Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 5)

[satyanash 14,281]

Collecting post-game analysis articles regarding the Kansas game here:

(Gerald Goodridge) No. 3 Texas 40, No. 24 Kansas 14: Three things we learned

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The No. 3 Texas Longhorns started slow, but managed to pull away from the No. 24 Kansas Jayhawks and ended with a lopsided 40-14 win on Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Early in the game, it felt like the recipe for an embarrassing upset was shaping up, but the offense managed to put it together and the defense plugged some of the holes created with the option game. An explosive ground game set Texas up for its offense to find success, but the Longhorns sometimes struggled to capitalize on the big plays and its ability to put the ball in the red zone.

1. Jonathon Brooks is a game changer for Texas

For the third-straight week, Jonathon Brooks was incredible and Texas benefitted. The former three-star running back looked every bit of an All-American against the Jayhawks, rattling off a career-high 217 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 10.9 yards per attempt. Something seems to have shifted in the running back after taking the full-time starter role when Cedric Baxter Jr. went down with an injury and he’s making the best of the opportunity.

In those three games, Brooks has rushed for 487 yards, four touchdowns, and is averaging 8.25 yards per attempt. He’s cracked off three rushes longer than 50 yards, including the two explosive touchdowns in the win over the Jayhawks. The ability to find that level of success on the ground and create explosive plays from your running back will continue to pay dividends throughout the Big 12 race.

2. Texas needs to figure out its red-zone woes

Against Kansas, Texas was 5-of-5 from the red zone, but saw multiple drives stall out ending in field goals on drives that should have produced touchdowns. Adding insult to injury, two of the stalled drives followed a fourth down conversion and a 67-yard run by Brooks, respectively. This is becoming a dangerous trend that can bite Texas in tight games when they should be able to put teams away earlier.

Texas was able to pour it on late, but that has been a recurring theme this year and why many teams have played Texas tighter than they should have. On the year, Texas is 19-of-21 in the red zone but has a higher-than-desirable touchdown-to-field goal ratio. Eight of their 19 red-zone conversions have been field goals, including a 50/50 split in the Alabama and RIce games.

3. Texas needs to find answers at placekicker, especially on longer kicks

A year ago, Burt Auburn was a relatively consistent option for Texas and missed just five kicks on his 21 attempts. Through five games this year, Auburn has missed five. Four of the five misses this year by the third-year kicker were from beyond 40 yards, with the longest attempts being a 50-yarder against Kansas and a 56-yard attempt against Rice. Those types of misses looked like they may have been costly early, but thankfully for Texas fans, the offense was able to pour it on late.

Letting a team like Kansas hang around and not putting points on the board by any means necessary can prove costly as the season continues. Next up for Texas is its annual trip to Dallas for the Red River Rivalry, squaring off with an Oklahoma Sooners team that looks like they may have figured out what ailed them a year ago.

(Ian Boyd) Five quick thoughts: Texas tramples Kansas

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Texas had a fair number of scares in this game given the circumstances on the ground. The Longhorns absolutely ran over Kansas from start to finish, yet due to a number of errors and unfortunate circumstances, the game’s outcome was in doubt deep in the third quarter with the Longhorns holding only a 20-14 lead.

Ultimately Texas had incredible fortune in this game when star Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels re-aggravated a back injury in the morning and was unable to suit for for the Jayhawks. Without Daniels Kansas was able to land a few explosive plays on the triple-option early with speedy quarterback Jason Bean and hit a play-action post shot to Trevor Wilson for a touchdown. Then their offense dried up and the Longhorns pulled away.

Texas also had to navigate an apparent ankle injury for Ja’Tavion Sanders, who tried to loosen up and get back on the field before ultimately giving up and sitting out the rest of the game. They got by thanks to a star-making performance by Jonathon Brooks who got 20 carries and produced 217 yards at 10.9 ypc with one rushing touchdown. It ended up being a commanding win for the Longhorns, who continue to be a second half team in 2023.

Quick thought no. 1: Texas kept Kansas in the game early

Once Jalon Daniels was out for Kansas, the triple-option had to play a major role in the Jayhawk gameplan. Early on Texas’ Edges had major problems in trying to contain the ball, which allowed Bean to get out on the perimeter with his legitimate 4.4 speed and a pitch man partner. Their long score included Justice Finkley trying to go under a block for a shot at Bean, who’s too fast to take such risks against, and Jalen Catalon cleaning up with a huge hit which unfortunately lead to a scoop and score fumble return by running back Daniel Hishaw, Jr.

