Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 10)

[satyanash 14281]

Collecting post-game analysis articles regarding the Iowa State game here:

Wescott Eberts: Texas blown out 30-7 by Iowa State

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The slide for the Texas Longhorns continued in Ames on Saturday night with a 30-7 loss to the Iowa State Cyclones that featured another second-half meltdown as the home team scored 27 unanswered points after Texas took a 7-3 lead into halftime. Iowa State beat Texas for a third-consecutive time, sending the Longhorns to the program’s fourth-consecutive defeat for the first time since 2010. The only Power Five wins for Texas this season have come against programs that subsequently fired their head coaches.

The four-consecutive blown halftime leads are the most in the FBS in the last 15 seasons — the issues for first-year head coach Steve Sarkisian are historic after Texas fired Tom Herman following a 7-3 campaign and a tenure that never featured the type of defeats that have happened multiple times this season. Herman never lost as badly as Texas lost to Arkansas. Herman never lost as badly as Texas lost to Iowa State. Herman never blew a 21-point lead like Texas did against Oklahoma. Herman never blew an 14-point lead like Texas did against Oklahoma State. Herman never blew an 11-point lead like Texas did against Baylor.

The Longhorns defense did play well enough to hold the Cyclones to three points and 40 rushing yards on 2.9 yards per carry in the first half, as well as 1-for-7 on third downs (14 percent). In the second half, however, the Iowa State running game found its footing with 135 rushing yards, including a 47-yard touchdown run by Cyclones star Breece Hall, who creased the Longhorns at the line of scrimmage, then made super senior safety Brenden Schooler miss in the open field.

“It’s unfortunate — the first touchdown I thought we had some opportunities to get them on the ground,” said Sarkisian. The Texas defense was able to get a stop on the next Iowa State possession, but after a second consecutive three and out by the offense, the Cyclones used a trick play — a pass from wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson on a lateral — to score a 49-yard touchdown on the first play of the team’s third second-half drive after winning the field-position battle against the Longhorns.

On the play, sophomore safety Jerrin Thompson bit on the lateral, allowing Tarique Milton to get open down the field. Another three and out by Texas gave Iowa State good field position once again and a 21-yard run by Hall followed by a 23-yard completion to tight end Charlie Kolar set up a short touchdown by Hall. So a 7-3 game at halftime turned into a 24-7 rout in the third quarter as Iowa State out-gained Texas 209-6 and out-scored the Longhorns 21-0.

“We went into halftime with the lead, came out of the came out of the locker room and whether it was not making the proper adjustments, whether it was our inability to get them on the ground, or inability to get a first down, they got control the ball game and really controlled the entire second half,” said Sarkisian.

The fourth quarter hardly went much better than the third quarter — Texas was able to move the football to some extent, but went scoreless and allowed two sustained drives that produced field goals. And sophomore running back Bijan Robinson left the game with an injury after he was banged up late in the third quarter. After the game, Sarkisian said he thought Robinson suffered a stinger, but was unable to offer a clear injury update.

The Longhorns finished the game with 207 total yards in one of the worst offensive performances in recent memory, truly a low point in program history after more than a decade of abject mediocrity — the last time Texas had fewer total yards was against Notre Dame in 2015, when the 163 yards produced by play caller Shawn Watson ended his tenure after a wasted offseason. “So, ultimately we struggled all night offensively to generate anything consistently against them and you know, the defense kind of wore out,” said Sarkisian.

“We didn’t coach well enough for this ball game, clearly, and we didn’t play well enough to win. They were the better team. They won the game. They controlled the game,” said Sarkisian. “We’ve got to find a way to get our players in position to perform when the ballgame gets kicked off and tonight, obviously, our inability to do that showed itself and we got beat.”

The offensive struggles began with the ineffectiveness of junior quarterback Casey Thompson, who went 2-for-6 passing for two yards before he was pulled in favor of redshirt freshman Hudson Card after Thompson was unable to make a defender miss in the open field as he gained eight yards on a 3rd-and-9 scramble. On Thompson’s four drives, Texas gained 25 yards on 14 plays. “I just felt like we needed a spark,” said Sarkisian. “We just weren’t in rhythm offensively at all, especially in the passing game. I felt like we needed a spark. I thought Hud deserved the opportunity to go.”

