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


LTtxfan

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The defense hasn't been tested much to this point.  The back end is improved and much faster, that is plain to see.  There is a monster coming off the edge now, that much is plain to see.  Once we get to OU and Georgia, we will know a lot more.  Not that they are great offenses but you'll have to play sound against both.

I don’t think Ou is going to show a bunch, they aren’t that good right now.
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Why the Texas defense is flying around like hungry dogs | Cedric Golden

KEY POINTS

  • The Horns have given up only 19 points through three games, the stingiest start to a season since 1983.  
  • The 1983 team came within one win of a national title.
  • Safety Michael Taaffe: "“Our standard this year is to not let anybody get in the paint. That's who we are now.”

Ethan Burke is one of the most talented young defensive ends on the Texas football roster, but there are limits to this.

He’s an emerging pass rusher who led the team in sacks last season, but that doesn’t make him a candidate for "Dancing with the Stars."

Burke’s 30-yard interception return for a touchdown was one of many highlights in the 56-7 blowout of UTSA, yet his end-zone belly flop celebration was what everyone was talking about Monday.

“Seeing my guy get a pick-six was great, but we definitely need to work on his celebration,” defensive end Barryn Sorrell said.

Others likened him scoring to Adam Sandler’s legendary "Waterboy" character Bobby Boucher, who was easily the biggest hitter in the history of football movie-dom.

What we’re witnessing is a defense having a real blast laying the wood to the opposition. Playmaking is infectious and with the roll Texas has been on to start the season, it’s starting to feel like this Austin avalanche is picking up speed with nonconference play coming to a close Saturday against ULM.

Coach Steve Sarkisian said during his Monday media availability that he can’t remember his team celebrating one another more than he’s witnessed this year, whether it’s with the turnover sword or unique end-zone displays like Burke’s, but the fun is noticeable.

He and defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski are especially happy with how they have reacted in the all-important third-down conversion area. Georgia is the only team better in the nation than the Longhorns' allowed conversion rate of 26.55%. And there’s an obvious uptick in the quality of tackling, particularly in the secondary; Michael Taaffe and LBJ product Andrew Mukuba have been stellar in the open field.

As with most coaches, Sarkisian will continue to harp on takeaways. Texas has six — five interceptions and a fumble recovery — which puts the Horns on pace to come close to what one of the stingiest defenses in program history accomplished back in the day.

“Our whole deal is if we can stop the run and we can minimize the explosive pass plays and then (we can) create turnovers,” he said. "Turnovers get created a lot of different ways: getting pressure on the quarterback, forcing errant throws, sack fumbles, things of that nature, short fields. Those are always areas that you want more of, right? Then any times we can get our hands on the ball, the better.”

Depending on which poll you follow, the Horns are ranked either first or second in the country, but there is very little separating them from the Georgia Bulldogs, who will be venturing into the 512 on Oct. 19. Texas is getting most of its headlines because of an ultra-talented offense and the emergence of young backup quarterback Arch Manning, but let’s not get it twisted.

The Horns are dominating because of a defense that’s taken its share of lumps over the years.

Points are hard to come by against the Horns 

Texas has allowed only 19 points over its first three games, which is the stingiest defense since the 1983 team that was awash in All-Americans such as defensive backs Jerry Gray and Mossy Cade and linebacker Jeff Leiding (RIP).

That team, coached by late Longhorn legend Fred Akers, went 11-1 and would have captured a national title had it beat Georgia in the Cotton Bowl. We all remember Craig Curry’s tragic muffed punt that led to Georgia quarterback John Lastinger scoring late to give his team a 10-9 win, but what is often overlooked is how overpowering the Horns were on that side of the ball that year.

The 9.5 points allowed per game stands as the second stingiest allowance in the modern era, behind only the 1979 club that gave up only 8.2 points per game. Six opponents scored in double digits and only one (Baylor) reached 20 points.

In addition, opposing quarterbacks in 1983 completed a scant 40.2% of their passes. How about allowing only 2.3 yards per rush and 3.3 yards per play? In the takeaway department, the Horns nabbed 13 interceptions and recovered 13 fumbles.

Now the current team has a long way to go to reach that level of dominance, especially with the knowledge that they’re about to take a large step up in competition, but this start in the SEC debut season is promising.

To Texas' credit, what we’re seeing through three games is a historic start. Can they keep it up? Remains to be seen, but even Woodsy the Owl without glasses can see that this is a heavy improvement over the 35th-ranked defense that Washington shredded in the Sugar Bowl eight months ago.

I suspect we won’t learn a whole lot about the Horns in Saturday's game, but it will be interesting to monitor how they continue to deal with the status of being an early title contender.

The leadership and locker room culture has been put in place to ensure Texas doesn’t enter into any contest sleepy. Sarkisian put it best after the UTSA game when he said the Horns aren’t entitled to anything. 

The best teams make their own breaks and it usually starts with the defense. If the Horns continue to play like a bunch of famished dogs jumping up for a juicy steak that’s just out of their reach, complacency won’t be an issue.

There’s a reason Sarkisian and Taaffe still bristle when they think of the 53-yard touchdown run allowed against the Roadrunners, which prevented them from becoming the first team to shut out consecutive opponents since 1982.

“Our standard this year is to not let anybody get in the paint,” Taaffe said. “That's who we are now.”

A team that knows who it is should be comfortable in handling adversity. The Horns aren’t a finished product on defense, but an ascension is happening.

They’re hungry.

 

Edited by LTtxfan
  • Hook 'Em 1
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