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

[satyanash 14281]

(Joe Cook) FINAL: Texas 34, K-State 27

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Fourth Quarter

Martinez finds Warner from 25 yards out for a score. 31-24 Texas 14:54

On the legs of Robinson, Texas nets a first down. Johnson rushes for a few yards, then is hit late for an additional 15 yards. A defensive holding moves the ball further up. A pass to Sanders picks up another first down. Facing third down, Ewers can’t connect with Robinson. Auburn comes on. His FG is good. 34-24 Texas 10:29

KSU starts on the 25. Martinez scrambles and finds Brooks for a first. A few plays later KSU gets to third down. KSU finds Brooks on 3rd and 9 to convert. Martinez then scrambles for a first down. He does it again to move into the red zone. Texas brings down Vaughn by the face mask to move KSU up to the 10. Texas makes a stop on third down. Field goal good. 34-27 Texas 4:26

Texas starts on the 25. Robinson picks up four. Robinson picks up two. Robinson is stopped for a loss of 5. The ball goes to the KSU 19.

KSU starts on the 19. They gain three with a short pass, then a first on another short pass. Vaughn picks up several with a quick reception and gets out of bounds. Another pass to Warner results in a first. A first down near midfield is batted down at the line. Martinez scrambles and fumbles but the ball rolls out of bounds. On 3rd and 12, Garcia gains a handful but is stopped short. On fourth down, Martinez somehow finds Vaughn for a first. Martinez then fumbles and Ford picks it up.

Ewers kneels it and Texas wins. 34-27 Texas

Third Quarter

Vaughn nets a first down on the first play. On 3rd and 4, Martinez carries and is held short. K-State punts. Texas takes over on its own four after a 62-yard punt. Robinson carries for a first down on the first play. After an offsides and a couple of Robinson runs, Texas faces a 3rd and 6 after another offsides. Ewers completes a pass to Worthy, who fumbles. KSU recovers.

On the first play, KSU commits two penalties to make it 1st and 35. A pass to Vaughn cuts the needed yardage in half, but Jerrin Thompson commits a personal foul to give it all back and make it 1st and 10 from the Texas 14. From one yard out, Martinez find the end zone from one yard out. 31-17 Texas 8:37

Texas quickly gets to 3rd and 4 on the ensuing possession with two Robinson runs. Ewers finds Whittington for the first. Facing another 3rd, Ewers finds Worthy over the middle to move into K-State territory. A false start and a few non-productive plays make it 3rd and 15 on the KSU 46. The attempt falls incomplete.

KSU takes over on the 17. Facing 3rd and 13 after two false starts, Martinez is pressured and throws the ball away to bring on the punt team. Texas starts on the 27. After a false start, a screen to Robinson makes up most of the yardage back. On 3rd and 2, Robinson is stuffed and Texas has to punt. A first down pass to Ben Sinnott starts the drive and moves KSU to midfield. A pass to Knowles moves KSU inside the 30. The quarter ends with a short run.

31-17 Texas

Second Quarter

K-State reaches 3rd and 6 from the Texas 7, but Texas holds. Ty Zentner’s kick is good. 14-10 Texas 13:40 Texas moves the ball with a run then gets near midfield with a pass to Sanders for 18 yards. Then Texas gets deep into KSU territory with a pass from Ewers to Whittington for another 18 yards. Texas moves into the red zone with a pass to Savion Red and a Robinson run. Facing 3rd and 6, Ewers finds Worthy for a 14-yard score. 21-10 Texas 10:24

Texas forces a quick three and out, including a second down sack via Barryn Sorrell. Texas takes over on its own 44. A deep shot and a 9-yard run from Robinson makes it third and short. A sneak is held short on 3rd and 1. On 4th-and-1, Roschon Johnson breaks free and runs up the sideline but a fumble is forced by Ekow Boye-Doe and KSU recovers on the 10.

On the ensuing possession, an incompletion and a short Martinez run brings up a 3rd down the Wildcats convert with a deep pass to Knowles filled with several Texas missed tackles ending in a gain of 62. Facing 3rd and 8, Knowles makes a catch but is short of the first. On 4th and 2, KSU calls a timeout. The 4th down attempt falls incomplete.

Texas gets to 3rd and 3 on the ensuing possession, and Bijan Robinson rushes for 68 yards to make it goal to go. On 3rd and goal, Ewers is crushed as he lets go of the ball and it flutters incomplete. Auburn hits a 28-yarder to make it 24-10 Texas 1:35 K-State nets one first through the air with a pass to Kade Warner. Martinez then throws a pick to Jaylan Ford.

Texas starts on the 27. Robins runs for a short gain. Red then picks up a first down on a quick screen. Robinson makes it 2nd and 1 on the four. A quick pass to Sanders from Ewers makes it goal-to-go. On 3rd and goal, Ewers finds Worthy for another score. 31-10 Texas 0:13 KSU runs once to head to the half.

First Quarter

Texas captains: Ovie Oghoufo, DeMarvion Overshown, Roschon Johnson, Bijan Robinson. KSU wins the toss and defers.

Texas picks up a third down conversion via a pass to Ja’Tavion Sanders to start. KSU defensive back Julius Brent then commits a targeting foul and Texas moves to midfield. Longhorns pick up one first in Wildcat territory, then Bijan Robinson scores from 36 yards out to put Texas ahead. 7-0 Texas 12:30

Malik Knowles returns it to the 35. Adrian Martinez starts and leads KSU to a first down. Deuce Vaughn then picks up two first downs on the ground, Martinez then gets the third. Martinez finds Vaughn over the middle for a score. 7-7 8:41

A second-down screen to Robinson gets Texas into K-State territory after a 21 yard gain. Texas picks up another first via Robinson on the ground to move inside the 40. Ewers finds Sanders for a first to move into the KSU red zone. A flip pass to Keilan Robinson makes it goal to go. Roschon Johnson then scores from nine yards out. 14-7 Texas 5:20

KSU starts on the 12 after a great special teams play from Kitan Crawford. Martinez finds Phillip Brooks for a first down. Facing a 3rd and 4, Martinez finds Vaughn for 14 yards for a first down. DJ Giddens then gives Vaughn a rest but picks up a first down. KSU picks up another first, then another to make it 1st and 10 on the 11 to end the quarter.

14-7 Texas

Wescott Eberts: Late forced fumble gives Longhorns 34-27 win

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First quarter

After winning the toss, Kansas State deferred to the second half with Texas starting on the 25-yard line on a touchback. On the first play, Ewers tried to find sophomore right end Ja’Tavion Sanders on a play-action shot play, but wasn’t able to connect on a ball that was slightly underthrown. When junior running back Bijan Robinson was stopped for a short gain on second down, the Horns quickly faced third and long with Ewers connecting with Sanders on a crossing down to convert.

On a glance route run-pass option, Kansas State cornerback Julius Brents was called for a targeting penalty hitting Texas junior wide receiver Jordan Whittington helmet to helmet, a decision confirmed on review. After another first down, Robinson found a crease on Counter and did the rest himself, racing for a 36-yard touchdown to give the Longhorns the early 7-0 lead.

It’s now the 11th straight game that Robinson has scored a rushing touchdown, tying Ricky Williams and Cedric Benson for the school record. After a strong return from Malik Knowles, Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn picked up two first downs on runs. Then, flooding the boundary with three players and the motion from a wide receiver, Vaughn got open on a seam route of the backfield for a 28-yard touchdown reception to tie the game.

A throw-back screen to Robinson picked up 19 yards to jumpstart the ensuing Texas drive with an eight-yard run from the Longhorns star setting up a 3rd and 2 he converted on the ground. Ewers then hit Sanders on a perfect touch pass for 18 yards and junior running back Keilan Robinson picked up 11 yards on an inventive push pass before senior running back Roshon Johnson scored on a nine-yard touchdown run.

