Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 4)

[satyanash 15656]

Collecting post-game analysis articles regarding the Texas Tech game here:

(Jeff Howe) Instant Analysis: Texas runs over Texas Tech to open Big 12 play, 70-35

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AUSTIN, Texas — When Roschon Johnson had a 7-yard touchdown run upheld with nine seconds to go in the first of half of Saturday’s 70-35 pounding Texas handed Texas Tech at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, it ended a virtually flawless first half offensively. Casey Thompson quarterbacked the Longhorns to five touchdowns on each of the offense’s five possessions, marking the 21st time over the last 23 drives he’s directed where Texas (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) has been able to get the ball across the goal line.

If there was any doubt remaining after last week’s 58-0 thrashing of Rice that Steve Sarkisian’s months-long journey to find a quarterback ended when Thompson showed tremendous command of the offense in his first career start, Saturday’s rout of the Red Raiders cemented Thompson’s status as QB1. With the right triggerman in place, Sarkisian’s offense clicked on all cylinders in the first half and didn’t let up with the Longhorns gutting Texas Tech (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) to the tune of 639 yards (8.5 yards per play) as Sarkisian avoided joining Ed Price (1951) and Mack Brown (1998) as the only first-year Texas head coach to lose their conference opener.

Thanks to a defense that scored its first touchdown of the season on a second-quarter pick-six by Josh Thompson (a 27-yard runback that made it a 28-7 game in favor of the Longhorns), Sarkisian has the Longhorns off to only the program’s second 3-1 start since opening the 2012 season with a 4-0 record. The only other time that’s happened was in 2018 when Tom Herman’s second squad won six in a row after suffering a season-opening loss to Maryland and while tough tests with TCU and Oklahoma await, Sarkisian’s club played like one capable of factoring into the Big 12 title picture the way Texas did three seasons ago.

— Let’s start with Casey Thompson, who other than throwing an interception on a third-quarter heave to the end zone enjoyed his finest outing as a Longhorn. Thompson’s ability to hang in the pocket, step and find an open receiver was evident all day and showed off his poise and patience, two things the offense lacked in spades in the loss to Arkansas two weeks ago. The fact that Thompson can make plays like he did in the first quarter when he pulled the ball down and gained on third-and-7 from the Texas Tech 21-yard line.

— Even when Thompson missed the mark, those around him stepped up and made plays. There was no better example of this than on a third-and-6 from the Texas Tech 35 in the second quarter. It looked like Thompson was trying to hit Joshua Moore on a crossing route over the middle of the field, but a pass that sailed over Moore’s hands found Jordan Whittington in a tight window to move the sticks. The 25-yard gain set up Johnson’s aforementioned touchdown right before halftime.

— Whittington had two catches on the opening drive after finishing the Rice game with only one reception, a sign that Sarkisian wanted to get one of the offense’s proven commodities involved early and often. With that said, Xavier Worthy was the star of the day offense, scoring three touchdowns and piling up 100 yards on five receptions. After scoring on two well-designed plays, he broke two tackles in the middle of the field and delivered a demoralizing blow to the Texas Tech defense with a 62-yard catch-and-run for six that put the Longhorns over the 60-point mark by the end of the third quarter.

— Worthy’s touchdown was part of a string of scores where the Longhorns answered some explosive scores by the Red Raiders in the second half. Henry Colombi replaced an injured Tyler Shough in the second quarter and he did his best to help Texas Tech make the game respectable by throwing some haymakers through the air after halftime — a 69-yard bomb to Loic Fouonji down the Texas sideline where Brenden Schooler leveled D’Shawn Jamison trying to help over the top and a 75-yard strike to Kaylon Geiger.

— There were two problems with Colombi’s failed rally. First, the decision by Matt Wells in the second quarter to go for it on fourth-and-6 from his own 40-yard line took his team out of it after Jacoby Jones blew up the play to force an incompletion. Thompson needed only 2:30 and six plays to put points on the board, which he did with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Worthy. Second, a 3-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Worthy ended a 6-play, 87-yard drive after the Fouonji score while the aforementioned 62-yard scoring connection came on the heels of the Geiger touchdown. Credit the Longhorns for keeping their foot on the gas in the second to keep a big lead intact, something that failed to happen far too often under the previous regime.

— After hearing throughout the week that they haven’t made enough plays through the first three games, the defensive line stepped up had its best collective game of the 2021 season on Saturday. Alfred Collins had a first-quarter tackle for loss on a third down and third-down sack in the second quarter on a play where Pete Kwiatkowski stacked three defenders over the ball. Moro Ojomo got the day started with a third-down pressure of Shough to end Texas Tech’s first possession while Jones and Barryn Sorrell each had fourth-down stops throughout the game.

(Joe Cook) Recap: Texas Longhorns 70, Texas Tech Red Raiders 35

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The only thing Texas Tech won was the coin toss. The Texas Longhorns scored five touchdowns on its first five drives, and added a sixth first-half score on a pick-six courtesy of Josh Thompson. At halftime, it was 42-14. After 60 minutes, it was 70-35. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian went to Bijan Robinson early and often. Texas moved into Red Raider territory, and similar to last week, had to convert a fourth-down on the opening drive. Texas picked it and six points up when Casey Thompson found Robinson on a wheel route for a 38-yard score.

