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Collecting all $9.95-er articles on the Alabama game here

(Gerald Goodridge) Texas 34, Alabama 24: Three Things we Learned

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A week after an unimpressive outing against the Rice Owls in their opener, the No. 11 Texas Longhorns went to Tuscaloosa and did what few have done, knock off the Nick Saban Alabama Crimson Tide. Going into the contest, Saban had just one other loss at home in his Tuscaloosa tenure, a one-touchdown loss to ULM in his first year as the head coach. Now, Steve Sarkisian has become just the third former Saban assistant to knock him off on the opposite sideline, he seemingly has the Longhorns humming in a way that fans were concerned about a week ago.

1. Texas can connect on the deep ball

A big part of the lead-up to the game was the talk about Quinn Ewers and his ability to hit on the deep ball, and rightfully so. But just a week after going 0-9 on routes longer than 15 yards, it was a key to the victory for Texas. Despite some early misses, Sarkisian continued to dial up the deep shots and one finally paid off for Texas, when Ewers sent a moon shot to Xavier Worthy to score the game’s first touchdown and take a 10-3 lead in the second quarter. He dialed it up again in the fourth quarter and connected with AD Mitchell for the second time, a 39-yard dagger to take a 10-point lead. For his trouble, Ewers finished with his third career 300-yard game, none more pivotal than this one.

The receivers require their fair share of the credit as well, with Worthy recovering from an early touchdown drop to perfectly track the first deep shot, and AD Mitchell doing something he has done twice before — deliver a dagger to the Crimson Tide.

2. Texas can close

After two years of frustration, futility, and second-half collapses, the Longhorns did what they needed to do in the fourth quarter, answer back and close out a game. In the final frame, Texas completed seven passes for 135 yards — 38.6 percent of their total for the night — and converted on two of their four third-down attempts, both on their final drive. Add to that a pivotal heads-up play from Hayden Conner, intentionally coming out of his stance when the Alabama defender entered the neutral zone to draw a five-yard penalty and effectively end the game.

The defense, for their trouble, held Alabama under 100 yards in the quarter, despite giving up a long touchdown on a broken, improvised play from Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe.

3. The defense is elite

Speaking of the Texas defense, they were the reason why the offense was able to put up enough points to pull off the road upset. A week after rolling over Middle Tennessee State, Alabama was held without a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver, while Milroe threw two interceptions — one that set up the Longhorns’ second score of the second half, their second in 65 seconds. Against a massive and hyped Alabama line, the defense brought down the lightning-fast Milroe five times for a total of 31 yards and forced him to be uncomfortable all night. If the Longhorns can keep that level of intensity each and every week, any team will have struggles to move the ball against them.

Now the struggle for Texas becomes, how do you keep the intensity high against the Wyoming Cowboys, who knocked off the Texas Tech Red Raiders in their season opener? If Texas can answer that question, their goals for the year are well within their grasp.

(Ian Boyd) Five quick thoughts: Breakout at Tuscaloosa

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With a 34-24 victory in Tuscaloosa over Nick Saban’s Alabama, Texas joined the hallowed company of Louisiana-Monroe, the last team to beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa in non-conference play. Hmmm, that doesn’t seem to capture the scope of the moment.

How about this, Alabama hadn’t lost in Bryant-Denny Stadium in 21 games and the reason Louisiana-Monroe was the last team to beat Alabama when the Tide were at home was because it happened back in 2007 before Nick Saban had the machine rolling. In the 15 seasons since, no one had beaten Alabama in Tuscaloosa in a non-conference game. Texas’ win also snapped a 57-game regular season non-conference win streak for Alabama and a 21-game home winning streak. Virtually no one was beating the Tide in their own building and certainly not non-SEC teams.

Quinn Ewers was the key ingredient for Texas. The former 5-star quarterback rewarded Texas’ patience with him as a first-year starter in 2022 with a 24-38 day throwing for 349 yards at 9.2 ypa with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. The next biggest ingredient was the Longhorn defense, which held a run-centric Alabama to 107 rushing yards and picked off quarterback Jalen Milroe twice.

Whatever happens the rest of the season, this wasn’t a fluke or an unimportant win. This was likely a milestone for both programs as they progress into the young decade. Texas under younger Steve Sarkisian in year three and Alabama in year 17 with Nick Saban may have just passed each other on opposite trajectories.

Quick thought no. 1: Texas took it to Alabama

Sark came into this game looking to take swings. The Longhorns went for it on 4th down on three occasions and tried to maximize scoring opportunities early and often, which at one point appeared as though it would sink them. Three of Texas red zone trips before the 4th quarter yielded only six points (2-for-3 on field goals there by Bert Auburn) with the Longhorns missing two different scoring chances on dropped throws. When Alabama stormed back into the game and took the lead at the end of the third quarter it appeared those missed opportunities would sink Texas.

They did not. There was plenty more in the tank for the Texas players and in Sark’s play-calling bag. Texas four possessions in the fourth quarter went as follows:

Three plays, 75 yards, touchdown.
One play, five yards, touchdown (cap tip Jerrin Thompson).
Seven plays, 75 yards, touchdown.
12 plays, 34 yards, victory formation.
The Longhorns rolled up 454 yards of offense, caught up to Alabama with 105 total rushing yards, and took the air out of Bryant-Denny Stadium in the fourth quarter.

Quick thought no. 2: Ewers realized

The gameplan for Texas was exactly what it needed to be in order to win a road game against a big, hefty defense with a reputation for hard-nosed, physical play. They spread Alabama out and threw the dang ball up and down the field. Ewers was tasked with connecting on RPOs (such as Adonai Mitchell‘s first touchdown), quick game concepts throwing out to the flats, play-action shots down the field (finally connected with Xavier Worthy!), scripted hits on screens and misdirection throws, and some NFL-style dropback passing including some big hits to Jordan Whittington and the dagger throw over the top to Mitchell.

A lot of people get credit when a team throws the ball around like Texas did in this game. The offensive line protected extremely well despite making several substitutions, yielding zero sacks to a vaunted Tide pass-rush. Casey Cain got snaps and made some good blocks on the perimeter to boost the Texas screen game. Texas’ receivers got open consistently against the Tide defenders, which of all the difficult tasks executed on the night was not the least. Terrion Arnold is a very well regarded cornerback and he drew two different defensive pass interference calls. Tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders built on his case as a 2024 NFL draft.

But ultimately you run that gameplan when you feel good about what you have at quarterback and you win on the road against Alabama by throwing the ball when your quarterback plays a whale of a game. Ewers was calm and collected for the vast majority of the game, stepped into several throws, and was generally in command of the game.

The last time I remember a Texas quarterback making a stride like that in a big time college football atmosphere on the road and winning with his arm, it lead to big things for that player and the program.