Later, Kitan Crawford bit on an outside move on play-action from the slot and the Jayhawks beat him over the middle on a post route where he had no help for a second touchdown. Two mistakes which lead to scores of 45 and 58 yards…but otherwise it was a lot of nothing for Kansas. Their other 44 plays produced only 157 yards and zero points. The final tally on the day was 661 yards of offense for the Longhorns to 260 for Kansas in a 40-14 shellacking.

Quick thought no. 2: Red zone miscues…

It was a terrible game for Texas when in Kansas territory. They had two early drives begin on 1st and goal from the Kansas eight yard line and were unable to navigate the compressed field. Those are two situations as the offense is close enough for the defense to be able to sit on everything in coverage and get safeties involved quickly against run or pass, yet you’re not close enough to just power ahead on a dive run for a few yards. That no man’s land is tough to punch the ball in without the passing game, particularly if your star receiving tight end is on the bench.

Texas also had some other issues, such as “Sideshow” Bert Auburn going 2-4 with a pair of misses on long field goals of 47 and 50 yards. Auburn has the leg to hit those longer field goals but hasn’t been dialed in with pinpoint accuracy.

They also got Quinn Ewers‘ first interception of the season trying to hit a dig over the middle stepping up into the pocket and losing track of a linebacker who drifted into the window. Ewers was otherwise very sharp going 25-35 for 325 yards at 9.3 ypa with one touchdown pass and two rushing scores. Early in the game Texas was piling up yardage with next to nothing to show for it on the scoreboard until the inevitable second half deluge.

Quick thought no. 3: Some breakout performances

Arguably last week was the breakout for Brooks but this week was something else. His ability to set up his moves with great vision paired with an ability to both decelerate and accelerate on a dime is making for an extremely potent rushing attack. He’s on track to to outperform Bijan Robinson this year on the stat sheet, in part due to the extra attention teams cannot afford to give Bijan due to the Longhorn passing game, but also in part due to Brooks’ own excellence.

With Sanders sidelined, Adonai Mitchell also got a lot of extra targets. He had 13 targets on the day which translated into 10 catches for 141 yards at 10.8 ypt with a touchdown. Mitchell has great change of direction for a tall, lanky wideout and uses it both to get separation on his route breaks as well as to get vertical after the catch for extra yardage.

Texas also broke out a new take on “Ezekiel’s wheel,” the multi-layered RPO they used to great effect last year, especially in the Red River Shootout against a hapless Oklahoma. Normally the play included a post route to clear out defenders for the zone-read/wheel route/flat route progression the quarterback would read. This year Texas has been at least mixing in opportunities for Ewers to read the post and he hit one to for a big gain.

Quick thought no. 4: Texas is still a power run team

The concern for the Longhorns this season was whether or not they could take enough strides along the interior O-line to help a new cast of running backs replace the lost production from losing a pair of legitimately strong, NFL running backs in Bijan and Roschon Johnson. The further they get from fall camp and having to work against the Texas D-line, the more young DJ Campbell and the interior have gelled, and the more imposing this rushing attack is proving to be.

Beyond Brooks’ big day, Texas ran the ball 51 times overall for 336 yards at 6.6 ypc with four rushing touchdowns. Two of those rushing scores came from power back Ewers, who had another long scoring scramble where he hit a crease and a naked bootleg late where he juuuust managed to turn the corner on the defense.

The run game has a physicality to it this season due to the improvements of the O-line and they’re getting a lot of favorable looks to run against due to this passing game. When Mitchell and Xavier Worthy are torching single coverage on either perimeter it becomes very difficult for teams to concentrate numbers in the box, which is leading to major problems for defenses.

Quick thought no. 5: Red River Shootout

The first question, aside from any developments which may occur from the Oklahoma-Iowa State contest tonight, is the health of JT Sanders and cornerback Ryan Watts who both exited this game with injuries.

Texas is very deep at cornerback but they’ll certainly want good play at the position in order to take away the deep choice routes Oklahoma’s offense is (at least theoretically) built around. Sanders is one of the best players at his position in the country, perhaps second only to Brock Bowers, and he present mega problems for every defense and certainly the Sooners. Above all else, Texas will really want clarity on both of them. They have the talent to gameplan for Oklahoma without them, but if they’re questionable all week that will complicate the week of preparation.

This upcoming game generally defines the Longhorn season, but this year Texas has a chance to really make a statement. They’ll likely be favored by close to a touchdown and a victory would eliminate perhaps the toughest remaining game on the schedule and put them in amazing position in the Big 12 Championship race and the national playoff hunt. Texas has been storing up a lot for this game, this should be a big game performance opportunity for the 2023 Longhorns.