The first offensive drive for the Red Raiders made some progress down the field, but Moro Ojomo helped snuff out Sonny Cumbie’s offense and sent them to the sideline. The Longhorns took over and marched down the field, boosted by a 22-yard pass from Thompson to Marcus Washington. Roschon Johnson ran it inside the 10, Thompson to the five, and Johnson to the end zone to make it 14-0.

Red Raider quarterback Tyler Shough did his best to keep his team in the game, but Tech was forced to punt the ball away. Keilan Robinson blocked his second punt in as many weeks and Morice Blackwell brought it to the end zone, but Robinson lined up in the neutral zone and was ruled offsides. On the ensuing 4th-and-short for Tech, Shough found the tight end for the conversion and kept moving the ball. Facing 3rd-and-goal later in the drive, Shough kept the ball, eluded BJ Foster, then dove into the end zone to make it a 14-7 game.

When Thompson and ten other Longhorns took the field in response, they moved down like they had in their other two drives. Using an unbalanced formation and faced with another fouth down, Johnson converted to keep the Texas drive alive near midfield. Thompson maneuvered the offense to the one-yard-line, then added another rushing touchdown with a sneak for the score. It capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive that wore down the Red Raider defensive front that entered the game as one of the top run-stuffing units in the country.

Red Raider head coach Matt Wells, offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie, and the Tech offense tried to revert to its historic, pass-happy DNA in response and it ended up costing them. On a pass intended for Erik Ezukanma, Josh Thompson intercepted it and returned it to the end zone on the first play of the drive to make it 28-7. When the Texas Tech offense returned, backup quarterback Henry Colombi took the field instead of Shough, who made his way to the locker room. Colombi picked up one first down, then flailed on the Red Raiders’ desperate fourth-down attempt on their own side of the field.

Texas took over on the Tech 40, and moved down the field into a 3rd-and-5 situation. Casey Thompson dropped back and lofted an excellent throw to Xavier Worthy, who brought in the 23-yard pass for six more points. Down 35-7, Tech didn’t totally give up on the half. They moved down the field thanks to a big run from SaRodorick Thompson, then Colombi found Myles Price downfield for a 40-yard touchdown pass. Again, Foster was in coverage and couldn’t make the play.

With 3:31 left in the half, Texas took over and, as they did every other drive, moved down the field. Some luck was involved as a Casey Thompson pass intended for Joshua Moore sailed over No. 6, but found the waiting hands of Jordan Whittington. With the clock at 15 seconds, Roschon Johnson took a direct snap and rumbled home for a seven-yard score, making it 42-14 at half.

The Longhorns and Red Raiders traded interceptions after halftime, with Thompson’s pick coming on a ball intended for Whittington in the end zone. Texas Tech couldn’t move forward, and actually moved nearly 20 yards backward thanks to holding penalties and sacks, including one via a unique formation where Texas defenders lined up in an I-formation of sorts. Alfred Collins recorded the sack, and Tech had to punt. Jamison fielded it and returned it 42 yards to the Red Raider seven.

Bijan Robinson took the first carry of the series to get it to the five. On the next play, Thompson flipped a pass a few feet forward to Whittington, who reached the end zone to make it 49-14. The Red Raiders did not take long to respond. On the third play of the ensuing drive, Colombi found Loic Fouonji for a 69-yard score. Jamison forced him out of bounds, but Fouonji re-established himself inbounds and hauled in the pass before running untouched to the end zone.

Texas faced a 3rd-and-long on the following chance after Robinson fumbled a ball out of bounds. Thompson found Whittington again, and he scampered 36 yards to pick up the first and move into TTU territory. The next play, Robinson found space and moved Texas into the red zone with a 33-yard rush. Johnson moved Texas to the three, then Thompson found Worthy for a three-yard touchdown pass to help Texas eclipse the 50-point mark.

Though down 35 points, Tech did not go away without effort. On the first play from scrimmage following Worthy’s score, Colombi found Kaylon Geiger for a 75-yard touchdown pass to make it 56-28 with 5:02 left in the third. The quick turnaround was the worst thing possible for the Red Raider defense. After two quick passes for a first down, Thompson found Worthy over the middle. Worthy spun out of two tackles before turning on the jets and finding the end zone for a 62-yard score and Thompson’s fifth touchdown pass.

Texas Tech drove into Longhorn territory with a few Colombi passes, but faced a fourth down. True freshman Barryn Sorrell brought Thompson down in the backfield to give the ball back to the Longhorns. The 35-point margin at the end of the third quarter was enough for Sarkisian to place Hudson Card in the game at quarterback. A fresh Keilan Robinson ran through and around the Red Raider defense on the drive, which culminated in a score from the Alabama transfer to make it 70-28.

Second-string Longhorns at several positions filtered onto the field as Texas Tech began its first drive of the fourth quarter. The Red Raiders put together a 14-play drive that included a 4th-and-14 conversion to the Texas two-yard line. Colombi ran it in two plays later to make it 70-35. Texas was happy to take its time on the next drive with heavy doses of Keilan Robinson and Jonathon Brooks to run clock. True freshman Charles Wright even made it into the game. The Longhorn run game milked most of the remaining 6:40 on the clock before Texas Tech ran a couple of plays to extinguish the clock.

(Gerald Goodridge) Live Reaction: Texas blasts Texas Tech

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The Texas Longhorns did something they haven’t done since 2005 — scoring 70 on an opponent. From the opening gun, the Longhorns’ offense was efficient, scoring touchdowns on nine of their first 10 possessions. Texas continues to try to prove that the offensive performance against Arkansas was the exception and not the rule. Casey Thompson finished the game with 303 yards and five touchdowns on 18 competitions before coming out of the game late in the third quarter.