Quick thought no. 3: Texas Edges…not a team weakness

Remember when Texas’ play at the essential Edge positions in Pete Kwiatkowski’s 2-4-5 defense was considered one of the bigger questions marks for Texas in the 2023 season? God knows it was an issue in 2021 and 2022. Ethan Burke sacked Milroe once and pressured him consistently, Anthony Hill sacked him twice while playing Burke’s position on 3rd down, and the Longhorns rotated multiple players at either position while inflicting five total sacks on the Alabama passing game.

Their various Edges also accumulated four total tackles for loss and put together quite the game in containing the Alabama option run game and forcing (along with Ewers’ scoring) the Tide to ask Milroe to drop back to throw on 30+ of their 62 total plays. Milroe ended up playing hero-ball with 27 pass attempts and 15 carries.

That’s not how Alabama wanted to play this game. Relying on the play-making and decision-making of a first-year starting quarterback while their running backs accumulated only 20 total carries which yielded 63 total yards at 3.2 ypc. The Longhorns effectively contained the Tide offense with their Edges and really harassed Milroe in his drop backs.

Quick thought no. 4: Texas won in the trenches where it mattered

Let’s revisit that earlier stat. Alabama’s running backs carried the ball 20 times in this game for 63 total yards at 3.2 ypc and zero touchdowns. It was always a possible outcome. The Longhorns are fierce and deep at defensive tackle and much improved at linebacker with senior Jaylan Ford and a cast of hard-hitting safeties lead by leading tackler Jalen Catalon (seven total, one tackle for loss). Alabama looked to impose their will early in the run game with bigger sets and runs behind the big, veteran right side of their line but Texas made some adjustments and played bigger sets with Alfred Collins and others at defensive end and took it away.

The left side of the Alabama line was decidedly trounced by the Longhorns. Texas won this matchup big and didn’t allow the Tide to muscle them as Arkansas had done back in 2021. Texas’ offensive line didn’t really bully the Alabama defensive line either, but in the fourth quarter they punched in a run from five out to Jonathon Brooks and ran the ball nine straight times to end the fourth quarter and kept the chains moving before finishing the game with the quarterback kneel.

The Longhorns needed their O-line to do three things to win the game. Protect Quinn, avoid negative plays, and get some movement when it really mattered in short-yardage or winning time. They did exactly that with Brooks and hard-running freshman CJ Baxter getting 25 combined carries for 89 yards at 3.6 ypc and a rushing touchdown. It was all hard-earned and paid off. Credit Sark as well for using wide receiver motions and some fancy packages with Keilan Robinson to misdirect and confuse the Tide defenders on some of Brooks’ big runs.

Quick thought no. 5: So what does it mean?

So Texas beat Alabama, snapped a big winning streak, overcame some early missed opportunities and plenty of demons and doubts…what exactly does this mean? The ‘Horns are now 2-0 for 2023 with perhaps their easiest and their most difficult games out of the way. They’re going to get Wyoming at home in prime time next week and then the Big 12 conference schedule. A win of this magnitude puts Texas in position to compete nationally in the polls and in the playoff rankings. A loss or two in a bad Big 12 would bring them crashing back down to earth.

This game can mean as much as Texas makes of it. They should be filled with confidence in their process and talent after such a big win and carry that into the season. If they play clean, well-prepared football in their remaining contests they can win out in the regular season. The most meaningful goal from here would be to win the Big 12 Championship and say farewell to their bitter conference mates while moving on to making high profile games like tonight the new normal for Longhorn football.

A team this explosive in the passing game and physically imposing up front on defense could be a factor nationally as well in the playoff picture. We’ll see what Ewers and the Longhorns make of their opportunities but there can be no doubt this team has the world in front of them in a way we haven’t seen from a Texas team in a very long time.

 

 

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https://theathletic.com/4848518/2023/09/10/texas-alabama-steve-sarkisian-playoff/

Ari Wasserman of The Athletic is an idiot but he has a good point here:

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There was plenty to doubt about this team. If you were hesitant to believe it before you saw it, that’s your prerogative.

But let this be a lesson that analysis isn’t just simply looking at what has been happening and assuming it’s going to happen again. 

So much "herp derp, is Texas back?, seven loss Steve" talk coming into the season.  As if we won't eventually come out of the wilderness.

Spoiler

The Texas Longhorns are for real — it’s time everyone takes them seriously

By Ari Wasserman

Sep 9, 2023

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Steve Sarkisian stood on the Alabama Crimson Tide logo as he conducted his postgame interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe. From the northeast corner of the end zone, “SEC! SEC! SEC!” chants were bouncing off the walls of Bryant-Denny Stadium. The noise was coming from Texas fans, rejoicing in the program-legitimizing win everyone should have seen coming.

Texas 34, Alabama 24.

Quarterback Quinn Ewers stood behind his coach waiting for his turn to be interviewed. Smiling, he turned to a Texas state trooper who was on assignment to help the Longhorns return home safely. Ewers patted the officer on his chest and shared a quick word with him.

“It’s going to be a fun ride home, isn’t it?”

After his interview with Rowe, Ewers hugged receiver Xavier Worthy, and the two ran from midfield to the Texas fans. Players were flashing the “Hook ’Em Horns” hand signals, slapping hands with fans and hugging each other. This wasn’t a typical celebration you see after a hard-fought road win. Texas — and its fans — were celebrating like something changed. For the first time in years, the rest of the college football world will have to become comfortable with Texas being good. Not back, but legitimately good.

This is no longer preseason hype. There is no more blind faith based solely on recruiting rankings. This was a complete victory by a complete team.

When Alabama took a 16-13 lead at the end of the third quarter, the temptation to sink back into the “here we go again” feeling was there. People in the press box were cracking jokes about how Texas was going to Texas. Instead, Texas answered with 14 straight points in the span of 15 seconds to knock Alabama down. Texas was the Goliath on that field, not the David.

A lot of that was Ewers and the unquestionable growth he illustrated — completing 24 of 38 passes for 349 yards and three touchdowns — but it was bigger than just the quarterback after a big win. This was a culture win that took the entire team. This was a Sarkisian-coached football team coming into one of the most hostile stadiums in the country expecting to win. This was a team that actually believed it should win, not one trying to prove it was good enough to keep it close with the mighty Crimson Tide.

Does that sound like the Texas that has been the butt of everyone’s jokes for years?

Or is that progress?

Or is that a team that you’ll finally take seriously as a legitimate threat to make the College Football Playoff?

“I’ve been in that (Alabama) locker room. A lot of people walk into this stadium, the mystique of Alabama has them beat before the game kicks off,” Sarkisian said. “I had to make sure that our players understood that we’re good enough to come in here and get a win. But the moment doubt creeps in, that’s when you can start making the mistakes that can get you beat. I wanted to be clear with our players that it’s not about fearing them. We do respect them. But we were good enough to come here and win.”