Card was able to lead the Longhorns on a 14-play, 78-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter that featured a 24-yard completion to junior wide receiver Joshua Moore on third down. Unfortunately, his inability to connect on deep passes became apparent on the following drive when freshman wide receiver Xavier Worthy was wide open on a potential 59-yard touchdown, but Card didn’t give him a chance to make a play on an overthrow.

Then, like Thompson, Card struggled with his pocket presence, a familiar theme after he was benched for losing his composure against Arkansas. “I was just trying to get him to settle his feet down, trust what he saw. I think that’s one of the things when you almost think there’s pressure sometimes and there’s not and when you have really good vision and you trust your reads, you get the ball out in a timely manner and it just wasn’t coming out as timely as we would have liked,” said Sarkisian.

“Now we had a couple of broken routes where guys ran the wrong routes and now all of a sudden, when the play breaks down, you try to create, but needless to say, I think the experience for Hudson was good.”

Thompson’s initial strong play after Card’s benching helped the Longhorns avoid a full-on quarterback controversy, but it’s here now as Texas struggles to gain bowl eligibility needing two wins in the final three games. “We’ll reassess that position moving forward next week,” said Sarkisian. The schedule offers a reprieve with Kansas coming to Austin next Saturday and Sarkisian needs to take advantage of the opportunity to help determine the future of the quarterback position. And end the losing streak.

(Justin Wells) Five Quick Thoughts: Iowa State 30, Texas 7

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Different coach. Same results. For the third consecutive year, Matt Campbell’s Iowa State Cyclones knock off the Longhorns, this year, 30-7, from Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday night. Heavy doses of Breece Hall’s 142 yards rushing and two scores, and hellacious defense flustered the Longhorns offensive attack.

1. Another First Half Lead

Unlike the three previous games, Texas didn’t grab the early lead with a super start. The offense wasn’t clicking and the Cyclones took advantage off an early turnover for its first points, The Longhorns and Cyclones played a defensive match in the opening stanza, but a 14-play, 75-drive with doses of Bijan Robinson mixed with a dash of Roschon Johnson, culminating in Hudson Card hitting Xavier Worthy on the jet scoring sweep was the difference after 30 minutes.

The Texas offense was uninspiring until Card entered the game. The UT defense was bend-don’t-break most of the half. The Horns special teams was outstanding with redshirt freshman Kelvontay Dixon making two superb plays early in the contest. It was an ho-hum affair in the second half with small glimpses of Card’s fourth quarter passing, Kelvontay Dixon’s ability, and Keilan Robinson finally seeing the field.

2. The Offense Still Has No Answers

It wasn’t like they were playing all that well coming into the game, but Iowa State’s defense flustered two quarterbacks, half dozen offensive linemen, and a pair of tight ends. Receivers were open at times, the running backs had lanes on occasion, but the offensive line barely had any push, littered with penalties, and even Hudson Card added minimal help behind this mixture of misfits. Iowa State held a 470-169 yard margin midway through the final quarter.

3. We Don’t Need No Stinking Run Fits

Texas and the defensive front held Iowa State to under 50 yards rushing in the first half. I couldn’t tell if it was a case of the Horns figuring out Breece Hall, but a few plays into the second half showed the All-American hauling ass for a 47-yard score. The defensive line was active, but behind. The linebackers didn’t always over pursue, but when they did, it was 7-8 yards per carry.

4. Tell Me Something Good

Texas sophomore Bijan Robinson eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark in 2021, the 24th Longhorn to accomplish the feat. Unfortunately he left the game in the fourth quarter due to injury, Freshman wide receiver Xavier Worthy caught his eight touchdown pass of the season, tying the Longhorns season-record with Roy Williams in 2000.

5. What’s Next For Texas Football?

A home date with Kansas awaits. Not to mention a ton of highly-rated prospects from the 2022 and 2023 classes. It’s also combating Texas A&M’s win over Auburn in front of a strong cast of five-stars and recruits tonight. This group has to finish strong to secure a Top 5 recruiting class for 2022. Even with KU being at the bottom of the Big 12 conference, they’ve proven to be more competitive, especially in a loss to OU earlier this season. A win means Texas would only have to split its final two games with Kansas State and West Virginia in order to earn bowl eligibility.

