Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 13)

[satyanash 14281]

Collecting post-game analysis articles regarding the Texas Tech game here:

Steve Habel: No. 7 Texas romps past Texas Tech, produces statement win in final regular season Big 12 game

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AUSTIN – If it was a statement win Texas fans wanted and those that determine the College Football Playoff needed to move the Longhorns up in the ranking, consider that mission accomplished. The seventh-ranked Longhorns obliged in a big way, doing just about everything right and then some in a dominating 57-7 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday before a capacity crowd of 102,452 fans at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

The Longhorns (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) won their sixth straight contest and clinched a spot in the Big 12 Conference championship against either No. 13 Oklahoma or No. 23 Oklahoma State. The two rivals from the days of the Southwest Conference and since 1996 in the Big 12 played their final scheduled game as the Longhorns leave the league for the Southeastern Conference in 2024.

Texas certainly gave the Red Raiders their just deserts on its way out in a blowout that featured its highest scoring game of the season, two non-offensive touchdowns and even the much anticipated debut of freshman quarterback Arch Manning.

Quinn Ewers passed for 196 yards and a touchdown, Jaydon Blue ran for 121 yards and a score and Keilan Robinson had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for the Longhorns. Jett Bush returned a deflected interception 43 yards for another score and Burt Auburn kicked five field goals in the win. The Longhorns defense did the rest, holding Texas Tech (6-6, 3-4 Big 12) to just 198 yards. Behren Morton passed for only 88 yards and Tahj Brooks had 95 yards on 19 carries for the Red Raiders.

Texas wasted little time getting on the board, scoring the first time it touched the ball by marching 56 yards in seven plays to a 10-yard TD run by Keilan Robinson. Jordan Whittington had the clearing block on the corner on the backwards pass that handed the Longhorns a 7-0 lead. The Longhorns added to their lead on Auburn’s 34-yard field goal with 2:15 left in the first quarter.  

Tech swung back on Morton’s 2-yard TD keeper around left end with 29 seconds to play in the first quarter. The score came one snap after a pass interference penalty in the end zone by Texas’ Kitan Crawford and capped a drive that began with a 55-yard kickoff return by Drae McCray. Blue ripped off a 69-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter to push the Texas lead back to 10 points, at 17-7.

Auburn added his second FG, this one from 37 yards away with 10:07 to play in the second quarter after Michael Taaffe blocked a punt, to expand the Longhorns’ lead to 20-7. It was Auburn’s 16th straight three-pointer and his 25th of the season and set new team records for consecutive made field goals and FGs in a single campaign. Auburn was good again on a 26-yard FG with 2:55 to play and then on a 44-yarder on the final snap of the second quarter to grow Texas’ lead to 26-7 at the break.

The Longhorns outgained Texas Tech 299-108 in the first half and averaged 7.9 yards per play while the Red Raiders averaged just 2.9. Texas passed for 156 yards in the half to only 38 for Texas Tech.

Robinson opened the third quarter with a 95-yard kickoff return for a TD that blew open the game. It was the fourth non-offensive touchdown this season for the Longhorns and the fifth scoring play by either the defense or the special teams. Auburn bazooka’d a career-long 54-yard field goal with 9:15 to play in the third quarter to make it 36-7. If you are keeping track at home, that’s now 18 in a row and 27 successful this season for the Longhorns’ leading point producer this year.

An Ewers-to-Xavier Worthy 19-yard scoring pass with 4:44 to play in the third quarter pushed the Texas advantage to 43-7. Bush then snatched a pass out of the air that hit a Red Raider in the foot and rumbled 43 yards. Quintrevion Wisner added a 10-yard TD run with 38 seconds to play to cap the scoring and send the crowd into a final frenzy. For the record, Manning hit on 2 of his 5 passes for 30 yards, ran three times for 17 yards and directed the Longhorns’ final scoring drive.