Sarkisian has been a head coach for a decade and has failed to win 10 games in a season. This was his first win over a top-five opponent since 2009, improving his record to 2-7 in such games at stops at USC, Washington and Texas.

The Longhorns always have a ton of talent on their team but have inexplicably been unable to put it together. Last year, Texas played well enough at home to beat Alabama, but Ewers got injured and the Longhorns couldn’t get it done. Texas went on to drop a few more games in the Big 12 to inferior opponents en route to another underwhelming season.

There was plenty to doubt about this team. If you were hesitant to believe it before you saw it, that’s your prerogative.

But let this be a lesson that analysis isn’t just simply looking at what has been happening and assuming it’s going to happen again. Texas checks in at No. 6 in the latest edition of the 247Sports Team Talent Composite. It has the quarterback in Ewers, who proved he can throw the deep ball. He led two scoring drives in this game that were direct answers to Alabama points. He stood in the pocket, never flinched in the face of pressure and made most of the throws he was asked to make. That’s what you need out of your quarterback.

But that’s not all it was. It was a great performance from the offensive line, led by tackles Kelvin Banks and Christian Jones. Ewers wasn’t sacked. It was the way the defensive line constantly pressured Jalen Milroe, never letting the Alabama quarterback get comfortable as a passer. It was Texas’ entire defense, which made big-time tackles and delivered bone-crushing hits, playing the game at a speed that only the most supremely talented teams can play.

And, of course, now you have a head coach who has accomplished something. Sarkisian was masterful drawing up plays, whether it was the short passes to the flats that had Texas consistently gaining 5 yards or his ability to pick the right moment to hit Alabama over the top. It was the perfect type of aggression, too, going for it on fourth down when it was appropriate and kicking field goals when it made sense.

Texas came into Bryant-Denny Stadium and not only beat Alabama but handled the Crimson Tide physically. When Alabama punched back at the end of the third quarter and took the lead, Texas regained control and never faltered.

“We’ve put so much into the culture of this team,” Sarkisian said.

You could tell, and Sarkisian could have used his postgame news conference as a moment to bask in the glory and bite back at his critics. Instead, he spoke the truth.

“This game is not going to define our season,” Sarkisian said. “We have 10 more regular-season games to play. But it does serve as a good benchmark of who we can be as a team moving forward.”

There will be plenty of people who will make jokes about how Texas is probably going to lose to Kansas State or Texas Tech or Baylor. Many of you won’t believe that Texas is actually good. You’ll rely on “Alabama isn’t elite” takes and continue waiting for Sarkisian and this Texas team to fall flat on their faces.

Maybe Texas will fail. Maybe in some random week this season, the Horns will lose some dumb game in which they were favored by 17. That’s always viewed as an inevitability with this program. But I don’t believe that will happen this year.

What happened here in Tuscaloosa was different. It was the entire package from a well-rounded team that played like champions. At the very least, you can start to accept this Texas team as a legit contender on a national scale.

They didn’t win any conference championships or earn a College Football Playoff berth in Tuscaloosa, but maybe the Longhorns earned some of your respect.

 

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Justin Wells: Top PFF grades from Texas' 34-24 win over Alabama

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After the No. 11 Texas Longhorns’ 34-24 win over No. 3 Alabama on Saturday at Bryant Denny Stadium, we take a look at the Pro Football Focus grades on offense and defense after the Horns moved to 2-0 on the 2023 season.

OFFENSE

QB – Quinn Ewers, 89.7

Ewers had a career day in Tuscaloosa. The redshirt sophomore went 24-of-38 passing for 349 yards and three touchdowns tosses on Saturday, but more importantly he extended his streak of not throwing an interception to 184 passes.

RB – CJ Baxter, 72.0, Jonathon Brooks, 65.6

The duo of Baxter and Brooks led the rushing attack for the Horns. They combined for 118 total yards and one touchdown by Brooks, while Jaydon Blue and Keilan Robinson added a carry.

WR – Adonai Mitchell, 62.8, Xavier Worthy, 59.0

Worthy notched the best stats with 75 yards receiving on five catches, including connecting on a beautiful scoring strike from Ewers. Mitchell added 78 yards on a trio of catches, and a pair of touchdowns, while Jordan Whittington had two clutch third-down catches and led the receivers with an 80.4 run-block grade.

TE – Ja’Tavion Sanders, 69.6

The junior tight end was spectacular on Saturday, adding 114 yards receiving on five catches, including a pair of clutch grabs during important drives in the second half.

OL – DJ Campbell, 69.5, Jake Majors, 61.2, Cole Hutson, 60.6

The interior offensive front set the pace for the Texas offense on Saturday night. Campbell led the O-linemen with 70.3 run-block grade on 35 snaps, Hutson tallied 75.2 pass-block grade on 42 snaps, and Majors was strong in 78 snaps.

DEFENSE

DL/EDGE – Byron Murphy, 68.9, T’Vondre Sweat, 70.2, Ethan Burke, 66.2

Sweat led the defensive interior with 38 snaps, while Burke notched an 66.2 grade and added two sacks, and Murphy (35 snaps) played well in the middle as well.

LB – Jaylan Ford, 49.3, Anthony Hill, 61.6, David Gbenda, 44.6

The true freshman Hill Jr. was dynamic. He tallied six tackles and two sacks on only 22 snaps. Gbenda added six tackles on 58 snaps and Ford notched five tackles and one tackle for loss on 66 snaps.

CB/N – Ryan Watts, 73.8, Jahdae Barron, 71.1

Watts looked tremendous in run support with four tackles and added a big pass break-up in the end zone. Barron’s first quarter interception was huge for the Horns momentum in addition to his four tackles.

S – Jalen Catalon, 51.5, Jerrin Thompson, 59.6, Kitan Crawford, 59.7

Catalon led the way with a team-high seven tackles on 32 snaps. Thompson added four tackles and a key interception in the second half on 62 snaps, and Crawford notched five tackles, huge in special teams play, and a 80.3 pass-rush grade.

(Scipio Tex) 2023 Alabama Post Mortem: Defense/Special Teams

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What a game. What a team effort. The Texas defense played inspired football on Saturday, with PK rolling out one of his best game plans in his time at Texas against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Game Plan Pete showed up last year against good offenses (but not always the poor or mediocre ones) and this year it looks like our defensive coordinator has the team depth, confidence, the orders from above and the studs between the lines to inflict havoc on every opponent.

There’s a simple optic to view this season’s defensive progress, articulated specifically in my season football preview and later publicly in August by Sark and PK. The Texas defense had to improve on money downs, turnover creation, QB pressures being converted to sacks and disallowing clock dominating drives that short circuit the rhythms of the Texas offense and limit Sark’s cracks at a defense. Bama was a great test. So how did Texas do?