(Bobby Burton) Snap Judgments: Sad State of Affairs

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Once again, this Texas team cratered in the second half. Where was this game lost? The Horns couldn’t move the ball on offense. They couldn’t block for the run. They couldn’t pass protect. They couldn’t throw. They couldn’t do anything other than flail helplessly. And the offense didn’t just look helpless. It actually was the literal definition of futility. Yet the offense wasn’t the only perpetrator of mediocrity. After a solid first half, the defense all but waved the white flag in the third quarter. One long run by Breece Hall followed by a trick play TD is all it took to break the will of the Texas defense (and I use the term will very loosely).

In all my years, I’ve never seen a defense play so poorly together at linebacker and safety. It’s like the two units are completely disconnected, instead of operating the same defensive call. It’s bizarre just how disconnected they are. And once again, there was no pass rush to speak of. The defense lacks playmakers. It lacks cohesiveness. It lacks ability. It lacks acumen and execution. It lacks football IQ.

**

There is no redeeming value that I saw in this game. Texas got whipped, badly. Period. End of story. Perhaps the only thing resolved is that anything other than a complete rebuild of the offensive line, vastly better QB and receiver play, and a complete retool of the defense, both scheme and personnel at LB and safety, will just lead to more of the same. Alas, we know none of that is possible for the remainder of this year. What a sad state of affairs for this Texas team. They got exactly what they deserved in Ames. A beat down.

Chip Brown's Quick Takes: Longhorns manhandled by Iowa State in fourth-straight loss for Texas

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AMES, Iowa — There was no fourth-straight, quick start for the Texas offense. Just the opposite. There was no fear of squandering a fourth-quarter lead, because a thin, 7-3 margin at halftime had already been squandered in horrifying fashion in the third quarter en route to a 30-7 road wipeout by Iowa State - handing the Longhorns (4-5, 2-4 Big 12) their fourth straight loss. It's Texas' first, four-game losing streak since 2010, when the Longhorns went 5-7 under Mack Brown.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Hudson Card replaced starter Casey Thompson on UT’s fifth drive of the first quarter. But after one, shining 14-play, 78-yard touchdown drive led by Card in the second quarter, the offense seemed to get worse as the game wore on. Now, Steve Sarkisian, whose offensive mind was a big part of the reason he got the Texas job, has to figure out where he goes from here. Because his offense was absolutely miserable in a lopsided loss at Iowa State Saturday night - even worse than in UT's 40-21 loss at Arkansas in Game 2.

But this was Game 9. Now, the Longhorns are 4-5 with a home date against Kansas up next.

***

UT’s first four offensive possessions were: A fumble by Bijan Robinson followed by three straight, three-and-outs. That stretch included two badly missed throws by Casey Thompson to open receivers, a 6-yard sack of Thompson and a low-ball drop by tight end Cade Brewer. Thompson opened the game 2-of-6 passing for 2 yards before being replaced by Card. Unfortunately, after a 14-play, 78-yard touchdown drive that took 5:38 off the clock and gave Texas a 7-3 lead at halftime, the offense suffered five straight three-and-outs under Card that totaled minus-25 yards of offense.

Included during that stretch was a missed deep-ball shot by Card to a wide-open Xavier Worthy just before halftime following a punt block by Kelvontay Dixon that could’ve put UT up by double-digits at intermission. Instead, Texas took a 7-3 lead into halftime. Saturday night in Ames was reminiscent of Texas’ game at Arkansas in which the offense suffered five three-and-outs while the Longhorns’ defense held on as long as it could before finally giving way in a 40-21 loss.

The difference was UT’s offense - nine games into the season - was worse than in Game 2. Eight of UT’s first 11 drives were three-and-outs. After Card was suffered five straight three-and-outs, you expected coach Steve Sarkisian to put Casey Thompson back in the game to see if Thompson could give the offense a spark after having some time to observe from the sideline. But Sarkisian just continued to watch Card look lost in the pocket, hold the ball too long and take sacks as the offensive line started getting flagged for more and more penalties.