Star running back Bijan Robinson also got some early rest, finishing the game with 191 total yards and a touchdown on 20 touches. The effort to get Xavier Worthy involved continued Saturday as well, racking up 100 yards on five receptions and three scores. Now Texas heads into the second week of conference play to take on the TCU Horned Frogs, who are coming off of a tough game against their crosstown rival, the SMU Mustangs.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=2980148002232983

 

[satyanash 15656]

(Ian Boyd) Five quick thoughts: Texas trucks Tech

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Texas completely obliterated Texas Tech to open Big 12 play. It’s hard to put a more savage beating on a team and it was punctuated by an “unsportsmanlike” penalty when Brenden Schooler stood up a Tech back at the goal line late in the game before body slamming him to the turf. Not a particularly smart play, nor useful to the cause, but definitely illustrative of what sort of game unfolded in DKR. Texas 70, Texas Tech 35.

The Longhorns picked up where they left off against Rice, running the ball 52 times for 336 yards at 6.5 ypc. It was pretty clear early in the game the Red Raiders were in for a beating when the Longhorns responded to the first Tech score to make it 14-7 with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in which they didn’t complete a single pass and finished with a quarterback sneak by Casey Thompson. The game was 21-7 and it was clear the Tech defense wasn’t going to allow the offense to make a game of it.

Quick thought no. 1: The Tech D-line was not up for this

“I saw miles and miles of Texas” -Bijan Robinson, probably. Asleep at the Wheel performed at halftime. I wasn’t there but I’ve been there before when they performed and have a good guess as to what they sang. They should have had some of Texas’ players up there singing as well because “miles and miles of Texas” is exactly what they saw when Steve Sarkisian would call a running play.

Texas maintained the emphasis on the zone running game they established against Rice and absolutely rolled over Tech’s fronts and run blitzes. The outside zone game was a near automatic gain, regardless of the back in the game, although Bijan was his usual dominant self. 18 carries for 137 yards at 7.6 ypc with another two catches for 54 yards and a score. They hit him wide open on the “mesh” play again, once again utilizing motion (Jordan Whittington swept across the formation) to confuse the Tech linebackers.

When Texas wanted or needed to throw the ball, it was easy to buy loads of time for Casey Thompson in the pocket. The Red Raider D-line could get zero push and their blitzing linebackers could do nothing to improve the situation. The number of times Thompson was able to hitch up in the pocket and hit a receiver running open over the middle was probably enough to seal the fate of this Red Raider coaching staff. Their replacements are going to need a D-line though if they want anything to change.

Quick thought no. 2: Texas dominated with play-calling

Texas had a number of great offensive play-calls in this game. They got the ball to Xavier Worthy on some play-action, some sweeps, and an RPO off split zone on the goal line. They also hit Jordan Whittington slicing across the formation from an H-back alignment on a pass/sweep to break tendency again on split zone and score. They put Hayden Conner in a #49 jersey and utilized some unbalanced formations with extra linemen over to run outside zone at tempo over the helpless Raiders. Sark brought back the quarterback outside zone play Sam Ehlinger used to score on all the time from an unbalanced formation and ran it for Roschon Johnson and scored another touchdown.

This staff clearly doesn’t struggle to draw up creative designs from week to week to either break tendency or target opponents. It’s a dimension Texas hasn’t really had (certainly not at this level) in an offensively-driven league for the last decade. It hardly would have mattered how Tech played on offense, Texas had their number when the ball was in Longhorn possession.

Quick thought no. 3: Some spread-stopping looks from Texas

Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense had a pretty good day, up until deeper in the second half. Two sacks, two interceptions, a defensive touchdown, and they held the Tech run game to 3.9 ypc over 33 carries. The spread run game is the strength of this Tech offense and without it they struggle to set up the rest of their offense. Texas Tech did most of their damage on a pair of fade routes thrown on D’Shawn Jamison, back to back, the former of which included Jamison getting taken out of pursuit by Brenden Schooler flying in for the hit.

Aside from those admittedly bad errors, Texas ended up playing a lot of conservative looks in this game designed to play “bend don’t break” and force the Red Raiders to drive the length of the field running inside. They played some tite front and dropped eight into coverage, they played plenty of quarters, and they mixed in one of PK’s favorite Leach-beaters on this play:

It’s Cover 3 cloud, the field corner plays the flat while the safeties rotate so the field safety is the field deep 1/3 defender, the boundary safety takes the middle, and the other corner is deep.  Thompson took advantage to bait the throw, watch him go downhill on what he already knows is coming. If not for the beats on the deep throws, Texas would have had a good day on defense. As far as the deep touchdowns go, Darion Dunn got a lot of snaps in the wake of the second score and played well. His place on the depth chart might need to be monitored from here on out.

Quick thought no. 4: Xavier Worthy is the deep threat

One of the most important questions for this team is how they’d protect Bijan Robinson and the run game. Sark has his obvious preference, which is dialing up play-action shots with receivers running double moves and switch routes. To really make those work properly, you need at least one truly good deep threat receiver. There’s a few ways to get open deep but the most reliable method is to be exceptionally fast, like Xavier Worthy.

Sark obviously sees Worthy as more than just a deep threat, involving him in this game on a few different play designs, but he’s certainly not less than a deep threat. Texas had him running open down the field several times in this game and were able to draw a penalty on one target and hit him in the end zone on a fade another time. It appeared Sark made this decision after the Arkansas debacle with several intentional targets for the freshman. Now he’s getting treated like a featured star.