 

[Doc Daneeka 6,769]

2 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Ultimately Texas had incredible fortune in this game when star Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels re-aggravated a back injury in the morning and was unable to suit for for the Jayhawks.

Get out of here with this bullshit. (Not satyahash, I get that he’s just pasting.)

[Stilicho 1,397]

I get wanting to hedge your bets if this was a walk-off FG sort of win.

But this was just suffocation in the second half. Needs to save that edgelord shit for the next "trap game" post-OU.

Edited October 1, 2023 by Stilicho

[Vermin 3,042]

4 minutes ago, Doc Daneeka said:

Get out of here with this bullshit. (Not satyahash, I get that he’s just pasting.)

Talk about incredible fortune when the offense scoops and scores.

[satyanash 14,281]

Steve Habel: Texas’ running game doing its part in Sark’s plan for complementary offense

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AUSTIN – Texas coach Steve Sarkisian constantly emphasizes the need for the Longhorns to produce complementary offense and a balanced attack – goals not often accomplished in the era of pass-first, run-second modern college football. But there’s no doubt that the Longhorns are accomplishing that goal, thanks to the dynamite one-two punch of running backs Jonathon Brooks and CJ Baxter. No. 3 Texas rode that duo to 285 of its 336 rushing yards in its dominating 40-14 win over No. 24 Kansas on Saturday.

The victory kept the Longhorns (5-0, 2-0 in Big 12 play) undefeated through five games for the first time since 2009. Brooks slashed and dashed through the Jayhawks’ defense for a career-high 217 yards on 20 carries that included a 67-yard run and scores of 54 and one yard. Baxter, who began the season as the starter before suffering a rib injury against Rice, added 68 yards on 16 totes.

Most of the running backs’ work was done between the tackles. Sarkisian said Saturday that he challenged the Longhorns’ offensive line to drive the Kansas defense front off the line and re-establish the line of scrimmage. “The run game has come to life and I’m pleased with the progress that has been made,” Sarkisian explained. “I go back to week one sitting right here and all I got asked about was our run game. So the tide has turned a little there with what we’ve been able to do on the ground, and that has helped our passing game. The play-action pass game has come to life from it.”

Brooks continues to impress and show a solid combination of both a hard-nosed and “look-at-him-go” running style. “He was able to find the creases in the defense and he hit Kansas with his speed,” said Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, who had two touchdown runs himself. “It’s pretty cool to see him running and them chasing him.”

Sarkisian said that Brooks is playing with a lot of confidence. “He’s a very patient runner,” the Texas coach said. “He’s always had natural running ability and now as he’s finding opportunities in the open field, he’s making safeties miss. When you can do that at running back, when you block things right and you trust the run and then you can make that last layer of defense miss, you can create explosive runs. This is three straight weeks where he has hit home runs, you know as much as he’s running really good, you know, hard yards between the tackles.”

Brooks, as always, credited his offensive line for their blocks and getting him clear air to work in. “We went to work this week in practice and we really honed in on finishing blocks and finishing runs and making that impact in the running game as something to focus on,” Brooks said.  “One of the things we’ve been really good at this year has been wearing teams down in the second half and to be able to kind of late in the third and early fourth quarter just start to take over with the run game. Just kind of imposing our will and breaking the other team’s will by going out and being physical being fast, being smart, and just playing really physical.”

 

[satyanash 14,281]

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

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Coming into the game, Texas ranked 103rd in the country in time of possession and Kansas was ranked 11th. When the final gun sounded, Texas had held the ball for over 39 minutes while Kansas had it less than half of that, with no Kansas drive lasting more than 2:56. That was their last drive of the game against the Longhorn reserves. How?

The Longhorn defense dominated money downs against the top 3rd down conversion team in the country, limiting the Jayhawks to 0 of 10 on 3rd and 4th down combined. They completely owned the Jayhawks on 8 of their 11 offensive possessions, limiting them to less than 2 yards per play on 27 total plays. Texas defenders benefitted from the clarity of 3rd/4th down and short (load up on the run) and 3rd down and 6+ (pass) whereas more ambiguous downs gave Kansas license to run anything and create assignment conflict.

Every meaningful KU play happened on 1st or 2nd down. On 3 other Kansas possessions, the Jayhawks managed a very robust 210 yards on only 19 plays, largely on the strength of a 58-yard easy touchdown throw on space cadet coverage and a 45-yard touchdown on an option run fumble scoop that exposed some major problems defending option football.