Kansas State didn’t benefit from such strong field position on the second down when Texas junior safety Kitan Crawford brought down Knowles at the 12-yard line. The first four plays for the Wildcats gained 27 yards, including an eight-yard scramble by Martinez that resulted in an injury to Longhorns junior nickel back Jahdae Barron when he collided with junior linebacker Jaylan Ford as Martinez slid. With Barron out, Kansas State continued to move the football as an 11-yard run by Vaughn set the Wildcats up at the Longhorns 11-yard line as the first quarter expired.

Second quarter

Texas was able to hold in the red zone, however, holding Vaughn to a short gain, breaking up a pass in the end zone, and then stuffing Martinez on a quarterback run to force a field goal that made it 14-10.

Throws to Sanders and Whittington gave the Longhorns some rhythm on their third drive, consolidated with a screen pass to freshman wide receiver Savion Red and a subsequent first-down run by Robinson. In the red zone, a double move by Texas sophomore wide receiver Xavier Worthy produced a 13-yard touchdown as Ewers was able to connect with his best wide receiver several plays after Worthy was visibly frustrated when Ewers missed another deep ball.

The Longhorns defense responded with a second-down sack of Martinez by sophomore Buck end Barryn Sorrell and then got off the field by stopping a screen pass to Vaughn on third down, forcing the game’s first punt.

Ewers missed another shot play to Worthy to start the fourth drive for the Longhorns. A nine-yard gain by Robinson set up third and short, but Ewers was stopped on a quarterback sneak, forcing a fourth-down attempt, which went to Johnson, who fumbled at the end of a 37-yard gain and was recovered by Kansas State in a massive, game-changing play.

On first down, the Wildcats missed a shot play to wide receiver Kade Warner and Longhorns redshirt freshman safety Michael Taaffe made a nice tackle of Martinez in the open field. Facing a 3rd and 6, Martinez hit Knowles for a 61-yard gain over the middle. Just outside the Texas red zone, Kansas State gained six yards on 3rd and 8 to set up a fourth-down attempt.

When the Wildcats went for the end zone, Barron was able to play through the hands of Brooks for another game-changing play. A 68-yard run by Robinson on 3rd and 3 changed the dynamics of the late second quarter as Sarkisian dialed up a pin and pull run that featured freshman left tackle Kelvin Banks steamrolling a Kansas State defender.

When Robinson was caught from behind, however, Texas had two unproductive plays that resulted in a 3rd and goal from the Wildcats 9-yard line that nearly produced an interception when Kansas State called an all-out blitz and was hit while trying to throw, setting up a 28-yard field goal by redshirt freshman kicker Bert Auburn to make it 24-10.

Facing a critical defensive possession, the Texas defense came up with a critical play as Ford took an excellent pass drop and came up with his second interception of the season, returning the ball to the Kansas State 27-yard line.

Another screen pass caught by Red produced 11 yards and Robinson ran for another nine before Sanders converted a first down inside the Wildcats 10-yard line with 25 seconds left. A short run by Robinson forced the second timeout by the Longhorns with a big opportunity to extend the lead to three touchdowns. On third down, Ewers hit Worthy again for a massive touchdown to make it 31-10.

Third quarter

Poor strong coverage from the Texas kickoff coverage forced poor field position and the Longhorns defense stuffed Martinez on 3rd and 4 to get off the field, although the Wildcats won the field position battle with a 61-yard punt to the Texas 4-yard line.

Penalties started to impact the Longhorns again before Worthy fumbled on a third-down conversion and the Wildcats recovered. Penalty swings continued to impact the game with two calls against Kansas State and then a personal foul against Texas junior safety Jerrin Thompson to give the Wildcats a first down. And Kansas State took advantage, scoring on a short touchdown run by Martinez to keep the home team in the game at 31-17.

On a huge drive for the Longhorns, Ewers delivered a perfect strike to Whittington on 3rd and 4 to extend it. Runs on first and second down set up 3rd and 6 with Ewers hitting Worthy on a crossing route for another conversion. But a false start by Red put Texas behind the chains with a third pre-snap penalty in the second half, Ewers missed yet another shot play to Worthy, Robinson was stopped at the line of scrimmage, and a running back screen went incomplete, producing the first punt by senior Daniel Trejo, which went for only 29 yards.

After a missed facemask call on Vaughn on a 2nd and 3 stop at the line of scrimmage, a false start by the Wildcats backed them up to 3rd and 8 before another false start made it 3rd and 13. An incomplete pass from Martinez resulted in a crucial punt forced by the Longhorns defense.

But Texas hurt itself again with an incomplete pass and a false start penalty before Robinson bailed out the Horns with a 13-yard gain on a screen pass made mostly with his vision and feet. Robinson was stuffed on third down, however, as Kansas State loaded the box and got the stop. Two pass plays picked up 45 yards for the Wildcats, who dodged a game-changing moment when Ford forced a fumble recovered by Kansas State tight end Ben Sinnott.

Fourth quarter

Exploiting zone coverage by the Longhorns, the Wildcats opened the final quarter with a 25-yard touchdown to Warner.

Following a run stuff on first down, Robinson picked up eight yards on second down, then had a huge conversion to move the chains. When Johnson was thrown down out of bounds after a six-yard gain, the Longhorns picked up a big personal foul penalty for an extra 15 yards, then another big penalty for defensive holding. A catch by Sanders moved the Longhorns into the red zone with a first down, where Texas gained only three yards on two runs and couldn’t convert a rail route to Robinson when Ewers was hit while delivering the pass. Auburn finished the drive with his second field goal, this time from 29 yards to extend the lead to 34-24.

Texas missed a sack on first down when sophomore defensive tackle failed to warp up Martinez on a play that resulted in a 12-yard completion and the Horns were able to force a 3rd and 9, but Martinez completed another pass under pressure. Big runs by Martinez hurt the Texas defense, too, moving the ball into the red zone until a false start moved the Wildcats out of it again. A brush of the face mask of Vaughn did result in a penalty, giving Kansas State critical yardage and a first down. Two stops by the Longhorns resulted in a 3rd and 9 for the Wildcats and an incompletion from Martinez, leading to a 28-yard field goal by Kansas State.

A strong run by Robinson for four yards against a loaded box started the drive before gaining three yards on second down as the Wildcats called a timeout with 3:37 remaining. Perhaps anticipating a play into the boundary, Kansas State blew up a tough block for Texas senior right tackle Christian Jones for a loss of five yards, leading to a 55-yard punt by Trejo.

Against a Texas defense intent on keeping everything on front of them, Kansas State started the drive with a series of completions before a batted pass at the line of scrimmage. Under pressure, Martinez fumbled, but a pursuit to the sideline by two Texas players couldn’t corral the football. On 4th and 6 with the game on the line, Martinez scrambled and threw across his body to Vaughn for a first down. But the Longhorns responded as senior nose tackle Keondre Coburn forced a fumble and Ford was able to recover the loose ball that was kicked in the post-fumble fray.

With 24 seconds remaining, Texas was able to kneel out the clock and secure the second road win of the Sarkisian era.

Cody Daniel: Initial thoughts from No. 24 Texas’ 34-27 win over No. 13 Kansas State

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Another big lead, another bad second half, but this time, the No. 24 Texas Longhorns were able to hold on, outlasting the No. 13 Kansas State Wildcats, 34-27. Here are a few initial thoughts from the Longhorns narrow road win.

Bijan was at his best. Just eight yards shy of a new career-high effort, Robinson recorded his second 200-yard game and the Longhorns needed every one of them. The explosiveness, the wiggle to squeeze out a few more yards, fighting for more in key touches — it was vintage Bijan in a game Texas absolutely had to win. Robinson turned his 32 total carries into 241 yards, proving to be the best player on the field and spearheading Texas’ much-needed road win.