To make matters worse, as this meltdown on offense seemed to unfold in slow motion for what felt like hours, Texas running back Bijan Robinson had to be helped from the field with 9:29 left to play.

***

Credit the Texas defense for a stalwart first half in which the Longhorns held Iowa State to three points (following a fumble in UT territory by Bijan Robinson), allowed ISU to convert just 1-of-7 third downs and held the Cyclones to just 40 yards on the ground (on 14 carries - 2.9 ypc). After Robinson fumbled on UT’s opening possession, the Cyclones took over at the Longhorns’ 39 and had first-and-goal from the 10, but Josh Thompson made three big plays in a row to help hold ISU to a 24-yard field goal. With UT’s offense going backward - literally - on five straight three-and-outs that went for minus-25 yards - the Longhorns’ defense finally cratered in the third quarter.

Texas was outscored 21-0 in the third quarter, giving up a 47-yard touchdown run by Breece Hall (more yards than he had the entire first half); a 49-yard touchdown on a double-pass (Purdy lateraled to receiver Xavier Hutchinson who threw to a wide-open Tarique Milton for the score); followed by a four-play, 49-yard TD drive capped by a 2-yard TD run by Hall, putting Iowa State up 24-7 going into the fourth quarter.

***

Brenden Schooler finished the game as Texas’ leading tackler with 12 solo tackles. Jahdae Barron forced a fumble in the first half, and Byron Murphy was credited with a sack.

***

Texas had just two penalties in the first half, but was flagged four times in the third quarter - all four were on the offensive line - three of them were holding calls after Card fled the pocket and his blockers failed to let go of defenders with Card out of the pocket. One was a false start.

***

Way back in the first half, Texas receiver Joshua Moore made quite an entrance. Moore was replaced in the starting lineup by Kelvontay Dixon and was held out of the first quarter after a heated exchange with coach Steve Sarkisian when Moore showed up late to practice on Wednesday. Moore entered the game in the second quarter and made the play of the first half for a beleaguered Texas offense. Moore took a quick slant from Card on third-and-7 and turned a 2-yard catch into a 24-yard, catch-and-run to the Texas 49.

It was Texas’ biggest play of the first half and extended a 14-play, 78-yard touchdown drive that took 5:38 off the clock. The scoring drive also included Card converting third-and-3 with his legs and a 4-yard flip pass to Xavier Worthy from Card on a jet sweep for a touchdown that put Texas up 7-3 with 5:29 left in the first half.

***

Kelvontay Dixon started the game at receiver in place of Joshua Moore, who was held out of the first quarter. Dixon didn’t have a catch in the first half, but he did have two big plays on special teams: downing a Cameron Dicker punt at the ISU 1 on the first play of the second quarter and partially blocking a punt with 49 seconds left in the first half that gave Texas the ball at the ISU 46.

***

Texas missed a huge opportunity on a deep ball pass from Card to Worthy after Kelvontay Dixon’s partially blocked punt near the end of the first half. After Dixon’s partially blocked a punt gave Texas the ball at the ISU 46 with 49 seconds left - and UT holding one timeout. On first down, Steve Sarkisian dialed up a perfect play-action pass call, and Card had Xavier Worthy wide-open (5 yards clear of any ISU defender) on a post route and missed him badly (by leading him too much).

If Card hits Worthy, Texas probably takes a 14-3 lead into halftime. Instead … on second down, Card hit tight end Cade Brewer for a 3-yard gain, and Brewer got out of bounds. But on third-and-7, Texas ran the ball with Bijan Robinson for a 3-yard gain, and Worthy was flagged for a personal foul (unsportsmanlike conduct - for hitting an ISU defender after the play), resulting in a fourth-and-19 punt with 15 seconds left.

***

Card and the Texas offense finished the first half with two straight three-and-outs and opened the second half with a three-and-out. Those three possessions totaled minus-20 yards.

***

Texas’ Jahdae Barron forced a fumble by ISU receiver Xavier Hutchinson late in the second quarter that was recovered by Ben Davis at the UT 41 with 2:11 left in the first quarter. Unfortunately, the Longhorns couldn’t capitalize. Card replaced Thompson at quarterback after the turnover, and Bijan Robinson had two straight, 6-yard runs for UT’s first first-down of the game. But after a 2-yard pass from Card to Robinson and a 7-yard run by Roschon Johnson, Texas hurried to the line and had Card attempt a sneak on third-and-1 from the ISU 38. Card was stuffed for a 1-yard loss, and Texas punted.