Watching Justice Finkley play under a block made my skin crawl, but Jerrin Thompson’s turnstyle tackle wasn’t ideal either. Hill also takes a bad step and gets hypnotized. Catalon almost salvaged it with a savage hit, but balls bounce your way when the call and execution crush the D’s recognition and preparation.

It’s odd for any person Gen X or older to watch college football players struggle with defending basic option principles, but those concepts are as foreign to these players as a team coming out in an empty set hurry up would have been to us. Texas edges, play side linebackers and the support safeties not named Catalon weren’t ready for it. And here’s the pass play:

The color guy tries to pin this on Barron, but we’re in zone. What is Kitan Crawford looking at? Not his first rodeo doing this and at some point, the mental mistakes are too costly. In the 2nd half, Pete Kwiatkowski started really playing personnel packages on each down and Kitan was on the 1st down “run down” safety group whereas he seemed to prefer Taaffe, Catalon or Thompson on likely passing downs. KU went hurry up immediately after an unsuccessful run, kept Crawford on the field, and then hit us for the easy score.

Those mistakes aside, the game turned on a key defensive stop in Kansas territory. Deep in the 3rd quarter, while it was still a 20-14 game, KU went for it on 4th and 1 foot on their end of the field. Penetration from Sorrell and Barron helped doom a sloppy exchange between Bean and Hishaw and that Kansas turnove also ended their chances of winning. After Texas went up 26-14, Kansas lost any patience for the running game and the Texas defense got to feast on Bean(s).

While the defense finished the game strong, Kansas was averaging 8.1 yards per play fairly deep into the 3rd quarter. Once Texas got the lead and Kansas got married to the passing game, the Horns limited Kansas to 5 total yards on 10 plays on their next three possessions before KU’s stat padding 10 play, 60 yard game ending garbage drive.

While the Longhorn defense deserves a big pat on the back for their part in limiting Kansas to only 46 plays, they also owe the Texas offense some respect for running 86 plays with no Texas drive yielding less than 32 yards or 5 plays on 10 of 11 possessions (the final game ending drive was 5-28).

Texas got some opponent QB luck again and Jalon Daniels would have certainly helped KU in the passing game, but Daniels is not a 10.4 100 meters guy on the speed option either and the Texas defense clearly decided that they wanted to limit the KU throw game first and foremost, while letting in-game adjustments and a lead take care of KU’s run game. Kansas rushed for 8 yards in the 2nd half after amassing 100+ in the first.

Defensive Line

The edges struggled with option principles early and the need to respect KU’s run game and containment gave Jason Bean a clean pocket until the lead grew to double digits. That’s when Texas cut it loose. The biggest 2nd half star was Jaray Bledsoe, who had 3 pressures (and should’ve drawn a hold) playing inside sprinting past KU OL like a rottweiler got loose at a track meet. Murphy and Sweat both had some good stuffs, a QB hit and a pressure. Burke had an offsides on a 3rd down.

Linebacker

Not a great game, particularly early, but they played much better when Kansas was in more predictable down and distance. The Jayhawks put a lot of stress on backers, but once Texas got the lead, they were able to cut it loose fully on the run or pass. Ford led the team in tackles and had some good containment plays on Bean when Texas lined him up outside. Hill was slow to recognize on some plays and had a silly personal foul late. If you’re going to do it, at least get your money’s worth, #0.

Defensive Back

Derek Williams didn’t see much time in this game until late as Texas clearly feared his inexperience against the Jayhawks, but that doesn’t explain Crawford whose proven experience against complexity isn’t always positive. Catalon had some terrific hits and a forced fumble. I think he was the only safety out there who clearly had a grip on whatever Kansas was doing. His tackles just sound different.

Ryan Watts went out with an injury and Muhammad, Brooks and Holmes held it down in his stead. They did a good job against a deeply experienced Kansas receiver corps. Jahdae Barron had a great corral on a Bean 3rd down scramble early in the game and played a key role in snuffing the 4th and a foot botched handoff. Jerrin Thompson blew two tackles, but he was intelligent in the pass game. Taaffe had a terrific tackle for loss cleanup in run support after Texas started walking up safeties outside to dissuade the screen/speed options/flats throws that might have helped Bean’s comfort level. Nice move by Pete and good physicality by Taaffe.