Texas is back bowling. Another near collapse — more on that in a second — will take a bit of the thrill out of the win, but Texas solidified some progress in Year 2 under Steve Sarkisian, improving to 6-3 to reach bowl eligibility. Despite the issues closing, Sark recently said he liked the direction his program is headed, and with today’s win, it’s now definitively trending up from 2021.

Texas is still struggling to exorcise its second-half demons. Texas didn’t collapse entirely on Saturday, but they damn sure tried to. A 31-10 halftime lead turned into Texas surviving 34-27 in the final seconds, and getting in their own way several times along the way. A last-second win on the road over the No. 13 team is a win, but that doesn’t erase that fact that Texas still looks like the shaky team that continues to collapses time and time again. Getting outscored 17-3 in the second half just isn’t good enough if Texas ceiling is to go much higher this year.

This was arguably the the most significant win of the Sark era. 49-0 over Oklahoma is the other obvious choice, but given the context, this was a massive win for the program. a Texas team that was just 1-6 on the road under Sark went into Manhattan and knocked off the No. 13 team, and never trailed, despite trying to blow another lead. But they didn’t, making just enough plays to win, and thus, they’re bowl eligible and back in control of their destiny in the Big 12. To see the forest for the trees, Texas’ win puts them in prime position in the Big 12 with just three games remaining and that’s about as much as could realistically be hoped for entering the year. Now, just finish.

 

[satyanash 14281]

(Ian Boyd) Five quick thoughts: Texas hangs on in Manhattan

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When Steve Sarkisian has extra time to prepare Quinn Ewers for an opponent they can really cook up some offense. Of course that’s not really been the question for this team. Getting up 31-10 on Kansas State in the first half was impressive, but it wasn’t new for Texas. Watching the lead slowly evaporate in the second half wasn’t new either. However, for the second time under Steve Sarkisian, Texas hung on in the second half for a big road win. The Texas defensive line ultimately won the game for the team, whipping Kansas State’s protections in the second half and forcing fumbles against Adrian Martinez until they could finally recover one.

The Longhorns are now 4-2 in Big 12 play with another huge night game looming next week against TCU. They’re currently in a three-way tie for second place in the league with Kansas State (over whom they now hold a tiebreaker) and Baylor (against whom they finish the season in Austin). Everything is set up for the Longhorns to make the Big 12 Championship Game if they can protect their home field and avoid another catastrophic loss against Kansas when they travel to Lawrence in a couple of weeks.

Quick thought no. 1: Physical win by Texas on the road

Defense and a run game should travel. When you have big men like Texas has on (now both) sides of the line of scrimmage, you need to bank on it when it comes time to win a game on the road. Texas succeeded here. Texas out-rushed Kansas State 269 to 139. They got 40 carries in the game, ran for 6.7 ypc, had two rushing touchdowns, and were 5-5 in the red zone.

Bijan Robinson outshone his rival Deuce Vaughn. Bijan had 30 carries for 209 yards at 7.0 ypc with a scintillating early touchdown, and 243 total yards. Deuce had 19 carries for 73 yards but was also the no. 1 receiver for K-State with seven catches for 86 yards and a score, a total of 159 yards. Good but not enough and including a number of stuffed runs which put K-State behind the chains.

Early on things looked ominous. Kansas State’s GT counter game was getting some movement, Texas’ ends struggled to balance the need to hammer pullers with the challenge of containing Adrian Martinez option keepers, and the Wildcats were springing leaks in the Texas run defense for little Deuce to find.mThen the leaks got patched. Texas matched the physicality of the Wildcats and also benefitted from their own offense which forced K-State into a lot more passes than they could possibly have wanted to attempt.

At the end of the game, while Texas’ 4-minute offensive possession to potentially seal the game was blown up when the short-side toss play they’d pulled from the well a few times before was stuffed, they ran the ball effectively in the second half to protect the lead. The long field goal drive in the previous possession not only kept K-State at arm’s length on the scoreboard but it used four minutes of clock the Wildcats really needed for their own run-heavy approach to have time.

When you don’t let teams wear away at this Texas defense, they stay healthier and their D-line has a chance to make game-winning plays.

Quick thought no. 2: Great 1st half for Quinn Ewers and the passing game

They had some decent moments in the second half as well but Sark definitely leaned on the run game more in the second half, eager to avoid the mistakes which have plagued the Longhorns in similar circumstances.

Ewers’ first touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy when he threw the corner route with pressure bearing down on him while his target was still executing his break was a big time throw. He also hit Jordan Whittington on a long out route against man coverage on 3rd down in the second half to help keep possession and run precious clock.

The deep post route to Worthy remains an elusive goal for Texas but in this game they did well to hit him on routes which ask him to take more lateral cuts to get open. For whatever reason, the connection isn’t there very often on vertical throws but anything breaking a little sharper and Worthy can be absolutely devastating. He now has nine touchdown catches on the season.

Texas also worked in more throws to Ja’Tavion Sanders over the middle where he has been sensational this season. Five catches for 54 yards by Sanders hardly speaks to the impact he had on this game. If Texas needs to win a game this season throwing the ball late, expect Sanders to have a huge performance.

Quick thought no. 3: Texas won the game with the middle of their defense

In addition to the issues Texas had early on with K-State’s physicality in the run game, they also had major issues at the second level tracking Deuce Vaughn and all of the moving threats Wildcat offensive coordinator Collin Klein weaves through the middle of the field.

They came into this game planning to run a lot of what you could call “big nickel” defense with Morice Blackwell as the “Star.” Results were mixed, his tendency at this point to spot drop and then have to look around for the ball was a poor fit for matching the complicated route patterns K-State ran, often involving Vaughn. Ultimately Jahdae Barron ended up getting a ton of snaps and helping to limit some of the damage K-State inflicted early in the passing game.

Once Texas sorted out out their plan there, they won this game with the defenders up the middle of the defense. Keondre Coburn keeps building a case for an early round draft grade and was in Martinez’s face for much of the night. He finished with a sack and two forced fumbles, including the game winner.

Behind him Jaylan Ford lead the team with 10 tackles, picked off a pass which helped build the big first half lead, forced a fumble K-State managed to recover, and then recovered the fumble Coburn forced to ice the game. DeMarvion Overshown had a solid game but Jaylan Ford should be getting more credit for his play this season at linebacker.

At safety it was mostly Michael Taaffe and Jerrin Thompson for Texas and they held down the middle well and inflicted several physical tackles on the Wildcats to help set the tone. Aside from the long throw to Kade Warner for the touchdown which made it 31-24, they forced K-State to drive the length of the field.

Quick thought no. 4: Not a perfect performance

While Texas’ overall execution was strong, there were hiccups in the second half which seemed liable to ruin the Longhorns’ day again.

Both teams were heavily penalized. For their own part Texas had a number of false starts which frustrated their attempts to hold onto the ball and run clock in the second half. They also had some helpful penalties which nearly killed a K-State drive with a 1st-and-35 only to bail them out with an automatic first down penalty amidst a chippier portion of the game.

Martinez gave Texas a lot of trouble, which wasn’t shocking. He was definitely healthy enough to be his normal elusive self and he evaded several of what would have been sacks against most other quarterbacks, including his back-up. He finished 24-36 for 329 yards at 9.1 ypa with two touchdowns and a pick. On the ground he couldn’t make enough lemonade of the lemons of the Wildcat protections (which also included a number of false start penalties and a dozen uncalled holds) running it 14 times for 52 yards at 3.7 ypc with a score and two fumbles.

