Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 11)

[satyanash 14281]

1 minute ago, LTtxfan said:

Who wrote this. ^^^^^

Former coach who usually does the player grades for IT. I forget his actual name.

[LTtxfan 48980]

Thanks @satyanash

[ClubWhatever 12087]

1 hour ago, satyanash said:

Former coach who usually does the player grades for IT. I forget his actual name.

Veneble or some shit like that.  Should be interim DC. 

[satyanash 14281]

(Scipio Tex) 2021 Texas-Kansas Postmortem: Offense

Quote

Kansas was ranked 128th out of 130 FBS defenses coming into this game. The reason for that ranking was revealed over the course of the contest with 35 Longhorn points in the second half and an easy overtime score, but three first half Texas turnovers and 14 first half points obscured KU defensive futility early. Eventually, Texas stopped committing own goals, got it going with Casey Thompson and Xavier Worthy, and finished with 56 points and 571 yards while converting 7 of 11 on 3rd down and scoring touchdowns on every single red zone trip.

If you want to compare coordinator performance vs two fruitless Jayhawk units from a schematic and a productivity standpoint, removing unforced player error as a limiting factor, I'd give Sarkisian a solid B while Pete Kwiatkowski secured a F. Not a strong gentleman's F either.

I wonder if Sark wishes he'd have gone for 2 at the end of regulation. That would have been stupid by any conventional analysis given that Texas was the home team, had the second half momentum, and the "better" team (oh, shut up), but I knew for damn sure that KU would be going for 2 when they got their OT possession. Of course that means Sark would have had to guess that the Jayhawks win the coin flip etc, but it's an interesting counter-factual.

QB

Casey is the starting QB from here on out. He competed hard. He finished 30 of 43 for 358 yards with six touchdown passes and one pick. The stats are exciting, but any QB who can throw a reasonable ball is going to get theirs against the Jayhawk secondary. They were giving up over 9 yards per attempt coming in.

It's worth noting that though Texas threw for 410 yards, no single completion went for longer than 33 yards despite a healthy 12.4 yards per catch average. Typically, an offense that throws for 400+ yards hits on multiple long balls. So what? Basically, it's a good indicator of a lot of open receivers between 10-25 yards. KU couldn't cover and Sark dialed in a lot of winning calls. Most of that passing yardage also came after the catch.

Card led Texas on a touchdown drive, but his play was ultimately disqualifying, finishing 3 of 5 for 52 yards and a bad pick six. The recipient of that pick six was a true freshman cornerback. Card also didn't feel the pressure on a strip sack, but that's only partially on him.

Casey started slow - had a very productive middle - and made some big errors in the 4th quarter (a KU defender dropped a pick 6 that hit him right in the hands, Casey threw a pick into double coverage in the end zone near the end of regulation, he missed a wide open 3rd down pass on the 1st possession in the 4th quarter). Still he hung in there and made all of the throws that got Texas back into the contest.

Texas needs to hit the portal and the recruiting trail hard at QB. I don't think the answer at QB is at Texas right now.

RB

Bijan was a little banged up coming in, but still ran for 70 yards at 5.0 yards per carry while catching 3 balls for 48 and a touchdown. He'll be missed and godspeed to his recovery. RoJo and Brooks combined for 70 yards of their own on 11 carries and gained 31 combined receiving yard on 4 catches. They were very effective on a worn down Jayhawk defense and would have had much bigger days if the clock wasn't the enemy or if the Texas defense had not been reclining on the fainting couch.

WR/TE

 

If your program struggles to develop toughness and talent, just go recruit it. Enter Xavier Worthy. He was electric, despite clearly being banged up pretty badly in the first half. The freshman came back and finished with 14 catches for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns. Worthy had 23 targets in the passing game! I've never seen that at Texas and I've never seen that to a freshman. Kelvontay Dixon ran underneath routes and did his job securing 4-37.

Marcus Washington provided the perfect embodiment of this team. On one hand, he stepped up as the #2 WR, finishing with a career high 5 catches for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. He played hard. He blocked a punt. What's not to love? On the other hand, he drew a foolish holding penalty, had an offsides, and then was penalized for taunting for spinning the football in overtime, which gave the KU offense a big advantage on their ensuing possession.

Was that penalty ridiculous? Yes. Do I hate the Big 12 officials with the heat of one thousand suns? Yes. Is it known that the Big 12 in particular has cracked down on taunting to a draconian degree and that players and coaches should know this and must act accordingly in a game critical situation? Yes. Is Marcus Washington making a terrific catch off balance (an inch above the ground on a poor throw) and then falling into the end zone on a great play call to score in overtime and then drawing a 15 yard penalty the perfect embodiment of a team that can't get out of its own way? You betcha.

Cade got loose on a 25 yard touchdown catch out wide with great separation on a KU defender (4.8 beats 5.0 people!) and then nabbed another 15 yarder. Maybe he gets more downfield passing game play going forward, but this may have been a KU thing.

OL

Awful early. Allowed pressure and didn't move bodies (not good ones either) in the running game, but KU quickly wore down and then the unit asserted itself. The Longhorn QBs do them little favor with their pocket awareness and long windups on their throws, but free pass rushers sprinting around the corner early in games is becoming a Texas OL trademark. Eventually, played well enough to win, though against Kansas that's not a high standard.

Final

Four turnovers against a defense the caliber of KU is ridiculous, but eventually the offense got it going and put 8 touchdowns on the board with nearly 600 yards at 7.1 yards per play. That should generally be enough to win a college football game, but this has been a unique season.