Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Alamo Bowl)

[satyanash 14281]

Collecting all the post-game analysis articles, including those behind paywalls, regarding the Washington game here:

Cody Daniel: Initial thoughts from No. 20 Texas’ 27-20 Alamo Bowl loss to No. 12 Washington

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The Texas Longhorns arrived in San Antonio missing some of their top talent, but still went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the nation. In the end, though, it was too little too late and Texas fell short, 27-20, in the Alamo Bowl. Here are a few initial thoughts from the action.

I wouldn’t put too much stock into this one. Winning would have been a solid building block heading into the offseason, but losing close inn the final seconds to one of the best teams in the nation while missing your best player and arguably three of your top five isn’t all that significant. If only a couple plays, like Xavier Worthy’s wide open dropped touchdown, end differently and the score outcome might have been different, too. So, in a season that featured a few losses where Texas was so close, their Alamo Bowl loss is just another example of that. Just use the offseason to turn close losses into clutch wins.

This was the kind of performance Quinn Ewers needed to take into the offseason. 31-47 for 369 yards and one touchdown, all while playing in a one-dimensional offense. He was largely decisive, accurate, confident, and overall played his best game since the OU game. Since that performance, he’s been subpar to say the least, but getting back to his early-season form with a relatively impressive showing can only help his confidence going forward.

Upgrading the wide receiver room will be a major priority this offseason. That’s especially true considering the passing game will need to be featured more prominently without Bijan Robinson or Roschon Johnson. Isaiah Neyor’s return should certainly help to that end, and to include the incoming class, there’s no shortage of young potential available, but potential isn’t production until proven otherwise. As for production, Jordan Whittington might be done in Austin, while Texas’ “best” receiver, Worthy, had a sophomore slump, to say the least, and dropped several more than a few passes for a second straight season. To be sure, Ewers will need to be better for his receivers, as well, but that group certainly didn’t do him too many favors this season. How well Texas’ addresses this glaring shortcoming in their offense will have a huge impact on any progress they hope to have next year.

You only want to be on the field when you’re on offense. Texas’ defense, on the other hand, had all sorts of trouble getting off when they had their chances. The Huskies converted 11-20 third-down attempts and two fourth-down tries, and often times, Washington was in complete control and made it look easy. That’s simply not good enough to when you’re playing one of the best offenses in the nation.

Jonathan Brooks is next up. RB4 due to the talent and experience that was ahead of him, Brooks has flashed nearly every time he’s gotten opportunities, and his Alamo Bowl performance was no different. He turned his eight touches into 55 yards and two touchdown to keep Texas alive in the second half, and going forward, it makes too much sense for him to be next in line to headline a young, but loaded running back room in 2023.

Wescott Eberts: Comeback falls short for Longhorns in 27-20 defeat

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First quarter

After winning the toss, Texas deferred to the second half, giving Washington the ball to start the game. With the Huskies in 12 personnel, the Longhorns started the game in its base defense and Washington successfully executed a flea flicker for a 35-yard gain to Ja’Lynn Polk, a Texas native and Texas Tech transfer, despite Texas safety Anthony Cook arriving with the football to deliver a shot to Polk.

The Huskies subsequently called a timeout before the second play, with Penix scrambling and overthrowing his intended receiver in the end zone before throwing another incompletion to set up 3rd and 10. On a miscommunication between Penix and his wide receiver, Texas safety Jerrin Thompson came up with the interception, only the eighth of the season thrown by the Washington quarterback.

After a five-yard gain by junior running back Keilan Robinson, Ewers was sacked on second down and then underthrew Worthy for an incompletion on a deep route. Trying to punt, senior Daniel Trejo had it blocked with Washington taking over at the 30-yard line.

Penix threw another incomplete pass to open the second drive for the Huskies and the Longhorns stymied the first rush attempt for Washington to force another third and long. In strong coverage once again, Cook was able to break up the pass, this time at the sticks, to force a 46-yard field goal with just enough leg to put the Huskies ahead, 3-0.