Texas’ 3rd-and-4 play-call with the chance to put the game on ice, along with an earlier 3rd down call, were a bit iffy. The earlier call which went awry was a tackle-wrap scheme of the sort Bill Snyder used to run regularly in the same stadium on the other sideline. Texas ran it a few times but on this occasion they pulled Christian Jones, lost several defensive linemen, and took a tackle for loss on 3rd-and-2 for the only 3’n’out of the game. The second came on the attempted toss play where they asked Jones to lead block on the perimeter against a safety who was racing off the edge with zero hesitation. This went poorly.

Two fumbles by Texas blew what could have been a safe win. Roschon Johnson didn’t seem to hear the defender coming whereas Xavier Worthy simply got lit up by one of K-State’s senior safeties.

Finally, Texas’ defense of K-State’s passing game was pretty flawed. The dagger concepts K-State torched previous opponents with (inside receiver goes up the seam, outside receiver runs a deep in under the cleared out safety) yielded some more wide open gains for them in this game as well. They at least kept receivers in front of them (save for the Warner score) to force sustained drives, but there was definitely some slippage.

Quick thought no. 5: Dress rehearsal for the final stretch

TCU is a very similar team to Kansas State. They have big, physical interior O-line and do their damage with a power-option run game, a dual-threat quarterback, and play-action on conflicted pass defenders. Their overall talent level on offense is even greater than K-State’s, although their defense is inferior and they won’t have a home crowd to help them. Texas will have learned some valuable lessons this week, and avoided another gut-wrenching loss which would have put them in a tough spot in the standings and possibly killed their confidence.

Now the Longhorns won’t have to hear about how they can’t protect a lead, how they can’t win on the road, how they can’t run the ball in the second half, etc. Instead they’ll know they can play winning football against the best teams in the league, they know they have some players who can dominate games, and they know they can run the football on the best defenses in the Big 12. The remaining defenses in between Sark’s squad and their goal of winning the Big 12 Championship are not as formidable. They need to build on this win and take it home.

 

[Monahorns 34]

1 minute ago, satyanash said:

When Steve Sarkisian has extra time to prepare Quinn Ewers for an opponent they can really cook up some offense.

 

This is a lame brain statement obviously if you compare the OSU game to the KSU game.  Sark really cooked something up special to do the exact same thing as 2 weeks ago.

[Monahorns 34]

5 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Texas also worked in more throws to Ja’Tavion Sanders over the middle where he has been sensational this season. Five catches for 54 yards by Sanders hardly speaks to the impact he had on this game.

This was all in the 1st half.  Sanders caught a couple of balls on the perimeter in the 2nd half.  If Sark keeps calling plays to the middle maybe the offense unlocks more success later in the game.

[Monahorns 34]

10 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Martinez gave Texas a lot of trouble, which wasn’t shocking. He was definitely healthy enough to be his normal elusive self and he evaded several of what would have been sacks against most other quarterbacks, including his back-up. He finished 24-36 for 329 yards at 9.1 ypa with two touchdowns and a pick.

 

11 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Finally, Texas’ defense of K-State’s passing game was pretty flawed. The dagger concepts K-State torched previous opponents with (inside receiver goes up the seam, outside receiver runs a deep in under the cleared out safety) yielded some more wide open gains for them in this game as well. They at least kept receivers in front of them (save for the Warner score) to force sustained drives, but there was definitely some slippage.

Ian just doesn't seem like he makes the logical connection here.  Martinez hadn't played in a month but threw for over 300  yards.  That wasn't because how great he was.  It was because of the very poor defense Texas presented.  His comments are strange.  The did good except for all those times when they gave up big plays.  Keeping receivers in front of the D isn't that important when the DBs are 3 yards away when the opponent catches a first down.

[Monahorns 34]

15 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Quick thought no. 5: Dress rehearsal for the final stretch

Can you feel the sunshine?!  If he was honest he would say this team could end up 6-6 or 9-3 because they don't play consistent enough on either side of the ball to make meaningful predictions.  All we know is that they will play poorly down the stretch.  The hope is that the team gives an extra measure of effort to make a play late to win.  That is how they won tonight.  It is how they beat ISU.  Not making that play on defense resulted in the 3 losses.  It will be razor thin each game.  Anything is possible.

[satyanash 14281]

Joe Cook: What No. 24 Texas players had to say after beating No. 13 Kansas State, 34-27

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No. 24 Texas built a 21-point first-half lead but had to hold on late in the end defeating No. 13 Kansas State, 34-27, from Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, KS, on Saturday.

Bijan Robinson, RB:

“We just understood that we’re not trying to lose again on the road. That’s when the fight came out. And the defense came in clutch. Without them, we would’ve lost this game. I can’t wait to play an undefeated team,” Robinson said about UT’s upcoming opponent in TCU. “Hayden (Conner), running that fast. I was impressed,” Robinson said about the offensive lineman’s downfield blocking. (play below)

Quinn Ewers, QB:

“Obviously that game was tough,” Ewers said, about two weeks ago in Stillwater. “I think we practiced really well. We really took a look at ourselves and tried to figure out what we’re really about. And we came out on top tonight. Of course, X (Xavier Worthy) is a special player. He’s got a great IQ for the game. We came out on top tonight and it was fun when Xavier’s played in 21 career games and has 21 career touchdowns.”

“After every game, I tell him ‘I’m so glad I get to hand you the ball off and just turn around and watch you break tackles and somehow score,'” Ewers said, on Bijan Robinson. “He’s a great player and it’s awesome to have him on my side.”

“(TCU) is a great team,” Ewers said. “They have a great offense and a great defense. I’m excited to see how this team reacts after this win.”

Keondre Coburn, DL:

“I just went out there and executed like we did in practice,” said Coburn, after forcing the game-winning fumble.

“I love this team. Whatever I can do to help us get this win, that’s all that matters. Every game is a championship game for us. I don’t care, we got the win. We got the win.”

Jaylan Ford, LB:

“I told (Coburn), our whole d-line, it’s our time. It’s great to get that road win. It was a clutch moment. I think it shows the grit we have on this team. I think it was great to show we can still go on the road and ball.”

“I think we had three forced fumbles and we only recovered one. My thing was take it slow and just get on the ball.”

Demarvion Overshown, LB:

“The energy coming into that locker room after a win in Manhattan, Kan., it’s always a great atmosphere in the locker room when you get a tough win like that. You know it feels good. Knowing how hard we practiced this week, we knew this would be a good game and well-coached team. At the end of the day, we calmed down and was able to get the win.”

 

[Valmy77 13094]

52 minutes ago, Monahorns said:

Can you feel the sunshine?!  If he was honest he would say this team could end up 6-6 or 9-3 because they don't play consistent enough on either side of the ball to make meaningful predictions.  All we know is that they will play poorly down the stretch.  The hope is that the team gives an extra measure of effort to make a play late to win.  That is how they won tonight.  It is how they beat ISU.  Not making that play on defense resulted in the 3 losses.  It will be razor thin each game.  Anything is possible.

They will play poorly in the second half until they stop doing that, and so long as they keep doing it we are going to need to make that play. Absolutely. That's who we are and what we do.

But it is possible to finish 9-3 doing things that way. And if we do that we have a chance to win a championship for the first time in 13 years. So let's see what happens. Next week against TCU we can take a big step.

By any measure, compared to where we have been recently this is a sunshiney situation. We have a chance. 

[formermav43 4599]

8 hours ago, Monahorns said:

This was all in the 1st half.  Sanders caught a couple of balls on the perimeter in the 2nd half.  If Sark keeps calling plays to the middle maybe the offense unlocks more success later in the game.

So he didn't discuss the 2nd half in a section entitled "Great 1st half for Quinn Ewers and the passing game"?