Five catches, 100 yards, and three touchdowns in this contest. If Texas is able to make the Big 12 Champoinship Game, Sark’s success in backloading the 2021 class with Xavier Worthy will have been a primary reason for the success.

Quick thought no. 5: Alfred Collins and the D-line emerge

Alfred Collins got more run in this game and made two tackles, both behind the line of scrimmage and one of them on the quarterback. Texas unveiled a fun pass-rushing set with three defensive linemen stacked behind each other before sending all three careening into the line of scrimmage at screened angles. It’s just a fun, passing downs set but Alfred Collins benefited from the chance to get a few steps of momentum before blowing by Tech’s left guard for a sack. Definitely a positive sign the staff has some plans to make the most of his athleticism.

Overall Texas’ defensive line was much improved again and allowed the defense to stop the run while playing a lot of two-deep coverages throughout the game. They still need to develop more pass-rushing across the unit, they currently have some run-stoppers and some pass-rushers and they mix and match. Ovie Oghoufo is the top edge rusher, Ray Thornton and Jacoby Jones are better in the run game. Nevertheless, a solid day for the Longhorn front and DeMarvion Overshown lead the team in tackles.

(Bobby Burton) Snap Judgements: The Offense

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Any question whether this offense would regress to mean after demolishing Rice was eliminated quickly. For the second straight week, the Horns’ O absolutely dominated from start to finish. Today, Texas scored nine offensive TDs. And, yet again, they did it cleanly. They ran the ball well and threw it efficiently. Don’t look now, but the ultra-rare combination of explosiveness and consistency has reared its head with the Texas offense. Not since Colt McCoy was playing QB has the Texas offense looked this good in consecutive games, no matter the opponent.

**

While Casey Thompson certainly deserves a lot of credit for today’s win, so, too, does Bijan Robinson. Robinson’s touchdown catch in the first quarter was freaky. He literally left the defender grasping for air and rode out.

**

Outside of a third-quarter interception, Thompson played brilliantly. He not only made accurate short throws but also stepped up well in the pocket and was clearly aware of down and distance at all times. Thompson, for only his third start, played more like a veteran.

**

If not for all of the scoring that came later, Keilan Robinson’s offside penalty could have changed the game. The penalty was truly a 14-point play.

**

Xavier Worthy is becoming a weapon everywhere on the field. Underneath, over the top and in the flat, Worthy is a officially a prime target.

**

Of course, it’s not all sunshine and roses. While the Texas defensive front handled the Tech run game with relative ease, the Texas secondary looked like Keystone Cops in the second half. Safety play was abysmal and D’Shawn Jamison was beat deep multiple times. All told, Tech finished with more than 500 yards of total offense. Unless the secondary gets better as the season wears on, the Horns are going to have to win some shootouts.

**

My game ball goes to the Texas offensive line. They stoned the Tech defensive front. And as much as anything, that was the story of the game.

**

The Horns travel to Fort Worth next Saturday, where one major question must be answered: Can the Horns O continue to play at the same level?

 

[taybo20 3042]

Didn’t read any of these yet, but fuck Ian Boyd 

[formermav43 4631]

2 minutes ago, taybo20 said:

Didn’t read any of these yet, but fuck Ian Boyd 

To his credit, he’s the only one of those initial articles to give the OL the credit they deserve in this one (except the very end of the last one). 

That was easily the story of this game.

[satyanash 15656]

Cody Daniel: Initial thoughts from Texas’ 70-35 win over Texas Tech

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The Texas Longhorns (3-1, 1-0) had very few issues on Saturday, dismantling the Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-1, 0-1), 70-35, to begin Big 12 play. Here’s a few initial thoughts from Texas’ third blowout win of the season.

Bijan Robinson needs to be on Heisman boards. Through four games, Robinson’s produced three 100-yard games and 436 yards and four touchdowns, and that’s only on the ground. Often utilized is a receiver in Sark’s offense, he’s also grabbed eight passes for 145 yards and another two touchdowns, totaling 581 yards and six touchdowns from scrimmage. And the only reason his numbers aren’t even better is because he’s helped Texas cruise to three blowout wins, offering additional touches to Roschon Johnson and the rest of the running back room. He probably wouldn’t win it, but at this rate, Robinson absolutely deserves to be mentioned as a Heisman candidate.

Casey Thompson is QB1. At this point, it’s safe to assume he’s not just the named starter in an ongoing competition, but rather, he is Texas’ quarterback. And for good reason. As Sarkisian said, the ball just seems to move with Thompson behind center, and that proved true yet again against TTU. Save for an early third-quarter interception when he tried to make something out of nothing, Thompson led Texas to touchdowns on eight of nine drives. For those who are counting, that makes it 24 Texas scores — including 22 touchdowns — in 27 drives dating back to the Alamo Bowl. It seems Texas has its quarterback.

Xavier Worthy is quickly becoming a star. The true freshman entered the game as the Longhorns leading receiver, and added to that with his first 100-yard performance. More notably, three of his five receptions went for touchdowns, including an impressive grab at the back of the end zone in which Worthy displayed great awareness and body control, and a 62-yard catch and run that saw him shed multiple tackles before running away from the defense. He’s now up to 246 yards and four touchdowns this year, and seemingly getting better each time out.