With Robinson bringing the ball out of the end zone, sophomore safety Michael Taaffe was called for holding to force Texas to start the drive at the 10-yard line. On first down, Robinson was stopped near the line of scrimmage, but Washington was called for a facemask penalty. Then sophomore wide receiver Xavier Worthy recorded his first reception wearing No. 1 at Texas for an 18-yard gain, followed by an 11-yard gain by junior wide receiver Jordan Whittington.

Texas quickly found itself in 3rd and 10, but gained nine yards on a screen pass to Robinson and moved the chains with a 27-yard reception by redshirt freshman wide receiver Casey Cain. After an incompletion by Ewers on first down, the Longhorns were called for a false start to set up second and goal from the 15-yard line. Going empty, redshirt freshman running back Jonathon Brooks caught a screen pass for a short gain after losing his footing. On third down, Cain caught the fade, but was pushed out of bounds. Settling for the field goal, sophomore kicker Bert Auburn connected from 30 yards to tie the game.

Washington started with poor field position following a kickoff coverage tackle by Taaffe and got behind the chains following a run and an incomplete pass. But the Huskies converted when Rome Odunze got a pass near the sideline in front of coverage to move the chains. Then Washington started working the middle of the field with tight end Jack Westover to pick up a first down and looked unprepared to run the football until Wayne Taluapapa found a crease and broke several tackles on the way to a 42-yard touchdown run and a 10-3 lead when Texas junior linebacker Jaylan Ford lost his gap integrity.

A flip out to sophomore tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders and a run by Brooks set up 3rd and 4 with Ewers connecting with Worthy on a comeback route thanks to a large cushion afforded by the Washington cornerback. Slicing into the backfield, a Huskies linebacker produced a tackle for loss before Ewers hit Worthy on a slant for nine yards and Ewers scrambled for a first down.

Second quarter

Texas entered the second quarter needing to block the Washington front more effectively after the running backs gained only 10 yards on five carries in the opening 15 minutes. Sanders opened the second quarter with a catch over the middle, but freshman wide receiver Savion Red couldn’t convert the short-yardage situation on a screen pass and Ewers couldn’t connect with Worthy on a glance route run-pass option to hand the ball over on downs.

Two completions led to a 3rd and 4 for Washington and an empty set for Penix, but a false start by the Huskies made the down and distance less manageable. A delay of game set Washington back even farther before Penix scrambled to keep the play alive and delivered an accurate pass downfield broken up by Cooks thanks to an obvious pass interference penalty that went uncalled. Whittington nearly extended the drive by making contact with the punter, but it was ruled running into the kicker instead of roughing the kicker and the Huskies opted for another attempt.

Back with Robinson at running back, two runs produced nine yards, but a third couldn’t secure the first down, forcing the Longhorns to punt — no real surprise that the player listed at 5’9, 185 pounds wasn’t able to pick up a first down in short yardage in between the tackles.

Washington immediately looked more capable running inside with three consecutive runs producing 19 yards. Facing 3rd and 8, Penix was forced to check down, Texas populated the ball for a tackle, and the Longhorns got the ball back following a false start on all 11 Huskies, starting at the 20-yard line after a touchback.

A check down to Sanders went for 17 yards on second down before two short completions produced 3rd and 3, but Whittington wasn’t able to come up with the conversion, forcing a punt that bounced into the end zone.

Washington converted a third down on its third straight throw to open the drive before two more set up 3rd and 6 near midfield. On a counter run, the Huskies moved the chains when Ford missed a key tackle, Penix missed a subsequent deep shot in the end zone, and Washington called a timeout prior to the second-down play. Under pressure, Penix scrambled for four yards and then hit Odunze over the middle for 18 yards. With the clock ticking under a minute, the Huskies called their final timeout with 22 seconds left with the ball in the Longhorns red zone. Texas followed with another timeout facing 2nd and 6 and needing to avoid giving up a touchdown before halftime. On a middle screen to the tight end that picked up the first down at the 6-yard line, Texas junior cornerback Ryan Watts went down on the field with an injury before leaving for the locker room. After spiking the ball and throwing incomplete out of the end zone, Washington only had seven seconds remaining on third down, but Penix couldn’t find Odunze in the end zone on a slant route. The Huskies settled for a 24-yard field goal to head into halftime up 13-3.

