GIF analysis Texas Destroys Alabama - And Here's the Film to Prove It

[Katfid54 8635]

Is football fun again? Yes.  Yes, it is.  As a throwback that I hope folks will enjoy (and because I have some unexpected downtime), I wanted to put together a quick recap of some of the plays that I found noteworthy during the game.  This is mostly going to include an analysis of big plays, because they’re the ones you remember, they obviously matter, and it’s more fun than analyzing why we got three yards on inside zone instead of five.

I unfortunately don’t expect that this is going to turn into an opportunity for me to be an all-the-time shitposter as in years’ past.  But hopefully if y’all enjoy this, I can do a few of these a year if there’s interest.

Anyway, enough about me.  Let’s watch some football gifs.

I’m going to break down four things in this post:

(1) a comparison of the Xavier Worthy 44 yard TD pass with Bama’s 49 yard throw to Jermaine Burton.  Is it a tale of two slot-fade routes?

(2) A look at Jahdae Barron’s interception, which may be a true Boom/Bust play on further review.

(3) A look at Ethan Burke’s evolution against the zone read as the game went on.  Really interesting stuff for those who were watching scheme live.

(4) The 39 yard bomb to AD Mitchell.

I'll roll these out over the course of the day as I have time to get it out the door.

[South Austin 52515]

Cool film.

[Katfid54 8635]

1.) Worthy vs. Burton - a tale of two slot fades?

Let’s start with the Burton route.

The broadcast did a decent job of breaking this down.  By using motion, Bama capitalized on the back-end coverage, although I’m not sure it was simple man coverage like Herbstreit said.  Instead, I think the CB (9 - Gavin Holmes) had the first out-breaking route, and the safety (28 - Jerrin Thomspon) had the second man.  I.e., a very simple two-man pattern match zone:

Is there anything super schematically interesting to take away from this route?  Not really.  It was play designed for a deep shot all the way.  Unfortunately, Thompson got his ass dusted in a footrace, our pass rush left Milroe with an almost spotless pocket, and we had three defenders playing QB contain and not pressuring (compare against Ant Hill’s QB “contain” efforts):

And Milroe threw his best ball of the night.

Sometimes that happens.

As a side-note, I’m not breaking down any of those Anthony Hill plays because they can best be described as “fast, strong guy runs down weaker, slower guy.”

All right.  That will be the last (only) Bama highlight you see in this report.

 

Let’s check in with our favorite lightning bolt, Xavier Worthy

Whew.  Watch that again.  Then watch it one more time.

What a throw.  What a catch.  That’s full blown Willie Mays shit right there.

Is this as simple as Bama’s call?  Not by a long shot.  Here’s the end-zone view:

Here are the routes.  Johntay Cook (#2) runs a deep in (i.e., a dig route).  Whittington (#13) runs a drag route, Sanders (#0) runs a flat route, and Worthy (#1) runs a post.  Even though it looked like a fade/fly route, it wasn’t.  It ended up being a skinny post because that’s how he needed to run it to run under the ball.  But it was a post all the way. 

Is there anything interesting about this?  Yeah.  This is a classic route combination.  Sometimes called “Levels,” sometimes called “DDP (dig-drag-post)” and most often just called “NCAA.”  The issue with this call is it forces defenders on the opposite side of the field to DEFEND EVERY SINGLE ROUTE.  I.e., every route is a crossing route requiring defenders to pass off and pick up players.  If you don’t pass off a player and you run with them, what happens?  Well, just watch the clip above one more time.

There are also several ways to run the NCAA route combos, and offenses usually adjust/address for whether they’re getting a MOFO (middle of the field open) look or a MOFC (middle of the field closed) look from the safeties.  In the clips above, Bama is very obviously in a MOFO look (cover 4 it appears?). 

That creates a high/low conflict for the backside safety. 