Special Teams

Auburn is now 2 of 6 on the year on any field goal attempt greater than 40+. He’s 7 of 8 from less than 40. He missed from 50 and 47 and neither looked good off of the foot. He’s not getting flawless holds or snaps every time, but he’s also not driving the ball with any power and it’s getting pushed wide. Until something changes, Texas needs to start treating 4th and 6 on the opponent 31 as a go-for-it situation unless Will Stone can offer something better from distance.

Texas did not punt. Once again, a young running back ran down and knocked the crap out of a kick returner. Last week, it was Tre Wisner. This week, Jaydon Blue. Great culture stuff, there.

Final

Opponent scoring rests heavily on the defense, but it’s ultimately a team measure. The Longhorn football team held a very dynamic offense to 14 points (while keeping them largely on the sideline) while rendering them useless during winning time as the Horns offense pounded them with a 20-0 finish. Time to start Hate Week.

Bobby Burton: Texas records a complete victory over the Kansas Jayhawks

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This quarterback thing is unreal. Not since Bama – for three straight weeks now – have the Longhorns faced their opponent’s starting QB. It’s hard to say exactly what that meant to this game. As Kansas coach Lance Leipold said in his post-game press conference, his offense was “non-rhythmatic” all day long. Maybe that was the QB, maybe that was the Texas defense. Maybe it was both.

Jason Bean’s speed in the option game and the hard running of Daniel Hishaw are really the only things that tested Texas on a regular basis on Saturday. The regular starter Jalon Daniels, for as talented as he is, is not as fast to the edge as Bean, giving KU something extra in the triple option that the Horns clearly had not prepped for as much.

Yet Pete Kwiatkowski effectively ended the effectiveness of the option by dialing up two different play calls. He went with either a more traditional 4-3 defense, adding Jett Bush to the lineup and removing the star position, or he decided to go heavy at defensive end, lining up either Vernon Broughton or Alfred Collins at one of the defensive ends while keeping Jahdae Barron on the field. The response clearly worked. And Kwiatkowski’s had them for three straight weeks when facing uncertainty.

**

The Horns’ D will now move forward and face their toughest test to date. Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. Through five games this season, only one team has scored more than 14 points on Texas (Alabama scored 24 in Tuscaloosa). Meanwhile, Oklahoma is fourth in the country in scoring, averaging 46.8 points per game. So something’s gotta give. Hopefully Kwiatkowski and the Texas D are up to the challenge once more, this time against the starting Sooner QB.

**

The Texas offense erupted against the Jayhawks. The Horns broke the school record for yards gained against a Big 12 conference opponent with 661 total yards. Quinn Ewers was confident and accurate from the start. The interior of the Texas OL paved the way for Jonathon Brooks all game long. Xavier Worthy and AD Mitchell were routinely open and secured the catch.

The Texas offense at times on Saturday was a true thing of beauty, spreading the ball around, beating KU on the ground and through the air. The Horns didn’t punt all game long. That’s impressive, and I don’t care who you’re playing.

**

Another not-so-small thing to note: In his post-game presser, Leipold also said that he felt like Texas was the best team his Kansas squad has played since he entered the conference in 2021. Those are big words.

 

[satyanash 14,281]

(Scipio Tex) 2023 Kansas Football Post Mortem: Offense

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Texas completely dominated the Kansas Jayhawks last Saturday, but that domination didn’t always translate into point expectation, due to the Texas offense struggling on goal to go and deep red zone situations. Nonetheless, the final butcher’s bill was favorable as Texas finished the game on a 20-0 run after holding a seemingly tenuous 20-14 lead deep into the 3rd quarter, while totaling 33 first downs, nearly 40 minutes of TOP and 661 yards of offense at a sizzling 7.7 yards per play. There was even a pleasing symmetry between rushing and passing yardage totals, as the Horns compiled 325 passing and 336 rushing. Last year, Ewers threw for 112 yards and Texas did everything it could to make Quinn a game manager and handoff specialist.

Texas had no unsuccessful possessions. Just varying outcomes.

7-88-TD

14-76 FG

5-63-FG

9-48-Missed FG

8-52-INT

5-71-TD

12-46-Missed FG

5-32-TD

8-72-TD

12-75-TD

5-28-(game ended)

That’s really good production. We just need to see it to completion better. A few observations:

Thing 1

Before the game, I offered that Kansas had a brand new (relativey) improved front, but they were still saddled with terrible linebacker play and safeties they weren’t comfortable exposing in coverage. Even when they walked their big physical safeties up, they lost defense in depth. When they held them back, Texas mercilessly exposed their linebackers in the running game and in coverage. For example, every Texas target on Kansas linebacker Rich Miller was a completion.