Third quarter

Starting from the 25-yard line, Ewers hit Whittington on an out route for 13 yards, Robinson hit for seven yards between the tackles, and Worthy dropped a comeback route when he took his eyes off the ball, but bounced back when Ewers bought time in the pocket to find him over the middle for a 21-yard gain on 3rd and 3. When Robinson stutter stepped instead of hitting the hole, right guard DJ Campbell was called for a hold to put Texas behind the chains. Sanders gained those eight yards back and Brooks was able to get up the sideline on a swing pass for a huge 34-yard touchdown.

Two runs set up 3rd and 3 for Washington with Texas nickel back Jahdae Barron blowing up the screen pass with the Huskies pass catcher ruled down on review. After a late shift and long wait, Penix was able to pick up the first down on a quarterback sneak. A swing pass to the tight end brought in motion picked up a chunk gain down the sideline before an incomplete pass and a short completion set Washington up for 3rd and 6 completed over the middle. The Huskies kept grinding with positive plays and ended the drive with a six-yard completion from Penix to Taj Davis for a 20-10 lead following the 13-play, 75-yard drive that took 5:47.

A throw to Robinson out of the backfield netted 15 yards and another throw to Robinson was set to gain positive yardage, too, but the play was whistled dead for a false start. Robinson gained four yards between the tackles on first down before leaving in favor of Brooks. Ewers took a deep shot to Worthy and the throw was accurate enough for Worthy to catch it, but he appeared to misjudge it and the ball fell incomplete off his hands. Following a timeout, Worthy was running wide open down the middle on 3rd and 11, Ewers made a perfect throw, and Worthy simply dropped it in a would-be touchdown.

With a deflated crowd, the Texas defense continued to give up steady yardage to Washington, leading to a 3rd and 6 near midfield. A tackle by senior cornerback D’Shawn Jamison stopped Odunze short of the marker to set up 4th and 2 with the Longhorns calling timeout. On a play-action pass, Penix hit his tight end for the first down. Trying to take advantage of a potentially deflated Longhorns defense, the Huskies tried to lateral looking for a big play, but Texas defended it well to earn an incompletion. A first-down conversion on 3rd and 2 extended the drive and sent the game into the fourth quarter.

Fourth quarter

Washington quickly moved deep into the Texas red zone with the first two plays of the fourth quarter, both passes, before Penix pulled it on a zone read and was tackled for no gain at the 8-yard line. On second down, Jalen McMillan picked a throw off his shoestrings on a slant route for a touchdown and a commanding 27-10 lead.

Ewers completed his first three passes on the ensuing drive before missing Cain a little bit long while under pressure, but was able to move the chains by finding Whittington on second and third down. A throw over the middle to sophomore tight end Gunnar Helm went for 19 yards into the Huskies red zone and two runs from Brooks resulted in a touchdown.

Washington responded with a typical drive before Penix nearly made a big mistake — throwing to the sideline against Texas freshman cornerback Terrance Brooks, who had the interception knocked from his hands by the intended receiver.

Then, with two wide receivers in the area, McMillan came up with a huge third-down conversion. In 3rd and 11 after a false start, Brooks had strong coverage to force an incompletion prior to a Washington timeout. Going for it from the 37-yard line, Penix had his pass broken up by Cook.