Watch Quinn’s head on the All-22.  He’s staring at Johntay on the snap.  And watch the reaction of the safety as a result.  He turns his body away from Worthy to get ready to engage with Johntay.  Once Quinn sees those hips turn, he immediately flips his attention to Worthy, waits for the break, and throws the bomb.

You love to see it.

I’ll be back with part two later.

[Da Fino 2783]

lll

Edited September 11, 2023 by Da Fino

[MissingInAction 25104]

[closetojumping 62740]

The fatkid lives!

[Chili dog 1787]

22 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

Is football fun again? Yes.  Yes, it is.  As a throwback that I hope folks will enjoy (and because I have some unexpected downtime), I wanted to put together a quick recap of some of the plays that I found noteworthy during the game.  This is mostly going to include an analysis of big plays, because they’re the ones you remember, they obviously matter, and it’s more fun than analyzing why we got three yards on inside zone instead of five.

 

I unfortunately don’t expect that this is going to turn into an opportunity for me to be an all-the-time shitposter as in years’ past.  But hopefully if y’all enjoy this, I can do a few of these a year if there’s interest.

 

Anyway, enough about me.  Let’s watch some football gifs.

 

I’m going to break down four things in this post:

 

(1) a comparison of the Xavier Worthy 44 yard TD pass with Bama’s 49 yard throw to Jermaine Burton.  Is it a tale of two slot-fade routes?

 

(2) A look at Jahdae Barron’s interception, which may be a true Boom/Bust play on further review.

 

(3) A look at Ethan Burke’s evolution against the zone read as the game went on.  Really interesting stuff for those who were watching scheme live.

 

(4) The 39 yard bomb to AD Mitchell.

I'll roll these out over the course of the day as I have time to get it out the door.

I just can’t brielieve you didn’t work more cheese puns in. You Muenster been gone longer than I realized. 

[Katfid54 8635]

Part 2:

Let’s check out Barron’s interception.  This early moment in the game was instrumental in giving Texas confidence after a sputtering first drive and Alabama marching down the field to the tune of a workmanlike 38 yards on six plays.

In watching this clip, I really struggled with it.  Is it an example of a coverage bust? Or is it an unbelievably egregious poor read by Milroe?

Here’s why I say that. 

Bama is in trips to the Field.  Texas has four defenders. 

It looks like Texas is in a cover 4 (MOFO) look.  Watch the safety (number 4 in the pic) and corner (number 3 in the pic) bail at the snap. 

Milroe has his man pegged all the way.  He waits for the out route and throws the ball.  He very obviously never sees Barron.

But watch the All 22.  Is that because Barron mis-played the coverage?

There are two Bama WRs running up the side (you can see about halfway through the clip), with only the CB over the top of them.  The CB is having to try to play both men, and as a result the second WR is wide open.  Barron, though, stays in the flat and jumps the out route, securing an easy interception.

Based on my review, I think Barron played it right but it’s bang-b-ang.  At the very end of the clip, you can see Catalon hauling ass to try and get wide to help with the two WRs running down the sideline.  That suggests the look is a cover 4 look with Barron having responsibility for the flat.  Maybe something like this?

If Barron did play it right, this is really horrific read by MIlroe.  If he’d checked, he could’ve hit the next receiver for a decent gain down the sideline.  Instead, he simply assumes man coverage and never even checks to make sure Barron has left the area.  He telegraphs his pass the whole way, and it’s a free football for Texas.

[HtownHorn 14691]

I am shocked he got the names right.

[Dennis Taylor 18829]

I fucking love Cook's reaction , he knew way before the catch it was 6. Kinda like Blaylock celebrating when he sees Vince go by on 4th and 5

 

 

[Davis Lane 5586]

[Katfid54 8635]

Part 3:

Ethan Burke was a big part of the story of the game for a lot of reasons.  But one thing that I noticed early on was that Bama had obviously schemed to attack him with the Zone Read. 