Interesting wrinkle on rewatch: Texas repeatedly double teamed not only the play side defensive tackle, but also the backside defensive tackle on several inside running plays. 4 on 2 is atypical. The Kansas edges were taken out with auxiliary personnel or eye candy distraction. That’s a contrast to last year where Texas effectively ignored the sickly Kansas front and focused on spilling blockers to the 2nd and 3rd levels so that Bijan could work his magic. On Saturday, Texas often went 3 on 2 or 4 on 2 inside. KU’s LBs should have had 15 tackles each, right? Welllllll……

Watch the blocking. That’s two strong double teams inside and two unblocked KU linebackers just walking into the double team in front of them blindly. No disrespect to #24, who played a whale of a game and featured his skills better on several other runs, but any generic FBS runner should score there.

And By Gawwd, is that Adonai Mitchell with a gentle tap block on the bottom of the screen to distract the KU safety!? Notice Gunnar Helm making good violent contact on the cross action so the edge can’t crash down. Our coaching staff clearly understood KU’s weaknesses, where they were competent (one DT spot – Devin Phillips, who actually played well, both edges were solid) and where they were poor (every off the ball linebacker on their team, safety agility in space, depth).

Thing 2

The Texas passing game has shifted to Ewers’ strengths. The evidence was there on the field, but if you prefer objective measures, note the following: Texas threw only 2 balls greater than 20+ yards in 35 pass attempts. Going 0-2. The intermediate game? (I’ll define that as between 10-20 field yards). Ewers was 12 of 18 for 225 yards. You’ll also notice a continued, massive bias towards throws between the hash. Why? Ewers was 18 of 22 for 280 yards there and 7 of 13 for 45 yards outside the hash. To include Sark’s weird fixation on throwing wide without numbers and ending up in 2nd and 15. INTERESTING.

Is the deep ball done in the Texas offense? Nope. But we’re going to take our shots judiciously and with the deck totally stacked in our favor…and probably between the hashes.

Thing 3

The most efficient passing combination between Worthy, Mitchell and Ewers this year. Xavier and Adonai were targeted 21 times for 17 completions, 0 drops or misread routes and 234 yards. Averaging over 11 yards per target is really good and the sign of a well-coordinated passing game. The Kansas corners are good, but no one in this league is covering those two on an island when the pass game is clicking and pass pro is good.

Offensive Line

Pass pro began a little shaky as Kansas defensive linemen were getting a little too much push and muddying the pocket early, but hat tip to them. Bludgeoning them with the run game and a little more pop on initial contact cleaned that up over the course of the game. By the 4th quarter, Ewers was having a picnic back there.

Texas is now officially a right handed running team. 37 of 48 run attempts went to the middle or right on Saturday, a trend that has persisted. To date, Christian Jones has been the best OL on the team and DJ Campbell is far more comfortable beside him than what we saw against Rice. When those big boys get to block down, bodies get moved. Campbell did have a hold and gave up a sack when his feet stopped moving, but he was extremely nasty on most run downs and his pass pro otherwise was solid.

Kelvin Banks had a couple of lapses in pass protection. The new Kansas edges are not bad players by any stretch. Jake Majors had his best game of the season as a run blocker. Hayden Conner is clearly the worst run blocker on the OL now, but his pass pro has consistently been a plus inside since Bama.

I have to mention Cam Williams. He got in at the end. First play? A ruthless pancake. Second play? A flawless run block exchange with another blocker and he drives the Kansas defender through the echo of the whistle with active, coordinated feet. He is improving quickly. Once he gets an offseason of conditioning, gets some squats under his belt to help his bend and some pass blocking reps, he’s going to be a savage.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

The Adonai Mitchell volume breakout game. Kansas kept slanting coverage towards Worthy and Mitchell made the Jayhawks pay, exploiting a half dozen different defenders. He finished with 10-141-1. Worthy was wonderful all game with 7 catches for 93 yards, including a 39 yarder. He can’t be covered 1 on 1 on progressive routes.

Whittington had a rough game. 2 catches for 18 yards on 6 targets and he’s not getting much separation this year without some scheming involved. Nice to see Cook with a nice play over the middle and some YAC after the catch. We’re all waiting to hear on Sanders, but Helm filled in capably.

Running Back

Brooks had himself a game. 21 carries, 218 yards, 2 touchdowns, no negative runs and a terrific mix of decisiveness and patience. He had several gaping hole runs, but he also maximized some others that weren’t so well blocked. The move he puts on here is just nasty…

That’s Jake Majors on the pull and yes, the KU linebackers stink, but the hip move #24 put on the Kansas safety would have made Shakira proud. He forced a half dozen missed tackles and nearly half of his yards came after contact. CJ Baxter, also a dude:

One handed catch in traffic. Steps through the — wait for it — attempted Kansas linebacker tackle (noticing a theme) and gains a smooth 15. He chipped in a tough 67 yards.