Two short completions by Ewers put Texas in 3rd and 2, converted on a throw to Robinson out of the backfield. On the next play, Cain went up outside his frame to secure a catch and run for 23 yards. After a scramble by Ewers moved the chains again, the Longhorns were inside the red zone. A screen to Robinson went for five yards on second down, setting up 3rd and 5 with the clock ticking under two minutes. But Ewers wasn’t able to find Cain, setting up a 25-yard field goal by Auburn.

Attempting an onside kick, Auburn wasn’t able to hit it to produce any strange bounces and the Huskies were able to recover it easily, leaving the Longhorns with only two timeouts remaining. Texas was able to limit Washington’s carries to three yards, setting up 3rd and 7 with 1:31 left on the clock. The Horns got the stop, forcing a punt with 42 seconds remaining. When the ball died at the 15-yard line, 31 seconds were left.

After an incomplete pass, Ewers went down in the pocket to effectively end the game, which came after another incompletion and a catch by Cain that merely padded the final line for Ewers.

Bobby Burton: Inside Texas Alamo Bowl Postgame Show

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Texas fell short in their Alamo Bowl matchup with the Washington Huskies, as Michael Penix completed a 32-of-54 game with two touchdowns. The Husky rushing game, led by Wayne Taulapapa, rushed for 158 yards and a score in Washington’s 27-20 win. Quinn Ewers was 31-of-47 for 369 yards and a touchdown, a 34 yard pass to Jonathon Brooks. The Huskies took a 13-3 lead into halftime thanks to a 16-of-30, 139-yard opening 30 minutes from Michael Penix Jr. The potent Washington offense is usually led by its passing attack, but the half’s only touchdown was scored on a 42-yard run by Wayne Tualapapa. Jack McCallister hit two field goals, while Texas’ only score was a Bert Auburn triple. Jerrin Thompson intercepted Penix Jr. on the game’s opening drive.

 

[thepop 4409]

tf is CJ Vogel on about. We've had so many frustrating seasons this one doesnt really come close.

[Sgt Hulk 13647]

I really don’t think the 273 yard punt is getting enough love 

[Matsuyama 10]

7 hours ago, thepop said:

tf is CJ Vogel on about. We've had so many frustrating seasons this one doesnt really come close.

Exactly 

[satyanash 14281]

8 hours ago, thepop said:

tf is CJ Vogel on about. We've had so many frustrating seasons this one doesnt really come close.

 

[Bigbend1812 12886]

1 hour ago, satyanash said:

 

Edited December 30, 2022 by Bigbend1812
STFU for quite some time.

[satyanash 14281]

Bobby Burton: Closing out the 2022 regular season following Texas' Alamo Bowl loss

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Texas finished 8-5, and we witnessed history in the process. All five losses were by a single score. I can’t find a season in Texas history where the Horns lost 5 or more games in a season, and all of them were by one score.

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There were some promising things that happened last night though.

– Quinn Ewers. And it’s more than about his stat line. He seemed to have regained some composure in the pocket and better game understanding. He ran for two first downs, evaded the rush and wisely threw the ball away a couple of others, he moved up into the pocket to deliver another first down to Worthy. Ewers is not a finished product, but improvement is nice to see. Of course, he also delivered a couple of passes others simply couldn’t make. A quick-armed pass to JT Sanders in the flat against a heavy rush was one of those. I also felt he distributed the ball to various receivers better, not honing in so much on Xavier Worthy. It will be a “process” with Ewers to extract his best play. But I felt like last night was a move in the right direction, one that is very important as we head into the off season.

– Some young guys on defense got quite a bit of run. And they could become regulars next year: Terrance Brooks, Morice Blackwell, Ethan Burke, Austin Jordan and Justice Finkley each saw extended action last night. Brooks and Blackwell looked particularly good. Brooks’ break on the out route was elite. He just has to haul that in next time.

– Texas continued to work DJ Campbell into the game at right guard. Campbell played a lot of the second and third quarters while fellow true freshman Cole Hutson played most of the first and fourth quarters while starting his 13th game of the season.