They ran various plays to put Burke in conflict.  But I’m going to try and focus only on ZR.  Here’s the first time they ran it against Burke:

Burke gives a hard keep read.  He’s almost all the way to the center when Milroe pulls the ball:

Catalon tries to fill the alley but misses and Burke is fortunately able to get Milroe by the shoe to prevent him from ripping off another 5 or 10 yards.

Gain of eleven.

The second time they ran zone read was literally the next play:

Burke attacks deep and Milroe hands the ball to McClellan. 

Frankly, I’m not sure he was in a position to make a play on either Milroe or McClellan that play.  He chases the RB but his angle is too poor to run him down.

Texas pulls Burke after that play for several plays.  The next time Bama runs ZR, Sorrell is in at EDGE:

Sorrell stays flat, doesn’t chase, and forces a GIVE read.  Byron Murphy and Alfred Collins both shitwhip the Bama OL, Jaylon Ford fills the other gap, and the play is snuffed for a loss of 1.  That play takes Bama off schedule, Watts breaks up 2^nd down in the end zone, Milroe runs for his life on 3^rd down, and Texas is able to force a field goal.

Bama doesn’t go back to ZR the next drive or for the rest of the first half.

The next time they run ZR, it’s 13:16 in the third quarter, and Burke is back at DE:

This time, Burke slow-plays it, forcing the GIVE read.  Catalon fills from the safety position and slows McClellan, who is then gang-tackled by errbody.

Bama runs ZR again against Sorrell in the late 3^rd.  It doesn’t go great.  Here’s the last time they run ZR and the play that stood out to me the most.  2:15 left in the 3^rd.  2^nd and 9.  Bama finally gets the Burke matchup that it has been exploiting all night:

Burke plays it perfectly (again).  He doesn’t run upfield.  He doesn’t crash on the snap.  He stays wide, forces the GIVE read, and then attacks straight down the line of scrimmage.  Sweat blows up his blocker to force McClellan back to the outside, and Burke is waiting there to make the tackle himself.

Turns out, someone is coaching our defensive players on the sideline while the game is ongoing.  Weird.  For the past 14 years, I was under the impression that wasn’t allowed.

[SA-KC_Horn 1295]

8 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

Turns out, someone is coaching our defensive players on the sideline while the game is ongoing.  Weird.  For the past 14 years, I was under the impression that wasn’t allowed.

This shit gave me flash backs to previous years where our coaching staff acted like ZR was a new concept and they really had no clue to defend it.

[hookem17 485]

It says a lot about both Burke and the staff that they were able to diagnose and adjust to how Burke was playing the read. Thanks for highlighting that.

[Js1 85353]

5 minutes ago, SA-KC_Horn said:

This shit gave me flash backs to previous years where our coaching staff acted like ZR was a new concept and they really had no clue to defend it.

Flashback to Mack and Diaz arguing on the sideline during one of the BYU debacles. 

[capnamerca 571]

20 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

Burke plays it perfectly (again).  He doesn’t run upfield.  He doesn’t crash on the snap.  He stays wide, forces the GIVE read, and then attacks straight down the line of scrimmage.  Sweat blows up his blocker to force McClellan back to the outside, and Burke is waiting there to make the tackle himself.

As quasi-inebriated as I was by this point, I specifically remember seeing Burke play this one totally differently than the ones in the 1st half. God I love seeing it.

 

Great breakdowns. Welcome back. 

[Katfid54 8635]

Part 4:

Now to my personal favorite play of the game.  But let’s see Sark’s set up first. 

Here’s the situation.  27-24, Texas is leading.  But Bama has Texas backed up at 2^nd and 15 in the shadow of their own goalposts. 

Bama rushes three and drops 8—a look that Quinn struggled mightily against last year.  But Quinn stays cool, and the call is (or at least appears to be) 4 verts—a perfect beater for this coverage that just asks folks to run down the field and get open.

Whittington “gets open,” Quinn finds him, and Whittington fights his ass off for extra yards.