Quarterback

Quinn’s running ability punished Kansas when they went man coverage and vacated the middle of the field. It’s really hurting defenses that aren’t honoring pass rush lanes, particularly those double teaming Worthy on one side, leaving expansive green in front of the QB. QB runs are a great way to make dishonest defenses pay.

Aside from his sweet opening possession 29 yard rushing touchdown, he had two other scrambles that extended drives. An important dimension for the offense on key downs. As a passer, Ewers was 25 of 35 for 325 yards and the only bad throw that he was punished for was a stare down of Gunnar Helm on an in cut. So ends his 245 attempt interception free streak. Time to start another. He made a number of really nice throws and his velocity and placement was on point in the intermediate game all day. I loved these throws, both harder than they look:

A lot of quarterback sail that “easy” touchdown throw too high.

Try that in your backyard while shifting right as a right handed passer and then throw across your body to a guy going away from you full speed hard left. It won’t look good, I promise you.

Final

Current mood:

 

Justin Wells: Top PFF grades from No. 3 Texas' 40-14 win over No. 24 Kansas

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After the No. 3 Texas Longhorns’ 30-14 win over No. 24 Kansas on Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Inside Texas takes a look at the Pro Football Focus grades on offense and defense after the Longhorns moved to 5-0 for the first time since 2009.

OFFENSE

QB – Quinn Ewers, 73.8

Ewers had another fantastic game going 25-of-35 for 325 yards and one touchdown, and adding 40 yards rushing and one scoring run. Ewers streak of no turnovers was thwarted by a KU interception in the second quarter, but otherwise it was a near-flawless day.

RB – Jonathon Brooks, 85.4

The redshirt sophomore had a his biggest game as a Longhorn on Saturday. He tallied 217 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 25 touches, good for 10.2 yard per carry. CJ Baxter was strong in the second half.

WR – Adonai Mitchell, 79.8, Xavier Worthy, 74.0

The duo of Worthy and Mitchell were productive on Saturday. Mitchell had a career-high 10 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown, while Worthy added 93 yards on seven catches. Worthy also surpassed 2,000 career receiving yards in Austin, becoming the 11th Longhorn to accomplish the feat.

Mitchell’s second-half touchdown was a thing of beauty.

TE – Gunnar Helm, 47.1

After losing Ja’Tavion Sanders in the first half to injury, Helm held down the tight end spot on 75 snaps.

OL – Christian Jones, 76.1, DJ Campbell, 63.6, Malik Agbo, 65.8

Jones led all the offensive linemen with a 76.1 grade on 85 snaps. Agbo added 65.8 on 22 snaps, and Campbell added a 63.6 on 85 snaps and led the team with a 78.1 pass-block grade.

DEFENSE

DL/EDGE – T’Vondre Sweat, 85.6, Alfred Collins, 68.8, Byron Murphy, 77.2, Barryn Sorrell, 64.6

Sweat (28 snaps) and Murphy (18 snaps) once again led the defensive interior, holding KU to 14 points on the day. Collins added a 68.8 on 18 snaps, and Sorrell was solid with a 64.6 grade on 29 snaps.

LB – Jaylan Ford, 70.8

Ford led the linebacking defensive effort on Saturday, adding five tackles on 38 snaps.

CB/N – Malik Muhammad, 60.2, Jahdae Barron, 65.0

Muhammad replaced the injured Ryan Watts and and added a pass breakup on 25 snaps. Barron played well, notching three tackles on 36 snaps.

S – Jalen Catalon, 65.8

Again, Catalon led the safeties with three tackles, and 65.8 grade on 21 snaps. Michael Taaffe added a 67.3 on 14 snaps as well.

Coach V: Texas pounds Kansas with Oklahoma on the horizon

Quote

By Mike Venable: The problem with playing an offense like Kansas is the key breaking reads that offense offers to disciplined defenders is crapola. In the old days we went to secondary reads once we were false-keyed. Kansas has taken the false key objective to a new height with their misdirection breaking every positional rule taught since middle school rendered hopeless. Once we eliminated the false read and started picking up the blocking scheme we found the ball with better regularity. We found out fast flow was the poorest way to key their offense very quickly but adjustments were a little slow for some positions. Sometimes you must play assignment football like it or not. Let’s talk offense.