Texas will play Oklahoma State in Arlington on Dec. 2 if the Cowboys beat BYU at home on Saturday. If Oklahoma State loses, the Longhorns will have a rematch with Oklahoma.

(Ian Boyd) Five quick thoughts: Texas heads to the Big 12 Championship

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The Texas Longhorns left no doubt in their regular season finale, smashing the Red Raiders of Texas Tech 57-7. All three phases of the game were lopsided Texas wins as the Horns had multiple big special teams plays, scored on defense, and put up 528 yards on offense to Tech’s dismal 198. If the College Football Playoff selection committee is looking for a reason to choose Texas this game couldn’t have hurt there either, but the mission of the season ain’t over yet.

If the Longhorns fail to secure a Big 12 Championship this season in a down year for the league with their last chance at the crown, it’ll be a major disappointment. In the meantime, Texas can savor a satisfying revenge win over Tech from last year’s overtime loss and post-game smack talk from head Raider Joey McGuire. The Big 12 ran through Austin this season.

Quick thought no. 1: A dominant defensive showing

As Gerry Hamilton put it to me on the “Watch with us” YouTube show early in the 4th quarter, “Ian, have you ever seen a statistical passing day in college football this bad before?” Behren Morton finished the day 19-36 for 88 yards at a horrifying 2.4 yards per pass attempt. He threw 0 touchdowns, rushed for one, and had three interceptions, including one particularly unfortunate toss meant to get him off the hook with T’Vondre Sweat bearing down on him which bounced off his running back’s foot and into the arms of Jett Bush, who returned it for a touchdown.

Tech had no receivers outside who were threatening to the Longhorns and got a lot of press coverage outside as a result while Texas often dropped a safety into the run fit. Derek Williams and Kitan Crawford were both active in the run game while linebacker Anthony Hill had a terrific day with a fourth down stop and a sack on a blitz.

This made for tough sledding for star running back Tahj Brooks as well, who had to break a lot of tackles to get his production. He was solid on the day, thanks to some truly hard running, with 19 carries for 95 yards at 5.0 ypc. Occasionally Tech would threaten to really get him going only for a penalty by the Raiders to throw off their pace and kill the momentum.

Quick thought no. 2: Special teams were elite

Texas had some of their typical red zone issues in this game yet “Sideshow Bert” Auburn connected on all five of his field goal attempts, including a 54-yarder. Between those and his five extra point kicks, Auburn scored 20 points in this contest. Texas Tech had some major misfortune early in the game when their long snapper injured his knee and ended up getting a punt blocked by Michael Taaffe to set up one of Auburn’s field goals.

Xavier Worthy returned three punts for 48 yards to create good field position on a few other Texas drives. Ryan Sanborn had just a pair of punts but they both landed inside the 20 and one of them went 47 yards to do so. Keilan Robinson made his presence felt late with a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown, one of his two scores on the day. A single long kick return by Tech receiver Drae McCray was the only mar on an otherwise completely dominant performance. It set up Tech’s only touchdown.

Quick thought no. 3: Tip of the cap to the seniors

Several of Texas’ seniors had nice showings in this game. Christian Jones had a pair of penalties which diminished his performance but Texas had great success running the ball to the right side behind his blocks. Jaydon Blue led the way for the team thanks to a 69-yard scoring run but there were holes for everyone. Between Blue, CJ Baxter, Savion Red, and Tre Wisner, Texas ran the ball 35 times for 298 yards at 8.5 ypc with two touchdowns.

Keilan Robinson added another 10 yards and a third score on a backwards swing screen that counted in the box score as a run. It was a dominant performance by Jones and the O-line. Senior Edge/linebacker/Swiss army knife Jett Bush had a sack when he executed a spin move and managed to run away from Tech’s star running back for a touchdown on his amazing pick-six. It was a cathartic win for a player who has manned five different positions for Texas in his career as a preferred walk-on and routinely been counted on to serve in key roles.