So three plays later, who is the safety worried about?  Probably the guy that just made him look like an ass on national TV—Whittington. 

So what you should you do?  I guess you should throw a fucking bomb to Ad Mitchell. 

It’s a trips formation with Sanders/Whittington/Mitchell.  Worthy is the sole receiver isolated at the field side of the formation.  Here’s the route combo from Trips:

Does it look similar to NCAA?  It should (although it’s not identical).  This is the O.G. “NCAA” route combo that Steve Spurrier made famous (made perfect) at Florida—the concept is called “Mills”.

Like the NCAA/DDP concept above, the key is to put the safety in conflict. 

Does he take the DIG (a really easy thing to do—especially when the DIG is run RIGHT AT HIM as it was here by Whittington).  Or does he stay over the top?

It’s like getting a cat to chase movement.  The safety can’t help himself from attacking the deep-breaking in-route right in front of him—especially since Whittington had just caught a pass in the exact same spot.  But that leaves the post wide open behind him for six.

The ball is perfect, and Mitchell does his best Worthy doing his best Willie Mays impression. 

Ad Mitchell hauling in a 39 yard bomb to prove definitively that our deep attack this year is more than just throwing up prayers to 8 lbs 6 oz. sweet baby Jesus Xavier Worthy. 

Touchdown Texas.  Play the fight song.  Make ‘em eat shit.

Edited September 11, 2023 by Katfid54

[ztejas 43464]

1 hour ago, Katfid54 said:

Based on my review, I think Barron played it right but it’s bang-b-ang.  At the very end of the clip, you can see Catalon hauling ass to try and get wide to help with the two WRs running down the sideline.  That suggests the look is a cover 4 look with Barron having responsibility for the flat.  Maybe something like this?

I think he played it right, too - and would have turned upfield to stick with the outside guy but Milroe telegraphed it and Barron jumped the pass instead. 

[Katfid54 8635]

Hook ‘em.  Hope y’all enjoyed this.  Let’s not fuck it up against Wyoming this week.

[Katfid54 8635]

Just now, ztejas said:

I think he played it right, too - and would have turned upfield to stick with the outside guy but Milroe telegraphed it and Barron jumped the pass instead. 

I think that's right, although I think he would've stayed with the out routeif he's playing it right.  It's the LB (Gbenda) who needs to pass off the out route and go find other work.  But it's so bang-bang.  I had to watch it about 50 times to come to that conclusion.  Without knowing the call, it's tough.

[troph 24810]

cool breakdown, not an x's and o's fan, but I think Xavier Worthy's route was a corner route based on his initial break, how he ran the route immediately after his break, and where the high/low conflict was on the field with the safety to the left. it also makes sense because X is running away from the safety if it's a corner route and right into the safety if its a post route (skinny or otherwise).   the rest of your stuff makes sense.

[ztejas 43464]

11 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

I think that's right, although I think he would've stayed with the out routeif he's playing it right.  It's the LB (Gbenda) who needs to pass off the out route and go find other work.  But it's so bang-bang.  I had to watch it about 50 times to come to that conclusion.  Without knowing the call, it's tough.

Do you have a gif of the J Whitt pile drive block? I've been wanting to see that replay but not sure anyone has posted it. 

Pretty sure it was on this punt.

Edited September 11, 2023 by ztejas

[ztejas 43464]

Jesus Christ this piece of shit site.

Edited September 11, 2023 by ztejas

[Katfid54 8635]

3 minutes ago, troph said:

cool breakdown, not an x's and o's fan, but I think Xavier Worthy's route was a corner route based on his initial break, how he ran the route immediately after his break, and where the high/low conflict was on the field with the safety to the left. it also makes sense because X is running away from the safety if it's a corner route and right into the safety if its a post route (skinny or otherwise).   the rest of your stuff makes sense.

Are you talking about this? 

That's a post route bro.   