[Monahorns 34]

2 hours ago, formermav43 said:

So he didn't discuss the 2nd half in a section entitled "Great 1st half for Quinn Ewers and the passing game"?

Good point.  I skimmed the title too quickly I guess.

 

The relevant point then would be that the 2nd half could have been much better if Sanders was used the same way in the 2nd half or if they covered that have a wrinkle to get Whittington open.

[satyanash 14281]

Bobby Burton: Overcoming the second-half flu and other thoughts from Texas’ win over KSU

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I’ve got the flu. Seriously. 102-degree temperatures, lots of coughing and a general feel of dread, of knowing I’m going to have to sit here and take it for the next few days. Well, that exact feeling is not so different than what I felt last night as it pertains to the Longhorns. We all watched a three-touchdown lead dwindle to a single score. Again. We’d all seen this game before and seen the script played out. We knew what was coming.

Except it didn’t. The Longhorns’ defense rose up and created a turnover to close out the game, resulting in a gritty 34-27 victory in Manhattan, Kan. For those counting at home, that’s two victories this season where the defense has created game-ending turnovers. Perhaps this is a start of a new script being written.

**

I’ve mentioned a few times that these first two Texas teams of Sark remind me a lot of Art Briles’ first two at Baylor. Baylor often scored a lot of points but couldn’t really stop anybody. It wasn’t until the Baylor defense became more cohesive and Robert Griffin matured that the Bears became one of the best teams in the league. Maybe that’s a different way to look at what’s happening in Austin right now.

**

Quinn Ewers did not lock on to any one receiver on Saturday night. He showed development and maturity. He threw the ball away to avoid a sack. He moved up in the pocket yet kept his eyes downfield to convert a couple of first down passes. He took a couple of blindside hits but got back up to play another down. He still hasn’t connected on the deep shots, but frankly those haven’t always exactly been open.

**

Some will make a big deal of the lack of scoring production from the offense in the second half. Some of that disdain is warranted. Some is not. After no penalties in the first half, the Horns proceeded to shoot themselves in the foot with pre-snap penalties. That put them behind the chains at various points on two different second-half drives. And then there was a Xavier Worthy fumble that derailed another drive.

**

When the chips are down, lean on your best player. Texas did that last night. Bijan’s night: 30 carries for 209 yards and 2 catches for 32. His run to open up the scoring of the game was unbelievable.

**

My hats off to the defensive front. The down linemen may have had their best game all year. Keondre Coburn, T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy harassed the quarterback and helped cause two fumbles. And then there’s Jaylan Ford. The junior linebacker is still improving. But it’ll be hard to improve statistically on his game from last night. 10 tackles, two fumble recoveries, an interception. And more importantly, he, along with that defensive front, helped keep Deuce Vaughn in check.

**

Thank you to Gerry Hamilton for stepping in for me last night on the post-game show and on Friday’s show. The flu, like second half meltdowns, absolutely sucks.

Joe Cook: Texas survives K-State, overcomes another second-half scare to move to second in Big 12

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MANHATTAN, Kan. — The commonly occurring phenomena of the Steve Sarkisian era of Texas Longhorns football made yet another appearance on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Texas jumped to a significant halftime lead thanks to its offensive stars while the defense held a quality Kansas State offense in check. Then, the second half began and KSU crept back into the game.

The explanation behind the phenomena this time was not all too unfamiliar either. Texas committed a significant number of pre-snap penalties and saw drives fizzle while Wildcat quarterback Adrian Martinez found a groove against the Longhorn defense. The Longhorn offense, magnificent in the first half, seemed to pound its head against the wall trying to protect a freshman quarterback with a superstar-led run game.

But unlike other Texas road games, or other previous matchups against top 15 teams under Sarkisian, or even other games where the Horns held a multi-possession lead, Texas escaped enemy territory with the victory. With Martinez trying to drive for the game-tying, or even game-winning, score, Keondre Coburn forced the third K-State fumble of the night. After the other two went unrecovered by Texas, Jaylan Ford jumped on the ball to finish off the first true road win of the year for the Longhorns, a 34-27 win.

The victory has several major implications for the 2022 Longhorns. It makes them bowl eligible for the first time under Sarkisian. It also places them in a three-way tie for second place in the Big 12.

Those are important implications for the season, but so too is Texas’ ability to finally defend a second-half lead even through a nerve-racking process. For the second consecutive game, Texas was limited to only a field goal in the second half. It was an important field goal, as Bert Auburn’s 29-yard field goal with 10:29 left gave Texas a 10-point lead.

KSU responded with a methodical 13-play, 65-yard drive, but it too could only net three points. With three timeouts in hand, Wildcat head coach Chris Klieman elected to trust his defense to make one more stop. Robinson gained six yards on the first two downs, setting up an all important 3rd-and-4.

Sarkisian called a short-side toss, a play that earlier in the game gained 68 yards as Robinson ran behind the hustling Hayden Conner. This time, the play lost six yards. Texas punted the ball back to Martinez and the KSU offense, just as Klieman hoped. The chances of another forfeiture of a second-half lead quickly increased.

Martinez orchestrated a surprisingly methodical drive, moving 38 yards and into Texas territory but leaving little time on the clock. However, the Wildcats’ third fumble of the game would be their undoing. With under 30 seconds left, Coburn collapsed the pocket and knocked the ball from Martinez’s hands. Ford corralled it, and the Longhorn offense took the field to kneel out the remaining seconds.

The defense came to the rescue late of an offense that gained 352 yards in the first half but only 114 in the second at an average of 3.8 yards per play. K-State’s difference makers, Deuce Vaughn and Malik Knowles, had strong performances. Vaughn touched the ball 26 times for 159 yards and a score, while Knowles hauled in three passes for 93 yards.

Martinez, who received the start over Will Howard, couldn’t hold up his end of the deal. He was sacked twice and intercepted by Ford near the end of the first half. That interception led to the second of Xavier Worthy’s two touchdown receptions and gave Texas a 31-10 lead to enter the break.

Ford finished the game with a team-high 10 tackles. DeMarvion Overshown tallied nine, including 1.5 TFL. Coburn and Barryn Sorrell brought Martinez down behind the line of scrimmage one time apiece.

The defense was put into additional pressure situations as a result of two Longhorn turnovers. One was the result of a Roschon Johnson rush where he reached the line to gain on a fourth-down carry, but had the ball knocked free by a trailing defender line after breaking through the second level. The other was a Worthy fumble on a reception that would have picked up a third down conversion early in the third. KSU scored a second-half touchdown off of Worthy’s fumble.

Though it had its share of lapses, the defense made up for the offense’s second half struggles, even if it came down to the final possession. The win has implications that go further than what it means for Sarkisian and his own Texas road record. The Longhorns now sit at 4-2 in the conference and can determine whether or not they make the Big 12 title game.

TCU leads the conference with a spotless 9-0 record, including a 6-0 Big 12 mark. Texas is currently tied for second with Kansas State and the Baylor Bears. Oklahoma State seemingly fell out of contention with a loss to Kansas on Saturday. Both the Cowboys and the Jayhawks sit at 3-3 in Big 12 play.

The Longhorns’ next opponent? Those Horned Frogs, who head to Austin for a night game next Saturday and who will almost surely carry a top 5 ranking. Whether Sarkisian’s program can create a new phenomena and string together wins against top 15 opponents will be determined by next week’s contest. But in the one on Saturday night, the Longhorns managed to overcome several specters that have haunted the Horns for most of the last 20 games on the way to leaving Kansas and heading back to Texas with a victory.

 

[KeysPhoneWallet 807]

Keys to the game:

1. We play prevent defense all game and it sucks. The soft zone and lack of pass rush has us picked apart constantly.

2. We give up 3rd & long and 4th down conversions like nobody’s business

3. Sark clearly ran a lot more this game, it didn’t help us as much as people screamed that it would.

4. Ewers continues to throw deep and not connect to worthy. I like the spirit but wish they would start landing bc one of those plus a bad run and we are in 3rd in long in a hurry.