Team leader Jordan Whittington was also able to get into the action in his last time out at DKR with four catches for 41 yards and a few more big blocks to help spring big plays. T’Vondre Sweat continues to be the best player on the team and one of the key identity pieces to the team and he got a half sack and pass break-up in addition to spooking Morton into the pick-6. His growth this season has been remarkable and will earn him a nice pay day in 2024. Steve Sarkisian will finish his third regular season at Texas 11-1 thanks to a number of seniors who bought into his program and improved dramatically over the course of 2021, 2022, and now 2023.

Quick thought no. 4: Arch Manning’s debut!

With a maximum of four possible games remaining in the season (Tech, Big 12 Championship, playoff semi-final, playoff final) it was safe to finally play Arch Manning and avoid burning his redshirt. He got into the action pretty early, just before the 4th quarter in fact, due to the lopsided nature of the contest. Things got so bad even Brett Yormark made it to the Jumbotron as the Longhorns played his speech to Tech in the preseason where he encouraged the Raiders to send Texas to the SEC with a home loss.

Manning was pretty sharp in his showing. He lead an initial drive down to the goal line and missed a pair of touchdowns on throws that hit his receivers in the hands. Another drive saw Texas go 91 yards on 13 plays while eating 7:59 of clock. On this touchdown drive Manning converted a 3rd-and-3 and 4th-and-5 through the air before Wisner concluded it in the end zone on the ground.

Young Arch went through his progressions pretty quickly, perhaps even faster than Texas’ other two quarterbacks have shown this season, and also showed off his wheels on a 12 yard scramble. We may not see him again until the spring game, but if he does need to play again for Texas he’ll have been well served by this appearance. The Longhorns have three quarterbacks they can win with.

Quick thought no. 5: On to the Big 12 Championship

The Championship picture won’t totally unfold until Saturday. Oklahoma did what they needed to do against a compliant TCU defense earlier today but they still need an Oklahoma State loss against BYU to make it to the Championship. Unlikely. Oklahoma State is favored by 17 points playing at home in T. Boone Pickens Stadium. Kansas State needed both Oklahoma schools to lose so they’re out. Everything hinges on whether Oklahoma State beats BYU or not.

Oklahoma State is probably the easier matchup for the Longhorns seeing as how they’re heavily dependent on running the ball with star running back Ollie Gordon to generate offense. The Oklahoma Sooners are certainly beatable if Texas fans would like revenge as their defense has been limping through the last few games of the season. However Dillon Gabriel made a stunning recovery from whatever variety of head injury knocked him out of the BYU game a week ago and would be a significant obstacle to clear in order to win the trophy.

In either event, this season can only end in one way for Texas. Go win the Big 12 Championship and force the playoff committee to leave a 1-loss team that beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa out of the playoffs.

(Gerald Goodridge) No. 7 Texas 57, Texas Tech 7: Three things we learned

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The No. 7 Texas Longhorns needed a win to lock up a spot in the Big 12 Championship game and could have used a statement win for the College Football Playoff. Texas managed both with an absolute shellacking of the Texas Tech Red Raiders and gets to take Saturday off, unconcerned with tiebreakers and able to take a long week into the conference title game. En route to its earned peace of mind, Texas did something that fans have wanted them to do all season...

1. Texas has the ability to close teams out

Perhaps the most stressful game state for Texas fans in the last three seasons has been a second-half lead, but on Black Friday the Longhorns finally managed to land the knockout blow they’ve been trying to all season. The Longhorns had what felt to be a tenuous 26-7 at halftime, coming off of three consecutive drives capped with Bert Auburn field goals rather than touchdowns. But the Longhorns came out of halftime explosively, literally, with Keilan Robinson’s 95-yard kickoff return touchdown.

That was the first of 24 third-quarter points, including the Johntay Cook touchdown/Jett Bush circus pick-six to serve as an exclamation point on the explosion. Then in the fourth quarter, with the starters safely on the bench for one of the few times in conference play, Texas strung together a 13-play, 91-yard touchdown drive that milked 7:59 off of the clock and closed with a Quintrevious Wisner touchdown. That’s how you close.