Money downs? Texas held Bama to 5 of 14 on 3rd down (36%). Check. They did a convert a 4th and 3 in the 1st quarter on the Texas 42 where Texas had to defend both pass and run, but this was an overall Longhorn win.

Sacks/hits/pressures? Texas sacked Milroe five times and put him down hard another five at the ball’s release. 18 pressures overall. Check. Containing Milroe in the pocket and limiting explosives in the Bama running game were the orders of the day and Texas generally did a solid job of containment on a 6-2, 220 pound 4.4 40 athlete who may be Bama’s best running back and quarterback. Beyond the objective data, they hit Milroe hard. Replay didn’t linger on some of those shots, but Murphy, Sorrell, Hill and Sweat inflicted some brutal but clean hits right as Milroe released the ball.

Turnover creation? Texas forced two interceptions leading to 10 Horn points. Check. The first interception played a big part in Bama laying off of their short passing game.

Ball domination? Texas held Bama to 27:29 TOP. Check. The Texas offense ran a lot of tempo and had only one clock killing drive of their own (the last Longhorn possession of the game) so it’s not as if Sark was playing keep away. Make no mistake: the Bama game plan was to hold the ball, wear down Texas and grind it out to victory in a way that would affect the Longhorn defense and offense both. No dice.

How did these four critical factors come together? Run game defense and disallowing Bama’s short early passing game. The Texas run defense was a team effort, but I have to give the nod to Ryan Watts and Jahdae Barron in particular for eliminating the Bama short passing game. Barron’s early interception and Watts manhandling the boundary receiver on every play like he’d stole money from him just made it disappear.

The Tide ran the ball capably early, but couldn’t hit explosively or consistently as Texas gradually began to choke out their standard zone and gap running schemes. Bama’s running backs combined for 63 yards on 20 carries with a game long run of 15 by Jase McClellan. Back that out and the Tide averaged 2.5 yards per carry in their normal run game. A big reason they averaged less than 5 yards per 1st down, which was a crucial metric in preventing Bama from ball controlling us to death. If you had Alabama outrushing Texas by only two yards, well done.

That statistic directly led to Alabama’s average 3rd down distance to being twice Texas’, disallowing ambiguous 3rd and 4 or less type downs that could have allowed the Tide to run any play they want and keep grinding. Stopping the standard Bama run game and ball control passing game had to happen for the Horns to win.

As for the non-standard running game, Milroe carried 15 times for 44 yards and when you back out sack yardage, he hurt us at a times, but his longest run of the game went for 20 yards. The pregame fear was a 60 yard house call against man coverage and that simply never materialized due to total unit discipline and Pete’s smart situational calls of zone coverage and “blitz to contain” when field position and down and distance screamed QB draw from spread sets or 4 verts with a deadly scramble.

Execution of Pete’s machinations were largely on point, though you could see the effect of Bama team speed on some angles where Texas defenders though they had it figured out. That’s football. Bama’s offense could field a pretty good 4×100 squad and you don’t need much refinement in your passing tree when every receiver can drop a 10.5 100 meters or a 22 mph GPS in pads. Including Niblack the tight end.

Alabama certainly made some plays – particularly in the second half deep passing game – but most of them passed the “Well, that was a good call, really good throw and that guy is really fast” test. Turns out that Alabama has scholarship athletes, too. Most importantly, the Texas defense was the most physical unit on the field.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Outstanding efforts all around. Depth came up big. No Texas defensive lineman was forced to play more than Barryn Sorrell’s 44 snaps. Sorrell played a terrific game and gave right tackle JC Latham – an elite pass blocker – much more trouble than anticipated. He wasn’t credited with a sack, but had four pressures, two big hits on the QB and played well in containment. His opposite Ethan Burke started slow, but found his stride quickly and played really well. Burke finished with 4 tackles, a sack and another tackle for loss in only 30 snaps. That low snap number is key. The flexibility of Alfred Collins playing edge keeps Burke frisky and from hitting his physical wall.

Burke is held and still gets the sack. Proctor didn’t expect Ethan to cover that much ground and Ethan uses his length while still getting good bend. T’Vondre Sweat’s Rice game wasn’t a fluke. No interior defender played better down for down. Watching him split a Bama double team and throw a 320 pound guard into the running back is not something you see every day. He also notched a big sack pushing the pocket.

Byron Murphy was everywhere. The final box score says two tackles, but Murphy was key to the run defense asserting itself and I counted three QB hurries and a big hit late in the game on Milroe that must have rattled teeth fillings. He missed two tackles but Milroe isn’t an easy corral. Two of Murphy’s hurries were on 3 man rushes where he was being double teamed. That’s huge.

Alfred Collins played all over and did some key dirty work in stopping the run game. Vernon Broughton had a nice pressure (on Bama’s deflection TD) and got 28 snaps, about 15 more than I expected. Spot action from Bledsoe, Ross, Trill and Finkley was important in keeping the starters all between 30-44 snaps.

LINEBACKER

 

That dip and bend.

Note the easy discard of a 350 pound man and his lateral quickness.

Does it seem like #0 only played 22 snaps? Because he only played 22 snaps. They were just all of the right ones. The spy, edge rusher, blitzer and general agent of mayhem notched 6 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 more pressures and a big QB hit. In 22 snaps! He’s lost in coverage, ran past Milroe once on a critical 3rd down that allowed a scramble 1st down, and didn’t spy “correctly”, but even when he was wrong, he was often right, relying on his terrific motor and insane quickness to humiliate any human in red that he encountered. I can’t applaud the staff enough for how they used him. Perfect.

David Gbenda had a great hustle sack (cut down on the blitz, popped up like a burpee, dropped Milroe) and had six tackles. That was the good. He also lost a Bama RB on a wheel route that would have been a jog-in touchdown if Milroe doesn’t miss and he missed two tackles with thrown shoulders instead of wrapping up. Jaylan Ford almost got a pick and notched five tackles. Bama got him on a couple of routes in the middle fo the field, but I think he was told to be run first on every down that wasn’t 3rd and 13. Jett Bush played really hard on his snaps, drawing a holding penalty on a pass rush. That flag erased a Bama touchdown. Seems like a contribution to me.

DEFENSIVE BACK

Ryan Watts was the star performer of the unit. Watts was basically flawless and Bama avoided him like the plague after a sweet PBU in the end zone and several excellent containment tackles where he used the sideline as his best buddy defender. Alabama’s wide outs wanted no part of his press coverage in the short game and they never got over him up top. AWESOME PERFORMANCE.

Jahdae was my #2. He had a gorgeous bait interception that led to Longhorn points (and changed the calculus on Bama getting 8 easy yards throwing out wide to the flats) and he was given the very difficult task of single coverage on multiple plays from the slot against motion when Texas wanted to keep safeties engaged in either run support or as deep caps on Bama verticals. He got beat once for a touchdown, but that’s life on the pointy end of the spear.