– Jonathon Brooks was not the feature back we expected. But as he often does, he found the end zone when called upon. Brooks’ 34-yard catch and run on a throwback screen, where he used his blockers and then peeled down the sideline? was the offensive play of the game for the Horns. He can and will be a weapon for the Horns next season.

– After the drop against Iowa State, Casey Cain redeemed himself in San Antonio. He made a nice fourth-down catch early and was generally reliable the rest of the way. He provided another outlet to Ewers.

**

For the record, I don’t take much solace in this loss. It was a winnable game. Texas didn’t execute when needed the most. If Worthy doesn’t drop the ball, it stays a one-score game and Texas has plenty of momentum. Winning teams make those plays.

**

I also felt like the defense, at times, was a microcosm of what it was most of the season. They played well, but too often yielded long, time-consuming drives. And the Horns are still missing a “disruptor”, someone who puts the other team in bad down-and-distance situations two or more times a game. Last night, the Horns routinely applied pressure to the Washington QB up the middle. But not from the edge. As a result, Texas had no sacks and zero tackles for loss (not one!).

Yes, Washington has a good offense with a veteran QB and they move the pocket around quite a lot. The Horns need a playmaker, a disruptor, on defense in the worst way. Can that be Anthony Hill as soon as next season? Or maybe Ethan Burke continues to develop. Or perhaps Texas strikes gold in the portal. This defense, it seems to me, is truly just one difference maker away from being more than just “good” and “solid”.

**

One final note: you win as a team, you lose as a team. Pinning this all on a Xavier Worthy drop (or two) doesn’t tell the whole story. Jordan Whittington, who had a solid game overall, had a third-down drop that stopped a second-half drive. Brooks could have come away with that interception. Jaylan Ford guessed wrong on the long touchdown run and let a runner slip through his grasp on what would have been a third-down stop.

Football, as much as any sport there is, is a team game. And it’s one of the reasons I love it so much. So don’t pin this all on Worthy, on the defense or whoever. It’s a team loss and the better team won last night.

Eric Nahlin: Thoughts after a disjointed display in San Antonio

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It wasn’t all bad on Thursday night but we’ll start there given the fact they lost and it was an often listless performance. Texas never really seemed in it, Texas never really seemed out of it. The team just meandered about for four quarters.

Thursday was yet another example of Sark the OC making things more difficult for Sark the HC. He seems to call games based on the personnel he wishes he had rather than the personnel he currently has. The result, after weeks of practice and game planning specifically for Washington, was three first half points. We saw numerous holdover themes from the regular season: dead ball penalties putting the offense behind the sticks, wasted plays throwing the ball deep, and lack of cohesion or individual understanding of duties on the offensive line. The latter wasn’t a theme throughout the season but it definitely was in the conference finale against Baylor.

Personnel decisions were questionable, too. The only reason to play Keilan Robinson in a feature role ahead of Jonathon Brooks is if you’re worried about Robinson transferring. And that’s not to say it’s a good reason. Modeling the passing game around one of the highest boom or bust players in the country also makes little sense. Game plan based on what he is, not what you wish him to be. It’s not a good argument to say, “well, he’s open, it was a good call.”

Sark did make a good adjustment to try and get Xavier Worthy involved in the higher percentage short and intermediate game, but of course he wasn’t rewarded. Texas can’t go into next season with Worthy as its No. 1 option. He is too much of a crutch for Sark’s preferences, similar to Tom Herman’s reliance of hero-ball with Sam Ehlinger.

There was some good. The defense played well at times in a continuation of the season-long performance. They weren’t great, but they were decent. Third downs again hampered them for stretches and they were uncharacteristically run on, but overall pass defense was good. Michael Penix Jr. had one of his most pedestrian performances of the season. Jaylan Ford again showed us how important he is, but not for the right reasons. Texas needs him back and playing to his conference levels.