Steve Sarkisian absolutely uses his weapons. Of course, Bijan is the primary weapon, and he used him accordingly with 23 touches for 191 yards and a touchdown. Worthy, as noted, excelled on Saturday, as did Roschon Johnson, who turned his 13 carries into 64 yards and two touchdowns. Collectively, six Longhorns scored on offense — Thompson, Robinson, Worthy, Johnson, Jordan Whittington and Keilan Robinson. If the offensive line continues to improve, this offense could become deadly as the it evolves and players develop. Texas’ offense finished with nine touchdowns, 639 yards of offense — 303 passing and 336 rushing — and moved the chains on 10-of-14 third downs.

The offensive line was much improved. After an underwhelming first three weeks, which saw the Longhorns offensive line struggle to create running lanes and provide ample time in pass protection, Kyle Flood’s group put together a much more notable performance on Saturday. Thompson had plenty of time to operate on nearly every drop-back, and Bijan and the running backs enjoyed more than a few open lanes to run through. If this group is turning a corner under Flood, the Longhorns offense will be much better for it.

The secondary might be an area of concern going forward. After hardly being tested throughout the first three weeks on the season, the Longhorns secondary got torched on Saturday, and almost singlehandedly allowed the Red Raiders to maintain a sliver of hope. BJ Foster took a poor angle and got beat for a 40-yard touchdown, and D’Shawn Jamison got beat down the sideline twice, leading to two scores of 69 and 75 yards. There were a few bright spots, such as Josh Thompson’s pick-6, but all told, sacrificing nearly 400 yards through the air is never a good thing.

Maybe the Arkansas game was an anomaly. Texas got blasted in Fayetteville, and there’s several things that went into that. But otherwise, the Longhorns have looked really good in their three other contests. The offensive line has looked improved since then, the quarterback position is resolved, the offense as a unit is on fire, and aside from the noted need to address some struggles in the secondary, the defense is swarming. It felt like the sky might have been falling that night in Fayetteville, but outside of that, Texas has absolutely looked like a team that’s going to be a factor in the Big 12 title race. We’ll know just how much of a factor they’ll be in the next two weeks.

 

[Codaxx 6272]

1 hour ago, formermav43 said:

To his credit, he’s the only one of those initial articles to give the OL the credit they deserve in this one (except the very end of the last one). 

That was easily the story of this game.

Doesn’t sell to say the OL dominated and was the story of the day. Offense is easy when you run the ball and protect the QB. 

[formermav43 4631]

Just now, Codaxx said:

Doesn’t sell to say the OL dominated and was the story of the day. Offense is easy when you run the ball and protect the QB. 

I texted my brother at halftime (who is a high school OL coach and so was working this morning) and told him if he got a chance, he should watch it later today because he’d appreciate it so much. I won’t make any longterm projections, because it’s just one game and they’ve ranged from mediocre to cover-your-eyes awful the 3 weeks prior. But today was the best OL performance I can recall in years-maybe since 2013, off the top of my head. 

[Codaxx 6272]

9 minutes ago, formermav43 said:

I texted my brother at halftime (who is a high school OL coach and so was working this morning) and told him if he got a chance, he should watch it later today because he’d appreciate it so much. I won’t make any longterm projections, because it’s just one game and they’ve ranged from mediocre to cover-your-eyes awful the 3 weeks prior. But today was the best OL performance I can recall in years-maybe since 2013, off the top of my head. 

I think Texas has run for 750+ yards the last 2 games. I am not saying that is sustainable, but damn 

[honolulu horn 6240]

5 minutes ago, Codaxx said:

I think Texas has run for 750+ yards the last 2 games. I am not saying that is sustainable, but damn 

Is that good? That seems good. 

[formermav43 4631]

26 minutes ago, Codaxx said:

I think Texas has run for 750+ yards the last 2 games. I am not saying that is sustainable, but damn 

The difference today was the pass pro was also excellent.

[Sal 1108]

47 minutes ago, formermav43 said:

I texted my brother at halftime (who is a high school OL coach and so was working this morning) and told him if he got a chance, he should watch it later today because he’d appreciate it so much. I won’t make any longterm projections, because it’s just one game and they’ve ranged from mediocre to cover-your-eyes awful the 3 weeks prior. But today was the best OL performance I can recall in years-maybe since 2013, off the top of my head. 

From my perspective at the game, it looked like the vast majority of runs were outside zone, which is definitely the analytical strength of the OL.

Edited September 25, 2021 by Sal

[Wulaw Horn 19599]

3 hours ago, Sal said:

From my perspective at the game, it looked like the vast majority of runs were outside zone, which is definitely the analytical strength of the OL.

The staff didn’t want to be an OZ team. We went to that. I like what that says about the staff. 

[ClubWhatever 12324]

I don’t think they are really that much better blockers with OZ I just think Bijan can cut like a mofo

[Sal 1108]

20 minutes ago, ClubWhatever said:

I don’t think they are really that much better blockers with OZ I just think Bijan can cut like a mofo

Bijan and the RBs make them look a lot better, but the OL play was also better today (esp. at OZ).

[GreenspointTexas 9991]

Even if Thompson didnt actually pass the ball every time he dropped back, and took off running instead, he could have gotten 6-7 yards every time, easy. It was truly an incredible offensive performance

[satyanash 15656]

(Hudson Standish) Texas blasts Tech; Three stats that highlight 70-35 drubbing

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Boy, these advanced metrics/stats articles sure are more fun to write after a Texas victory. Let’s celebrate the dub and dig into the data.