Holmes, Brooks, Thompson, Catalon, Crawford all had ups and downs. Catalon was very stabilizing and led the team in tackles despite playing only half the game. Crawford was good in run support, less so as a zone defender. Brooks and Holmes both battled speed demons on the field side and those aren’t easy dudes to run with for four quarters. Holmes’ PI wasn’t a mistake – it was smart football. Thompson had a clutch INT late, but sometimes 4.6 can’t cover 4.3 on the move.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Bama won the placekicking battle, with Will Reichard drilling a 51 yarder like an extra point, while Bert Auburn was 2 of 3 with a miss from 42. Sanborn was as advertised, averaging 50 per punt with a gorgeous pin inside Bama territory (props to Crawford on the save). Sadly, a 56 yard boomer at the end of the first half was short circuited by a penalty, but Bama didn’t make any plays in the return game. Aside from the Auburn miss, this battle was a wash.

FINAL

Preventing the Bama grind as the Tide’s best means to win the ball game meant putting the Texas pass defense at risk. That’s not PK’s predilection and well outside of his natural comfort zone, but I love his willingness to craft a game plan that best served the total Texas win.

Texas had to stop the standard run game, Milroe’s legs from the pocket, and take away Milroe’s short yardage security blanket throws. PK nailed all three and created a larger context for Texas victory, allowing the Texas offense to get their cracks at the Tide defense. Milroe hit the Horns for 255 yards passing at 9.4 yards for attempt and two scores, but feast or famine isn’t how Bama wants to play ball, as evidenced a 51.9% completion percentage, two critical interceptions and Alabama’s 36% conversion rate on 3rd down.

The box score tells you a lot if you know the parts that matter most for the opponent. I was very high on the Texas defense coming out the Rice game and nothing has changed.

Coach V: Texas rolls the Tide with standout performances from multiple spots

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By Mike Venable: Wow—what a sloberknocker of a football game mixed with brilliant skill plays dotting the standard standing eight counts along the way. Two teams flat-out letting the air out of each other. Yards were hard to get when the chips were down. Inches proved even harder several times. Tough throws were menu items while athletic catches were made by both teams. Haymakers—check. Turnovers—we took their butts to the cleaners here. Just the way the game was meant to be played.

I always said getting to the point of attack without making a mistake required making a good play. Finishing the play made a good play a terrific play. Both defenses made a large number of terrific defensive plays with a couple of difference makers. Fun game to watch period.

Hill (0) made two sacks and some good off ball plays as he continues to grow experience wise. Finkley (1) made two good plays at edge. Broughton (45) has played two very solid games for a career backup. Vernon has played his way into regular rotation with the second unit—hello, Gaskamp? Sorrell (88) had another solid game with strong grunt work. Murphy (90) is a block of cement kicking butt with every step he gains ground. Sweat (93) received his share of double-teams but refused to give up the LOS. Carter (98) had two nice plays in a reserved role.

Burke (91) had two quality sacks along with holding the edge and not giving ground. Collins (95) had another strong effort both inside and outside. Collins versatility has proven golden as he offers LOS winners at both spots. Bledsoe (94) had a couple of pressures along with run strength at the LOS. Ross (97) had another solid effort with a very active motor. Bledsoe and Ross offer big time agility and surprising quickness as reserves.

Ford (41) was extremely active and found his way into several plays along the way but still had three MT’s. He almost had his second oskie but couldn’t corral the spiral. Gbenda (33) had his second sack of the season with a terrific second effort after being decked by the RB but lost in coverage on another wheel route for the second week in a row. Bush (43) gave us several good plays as a second edge sprinting to the QB-RB exchange.

I think it only fair at this time to mention that we grossly misjudged Milroe’s (4 other color) speed program wide. Time after time after time… we sadly misjudged our own speed to compound the scrambling problem. Most of Bama’s big plays came after we lost contain, pursuit angles, or over-runs that we never seemed to correct.

Barron (23) had a big oskie turnover along with several tackles but gave up a bomb. Catalon (11) is our best safety by a wide margin (especially after he worked the rust off early). Williams (2) is definitely coming on. Big time player. Crawford (21) is great gunner special teams player but still needs ball skills going for the ball. Thompson (28) was beat for a long td but later had a really good oskie.

Watts (6) had three terrific plays and a near oskie in a solid game. Brooks (8) had a tough outing in coverage and tackling. Holmes (9) gave up a big play. The mistakes we made were mostly good plays by the Bama skill people and not bad efforts by our guys.

Crawford (21) and Robinson (7) had a punt kill inside the five but Auburn missed one FG that would have really helped at the time. St. Louis (58) had perfect snaps and our coverages were jam up and jelly tight.

It’s hard to imagine a better performance against a quality defense than Quinn Ewers (3) had last night. Despite the gaudy stats Ewers also had several dropped that would have really padded the numbers. Nice to see him still running for first downs when the defense offers a scramble opportunity. Even better to see him get the long ball jinx off his back with two td’s on bombs.

Note to Sark—–never ever put Quinn under center again. Please.

The RB by committee had another workmanlike week with Baxter (4) and Brooks (24) leading the way. They both do certain things very well and have not so much on others. Blue (23) had one nice run but later decided a huge cutback was a good decision and lost four yards—Sark wasn’t amused and benched him on punishment.

The receiving corps had several great plays including two great td catches by Worthy (1) and Mitchell (5) and great nights for Whittington (13) and Sanders (0). Sanders has hero-a-hole blocking efforts again and had the turf monster make a tackle on him in the open field. Helm (85) had a decent night blocking and missed his only chance on a low throw.

The best improvement from week 1 to week 2 was in the O-line. They weren’t terrific but they were solid against strong opposition. Majors (65) had a good game against big time size. Campbell (52) had a major turnaround as he consistently put a hat on a hat. Hutson (54) got his first action since last fall and played well. Connor (76) improved on a very poor opener. Banks (78) and Jones (70) were tremendous against Bama’s highly regarded edges.

Sanford had another great outing punting—big time leg with hang time and two great gunners makes for a great special team.

Wyoming—you are up sport.

Mike Venable is a retired coach who had a 30 year career coaching football at Lancaster, Duncanville, Gladewater, Pasadena Sam Rayburn, R.L Turner and The Colony.

 

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satyanash

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Steve Habel: Longhorns receivers say win over Alabama came from hard work and togetherness

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Plenty will be taken from Texas’ benchmark win against Alabama in Tuscaloosa Saturday but there’s one thing that likely rises above the others: when the Longhorns say they are focused and prepared and “as one” as a team, maybe it’s time to believe them. An example of the latter is the postgame press conference with receivers Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell, who interviewed together after Texas’ 34-24 win.