If he had started from the other side of the football and run toward the same corner of the end zone, that would be a corner route. 

Rule of thumb:  Post routes break TOWARD/across the ball:

 

Corner routes break away from the ball:

[lilMAC25 3794]

12 minutes ago, troph said:

cool breakdown, not an x's and o's fan, but I think Xavier Worthy's route was a corner route based on his initial break, how he ran the route immediately after his break, and where the high/low conflict was on the field with the safety to the left. it also makes sense because X is running away from the safety if it's a corner route and right into the safety if its a post route (skinny or otherwise).   the rest of your stuff makes sense.

I had the same thought, but since it’s run from the field (wide) side, maybe it’s still considered a post?

[Katfid54 8635]

I know there are a lot of Xs/Os folks out there.  So if there was something you saw, happy to discuss it here.  I am, however, not going to make a gif-on-request of Jordan Whittington getting called for holding.

Also, if there's something you're particularly interested in, let me know here or via DM and I can include it in a future one of these (and let's hope it doesn't take another 5 years for me to do the next one).

[dcar00 14210]

The interesting thing on the ZR plays is the different movements of the tackle.  some he blocks down, one he pulls, another he "walls" off.  I wonder if there is any read off of that for the D.

[lilMAC25 3794]

Keep posting.

good stuff.  Thanks

[dcar00 14210]

10 minutes ago, lilMAC25 said:

I had the same thought, but since it’s run from the field (wide) side, maybe it’s still considered a post?

he stems the safety by faking a corner and goes to post.  it is just run from the slot or a tight postion so it looks like a corner because he has to try to get "inside" the safety to fake the corner to get him on his hip.

[Katfid54 8635]

4 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

The interesting thing on the ZR plays is the different movements of the tackle.  some he blocks down, one he pulls, another he "walls" off.  I wonder if there is any read off of that for the D.

Great thought/comment.  I wondered if the pull was designed to suck in Burke more.  I.e., sometimes defensive linemen are taught to follow pulling guards.  If you couple a pulling action with ZR, maybe you further incentivize the DE to give a PULL read? 

Also, it's probably not technically a "zone" read, since the line blocks down and the tackle pulls.  It's really a Power Read (although the term "Power Read" in option parlance means something different).  So for ease of discussion, it's a ZR-type look. 

I re-watched this a few times to see if there was no read and it was just Burke misplaying it so badly he makes it look like ZR?  But I don't think so.  It sure looks like Milroe is reading him. 

[Katfid54 8635]

12 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

The interesting thing on the ZR plays is the different movements of the tackle.  some he blocks down, one he pulls, another he "walls" off.  I wonder if there is any read off of that for the D.

 

 

One another re-watch, this is probably counter/GT with a fake of a read and leaving Burke unblocked. 

Given the blocking, there's probably not a real read here, although Milroe fakes as if he's reading Burke. 

Edited September 11, 2023 by Katfid54

[dcar00 14210]

7 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

Great thought/comment.  I wondered if the pull was designed to suck in Burke more.  I.e., sometimes defensive linemen are taught to follow pulling guards.  If you couple a pulling action with ZR, maybe you further incentivize the DE to give a PULL read? 

Also, it's probably not technically a "zone" read, since the line blocks down and the tackle pulls.  It's really a Power Read (although the term "Power Read" in option parlance means something different).  So for ease of discussion, it's a ZR-type look. 

I re-watched this a few times to see if there was no read and it was just Burke misplaying it so badly he makes it look like ZR?  But I don't think so.  It sure looks like Milroe is reading him. 

I think the QB always looks like he's reading him to keep the DE in conflict but on the pull I think it was a auto give call, IMO.

[Fondren & Main 6721]

It sure is nice to have smart players again instead of mindless players like Ogoofball.