The best takeaway from the game will hopefully end up being Quinn Ewers’ progress. He didn’t play great, and I don’t care about the gaudy passing totals bolstered by a meaningless deep ball to Casey Cain on the final play of the game, but he played with his best composure in a long time. He was quicker in the pocket — both when to release the ball and when to bail. Overall decision making was good. He still back-footed too many passes and had some errant throws, but his comfort in the pocket looked vastly improved. After some concerning struggles it’s a good way to head into the offseason for the young quarterback. That performance gives me confidence he can return to the trend-line many of us thought he was on after the OU game.

Sark’s team showed legitimate progress this year, but games like the Alamo Bowl reveal how much work is yet to be done, both on the headsets and on the practice field. The good news, continued accrual of talent and time to develop said talent, will fix much of what ails the program.

 

[satyanash 14281]

(Ian Boyd) Five quick thoughts: Huskies control the Alamo Bowl

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The 2022 Washington Huskies were a very good team. The point spread was pretty bizarre considering the Huskies’ resume this season and Texas’ key opt outs. I don’t think anyone expected Texas’ rushing attack to fall off quite so hard though without Bijan Robinson or Roschon Johnson.

Washington was betting if they brought an extra man into the run fit as most of Texas ‘ opponents had done down the stretch, the Longhorns wouldn’t be able to run the ball anyways without the Andrej Karic jumbo package and (more importantly) their star running backs. This proved to be prescient and the Huskies were able to control the game well enough as a result to pound away at the Longhorns with 83 total plays, eventually blowing holes with their own run game.

Both of these teams will be looking to build on their 2022 campaigns and try to make a leap to national relevance in 2023 but it’ll be the Huskies who claim the bowl game victory momentum, for whatever it’s worth, into the next offseason. Fortunately for Texas, it’s just another game in a solid and already established 2022 which will only prove to be a stepping stone back into major prominence.

Quick thought no. 1: Texas’ run game was missing some juice

One decision by Steve Sarkisian and his staff which will certainly be second-guessed was the emphasis on Keilan Robinson in the run game over Jonathon Brooks. Robinson struggled with eight carries for 27 yards at 3.4 ypc and a notable 3rd-and-1 stop where his lack of size was clearly a detriment to gaining hard yards.

Brooks had six carries for 18 yards but scored Texas’ only touchdowns with a 34 yard score on a screen pass and a good run into the end zone on a goal line carry from three yards out. He’s clearly explosive but Texas had a number of factors playing into their rushing attack which limited his output. They probably wanted to ride with upperclassmen Robinson for one.

Washington also had a part to play, bringing down numbers against a very spread-heavy approach from Texas’ offense and encouraging a 47 passing attempt game from Quinn Ewers which went a little better than might have been feared but was ultimately as fruitless as the previous games where Texas’ passing game was so heavily emphasized.

The hopes this game would show Texas’ rushing attack won’t miss Bijan or Roschon and will simply plug in the next generation and keep plugging away took a shot. Yet Brooks showed some real explosiveness.

Quick thought no. 2: Quinn Ewers took some steps forward tonight

Without Bijan and the run game, this one fell on Ewers and the gameplan was heavy on 11 personnel, RPOs, quick passes, and then the customary shot plays to Xavier Worthy and also to some other targets.

Ewers had a few bad misses, most notably on an open glance route on a 4th-and-1 RPO, then he also had a few solidly-placed deep balls which Worthy could not find or bring in. These two are one of the most hypothetically lethal yet realistically abysmal pairings I’ve seen at Texas. Theoretically Ewers’ arm combined with Worthy’s ability to win open deep should be a devastating combination, but Ewers never seems to find Worthy’s track and when he gets close Worthy never rewards him with a winning effort to bring the ball in.

On the day Ewers targeted Worthy 14 times and got seven catches for 84 yards, or six yards per target. Pretty weak and ineffective both on deep throws and also in some key 3rd downs. Nevertheless, Ewers was 31-47 for 369 yards at 7.9 ypa with one touchdown and zero interceptions. It wasn’t enough to win a game where Washington was able to overplay the run and dare Texas to win with the passing game, but it was a better effort than we’d seen from Ewers in similar situations earlier in the year.