Worthy finished with five catches for 75 yards that included a 44-yard TD. Mitchell had 78 yards on three catches, two of them for touchdowns (7 and 29 yards, respectively). Worthy even passed to Mitchell in a play that resulted in a pass interference penalty. Worthy discarded the notion that the Longhorns’ win “validated” the team. “We don’t really I feel like we have anything to prove to anybody, we just have to prove things to ourselves,” Worthy said. “So I feel like this is what we knew we could do all time. I feel like we owed (Alabama) this.”

Mitchell inferred that the Longhorns’ performance and its positive outcome should not have been surprising. “We just came out there executed and just played the way we knew we could play it all the time – it showed tonight,” Mitchell explained. “If we just execute and play our brand of football it’s gonna be the same every time. It’s just about us and our preparation and execution. We just played together as a unit the whole day from special teams to defense to offense. I feel like we all just fed off each other and you know when you when you do that you come together and play the way you play we played.”

Both receivers lauded the play of quarterback Quinn Ewers, who they said showed what he’s been bringing at practice. “Ewers is just the player that we’ve seen the whole year,” Mitchell said. “We’ve always believed in him. He’s a leader. You know, even in the fourth quarter when we got up he was just telling everybody ‘look, the job’s not finished. We’re not done.’”

Don’t expect the Longhorns to rest on their laurels – it’s back to work next week in preparation for Wyoming, which beat Texas Tech in two overtimes in its season opener and comes to Austin undefeated. “Coming off a big win I feel like that can linger into next week,” Worthy said. “We are just going to work on staying focused because we have bigger goals ahead of us.” With the duo helping keep Texas on track, the sky is the limit. “The work has been put in the whole year – spring, summer workouts, fall camp – but the work never stops,” Mitchell said.

Eric Nahlin: It all came together for Texas on Saturday night

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By ‘all’, I mean everything. The bold decision by Texas’ leadership triumvirate to replace Tom Herman with Steve Sarkisian. Sark’s top-to-bottom rebuild after going 5-7 and losing one heartbreaking game after another in his first season. A lot of coaches wouldn’t get off the mat from that. The entire rebuild of the standard Texas player’s mindset — the cultivation of a mentally and physically imposing football player.

After the game last night it was time to party but also reflect. Me and my wife made new friends, a couple of them recanted their trip to Fayetteville just two years ago. Sark has used those two year to grow as a head coach and build a resilient team in his image. He’s remained confident in his process — loyal to his initial coaching staff. Sark was rewarded with complementary football as Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense harkened to his University of Washington ‘Death Row’ glory days.

Look how it came together for Quinn Ewers. The talented passer was a microcosm for Texas’ 2022 season. As he went so too did the season. His growth, under Sark’s tutelage, is nothing short of amazing. I honestly didn’t know if he had it in him last November but he shut those unfair notions down starting last December. 350 yards passing and it would have been more without some drops. Three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Look how it came together for the offensive line. That group was the whipping boy after too many missed assignments against Rice. How about zero sacks and clean pockets for QB1. The run game began to assert itself late when it was most needed. This group helped choke out Alabama one yard at a time. Bama was out of timeouts with five minutes to go. Nick Saban, the greatest coach in the history of the sport, was powerless. It’s the end of an era and perhaps the beginning of another one.

How about Jerrin Thompson? He struggled two years ago but played better last year. Last night he gets beat over the top but keeps his head in the game and gets a huge interception just minutes later. Ethan Burke. We didn’t know what to expect from him this year. Sources felt he’d be okay, but he’s better than okay. Creating a sack while lying on the ground is only going to bolster his reputation for having an incredible motor.

How about the fans? You have stood shoulder to shoulder with this slumbering program for 12 long years. One of the best sights of the evening was seeing the fans and players on opposite sides of the railings celebrating together. It was all high fives and hugs.

This is not a ‘we’re back’ moment. If Texas is back it happened while nobody was watching. It happened while the boys were putting in work this offseason, running in 105 degree temperature. It happened while Sark was scheming up Alabama during the late Spring. It happened when PK was fine-tuning this blistering third down package. It happened while Terry Joseph and Bo Davis were recruiting the Deep South. It happened while selfless men were helping to put UT’s NIL efforts near the top of the game. Etc.

Now the job is to keep it going. The leadership on the team must ensure the rest of the team blocks out the headlines. The leaders have to keep up the same intensity and focus the team took to Bryant-Denny Stadium. Tape will reveal a number of miscues that kept Bama in the game. There is a lot to clean up. But there is also a whole lot to celebrate.

Bobby Burton: The top parts of Texas' 34-24 win over Alabama

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A thorough victory. That’s what we witnessed on Saturday night. Texas beat the Crimson Tide in nearly every facet of the game. Texas was better on offense, defense, and, if not for a Bert Auburn miss, the Horns would have been decidedly better on special teams, too.

**

Biggest surprise of the game? The juxtaposition of the Texas OL in pass protection with that of Alabama. Texas did not allow a sack while Jalen Milroe was routinely looking for the closest escape hatch. Hats off to Kyle Flood and his crew after last week’s less than ideal showing.

**

Talk about changing a look of a defense in a year’s time. Ethan Burke and Anthony Hill are legitimate revelations as pass rushers. The addition of those two are helping Texas get the quarterback to the ground, and not just create pressure. The sophomore and freshman are both hyper athletic and chase the QB and back-side of plays as well as you could possibly ask for someone their age.

**

Johnathon Brooks deserves a big pat on the back. Steve Sarkisian turned to Brooks for much of the fourth quarter, and Brooks did not disappoint. He converted two key third downs, including one that could have easily been stopped short of the first down if not for the little extra grit he showed.

**

Others on IT will talk in more detail about Ewers’ performance but what struck me more than anything was his much greater willingness to stay in the pocket against Bama than Rice. The difference was noticeable. And it is likely what tipped the game in favor of the Horns. Texas needed Quinn to step up. And he did just that.

**

Yes, Texas left points on the board. And Jaylan Ford even dropped a would-be interception. Yet that’s just how thorough this win was. Texas left meat on the bone but won by 10 points and the team was driving in the 4th to close it out.

**

AD Mitchell had three catches. And all three were impactful. Two TDs and a one-on-one catch that got Texas off of its own goal line.

**

And last but not least… Congrats to the Texas coaching staff. I think it’s fair to say they clearly put their team in a better position to win the game than their opponent.

 

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Bodacious Bevo

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3 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

I take a little exception to this, as the wr to that side set a natural pick that gbenda had to go under that killed his angle to McClellan. 

They also were able to clearly identify the matchup with some pre-snap motion. I was really surprised we didn't check into a different coverage. Having your LB show man coverage on the RB before the snap and not adjusting is asking for trouble. We just got really lucky Milroe missed the throw. 