5. Finally, my scoring of the game possessions:


Texas
Q1
*TD
TD
Q2
TD
TO - Fumble
FG - 3rd down botched by poor pass pro
TD
Q3
TO - fumble by worthy soft hands
TO - punt, bad run followed by bad screen
TO - punt, couldn’t run on 3rd&2
Q4
FG - hit on 3rd down over thrown bijon td
TO - punt, 3&out, 3 runs terrible 3rd down play

Kansas state
Q1
TD
Q2
FG - wr dropped the td
TO - Punt, we actually got a sack
TO - great 4th down stop pbu in the end zone
TO - int by ford
Q3
*TO - punt, 3&out
TD - ball was short of the line, funny cocksucker guy
TO - punt, missed facemask then 2 false starts
Q4
TD
FG - defense collapsed, held up in RZ
TO - qb stripped to end the game

[satyanash 14281]

(Scipio Tex) 2022 Kansas State Post Mortem: Offense

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The Texas players and coaching staff put together a nearly flawless first half of football against an opportunistic and dangerous Kansas State defense. The Horns attacked KSU exactly the way they should, bullying the Cats at the line of scrimmage, layering protection, giving Quinn Ewers chain moving throws to the TE and running backs to find new downs, not inordinately chasing downfield shots, allowing Texas to be stubborn in handing Bijan Robinson the football. Everything worked.

Texas first half dominance meant that they scored on 5 of their 6 first half possessions. In fact, the first three Longhorn possessions all went 8 plays, 75 yards, touchdown. The only outlier to Texas first half dominance was a Roschon Johnson fumble at the end of a 37 yard run on 4th and 1 at the KSU ten yard line. Amazing play by Wildcat cornerback Ekow Boye-Doe, but RoJo gotta know it’s not a loaf of bread. Without that turnover, Texas likely adds another score and leads 38-10 at the half.

The Horns had 352 total yards at the half – 206 rushing, 146 passing – with Bijan at 161 yards rushing at over 10 yards per carry and Sanders with 4 catches for 46 yards. Meanwhile, Xavier Worthy dominated in the red zone against single man coverage with two touchdowns on corner routes like this:

The Texas offense utterly dominated Kansas State on the field and the Monday before with the game plan install. Then…well. The second half offensive collapse felt as predictable as the tides, but I’ll try to add some context to what happened. These second half stalls are all so different, but in the same way. Texas had only five legitimate second half possessions. The first three featured four penalties from four different players: Hutson, Sanders, Red, Billingsley. That’s damaging to a run-heavy second half game plan. Running the ball demands honest sticks.

The first drive of the 3rd quarter began on the Longhorn 4 yard line and three fruitful Bijan runs totaling 24 yards battled two false start penalties that disallowed easy first downs and turned a 3rd and 1 into 3rd and 6. On that play, Ewers coolly evaded the rush to find Worthy at the sticks for a first down, but a great hit on the ball created a fumble, ending the Texas drive. That’s football. They’re allowed to make plays as well.

The second drive began to see the first loaded Kansas State boxes, but Texas kept grinding with the run into Kansas State territory on the strength of a 20 yard Worthy completion on 3rd down and medium. When KSU was in straight man, they exhibited little ability to cover Worthy on short or intermediate routes. A Savion Red penalty put Texas behind the chains and the Longhorns punted from midfield.

Third drive? Billingsley jumped offsides, putting Texas into 2nd and 15. A 13 yard Bijan completion yielded 3rd and 2. There the Longhorns ran fruitlessly into a 9 man loaded box. KSU was in desperation sell-out mode, daring Sark to call their bluff. Stuffed for -2 yards. Punt.

Fourth drive. Texas went 64 yards on 11 plays, aided by a pair of deserved Wildcat penalties while committing no infractions themselves. Texas play-calling remained cautious but involved Sanders for the first time since his dominant first half. The Horns bogged down in the red zone trying to run on an extra man front and didn’t convert on an open 3rd and 7 pass to Bijan when the Wildcat blitz overload got an extra man free hit on Ewers. FG, Auburn.

KSU is now in complete defensive sell-out mode on critical downs. As evidenced here on the next Longhorn possession:

The fifth drive was extremely cautious as well. Two Bijan runs yielded 3rd and 4. At 3:32 left in the game, up 7, Texas tried the little toss play which is a terrific solve for stunting interior linebackers or even +1 in the box when every defender fires inside, but against a nine man box that’s a doomed play call. It’s a give up run. If you’re blaming Christian Jones there for not getting around on a safety sprinting straight up the field while he’s trying to get a reach block angling with his first step, you don’t understand football physics. Sark didn’t trust his passing game. Beyond that, it’s a bad play call that can’t work against that defense. You can see the dramatic difference in Wildcat alignment on this play vs. the 68 yard run on 3rd and 4 where we caught them on the same play.

Bottom line? The Texas offense choked itself in the 3rd quarter with unforced penalties and KSU forced a fumble. The fumble draws a shrug from me, but the infractions are correctable. That four different players committed them suggests a broader indiscipline, particularly given the history here. Texas was also overcautious on critical downs — specifically, 3rd and 2 and 3rd and 4 — when KSU telegraphed a nine man box with their corners (one of them not a starter – Brents ejected) on true islands and their second level defenders all firing downhill. KSU was highly susceptible to a vertical throw to the TE or a Worthy jerk route, but Sark laid up for fear of a turnover from Ewers. In short yardage, there is a massive difference between an honest or +1 in the box and a nine man box when all of the defenders fire on gaps YOLO style. Absent a running threat QB, the only counter to that is throwing the rock. Sark clearly didn’t want to do that.

OL

This run was all about the OL. Note Kelvin Banks ending a KSU DB in space while big Hayden hustles downfield on the pull. Excellent down blocks as well. This is what that play can do against honest numbers. Nine man boxes? Ummm, no.

Texas had only two negative runs all game and they were both on the aforementioned second half 3rd down runs. They made Anudike-Uzomah irrelevant by attacking him head up and disallowing him from using his quickness. In the second half, the interior and Majors struggled with Eli Huggins slanting and shedding but some of that was allowed by KSU being able to load up the box so that a bad guess didn’t result in the huge gains that Texas tortured them with in the first half. Zero sacks on Ewers, most of the pressures came from extra men and Texas had 269 yards rushing at 6.7 yards per carry. One notable pass block blown when Hutson and Jones got crossed and gave up a big hit on Quinn, but the Texas OL won on Saturday.

RB

Bijan was terrific. This run is a good example. Great blocking on the counter (Banks collapses the whole left side, good urgency from the puller and kick out) but there’s an unblocked safety assigned to Robinson that he treats like a sack of flour. 30 carries, 209 yards rushing to go with 2 catches for another 34 yards. Phenomenal player. Roschon ran extremely hard and actually left a yard or two out there trying to bounce a couple of runs. I’m sure he wants that 4th down run back. Carrying the ball a little loose is rarely punished on a breakaway and the KSU defender made a terrific play.

QB

Ewers was effective, particularly in the first half. He was only 4 of 9 in the second half, but I put some of that on over caution with a lead over anything he was doing wrong. It was a dramatically different performance than what we saw against Oklahoma State. Zero turnovers. He steered the bus, continued to be nails in the red zone, and that will do when Texas is running the hell out of the ball. We abandoned some of the chain movers that got us new sticks in the first half and that’s on Sark to not shy away from his winners thinking they’ve been “used up.”