He wasn’t really ready for this season but he gained a ton of experience and we’ll see what he looks like after another offseason to process the season and focus explicitly on areas of needed growth.

Quick thought no. 3: Situational defense got beaten down again

Texas had a pretty good day blocking Michael Penix, Jr and the vaunted Husky passing game. Penix went 32-54 for 287 yards at 5.3 ypa with two touchdowns and an interception. Those are pretty miserable numbers overall, yet the Huskies were 11-20 on 3rd down, 2-3 on 4th down, and running back Wayne Taulapapa made his 14 carries count with 108 rushing yards at 7.7 ypc and a touchdown.

Texas was able to successfully limit the big plays, force long drives, and made a few stops short of the red zone but did not do it enough. It was a recurring theme for the squad this year, they didn’t make life easy for any offense they faced in 2022, but weren’t able to overpower many teams consistently in situational play.

The defense was credited with nine quarterback hurries, six of those by the D-line, yet none of them from the Buck weak side rush Edge position. We saw Ethan Burke and Justice Finkley both get some snaps in this game at Buck and Jack respectively, but neither were quite ready to come in and change a game with their pass rush. Terrance Brooks also came into the game late after Austin Jordan was the first to get into the mix rotating for Ryan Watts and ultimately replacing him. Jordan had a respectable showing and Brooks had two big pass break-ups late in the game in big moments when Texas needed stops.

If the Longhorns can add some overpowering, skilled athleticism at Edge and grow at cornerback next season, they can turn regular disciplined defense into dominant overall play.

Quick thought no. 4: Texas missed their older stars

Texas made a good effort to fight back late in the game. Quinn Ewers’ body language and rhythm was clearly better after a really strong touchdown drive coming out of the half, at least until the pair of Worthy drops on the next drive spoiled their chance at another scoring drive. The defense battled and had some good plays late from Anthony Cook and Jerrin Thompson.

Overall they missed DeMarvion Overshown just as they’d missed Bijan and Roschon. All year long the schemes and units were set up for those three to make many of the big plays with games on the line and the replacements weren’t quite ready to make them in their stead. Washington’s misdirection-heavy offense and the intermixed power runs to their thick power back Taulapapa would have been easier to handle with DMO flying around the field, just as the Longhorns would have liked to put the ball into Bijan’s hands late in the game.

Ultimately, it’s really hard to shift the focus of your team to new players even with the benefits of the extra bowl practices. When the departing stars are NFL-bound talents and your opponent is bringing their full complement of players? Often people treat bowl games as an exhibition for the following season, particularly when key players are missing, but Texas isn’t badly off for needing a full offseason to retool without those star players and made a pretty game effort in this contest overall.

Quick thought no. 5: An identity shift is coming this offseason

Texas won’t lose the power run game next season, but their path next season is going to look more like this game than it did contests such as the Baylor game where they simply ran the ball every play of every drive en route to victory.

Eight different Longhorns were targeted and brought down catches in this game with the main receiving lineup of Ja’Tavion Sanders, Xavier Worthy, and Jordan Whittington all having moments of getting special targets and making some plays. With a special receiving tight end like Sanders back next season, to say nothing of the other receivers who may all return, the focus of the team has to shift into more dropback passing.

Quinn Ewers was more comfortable in this game with the spread passing sets Texas featured, which is a good sign because their ticket next year will be to add another impact receiver to the starting lineup via development, recruiting, or the transfer portal and let it fly next season. They need their now rising sophomore signal-caller to put in an excellent offseason of work in order to translate the hard lessons of 2022 into a huge campaign in 2023. Bijan and Roschon won’t be there to carry the load anymore, Ewers has a feel for how that will go now and it’s up to him to grow with his receivers into the stars of tomorrow.