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gmr548

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PFF grades are interesting. Watching live I thought Gbenda was not great most the game (his nice play on the sack helped salvage) but I didn’t necessarily think Ford was right there with him.

Funny thing about corners, if you don’t mention or notice them it usually means they’re playing well. Watts had that great PBU and wasn’t heard from much in coverage after that; clearly looking at his grade and the way his game was described in the Scipio piece that was because he was playing a great game and there wasn’t much available for Bama to try him on.

PFF grades are interesting. Watching live I thought Gbenda was not great most the game (his nice play on the sack helped salvage) but I didn’t necessarily think Ford was right there with him.

Funny thing about corners, if you don’t mention or notice them it usually means they’re playing well. Watts had that great PBU and wasn’t heard from much in coverage after that; clearly looking at his grade and the way his game was described in the Scipio piece that was because he was playing a great game and there wasn’t much available for Bama to try him on.

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Dahobbs

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PFF grades are interesting. Watching live I thought Gbenda was not great most the game (his nice play on the sack helped salvage) but I didn’t necessarily think Ford was right there with him.

Funny thing about corners, if you don’t mention or notice them it usually means they’re playing well. Watts had that great PBU and wasn’t heard from much in coverage after that; clearly looking at his grade and the way his game was described in the Scipio piece that was because he was playing a great game and there wasn’t much available for Bama to try him on.

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(Scipio Tex) 2023 Alabama Post Mortem: Offense

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The Texas offense wasn’t perfect on Saturday night vs. Alabama, but they were relentless. They were also poised, focused and really well coached. You knew it wasn’t Rice week anymore when Texas came out in an empty set on the first play from scrimmage and ran tempo for large portions of the game. The playbook was open. More importantly, Texas players can finally read all of the chapters.

The Horns dropped 454 yards and 34 points on Bama and probably left another ten to fourteen points out in the ether. Instead of worrying about the scoring play that got away and opportunities lost, they kept coming, created more chances and beat the Tide down in their own house.

When Bama took the lead 16-13 right before the beginning of the fourth quarter in what was starting to look like a grind-it-out finish, the Texas offense bit down on their mouthpieces and started throwing haymakers. Three 4th quarter touchdowns later, Texas had a decisive road win, a new Top 5 ranking and a new standard of play to honor and uphold. Now that Texas players, coaches, their families and the fans know what they can do, there’s no reason to let that standard fall.

OFFENSIVE LINE

The Texas offensive line is the only group that has held Bama with zero sacks and less than 3 pressures since 2014. So that’s about 125 games or so. Bama hasn’t been held sackless since Clemson in 2018. One of the better pass blocking performances that I can recall.

I’m leading with this unit because there is no win in Tuscaloosa if they hadn’t elevated their level of play so dramatically. The interior OL deserved every unkind word said about them last week and they deserve every victory laurel this week. Sark had a “brutally honest conversation” after Rice with this group and my post-mortem after the Rice game was something less than kind.

They responded. Particularly as pass protectors. Let’s talk about physicality and effort. Better yet, let me show it to you:

That’s Cole Hutson on counter gap bringing it. The first hit was about physicality, the second hit was because he wanted to. Nasty.

A different level of energy and intensity from the guy who looked so confused and passive a week ago. Here’s where it comes together:

Hayden Conner deftly carries his guy out of the play. Jake Majors does his job making sure that Conner is good and then finds work upfield on Malachi Moore. DJ Campbell gets across the DL’s face quickly (that Bama DL was probably supposed to stop him) and then drives two different Tide defenders, fighting them both at the goal line. DJ gets on them really fast, like shockingly so for his size. Christian Jones collapses the DL that DJ bypassed ten yards down the field and eventually pancakes him. If you want to chuckle, watch Keilan Robinson and AD Mitchell on that play. Let’s get a hat on someone, Keilan. AD not interested in that big guy life.

Longhorn pass protection was exemplary. Run blocking was generally poor to middling until the final quarter of play, but Bama has some big, strong dudes in there. The Cole Huston detonation above is actually a good example of the line’s inconsistency in execution. Hayden Conner has to get a more aggressive block on #91 on the backside and Christian Jones gets ole’d by #32 filling the hole. Interestingly Hutson and Campbell, who basically split time (Hutson got a few more snaps) were our most effective run blockers. Hayden Conner probably the least. Everyone pass protected well. Everyone.

The speed and aggression on display above is what this group is capable of every week. If they can combine that energy and focus with better execution, they can be scary.

QUARTERBACK

 

Quinn Ewers played his best game as a Longhorn. We finally saw the player promised for a full four quarters and he was as cool as a polar bear’s icebox, finally breaking out in the final 15 minutes going 6 of 7 for 135 passing yards and two touchdowns. He finished 24 of 38 for 349 yards on 42 dropbacks and three passing touchdowns; chipping in another 3 runs for 11 yards, zero turnovers, and multiple dimes dropped. He had two touchdowns dropped by Brooks and Worthy. Whittington also didn’t corral a likely long catch and run. Ewers just shrugged and kept coming. Quinn did a terrific job of remaining in the pocket and generally being an elite distributor of the ball. His few errant passes (two right before halftime) were the oddity. A huge number of his passes were basically perfect throws.

On throws >20 yards, Ewers was 3 of 6 for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Between the hashes, he was 17 of 26 for 240 yards and all three of his touchdowns. Number of balls thrown outside the hashes to the right? Two. Texas has a QB, y’all.

RUNNING BACKS

Major props to Jonathon Brooks for his effort level all game. Aside from hard running, he recovered two Texas fumbles, turning one of them into a 1st down conversion. He led Texas with 57 yards on 14 tough carries and had no negative runs. He did have one very negative play, dropping another touchdown on the same route that he dropped a touchdown against Rice. Time to give Blue or Baxter a shot at that one.

CJ Baxter ran hard though some pain and showed why he’s going to be a real asset in conference play. He caught the ball really well (4-21) and I’m intrigued by his potential as a pass catcher down the road. Robinson and Blue saw spot action.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS

Xavier Worthy dominated in the 1st half with 5 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown, including tracking this beauty.

Worthy also dropped a sure touchdown in the red zone, effectively taking 4 points off of the board after the successful field goal. Alabama removed him from the game in the second half and that’s when Jordan Whittington (3-41), Adonai Mitchell (3-78-2 touchdowns) and JT Sanders (5-114) stepped up. I have a feeling that I’m going to continue to gripe about Mitchell’s blocking every week. In response, he’ll do things like this:

and this…

So I’m just going to have to learn to deal with this right? JT Sanders had some excellent receiving moments as well, particularly on the Y Delay concept where Texas vacates space while Sanders holds then fills the vacant space. He also had this 50 yard dagger from tempo when Alabama’s secondary was still trying to get a play call in.