***

Jerrin Thompson had a nice pass breakup on a deep middle pass from Purdy to tight end Charlie Kolar early in the second quarter. Kolar appeared to possess the ball for a split-second before Thompson lowered his shoulder into Kolar, popping the ball loose.

***

Nice blitz call from Pete Kwiatkowski on third-and-9 in the first quarter. On third-and-9 with four minutes left in the first quarter, David Gbenda came in at middle linebacker, and Pete Kwiatkowski blitzed DeMarvion Overshown off the edge, flushing ISU quarterback Brock Purdy, who threw incomplete.

***

Iowa State went for it on fourth-and-5 from the Texas 37 with 7:09 left in the first quarter, but Purdy couldn’t find an open receiver and scrambled under hot pursuit from Texas’ Ray Thornton, coming up a yard short of the first down and giving UT the ball at its own 33.

***

T’Vondre Sweat lacks lower hip flexibility. A couple times, he was one-on-one with ISU ball carriers at or behind the line of scrimmage and was just too upright and stiff and couldn’t break down and make the tackle. Jaylan Ford had Hall in his grasp for about a 4-yard loss midway through the first quarter and got stiff-armed by Hall, who scampered away and got back to the line of scrimmage.

***

Josh Thompson made his presence felt on ISU’s first offensive possession. After Bijan Robinson was ruled to have fumbled at the ISU 39 on UT’s first drive, the Cyclones ripped off three straight runs of 11 yards (Breece Hall), 8 yards (on a direct snap to Hall) and 10 yards (on a keep by Brock Purdy), giving ISU first-and-goal from the Texas 10.

But Thompson was a part of three straight BIG plays to help hold ISU to a field goal. Thompson and Overshown stopped Hall for a 3-yard gain on first down; Thompson blitzed on second down and hurried Purdy into a poor throw/incompletion to tight end Charlie Kolar; and then Thompson broke up a third-and-goal pass to Kolar in the back of the end zone, forcing a 24-yard field goal putting Iowa State up 3-0 with 12:27 left in the first quarter.

***

On UT’s first possession, Casey Thompson badly missed Marcus Washington on a crossing route on first down, and then Bijan Robinson ran for 14 yards with Christian Jones pushing him forward in a big scrum at the end of the run. But ISU safety Isheem Young was credited with causing a fumble and recovering it at the Texas 39. The play was reviewed, but this was clearly a seven-camera game for FS1 (as opposed to the dozen cameras used for higher profile games), because there didn’t appear to be a review angle that could show anything conclusive. So the call on the field stood.

 

[GreenspointTexas 9567]

I wonder what would happen if we had played Louisiana tomorrow instead of back in Sept?

[TwiceHorn 31283]

2 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

I wonder what would happen if we had played Louisiana tomorrow instead of back in Sept?

Or Rice, even.

You have to figure that a good bit of our problem is that opponents now have film on our QBs, our OL, and Bijan and know exactly how easy we are to defend and how to go about it.

[ChickenSandwich 9798]

Can’t wait to read the off/Def funeral write ups. 

[GreenspointTexas 9567]

2 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Or Rice, even.

You have to figure that a good bit of our problem is that opponents now have film on our QBs, our OL, and Bijan and know exactly how easy we are to defend and how to go about it.

Yup34

[satyanash 14281]

12 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

I wonder what would happen if we had played Louisiana tomorrow instead of back in Sept?

TCU's not looking too shabby either now that Fat Pat is gone.

[ClubWhatever 12087]

1 hour ago, GreenspointTexas said:

I wonder what would happen if we had played Louisiana tomorrow instead of back in Sept?

I’ve watched them quite a bit.  The are not a good team, just playing shit competition. Their QB isn’t good.  I’m guessing the result would be about the same.   We are losing to these other teams because we never were better.  We have beaten 4 bad teams and that’s it.  After Arkansas you could see all these other losses coming a mile away.  Sark can put together a script, which is the only reason any of these games were even close in the first half.  OU was fools gold because their pass defense sucks.  We’ve have run into good defenses since then. 

