Hookem2147 said:

Last years rush defense was not good. I don't care what the ranking is. Allowed 260 rushing yards to TCU, 254 rushing yards to OU, 186 rushing yards to OSU, 302 rushing yards to Kansas State, 196 rushing yards to Colorado and would have allowed 200 rushing yards to Tech until they figured out they could just throw the ball on every down.  Our stats got padded by allowing under 100 yards rushing to UTEP, West Virginia and Baylor. 

Miss me with the S&C crap when 75% of OU's rushing yards this year came after missed tackles and we bottled up OSU's running game for the most part until we left our defense on the field for the entire 4th quarter. I'm not going to pretend there aren't issues with this defense but acting like we were the '85 Bears in previous years is fan fiction.

We can also go ahead and stop talking about how you were never going to "out-physical" Texas under Herman. Like we should get to pound our chest that our players had big biceps and grunted hard as they were getting blown off the ball by OU or Iowa State or TCU. That is an absolute joke.

Well the thought is that the players were strong just not fundamentally sound and schemed to their potentials for the most part.  

[Hookem2147 21,208]

1 minute ago, westexhorn said:

Well the thought is that the players were strong just not fundamentally sound and schemed to their potentials for the most part.  

Might have been true. I have a feeling the defense would have taken a large step backwards under Ash this year considering his lone pass rushing position on the DL was occupied by Jett Bush and Reese Leitao in the bowl game. 

Ossai, Graham and Brown covered up for a lot of issues the defense had and even with them, we still got shredded against competent rushing attacks. 

[dcar00 14,181]

2 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Last years rush defense was not good. I don't care what the ranking is. Allowed 260 rushing yards to TCU, 254 rushing yards to OU, 186 rushing yards to OSU, 302 rushing yards to Kansas State, 196 rushing yards to Colorado and would have allowed 200 rushing yards to Tech until they figured out they could just throw the ball on every down.  Our stats got padded by allowing under 100 yards rushing to UTEP, West Virginia and Baylor. 

Miss me with the S&C crap when 75% of OU's rushing yards this year came after missed tackles and we bottled up OSU's running game for the most part until we left our defense on the field for the entire 4th quarter. I'm not going to pretend there aren't issues with this defense but acting like we were the '85 Bears in previous years is fan fiction.

We can also go ahead and stop talking about how you were never going to "out-physical" Texas under Herman. Like we should get to pound our chest that our players had big biceps and grunted hard as they were getting blown off the ball by OU or Iowa State or TCU. That is an absolute joke.

your numbers are completely wrong according to the box scores.

and yeah #105 from mid 30's.  Herman needed to be fired but he would have won 9 and very possibly 10 games last year.

[dcar00 14,181]

Just now, Hookem2147 said:

Might have been true. I have a feeling the defense would have taken a large step backwards under Ash this year considering his lone pass rushing position on the DL was occupied by Jett Bush and Reese Leitao in the bowl game. 

Ossai, Graham and Brown covered up for a lot of issues the defense had and even with them, we still got shredded against competent rushing attacks. 

are you PK's wife?

[Hookem2147 21,208]

1 minute ago, dcar00 said:

your numbers are completely wrong according to the box scores.

and yeah #105 from mid 30's.  Herman needed to be fired but he would have won 9 and very possibly 10 games last year.

My bad, I was looking at the net yards gained before sacks were taken out. Corrected: TCU was at 227 rushing yards last year, OU at 208 rushing yards, OSU at 130 rushing yards, Kansas State at 274 and Colorado at 182. 

[Hookem2147 21,208]

5 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

are you PK's wife?

Yes. Pic to come