Texas showed that they have an elite group of receivers who can threaten the entire field. With good pass protection and Ewers dealing (chunk throws of 50, 44, 39, 31), this is a tough group to match up with. Whittington was by far the best blocker of the group.

FINAL

In Sark’s first two seasons, the Texas offense was limited by whatever wrinkles that the head coach could introduce that week due to talent ceilings and inexperience. When the wrinkles ran out, so too did the Longhorn offense. In Year 3, the talented but inexperienced QB is growing into the job and the offense is growing with him.

Last Saturday, the Texas offense buried Bama running the Texas play book. Not wrinkles. That’s a major shift for this offense and while the wrinkles will keep coming, Texas efficacy will no longer be dependent on them. It’ll be about the scheme and the players running concepts fluidly. Sark oversaw a masterwork and when his artists finally got the paint from the brush to the canvas, something amazing started to take form. Let’s keep painting.

Bobby Burton: The truth about Texas football is revealed in win at Alabama

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It wasn’t Kool-Aid I was serving to Texas fans this off-season, it was just the plain old fashioned truth. And the truth… Well, as we all know, The Truth Will Set You Free. Texas had a better collection of receivers, a better quarterback, two running backs at least the equal of Alabama, and a secondary that was clearly superior overall. So Texas out-talented Alabama at the skill positions on Saturday. And the Horns generated a better pass rush than the Tide while holding the rest of the Tide team to a virtual stalemate.

But this game wasn’t just about talent. This game was about the Texas talent executing when the game was on the line, about overcoming the mystique of Alabama and 100,000 screaming fans, about a coaching staff extracting and capitalizing on the value of its talent. All three problems had to be solved for Texas to emerge victorious in Tuscaloosa. And that’s exactly what occurred.

This team must now head into this week and file those memories away because there’s still more work to be done for this team to match its capabilities. Otherwise it will be Kool-Aid that I was serving. And nobody likes the taste of Kool-Aid when you’ve tasted the truth.

**

My hats off to the interior of the Texas offensive line. One week after being criticized for a lackluster performance against Rice, the Horns’ interior came up big. It helped that Cole Hutson rejoined the rotation. But it was also obvious that Jake Majors, DJ Campbell and Hayden Conner took the Rice fiasco seriously. Majors and Campbell, in particular, stepped their games way up against the Crimson Tide.

Watch the Jonathon Brooks touchdown run. Majors and Campbell get absolute wins in the middle of the field, and Christian Jones absolutely displaced an interior defensive lineman. If this offensive line starts playing better, like they did against Bama, there is no telling where the Horns end up this season. Texas will not face a more athletic, difficult front this season than the Crimson Tide.

 

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gmr548

gmr548 16701

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3 hours ago, Dahobbs said:

PFF grades are interesting. Watching live I thought Gbenda was not great most the game (his nice play on the sack helped salvage) but I didn’t necessarily think Ford was right there with him.

Funny thing about corners, if you don’t mention or notice them it usually means they’re playing well. Watts had that great PBU and wasn’t heard from much in coverage after that; clearly looking at his grade and the way his game was described in the Scipio piece that was because he was playing a great game and there wasn’t much available for Bama to try him on.

Tapa rekt me

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HtownHorn

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On 9/11/2023 at 8:50 AM, Codaxx said:

this is the best by Campbell. I am hitting the LB. I am hitting the Safety and Fuck it I am hitting AD Mitchell too

 

Campbell and Hutson had an edge all night, Conner doesn't possess the same edge. Go watch Conner block the Ewers scramble right before the 2nd FG. Ewers had a lane, but Conner just bumblefucked his way down the field and didn't finish his block against the Bama defender that turned a potential 7-8 yard gain into a 2-yard gain.

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BurntOrange&White

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1 hour ago, HtownHorn said:

Campbell and Hutson had an edge all night, Conner doesn't possess the same edge. Go watch Conner block the Ewers scramble right before the 2nd FG. Ewers had a lane, but Conner just bumblefucked his way down the field and didn't finish his block against the Bama defender that turned a potential 7-8 yard gain into a 2-yard gain.

I think long term for this season the line of Banks - Hutson - Majors - Campbell - Jones will end up being the best for us. 

 

 

Conner just doesn't get push he needs

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HtownHorn

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20 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

I think long term for this season the line of Banks - Hutson - Majors - Campbell - Jones will end up being the best for us. 

Conner just doesn't get push he needs

Gerry said today that he expects Neto to get more snaps this week, and wouldn't be shocked to see Williams get a series or two.

The OL for next year is going to  be Banks-Neto-Hutson-Campbell-Williams

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WBT

WBT 20979

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3 hours ago, Vertigo said:

Yes B12, tell me all about how you are going to miss Texas and how the conference is better without you. Love that Houston/Rice number.

image.thumb.png.5e89e6f5a15ca5778c8493b2ea31874e.png

Also, why was Charlotte at Maryland on network NBC?

3 hours ago, BurntOrange&White said:

I'm interested to follow the ratings once we get into conference play between OU/Texas vs rest of shit 12.

They'll be higher

Texas-Bama on Sat night coming within 1/2 million viewers of FSU-LSU on Sun night of opening weekend is pretty good, right?

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RomaVicta

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2 hours ago, WBT said:

poooor aggy

The poor attendance in Miami is more than just a commentary on Miami fans. If Texas or Alabama or Ohio State or Notre Dame showed up there to play, the stands would have been nearly full. Locals like to see a big brand team. 

Nobody cares about telling somebody 20 years from now that, "yea, I was lucky enough to get a ticket to a Texas A&M game back in '23." 

I occasionally recount attending Ohio State in Austin back in '06 and seeing them dot the i at halftime. Seeing their iconic uniforms was cool as shit. I imagine those guys feel the same about seeing the Longhorn logo in the Shoe.

The Aggies would have to dominate for a few decades to even have a chance to be such a brand. Nobody really cares enough about the Aggies to go out of their way to buy a cheap ticket to watch them play.

Triste

 

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gmr548

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5 hours ago, RomaVicta said:

The poor attendance in Miami is more than just a commentary on Miami fans. If Texas or Alabama or Ohio State or Notre Dame showed up there to play, the stands would have been nearly full. Locals like to see a big brand team. 

Nobody cares about telling somebody 20 years from now that, "yea, I was lucky enough to get a ticket to a Texas A&M game back in '23." 

I occasionally recount attending Ohio State in Austin back in '06 and seeing them dot the i at halftime. Seeing their iconic uniforms was cool as shit. I imagine those guys feel the same about seeing the Longhorn logo in the Shoe.

The Aggies would have to dominate for a few decades to even have a chance to be such a brand. Nobody really cares enough about the Aggies to go out of their way to buy a cheap ticket to watch them play.

Triste

 

Oh, people remember when they see the Corps alright

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