[troph 24810]

@Katfid54 ok thanks. I guess your comment was confusing because you were saying it was definitely a post as though some one was saying it was something else, like you were arguing with someone else's position. I think everyone knew he was running toward the corner and not the middle of the endzone (post vs. skinny post).  it was a good pass in that X could catch it, but if thrown correctly X catches it in stride and can Prime Time into the endzone untouched.  but yes the conflict with the safety part is cool.  every now and again the TV guys will show that but often times not.

[redswingline 1057]

[Serak The Preparer 3431]

41 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

That's a post route bro.   

If he had started from the other side of the football and run toward the same corner of the end zone, that would be a corner route. 

 

Alright Mr Spartypants, which is one is port and which one is starboard then?

[animaltobacco11 107]

Fantastic

[Katfid54 8635]

1 minute ago, troph said:

@Katfid54 ok thanks. I guess your comment was confusing because you were saying it was definitely a post as though some one was saying it was something else, like you were arguing with someone else's position. I think everyone knew he was running toward the corner and not the middle of the endzone (post vs. skinny post).  it was a good pass in that X could catch it, but if thrown correctly X catches it in stride and can Prime Time into the endzone untouched.  but yes the conflict with the safety part is cool.  every now and again the TV guys will show that but often times not.

I was probably arguing with myself.  On the first watch, I thought we had run the old Tom Herman/Devin Duvernay slot fade (i.e., what Bama did).  We haven't had much success with the fade; Quinn doesn't throw it great, in my opinion.

So when I re-watched and realized the play was the NCAA concept, I thought it worth noting that it was a concept and not simply a "Yo, Worthy, go deep" play.

[Katfid54 8635]

13 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

I think the QB always looks like he's reading him to keep the DE in conflict but on the pull I think it was a auto give call, IMO.

As always, it's tough to know what's going on without the playcall.  But after watching this like 20 more times, I now think this was an RPO and the read is actually of Gbenda.

Milroe is obviously reading something here.  This is not a fake read.  But when you watch the give after Burke's crash, Milroe's head doesn't turn.  I think he's actually reading Gbenda to see if he'll bite on the run and, if so, he's going to throw the quick out.  Basically Power with a backside OHIO concept? 

This is my attempt to draw it up:

Also explains why Milroe's eyes continue to widen as the out route widens.  He's internally checking to make sure he made the right read and to see whether that route was open.

[troph 24810]

19 minutes ago, Serak The Preparer said:

Alright Mr Spartypants, which is one is port and which one is starboard then?

 Now that’s the shit *I* know….

[troph 24810]

19 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

I was probably arguing with myself.  On the first watch, I thought we had run the old Tom Herman/Devin Duvernay slot fade (i.e., what Bama did).  We haven't had much success with the fade; Quinn doesn't throw it great, in my opinion.

So when I re-watched and realized the play was the NCAA concept, I thought it worth noting that it was a concept and not simply a "Yo, Worthy, go deep" play.

Yeah it wasn’t recess football, but the throw was off enough it surely looked like it. 

Edited September 11, 2023 by troph

[Katfid54 8635]

52 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

I know there are a lot of Xs/Os folks out there.  So if there was something you saw, happy to discuss it here.  I am, however, not going to make a gif-on-request of Jordan Whittington getting called for holding.

Also, if there's something you're particularly interested in, let me know here or via DM and I can include it in a future one of these (and let's hope it doesn't take another 5 years for me to do the next one).

And if anyone has access to All-22 film, I can do some really badass analysis with that....

[JBJ 3654]

3 hours ago, Katfid54 said:

If Barron did play it right, this is really horrific read by MIlroe.  If he’d checked, he could’ve hit the next receiver for a decent gain down the sideline.  Instead, he simply assumes man coverage and never even checks to make sure Barron has left the area.  He telegraphs his pass the whole way, and it’s a free football for Texas.

Your instincts are correct.  This is zone.

...I mean the play itself not what you drew.