WR/TE

Worthy was special in the red zone and any time he faced man coverage. He and Ewers are still ond different pages downfield and I don’t know how you get it right. One suggestion? Create more pure vertical throws like true go routes or deep posts rather than angled deep routes. I honestly don’t know. Whittington had a drop, but he blocked his ass off again. Sanders was dominant in the first half in play action or drawing man coverage from a cornerback, but Texas went away from him in the second stanza. In retrospect, I think Sark will wish he’d polished off a vertical seam or pop pass to a Texas TE on some critical downs in the second half. Both Billingsley and Sanders need to do a better job of holding their water after going in motion. The offsides penalties are getting ridiculous. It’s Week 10.

Final

KSU has a quality defensive unit and Texas absolutely dominated them for long stretches. The hoof slipped from the gas pedal to the brakes in the second half by virtue of dumb penalties, a turnover, and some risk averse critical down play calling, but the final product was 34 points on the board and a hell of a road win. Bring on the Frogs.

Eric Nahlin: Between the Longhorns, the World Series, and rival losses, Saturday was a day to remember

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My son’s birth is probably the best day of my life. It’s either that or the day my wife was confirmed to be carrying a baby of unknown sex. When you want to be a dad but don’t think you ever will be, well that news is hard to top.

As great as my son’s birth was and still is, the excitement of delivery day didn’t preclude secondary memorable events. Even seemingly trivial sporting events, if there’s such a thing. At the exact second the doctor broke my wife’s water, Sweden and Mexico kicked off in the 2018 World Cup. You may not remember it quite as vividly as me, but being half Swedish and disliking Mexico like I dislike OU or Texas A&M, the game captured a fair amount of my attention. I mean, our attention.

Barrett’s birth was no doubt the main event, but Sweden beating Mexico made for a hell of an undercard and did more than just pass the time. Should we change his name to Sven we wondered? No, that’s already taken by an uncle. Maybe we should go with Bjorn. Yeah, Bjorn in the USA. Post sports win highs are a real thing. Just so you don’t think I’m a terrible husband, my wife readily admits to having the easiest child birth of all time and we did watch Suecia together.

In my house, yesterday featured co-main events. Nothing so grand to compete with delivery day, but along with UT trying to exorcise road demons against a quality opponent, we also had the Astros trying to close out the Phillies in the World Series. Fortunately we have a setup outside that allowed my ability to watch both while my wife and now four-year old had the World Series on the inside TV accompanied by UT on an iPad. I must admit to being a bit peeved they weren’t outside with me. Do they know who pays the bills in this house? It’s not me, it’s Texas football.

Like Sweden vs Mexico, yesterday’s undercard satisfied. Rather than sitting around overthinking what’s to come, or what might come, Texastros fans were delighted by A&M and OU losses. Both of UT’s rivals, one a real rival and the other an amusing one, are on hard times, and outside of sports it’s not kind to take joy in the misery of others. But this is sports. The only tempering of joy was due to potential karmic implications.

If you believe in Karma, or are even agnostic of its powers, you didn’t enjoy A&M’s or OU’s loss like you should. Texas playing at night meant you tempered any jubilation you might have felt. If that describes you, please take a moment now to enjoy the outcomes and properly internalize potential recruiting implications. Because there are some.

The co-mains didn’t disappoint, either: Stros win, Horns win is the short story. Note to the dear reader: if you don’t care about the Astros, or even hate the Astros (lol), I genuinely couldn’t care less. In fact, I care exactly as much about you hating the Astros as I care about Aggies hating Texas. For the Stros it’s offseason, but that does’t matter until after the parade. It may not matter at all because as Rangers fan W.W. McClyde coined, flags fly forever.

Texas has a lot to clean up before it raises another flag, but after the big road win over conference contending Kansas State, Texas is still in the running to raise a Big 12 title flag. That fact capped a memorable day in which there were plenty of secondary joys.

(Joe Cook) Three Count: Robinson in proper company among Texas' best, Max Duggan's fourth UT game, ranking remaining schedules

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Texas running back Bijan Robinson is 41 yards short of 3000 for his career, something only six other Longhorn legends have been able to achieve. Those names are the ones who people still talk about today. Ricky Williams. Cedric Benson. Earl Campbell. Jamaal Charles. Chris Gilbert. Vince Young. When we look back years later, whether it be two, five, or ten, there should be no problem placing Robinson among that group.

Every member of that group had a unique trait that set them apart. For Williams, it was his ability to be the same elite ball-carrier on carry one as on carry thirty. Benson, who had to operate in the shadow of the memory of Texas’ second Heisman Trophy winner, added a unique tenacity and affinity for contact as well as the ability to pull away. Campbell possessed an on-field brutality where every situation save for ”first and a mile” was a good time for him to get the football. Charles had world-class speed seen more often these days among receivers than backs. Gilbert was the key cog in making the wishbone so effective in Darrell Royal’s dynastic run. Young, the only quarterback on the list, possessed the ability to effortlessly glide with an unmatched bravado that returned Texas to glory.

For Robinson, it’s his ability to move like a player who should be three-quarters his size. Players who are 6-foot-0, 220 pounds aren’t supposed to cut the way he does. Turning on a dime doesn’t do it justice. Plus, even when plays aren’t blocked well, he maneuvers his way back to the line of scrimmage — at the minimum — via moves, physicality, and sheer will. What he may lack in breakaway speed, he makes up in able to Houdini his way out of even the tightest of phone booths.

There will be an argument that Robinson’s resume can’t match those of the players he is statistically placing himself in the company of because of the lack of on-field success. He has only won one bowl, an honor with diminishing importance in the modern college landscape, has yet to play for a conference title, and even has been a part of a team with a losing record.

While reasonable, that means little when I’m able to see him do what he does on the football field. His coming out parties in 2020 against West Virginia, Kansas State, and Colorado hinted at what was to come in his career. So too did breaking the school’s six-decade old yards per carry held by Jimmy Saxton, once considered to be untouchable. His run in Texas’ ill-fated 2021 contest against Oklahoma, where he reversed field and had ESPN’s Chris Fowler yelling ”looking like Reggie Bush” on the call, may go down as his finest despite the contest’s eventual result.

Plus, Robinson still has games left in his Texas career to strengthen what will be an impressive legacy considering Texas is in the thick of the Big 12 title race. He is up for many postseason national awards, including the Doak Walker Award if not the Heisman. The NFL is almost certain to come calling in a few short months. He’ll have plenty of opportunity to determine his own legacy. He received 30 carries against Kansas State. A significant opponent comes to town this weekend in TCU, who he carried the load against last year.

I’m excited to see what he’s able to do in what could be his final few appearances in burnt orange. I also will watch these games knowing he’s one of the best to tote the rock in school history, no matter how these games turn out.

Round 4 for Max Duggan

TCU quarterback Max Duggan is set to make his fourth career start versus Texas this Saturday. So far, the Iowa gunslinger is 2-1 against the Longhorns and was a key part of several recent Horned Frog wins over Texas. As a freshman in 2019, Duggan’s arm and legs willed the Frogs to victory. He was 19-of-27 for 273 yards and two touchdowns to one interception, but his rushing ability is what sealed the game for TCU. He carried the ball 13 times for 72 yards and a score. That fourth-quarter 11-yard touchdown rush sealed the TCU win helped in part by four Longhorn turnovers.

In 2020 in Austin, Duggan’s legs once again sealed a Horned Frog win. His 26-yard touchdown run with 4:01 left gave TCU a lead it would not relinquish and gave Texas its first loss of the 2020 season. Duggan was 20-of-30 for 231 yards and added 79 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Texas finally got one over Duggan in 2021 in Fort Worth. Duggan was a paltry 20-of-28 for 182 yards and added just 33 yards on the ground. It was not one of Duggan’s best games even though it didn’t include an interception.