[ClubWhatever 12087]

3 hours ago, satyanash said:

In all my years, I’ve never seen a defense play so poorly together at linebacker and safety. It’s like the two units are completely disconnected, instead of operating the same defensive call. It’s bizarre just how disconnected they are.

If Sark sticks with PK they are still going to have to shuffle LB and/or S coaching.  Both units are really bad.

[bullet 1596]

3 hours ago, ClubWhatever said:

I’ve watched them quite a bit.  The are not a good team, just playing shit competition. Their QB isn’t good.  I’m guessing the result would be about the same.   We are losing to these other teams because we never were better.  We have beaten 4 bad teams and that’s it.  After Arkansas you could see all these other losses coming a mile away.  Sark can put together a script, which is the only reason any of these games were even close in the first half.  OU was fools gold because their pass defense sucks.  We’ve have run into good defenses since then. 

We've played 5 teams in the Massey composite top 26.

We've played 4 teams rated 40 or lower.

We are 4-5.

[satyanash 14281]

(Scipio Tex) 2021 Texas-Iowa State Postmortem: Offense

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The Horns lost their fourth game in a row for the first time since 2010 and are now 4-5 overall. Rather than tap out in a close game via 4th quarter collapse, Texas chose to unravel for the entire second half, getting blown out 27-0 during that time period after taking a 7-3 lead at halftime. This was a complete breakdown of both personnel and system.

Steve Sarkisian chose to bench Casey Thompson late in the 1st quarter after several terrible throws, the worst being a 3rd and 10 throw that missed a wide open Marcus Washington by several yards. Hudson Card led Texas on a 14-play, 78-yard touchdown drive on his second drive in the game, but any hopes that Texas had solved the QB position were dashed as the Horns managed -11 yards on their next 6 possessions. Card's play quickly degenerated with the rest of the offense.

For the game, Texas managed only 207 total yards. 29 passing attempts yielded a pathetic 103 passing yards. Steve Sarkisian simply had no answer for Iowa State bracketing Xavier Worthy. No second (or third, or fourth) receiver stepped up, the OL began to give up pressures and sacks to 3 and 4 man rushes, and overall Longhorn QB play was moribund. The only bright spot is that Texas was briefly able to run the ball for 3-8 yard chunks, but that quickly evaporated.

This was the worst offensive performance of the 2021 Longhorn season. It's difficult to find bright spots in the play of any single unit.

QB

Thompson looked awful early (2 of 6 for 2 yards) and was deservedly pulled for Hudson Card. Card didn't exactly set the world on fire in relief. #1 finished the game 14 of 23 for 101 yards, but some early quick-minded check downs quickly degenerated into glacially held balls, errant throws, and pocket discomfort. Card missed a wide open Xavier Worthy for a sure touchdown, sailed a pair of balls over open receiver's hands, and started holding the ball too long against ISU's Drop 8 coverages. Neither QB executed. Neither has shown the ability to elevate and lift an offense consistently.

Overall bad play from the position, exacerbated by substandard pass protection and a very limited receiving group. The least discussed possibility in the Thompson vs. Card debates is that neither of them may be good.

WR/TE

Xavier Worthy was removed from the game by ISU double teams and errant throws from Texas QBs. Joshua Moore had a nice 19 yard catch on the run and then disappeared. Marcus Washington did not catch a football. Kelvontay Dixon had trouble separating and dropped a ball on a poorly run route. In total, Texas receivers were targeted 15 times. Those 15 targets yielded 5 catches for 62 yards. That's incredibly inefficient.

Jared Wiley had a couple of his best blocks of the year, including one that shook up Cyclone DE Will McDonald, but he didn't demonstrate much consistency and had a zero box score as a pass catcher. Cade Brewer totaled 3 yards on 2 catches as a pass catcher. In a game where Texas badly needed some of kind of viable receiving option to punish Iowa State's Worthy focused coverages, neither TE made a dent.