The offensive plan worked to perfection. We doubled and combo slid their DL till the world looked level. This scheme was complimented with a fun game of pitch and catch with mid level receptions to help soften the defensive belly. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have a thoroughbred like Brooks (24) hammering their willpower into submission. I think one opinion I’ve formed the last two weeks is the precision we are working on our mauling on the right side of our wall. Jones (70) is a picture of how it’s supposed to be done. Campbell (52) is mean, nasty, and relentless in his effort. Majors (65) had a really good game with the exception of a drive killing bad snap. Conner (76) isn’t as physical as the story goes but gets the job done. Banks (78) has the blindside in great hands and he is getting more physical every week.

Sanders (0) had one good catch/run before exiting with an ankle injury. Helm (85) picked up the slack and Agbo (80) had a good effort in extended reps plus he had some excellent drive blocks in the red zone. Mitchell (5) had his best game period. Worthy (1) had another terrific game. Whittington (13) was solid and the picture of dependable. Cook (2) had a good catch/run. We caught the ball very well.

Brooks (24) has quietly become the focal point of our offense. Baxter (4) had some good plays with his one handed screen catch/run a terrific effort. Blue (23) had a couple of late runs and a really good open field tackle on a kickoff return. (You have things going right when you get offensive players sacrificing their bodies on tackling—Wisner (26) and Blue (23) excellent examples.) Lefau (18) also had a big hit tackle on a return.

Ewers (3) had two bad plays. Quinn had many really good plays. He had at least a half dozen great plays. You win a bunch of games with quarterback play as good as Ewers is playing. Murphy (6) handed off very well on five plays—or was it four?

We didn’t punt. We had one turnover. We had mostly outstanding kickoffs. We need better field goal efforts. Sanborn (27) did a terrific job of getting high snaps kickable on extra points/field goals. We may need to trot out a different kicker against OU.

Our defense did a good job of getting their option offense overconfident in the first quarter yesterday. When your edge is playing the kickout block (OT blocking down means close) and your Will LB never picks up the outside cutoff block by the pulling TE and gets hooked then you are dependent on the playside safety to save the day. He fanned—complete whiff. Even a big hit fumble causing tackle by (11) Catalon went for naught when the ball bounced their direction. The other bad play was the deep pass where they got our flat-footed safety isolated on a burner and we were toast.

The Kansas offense had our DL going in different directions for much of the first half despite only playing limited snaps. The second half was a different story as we chased and harassed their one dimensional offense all over DKR. Murphy (90) and Sweat (93) owned the tackle box. Broughton (45) and Collins (95) alternated between the inside outside edge defeating blocks. Sorrell (88) and Burke (91) were guilty of reading a few lies while Burke had a bad offsides penalty. Bledsoe (94) and Carter (98) had good plays disrupting the timing of the play. Finkley (1) and Bush (43) both had hustle plays but both were guilty of believing a bad key early.

Ford (41) had another outstanding game. Gbenda (33) and Hill (0) not so much. Both Will’s were guilty of getting trapped inside on option keeps without reading the hook block on the counter pull by the offset TE. Hill also had a bad roughing call when he breathed on the QB chasing the skirt out of bounds. Gbenda did not have many good plays.

Catalon (11) is our best safety period. He makes plays and fulfills his responsibilities. Williams (2) looked the part in very limited snaps. Crawford (21) stood cemented into the turf while a receiver ran out to practice early or so it seemed. Taaffe (16) had two good tackles. Thompson (28) has seen better days. Barron (23) had three terrific plays including a 4th down turnover as our star position. Maybe Williams will be own the Cedric Benson (Roy Williams, ect.) plan where after OU he will be elevated to starter status because he’s suddenly the best despite his youth. Who knows? Our safeties (not named Catalon or Barron) have limitations.

Watts (6) left with injury. Muhammad (5) had several good plays. Brooks (8) had solid reps. Holmes (9) is very dependable. (One of the corners missed a point blank sack with a drive-by corner blitz—I refused to go back for the number of the poor technique used). A sure tackle here instead of the ESPN SportCenter highlight (miss) would have been more desirable not to mention effective.

I wonder if OU will use the deep passing game against us this weekend. Big Tex is suiting his butt up as we speak. Two Fletcher corny dogs and a couple of the cold brews make the State Fair my kind of Saturday. 11:00 AM is the right time of our day—we started in August for this day. We stay ready to keep from getting ready. We come alive at 11:00.

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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Sunday

 

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Lunch With the Coach

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