This year, Duggan is playing like a Heisman candidate even if he didn’t win the starting job to begin the season. Duggan’s ability, plus Kendre Miller running the ball and Quentin Johnston on the outside, gives the fourth-year player the typical high-level Big 12 skill arsenal.

He’ll have an opportunity to not just determine if he finishes his career with a winning record over the Longhorns, but if he can continue to lead TCU to great conference and national heights in Sonny Dykes’ first year.
Four teams for two spots in Arlington

Four teams are in contention for the Big 12 title: TCU, Texas, Kansas State, and Baylor. In conference, TCU sits atop the leaderboard with a 6-0 record. Behind them are Baylor, Texas, and Kansas State all at 4-2. Here how I have each team’s remaining schedules ranked according to difficulty, with No. 1 being most difficult.

1. Baylor: Kansas State, TCU, at Texas
2. TCU: at Texas, at Baylor, Iowa State
3. Texas: TCU, at Kansas, Baylor
4. Kansas State: at Baylor, at West Virginia, Kansas

 

[satyanash 14281]

(Scipio Tex) 2022 Kansas State Post Mortem: Defense/Special Teams

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I’m leading with special teams as Texas winning here is an underrated part of the road victory against the Cats. There is no dramatic blocked kick or a long return to highlight as against Oklahoma State last week. This week was about what Texas denied to Kansas State.

In my game preview, I mentioned that KSU had outstanding kick returners in Malik Knowles (3 career kickoff touchdowns) and Phillip Brooks (4 career punt return touchdowns) and you can bet the Wildcats felt that a key to home victory was getting one of them into the paint. They probably dedicated an extra period to return teams last week. Other than Knowles’ first return of the game, Texas decimated the Wildcat kick return team and the Wildcats started at their 12, 15, 15 and 20 on kickoffs while they returned one solitary punt for 7 yards. Texas also downed two of three punts inside the Wildcat 20 and Bert Auburn was a perfect 2 of 2 on gimmies. Jeff Banks and this unit have made a difference for two weeks straight.

Defense

The Horns were a mixed bag on defense, but the effort level was good. The Cats rolled up 468 yards of offense at 6.6 yards per clip, but just as it looked like the Longhorn defense would allow the tying score in the final drive of the game after capitulating on two prior drives, Keondre Coburn made a flat out stud play pushing through a clothesline hold to punish Adrian Martinez’s poor ball security with a forced fumble. As predicted, the Texas D did a fine job of shutting down the Wildcat conventional running game, particularly in the second half, holding the Cats to their 2nd lowest rushing total of the season (Iowa State held them to 8 yards less in Ames), but Adrian Martinez had a season high passing performance connecting on 24 of 36 attempts for 329 yards, 2 touchdowns and a pick. He also added 66 yards on 12 runs (with sacks, he was 14-52). He added another touchdown on the ground.

The primary culprit(s) in allowing an average passer success throwing the ball in fairly predictable situations was an underrated KSU receiving corps playing as well as predicted with Horn linebackers and defensive backs blowing some zone coverages, allowing Deuce Vaughn a season high in receptions and receiving yards (7-86-1 td) along with a few individual scorchings of Texas defensive backs in the second half.

Here is Kansas State’s first touchdown. It’s also an instructional on how not to play zone defense:

That’s an easy throw for Martinez to a wide open Vaughn. Jaylan Ford makes his only significant error of the game by not turning and running with him and the safeties are slow to react. You can put it on the players, but this happened multiple times and Texas defenders continue to guard grass rather than individuals that enter their zone game after game. This is a coaching point. It requires no talent to pick up a receiver that enters your space. What they do to you after that is about talent. Texas may theoretically have eyes on the QB in zone or two deep man, but decisive breaks on the ball in the air when Martinez threw up some punts were nowhere to be found. If you’re not picking up receivers and attacking the ball in the air, zone merely becomes “Drop back and tackle the completion.” You have to add an element of peril. Particularly as KSU has to deviate from their run/play action script.

Here’s another example:

Exactly what would you say it is you do around here, Bob? Oghoufo is flat-footed and reacts to a straight drop back pass with Sinnott running across his face by getting no depth and hopping forward with both feet like he’s in a potato sack race. PK’s persistent notion that Ovie can defend the flat or spy the QB is interesting. If Overshown was supposed to jump their H-back’s release, that’s news to him. As for player error, here’s Jamier Johnson getting beaten pretty badly by Kade Warner (son of Kurt, he runs a little better than Dad):

This is an easy throw. #31 is in off coverage. Given that, how exactly is he beaten on a stop and go post route? Fortunately, Texas forced three fumbles, recovering one to clinch the game and Jaylan Ford added a key end of 1st half interception to close out the big first half lead. Those turnovers prevented the KSU offense from getting into the 30s and forcing overtime. Whatever it takes.

Caveat: it’s worth noting that Kansas State committed heroic levels of holding. KSU’s offensive line can’t pass block. So holding inordinately benefits them. Penalize it and Texas gets more sacks and pressures, which for Adrian Martinez, inevitably means more turnovers. Texas was content to rush only three or four and when you factor in containment responsibilities on Martinez and Wildcat grabbiness, the interior DL did a pretty good job.

DL

Strong game from this unit. When PK began to work Collins and Ojomo in at edge in the second half, Texas played better and was more disruptive in general. Justice Finkley played a few snaps and on one play, he muscled a KSU offensive tackle into the hole and the ball carrier with more physicality than the senior starter ahead of him has shown all season. Coburn played a whale of a game while being held incessantly. 4 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and a sack is a hell of a performance by an interior run stopper.

Note that Coburn is clotheslined as he dominates his man and forces the fumble. Ojomo gets doubled. Sorrell and Oghoufo are given containment tasks with 1 on 1 matchups, but note #18’s complete lack of physicality in driving back the tackle. 27 seconds left in the game. Empty the gas tank. Keondre Coburn saved the game. At this point, not splitting time on the edge between Collins-Oghoufo-Ojomo is fairly remarkable. If your reply is that we need Ovie to drop into coverages, you’ve lost the plot.

LB

Jaylan Ford made an early mistake in coverage and then played an absolute whale of a game with 10 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble. He’s the only true linebacker on the roster and has become arguably the most crucial player on the defense. DMO has shown no improvement as a standard off-ball linebacker. KSU ran some successful early downhill counters with DMO unblocked and he was totally lost. As KSU was forced to go away from their standard running game, DMO made some great hustle plays chasing and pursuing. Blackwell drew the start and looked lost early in both run and pass defense. He got it together a bit later in the game and had a nice goal line stick on Martinez on a QB lead.

DB

Ryan Watts was fantastic. KSU avoided him completely for four quarters. 6 tackles and a tackle for loss with great run support and lockdown coverage. Jerrin Thompson had a brain dead personal foul that allowed KSU out of 1st and 35 in the early third quarter. KSU went on to score a touchdown on that drive to cut the lead to 31-17 and make it a football game. Texas is not good enough on defense to offer 35 yard bailouts and the QB of our secondary has to understand game context.

Jahdae Barron had a key PBU in the end zone, returning after being shaken up by friendly fire. Michael Taaffe had six tackles and made a great play on a pulling 310 pound OL to stop a potentially long run. Huge props to Anthony Cook for coming in and playing through a significant injury, but he is clearly diminished.

Final

Game balls to Watts, Coburn and Ford. Texas has a lot of work to do to prepare for TCU. They must nail down zone concepts and play the best up front to stop the Frog running game with an honest box and disrupt Duggan’s comfort zone. Texas should also compile a Best of KSU holding tape and send it to the Big 12 conference offices and put the GameDay zebras on notice. If the Frogs can hold with impunity while running 4 and 5 wide, the Texas offense better put up 52. Meaning, 49 in the first half.