RB

Bijan Robinson fumbled twice and got banged up while rushing 18 times for 90 yards and catching 8 passes for a scant 36 yards. In 26 touches, his longest play of the game went for only 14 yards. Robinson didn't have a negative yardage run all game and if Texas could have built anything resembling a play action passing game off of him, the offense might have been more fruitful. Unfortunately, the Longhorn passing game was useless. Roschon Johnson went for 5-19 in relief and showed some needed scrap defending his QB after ISU defenders took some liberties during a blown whistle.

Keilan Robinson might have answered some of the "Why don't we play him at slot?" questions when he dropped an easy swing pass and then was tackled by the turf monster on another.

OL

They surrendered 5 sacks and 3 QB hits to an ISU defensive line content to rush only 3 or 4. They also suffered from a litany of 2nd half penalties. They were actually pretty effective run blocking for a little stretch in the 2nd quarter, but the second half was a feast of penalties, missed assignments, and frustration.

Andrej Karic had a good run at tackle in place of Christian Jones when Texas was running somewhat effectively, but he struggled in pass protection. As did Jones. Defenses continue to attack the Texas protection schemes - not just the offensive line per se. If you saw Bijan Robinson being asked to block a 320 pound Uwazurike when ISU brought a defender inside of Karic (Karic collapsed and doubled that defender, leaving the big man free) then you have some idea of what I'm talking about.

Final

The Texas offense got completely dominated. Surrendering two turnovers, gaining only 207 yards, scoring only 7 points, and averaging 3.2 yards per play is the statistical proof of that fact, but frankly it looked even worse than those dismal stats.

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

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Iowa State made a statement against Texas, clad in their traditional home <checks notes> black uniforms...

Anyway, Texas played a half of good defense, holding the Cyclones to a solitary first half field goal. Pete Kwiatkowski mixed it up a little, brought more bodies down to shut down a fairly vanilla Cyclone running game, and more pressure and some gap attacks that seemed to confound Iowa State's running game and put the onus on Brock Purdy to be ultra efficient in the passing game. Texas was often effective bringing only three or four pass rushers on predictable passing downs and Breece Hall was held to only 7 carries for 17 yards at the half. This was the Pete Kwiatkoski defense that Horns faithful had hoped for - limiting big plays, getting opponents into 3rd and long, tackling well, then getting off of the field.

That formula fell apart in the second half as the Cyclones made some adjustments (speed option, throwback WR pass) that broke open the game and then they went back to their traditional knitting. Breece Hall notched 119 second half rushing yards at nearly 10 yards per carry (take away his longest run and he still averaged 8 yards a tote in the 2nd half) and Purdy dialed up the execution in the short passing game while repeatedly breaking pocket containment.

The Texas pass defense didn't allow any real downfield throws save the trick play, limiting Purdy to a longest completion of 24 yards and a palatable 6.6 yards per attempt while holding the Cyclones to only 3 out of 13 on 3rd down. There's a lot to like there, but once again the total inability to stop the run sank the Longhorn defensive effort.

The Texas defense wore down conceit is convenient - Sark even said it in his press conference - except that the Cyclones compiled 154 yards in the 3rd quarter and scored all three of their touchdowns on their first four 2nd half possessions on a grand total of nine plays (4 plays, 75 yards, 1 play 49 yards, 4 plays 49 yards). ISU also ran a normal amount of plays overall (73) and really did their grinding for two field goals in the 4th quarter.

Iowa State blew open the second half with their adjustments (well, two of them) as much as Longhorn exhaustion. I'm not debating whether Texas wears down quickly -you'd be hard pressed to find that many hands on hips at a Karen convention, but that crippling fatigue seems to set in rather early every game despite liberal substitution patterns. In the first half, the Texas defense brought the physicality to ISU. In the second, they were the nail to the ISU hammer.

ISU scored on 5 of their 6 second half possessions with their final possession of the "let's get this game over" variety.

DL

Byron Murphy played some quality snaps, several at nose tackle. He notched 1.5 tackles for loss and 3 tackles overall. Good effort, energy, uses his hands better than most of the veterans. He's now one of our best 3 DL. Alfred Collins notched a pair of QB hits, but got shaken up in the early 3rd quarter. Coburn had two flash plays creating for others and played a good half. Wore down quickly and didn't register on the box score. He continues to stand straight up and lean on pass rush.