Texas offense early down success

Heading into this game Texas ranked 106th in the country in “Early down efficiency.” The Horns reversed that trend today, with 18.35 Expected Points Added on early downs. Texas had their best early-down run success rate of the season as well. With 21 of their 36 early-down runs being deemed successful (EPA > 0.)

EPA Report: Texas 39.68 Texas Tech 16.58

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Texas absolutely dominated the Red Raiders in every facet of the game, save some 2nd half Tech passing success. Texas averaged 0.96 EPA/dropback and 0.36 EPA/carry, consistently getting whatever they wanted against a supposedly improved Texas Tech defense. I think “Win probability added” nailed the two most important plays of the game, both with an EPA of 6.36. Bijan Robinson’s 38-yard TD catch and run gained 6.36 EPA and led the way with a 16.1 WPA%.

Josh Thompson’s pick-six had the same EPA and a WPA% of 5.6.

Texas Tech’s horrid rushing attack

In my advanced metrics preview, I had this to say about Texas Tech’s rushing attack.

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    “Against Houston and FIU the Red Raider rushing attack generated only 1.91 OL Line yards per carry. A mark that would rank second to last in the Big12 in 2020. Neither game featured a fully  healthy SaRodrick Thompson, but it didn’t seem to matter for Tech as the skill players combined to put up over 100 “highlight rushing yards” in each game. My takeaway from Tech’s poor OL line yards but outstanding highlight rushing numbers is that Tech rushers have been able to feast on G5 defenders at the second and third level in the open field to hide what might be an inefficient rushing attack.”

That hypothesis played out for 4 quarters as the Horns held Texas Tech to 98 yards on 3.1 YPC before garbage-time. The Texas Tech OL continued to struggle to get any sort of push up front, only registering 1.48 “OL Line Yards” per carry. SaRodorick Thompson especially struggled in his return to action, averaging -0.48 EPA/carry with a 29% success rate. While Texas still has plenty to clean up on the defensive side of the ball, the defensive line handling business against an inferior trench unit is an encouraging sign moving forward.

 

[satyanash 15656]

(Scipio Tex) 2021 Texas-Texas Tech Postmortem: Defense/Special Teams

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Let's eat our vegetables first. Then we can enjoy the steak and dessert of the Longhorn offense.

In my preview, I sold this matchup as the first real test of the Longhorn secondary. There were a few plays where Texas tried to fill in test questions with a crayon. Or ate the crayon and denied having received a writing implement. Or drew a picture with some puffy clouds and a tree. In some schools of study, that will earn you a doctorate, but on college football Saturday, those are typically not A efforts.

While the Texas defense didn't quite play up to the standard of the Longhorn offense in the 70-35 slaughter of the Red Raiders, there was some good stuff as well. Texas was solid against the Red Raider running game, limiting them to 3.9 yards per carry collectively and with Tajh Brooks out, held their #1 runner Sa'Rodorick Thompson to 3.4 yards per carry. They also did a good job of shutting down Tech #1 receiver Erik Ezukanma. He totaled only 56 yards on 10 targets and 7 receptions. His longest catch of the game went for 18 yards. Non-factor.

Unfortunately, the rest of the Red Raider supporting cast went off on Texas. Backup QB Henry Colombi came in for the slower processing Tyler Shough (68 yards on 11 attempts) and he had a career day, going 17 of 23 for 324 yards and 3 touchdowns. His willingness to let it rip and generally play with house money freed the Texas Tech supporting cast and they punished the Horns repeatedly on deep balls.

Tech gained over 500 yards at 7.8 yards per play, which is how the numbers will pencil out when the secondary gives up throws of 75, 69, 40 and 38 yards. Not exactly keeping the ball in front of you. The three longest plays came on pretty much the same route concepts (Jamison got the brunt of two of them, Foster was late over on the other) and all three went for touchdowns. The fourth by a scrambling Colombi was just a great throw on a late coverage bust. We can rationalize those plays as a loss of intensity with Texas leading 35-7 early and a five touchdown final margin, but good teams don't really do that and it shouldn't matter to a prideful defense if the Texas offense has 17 or 70 on the board. If it happens once, it's a wake up. If it happens three or four times?

There's plenty of room to grow for the Longhorns on defense and part of that is already materializing with shifting rotations and new faces earning more playing time. Let's see if this game sparks a line-up move or two.

DL

Texas experimented with some different pass rushing personnel packages and worked Alfred Collins and Barryn Sorrell more into the rotation. The most amusing experiment came when Pete decided to have the Texas DL run the Veer.

That Collins sack off of the stack formation shouldn't surprise us. That formation and the down and distance allows him to just be an athlete and get after the passer. It's the more conventional assignment piece that he's been struggling with. He also had a nice tackle for loss where he outquicked a guy, but on more mundane downs he's still working to find his legs. The coaches are clearly making an effort to engage him though.

Moro Ojomo had a terrific early series where he strung together a tackle for loss and then a big pressure on 3rd down coming off of the edge in a pressure package where he disrupted an open Tech screen on 3rd and 9. He got dinged for an offsides later, but he's been our best DL through four games. Freshman Barryn Sorrell got heavy reps and finished with 5 tackles (led the DL) and a tackle for loss. #88 has motor and energy and the coaches are rewarding that. Great recruiting find.