Edited September 11, 2023 by JBJ

[LTtxfan 49201]

Great stuff...    Thanks @Katfid54 

Dominant

 

[dcar00 14210]

Ford was really not good on that play we are talking about.  agreed he could be reading Gbenda.

[LTtxfan 49201]

5 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

And if anyone has access to All-22 film, I can do some really badass analysis with that....

Not sure this helps, but here yah go

 

[dcar00 14210]

1 minute ago, LTtxfan said:

Great stuff...    Thanks @Katfid54 

Dominant

 

so what we are saying is Texas beat Bama at their own game and maybe, just maybe, we might be able to hang in the big bad SEC?  hopefully small town state of Alabama/Georgia refs don't care that they couldn't get into Texas.

[Katfid54 8635]

6 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Not sure this helps, but here yah go

 

This is the CORNER route to the POST route that I'm actually looking for.

[HtownHorn 14691]

2 hours ago, Katfid54 said:

Part 3:

 

Ethan Burke was a big part of the story of the game for a lot of reasons.  But one thing that I noticed early on was that Bama had obviously schemed to attack him with the Zone Read. 

 

They ran various plays to put Burke in conflict.  But I’m going to try and focus only on ZR.  Here’s the first time they ran it against Burke:

 

 

Burke gives a hard keep read.  He’s almost all the way to the center when Milroe pulls the ball:

 

 

 

Catalon tries to fill the alley but misses and Burke is fortunately able to get Milroe by the shoe to prevent him from ripping off another 5 or 10 yards.

 

Gain of eleven.

 

The second time they ran zone read was literally the next play:

 

 

Burke attacks deep and Milroe hands the ball to McClellan. 

 

 

Frankly, I’m not sure he was in a position to make a play on either Milroe or McClellan that play.  He chases the RB but his angle is too poor to run him down.

 

Texas pulls Burke after that play for several plays.  The next time Bama runs ZR, Sorrell is in at EDGE:

 

 

Sorrell stays flat, doesn’t chase, and forces a GIVE read.  Byron Murphy and Alfred Collins both shitwhip the Bama OL, Jaylon Ford fills the other gap, and the play is snuffed for a loss of 1.  That play takes Bama off schedule, Watts breaks up 2^nd down in the end zone, Milroe runs for his life on 3^rd down, and Texas is able to force a field goal.

 

Bama doesn’t go back to ZR the next drive or for the rest of the first half.

 

The next time they run ZR, it’s 13:16 in the third quarter, and Burke is back at DE:

 

 

This time, Burke slow-plays it, forcing the GIVE read.  Catalon fills from the safety position and slows McClellan, who is then gang-tackled by errbody.

 

Bama runs ZR again against Sorrell in the late 3^rd.  It doesn’t go great.  Here’s the last time they run ZR and the play that stood out to me the most.  2:15 left in the 3^rd.  2^nd and 9.  Bama finally gets the Burke matchup that it has been exploiting all night:

 

 

Burke plays it perfectly (again).  He doesn’t run upfield.  He doesn’t crash on the snap.  He stays wide, forces the GIVE read, and then attacks straight down the line of scrimmage.  Sweat blows up his blocker to force McClellan back to the outside, and Burke is waiting there to make the tackle himself.

 

Turns out, someone is coaching our defensive players on the sideline while the game is ongoing.  Weird.  For the past 14 years, I was under the impression that wasn’t allowed.

Bo Davis is really good at his job when not getting leg whipped by a LB. I would also say that trainer we hired to help with DE/Edge technique is doing a fucking awesome job.

[HtownHorn 14691]

1 hour ago, dcar00 said:

The interesting thing on the ZR plays is the different movements of the tackle.  some he blocks down, one he pulls, another he "walls" off.  I wonder if there is any read off of that for the D.

Coach Ervin said today with Burton that you have to look at the OTs now a days because guards pull a lot on boots and other passing concepts. So, I imagine Bama was absolutely playing games with the OTs to get false reads from the Texas defenders.