Ojomo had his 3rd hands to the face penalty of the season. That's a coachable point. Has it been coached? He drew a holding call on a good pass rush and had a QB hit. Jett Bush played 20+ snaps and had a nice open field tackle on a 3rd and long while dropped into zone coverage. He was swallowed up in pass rush and was channeled past Purdy repeatedly, allowing Brock to break contain.

Sweatt played several snaps at 3 and 5 technique and did a good job when doubled. Vernon Broughton stands straight up on every play and Torre Becton appears to have him on a steady diet of Entemann's and Bosu.

LB

Completely swallowed up in the second half once Texas went back to catching blocks and contain mode. Absolutely erased on several basic run plays that aren't hard to diagnose. Good hit by DMO on Hall in space in combination with Thompson. Ford had a couple of good run blitzes. Solid start, poor second half. Poor at getting off blocks. These are finesse, quickness linebackers. They need to be on the move, run blitzing, and changing depth alignments at the snap.

DB

 

The eye is drawn to Schooler's whiff and we would like our play side safety to make that play, but there's more going on here. Hall is running through a massive hole with a head of steam and a two-way go. That's a RB's dream and a safety's nightmare. Particularly when that safety is already in retreat at the snap of the ball. Schooler is being placed in a terrible situation there, basically hung out to dry. Consider:

1. This is the same speed option play that Baylor mercilessly exploited the week prior. Did Texas teach it and drill it to correct it? I see zero recognition here.

2. The play side interior DL should be immediately getting flat when he doesn't feel resistance. That's a teaching point for Collins. Purdy's not a ball carrier here.

3. Ovie Oghoufo does an awful job setting the edge. He can't give up his outside shoulder. Then he allows himself to be turned and run upfield by a tight end. A multitude of edge sins there.

4. Overshown is the play side LB. He can't get his feet chopped out by an inferior athlete in space. That creates a pile up that prevents Brockermeyer from getting over, which would be valuable had Ovie done his job.

5. After Schooler, Foster gets turned around in space taking an angle that isn't really explicable. I don't understand what he's doing. Hay is in the barn at that point.

Texas doesn't know how to play this run. Schooler gets the blame, but this is an upstream problem. If Pete's scheme is that the play side safety has this solo from twenty yards deep with a quality runner possessing a two way go and a clean picture, he needs to hit the white board again. Schooler had 12 solo tackles and did a nice job overall except for that whiff on the 47 yard Breece Hall scoring run. He also misplayed an early Kolar catch, but that's football. Jerrin Thompson got heavy run early and had a hard-hitting pass breakup on Kolar and another well-played break up on an ISU receiver.

Not sure if the trick play completion was Thompson's complete responsibility, but he seemed to play less after that. Foster had a quiet three tackles.

Jahdae Barron had a lovely strip fumble trailing Xavier Hutchinson. He added three tackles. Gave up one he'd like to have back in coverage but I like him overall. Josh Thompson played well, drawing a hold on the perimeter, notching a PBU and a hit on Purdy. However, he missed Purdy early on a free blitz early. Jamison was good in coverage. Darion Dunn was physical in his tackles. I can't fault the play of the secondary against the ISU passing game, save the surrender of the 49 yard trick play touchdown.

Special Teams

The kick return team isn't good. I'm not sure why Jamison keeps returning kicks at -5 to -10 per return vs. taking it at the 25. The Horns averaged less than 18 yards per return with too many penalties. Poor blocking. Dicker punted extremely well. Kelvontay Dixon had a terrific punt catch inside the ISU 1 yard line and then got his hand on a rugby punt for a blocked kick. Very athletic play.

Final

Iowa State totaled 30 points and 476 yards at 6.5 yards per play despite a slow start and very little vertical passing game. Texas had a lot to do with that slow start, but after the Cyclones made some basic adjustments, the Longhorns were dominated in the second half of play.

 

[Bullneck 18987]

7 hours ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Can’t wait to read the off/Def funeral write ups. 

[Monahorns 34]

Scipio is half-assing it like the Texas team I see.

He usually loses interest at this point of the season after his predictions don't come true.

 

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