Jacoby Jones played physically lining up inside and outside and had a nice QB hit, collapsing the pocket on a 3 man rush on 4th down. Excellent effort. T'vondre Sweat clearly has the nod over Coburn inside and he notched 3 tackles, though Coburn continues to start. If you can find Coburn on the field or in the box score, you're working hard. Ray Thornton is physical and I appreciate that, but #46 has to work on his get off. You know who has get off? Ovie Oghuofo. You know who didn't do much on Saturday? Oghoufo.

LB

Overshown led the team with 9 tackles and made some great plays in space, largely in pursuit. I also want to show you some bad Demarvion, which will help you understand some of the success teams are having running inside and why Texas can be poor at the point of attack.

Skip to 0:29 in:

#0 stands, watches, and gets pancaked by a Tech TE spectating on a very straightforward inside run. What he's doing here defies a lot of the basic rules of linebacking. Overshown has to fire on this more quickly and use his quickness. That should be a 1-2 yard run. He should not be getting reached and pancaked by a freaking tight end lined up outside of him. (FWIW, you also see the consistency issues with Collins on this play - watch him get washed out)

Brockermeyer had a great opportunistic interception grab that he brought deep into Tech territory and was otherwise active. Like Overshown, he's watching a little too much on some inside runs. He had a very similar clip to Overshown on another Thompson run where he was also caught looking. Both of these guys are finesse linebackers and must play accordingly. Trust the keys and fire in there. Jaylan Ford notched 4 tackles in relief and that's the most I've seen of Devin Richardson to date.

DB

First, let's start with the awesome.

Terrific job by Josh Thompson. This is the best example of what's possible in PK's scheme. Thompson is in off coverage, suggests he's going to outright bail, lulls the QB into an automatic throw, and attacks the ball right through the receiver. Pick 6. He also added 5 tackles and his only hickey was missing an early tackle on Ezukanma, who is, in fairness, a very strong receiver.

I also want to praise the Andrej Karic of the CB group - Darion Dunn. Every time he's on the screen, I see him doing something physical and nasty.  He had 4 tackles and brought willing, violent contact on multiple plays. My notes have repeated "Good tackle, Dunn" and "Dunn is violent" liberally scrawled all over them. Nothing but praise for Anthony Cook. Straight up football player. 6 tackles and even when he makes an error, it's done full speed with immediate recovery.

Then there's the crayon portion of the test:

Watch both clips. In the first, Jamison does a great job of riding the receiver out and then lets up almost as if he doesn't understand the receiver eligibility rules. Then Schooler comes over the top with the "assist." He hits Jamison and frees the Tech receiver for a TD. This is...not good. On the other side of the field, Jamison gets victimized again on the same concept. Zero safety help and Jamison doesn't play the coverage as if he knows whether he has any or not. Colombi knew where he was throwing the ball on both of those plays before the snap hit his hand.

BJ Foster also had a rough outing, giving up the inside on Tyler Shough's TD run and then showing up late a couple of times on Tech throws. Was it on him entirely? I can't tell, but I know his depth and reaction to the ball in the air isn't good enough. Schooler did have a great physical tackle that was flagged on the goal line and I have no idea why. The "slam" happened in the natural course of the tackle.

Adimora had a late sack on a hard blitz and Jerrin Thompson added 4 tackles. I expected to see more of Admiroa and I still wonder if he has a role for us at safety at some future date. Jerrin got caught with a bad angle or two supporting the run, but sometimes backs spring out of the scrum pretty quickly.

Special Teams

Keilan Robinson had another impressive block that would've made it 21-0, but he was a shade into the neutral zone and that helped create a new set of Tech downs that ultimately led to a Raider score. Learning point there, but Banks needs to keep bringing it when he sees shoddy protection. At no time does he coach guys to line up (barely) in the neutral zone and it's pretty clear that Robinson has a real knack for this role. Let's not back off of our aggression here.

One reason is that punt teams that are overly concerned about the block will set up max protect and will be slower to actually cover punts. To that point, later in the game, Tech had to punt from deep in their end zone. Instead of predictably going for the block against Tech's max protect punt, Banks set up the return for Jamison who had an easy 43 yard scamper up the sideline. Texas started with the ball on the Tech 7. Two plays later - touchdown. Texas 49-14.

Jamison took out a couple of kick offs that he probably wouldn't have tried to return in a competitive game, but I'm sure the coaches will have a word with him about that. Dicker kicked off 11 times (!!!!) and 8 of them went for touchbacks.

Final

The defense made some big plays, but I'm a little disappointed that they weren't able to turn the big Texas lead into better play or even passable pass coverage efforts as Tech had to play predictable catch up. Texas is still figuring out its rotations and personnel in some spots and now with conference play under way there's now an imperative to coach the coachable or get the next man ready.

 

[satyanash 15656]

(Scipio Tex) 2021 Texas-Texas Tech Postmortem: Offense

Quote

This just in... Bijan Robinson has now slaughtered more people in space than the entire Alien franchise.

The Longhorn offense also murdered Texas Tech in space, up close, and everywhere else, turning 11 offensive possessions into 9 touchdowns. This is how you want Texas offensive drive charts to look:

10-75-TD
9-80-TD
12-75-TD
6-40-TD
9-84-TD
3--5-INT (Bench Casey Thompson!)
2-7-TD
6-87-TD
3-75-TD
6-60-TD
9-46-Downs

Texas ran 75 plays for 639 yards at 8.5 yards per play and put 63 on the board (7 were from Josh Thompson). Once again, Texas found its footing in the ground game, relentlessly running outside zone until Tech tried to adjust and then the entire running game repertoire opened up for 336 yards. The Texas offensive line and running backs are pretty good at outside zone. WHO KNEW?

Steve Sarkisian was all over Tech DC Keith Patterson's junk defenses early, burned him badly (see the Bijan flat touchdown toss), and when Patterson called off the dogs into tepid 3 man rushes and bad zones, Tech was reduced to read n' react without the athleticism to the do the important "react" part of the equation. Texas put Tech on islands and the better athletes won.

Finally, it's strange to consider that while the Longhorn passing game was hyper efficient and Texas receivers compiled more YAC than a Tibetan ox cart, Texas missed on several open deep throws that would have gone for single play scores. Thompson might have had a 400 yard day. The Horns have got to hit those for the whole offensive ecosystem to truly flourish against better defenses.

OL

I'm starting with the much criticized big guys up front. They dominated. Great game. Pockets in the passing game were nearly flawless (Thompson's only sack came when he mishandled a play action fake and fell on the fumble), #11 had all day to throw, and even when he moved off of his spot, it was to step up into a wide open window or as a covered Tech defender went by. That's not pressure. That's just moving from a good pocket to a better one. Two observations:

The Texas OL did a much better job of maintaining cohesion inside (no turned shoulders or guards bailing out on Jake Majors) and on the exterior the tackles are allowing defenders determined to sprint up field to go right past Thompson while they provide a helpful push and maintain contact. Kerstetter is particularly good at this. This served as the Windex on Casey's passing windows.

In the run game, Texas pounded outside zone like the coaches told them this was going to be our first 10 scripted runs. It turned out well. As they gain facility in running it, they will start to realize (again) that it's the most flexible running play in football. Being able to run OZ opens up every other run in the repertoire as defenders start to worry more about occupying blockers and their relation to their gap and the depth and path of the ballcarrier than playmaking and attacking the offense. Thinking, reflective defenses are generally faltering defenses and well run OZ introduces a lot of doubt to defenders at every level.

Okafor had an early holding call and Jones drew another in the second half on a Thompson scramble, but that's the the extent of the malfeasance list for the OL. Every Texas guy whipped the guy in front of him on most downs. Energy was great, pad level was better, physicality was markedly improved. Tech's DL stinks, but the Raider LBs don't, and Texas generally clowned them. Tech had only 3 tackles for loss (had been averaging 8+ per game) and one of those was Casey Thompson sacking himself with a fumbled snap.

Watch (correction: Tope Imade) #67 on the right side on this Robinson 3rd and 1 run. Skip to 10:21:

RB

In every Bijan clip where he breaks someone's ankles, I like to imagine the defender saying,"Noooooooooooooooo" in the distorted whistleblower voice in 60 Minutes interviews. Robinson finished with 18 carries for 137 yards and 2 catches for 54 yards and a 39 yard touchdown. If Texas wanted, he could have had a 280+ total yard game, but there are other mouths to feed and other games to play. Also, I don't think #5 cares. The myriad ways he can humiliate a defender (lateral cuts, vicious stiff arms, straight trucking) makes him the most posterizing runner in college football. His backups aren't too shabby either.

RoJo had 13-64 and 2 touchdowns, including another RoCat effort over right tackle led by Bijan and Cade Brewer. Keilan had 4 carries for 42 yards and a score and looked as nifty as last week. Finally, Jonothan Brooks continues to impress with his productive running style. 7 carries, 48 yards, a score.

QB

Casey was hyper efficient and commanding in his clean pockets, picking Tech apart in the short and intermediate game to the tune of 18 of 23 for 303 yards, 5 touchdowns, 1 interception. He demonstrated good presence in the pocket and continues to show the ability to gain opportunistic rushing yards when required. I like that he's keeping his eye level down field as he seeks better passing windows, but when it's time to grab some grass with his legs, he commits and runs the ball.

That all written, he has to stop putting extra helium in every ball that travels more than 20 yards. Save fade balls for the fades, not posts and fly routes. It cost Xavier Worthy long touchdowns and when he combined the floater ball with a wild scramble to his left while throwing across his body, the result was an end zone interception deep in Tech territory that I'm sure he wanted back. He's showing good vision on intermediate balls fitted into zones at the sticks. And even when things went bad for him, they went right.

Beautiful pocket, settles in, overthrows Moore for....a 25 yard gain to Whittington. Just like you draw it up. When Napoleon would consider what marshal to promote to lead one of his armies, he would evaluate every possible metric with his advisors. Then his final question was always,"Yes, but is this man lucky?" Not lucky enough to invade Russia in winter, but could probably handle Spain in a bowl game.

WR/TE

DeSean Jackson freshman Cal film.

Xavier Worthy:

Just sayin'. 5 catches, 100 yards, 3 touchdowns. Football speed for days, scrappy as hell, and clearly smart to process Sark's offense as a freshman. Whittington had an early drop that irritated me given his recent run of same, but he was great after that, grabbing 5 catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. Marcus Washington had a catch for 22 yards and cost himself a likely touchdown tripping up on his own feet. Cade Brewer blocked well and has done so all year.

Final

A dominating offensive performance. It began with the coaches emphasizing the team's strengths and then giving the offense several beater plays against Tech's defensive tendencies. The offense executed and you could see the confidence, physicality, and speed of play increase with each success. That will encourage Sark to put even more on their plate. Positive feedback loops and all of that. The Texas offense will be a confident bunch heading into Ft Worth.