2. Texas is DEEP

We’ve known that Texas has a ton of talent and depth, but the level of dominance shown by Texas in the win didn’t taper off when the starters came out of the game. The Longhorns got their first glimpses at Arch Manning, who helmed the final, game-killing drive, who showed some zip on his passes and completed two of them — including a fourth-down strike to Casey Cain to extend the aforementioned drive.

Offensively, Texas had six different players with a carry, with the four primary ballcarriers all averaging more than five yards per carry. On that same token, Texas had 15 different players record a reception, spreading the ball around with ease. Defensively, young players like JMond Tapp and Liona Lefau played significant snaps and found their names on the stat sheet — something that has rarely happened this year.

3. If Texas wins the conference, they have a legitimate argument for the CFP

For the fourth week in a row, Texas has found itself behind the Oregon Ducks in the ranks of the one-loss teams in the CFP rankings. Now, with another data point — common opponent — Texas has a legitimate argument for its spot in the postseason tournament. Oregon needed late-game heroics to escape Lubbock with a win, while the Longhorns’ late-game heroics were by RB5 playing in mop-up duty.

While Oregon has been dominant playing a Pac-12 schedule post-Washington, the combination of Strength of Schedule and common opponents should at the very least give the CFP committee pause in ranking Oregon ahead of Texas moving forward. That being said, if Texas goes to Arlington and stumbles, that all becomes a moot point. So for Texas, the message continues to be simple — take care of the team in front of you and let the rest work itself out. Now they can enjoy the holiday weekend and wait to find out who they’ll be squaring off against in Arlington.

 

[Monahorns 34]

Yormark is going to miss Texas next year and every year after that.

[LTtxfan 48962]

Steve Sarkisian Postgame Press Conference vs Texas Tech 

 

[satyanash 14281]

Bobby Burton: Texas beat Texas Tech every which way on Friday night

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Against Texas Tech, Texas fans didn’t want to just beat the Red Raiders, they wanted revenge, redemption, retaliation, retribution, call it whatever you want. And they got it, because the Longhorn football team provided it. It was one of the most lopsided wins against Texas Tech in series history. And perhaps the score, a 50-point win, doesn’t tell the whole story of just how lopsided it was.

The single best statistic that encapsulates the butt-whipping the Red Raiders received last night? The Texas Tech offense entered Texas territory just once all night. Once! The Texas defensive front absolutely smothered the Red Raiders and harassed quarterback Behren Morton to no end. It was so bad for Morton that he was seeing ghosts by the middle of the second quarter. Yet the pressure never relented. Every time he dropped back, a Longhorn was virtually sitting in his lap within a second or two.

It was an overwhelming performance by Pete Kwiatkowski’s crew, a defense that just two short years ago couldn’t stop anyone but now seems capable of helping the Longhorns achieve the highest of heights.

Much will be made about this being a total team win for the Horns, and it was. Texas scored in all three phases of the game. Fittingly, it was two seniors Keilan Robinson and Jett Bush on senior night that scored on a kick return and an interception, respectively, that made the second half more of coronation for the Horns than an actual football game.

On offense, Texas came at Tech from virtually every direction. Whether it was Quinn Ewers immediately connecting with Xavier Worthy to start the game, then a couple of key completions to JT Sanders and the creative use of Jordan Whittington. And that doesn’t even mention the stable of running backs, all of whom were effective, that seemed to have no problem running through Joey McGuire’s Lubbock team.

Then there was Bert Auburn, the kicker. He nailed five field goals, including a career best 54-yarder. Texas beat Tech every which way last night.

**

The 11-1 Texas Longhorns are now one step closer to achieving their season-long goal – a Big 12 Championship. Of course, they’re also one step closer to earning a spot in the College Football Playoff, and that is the dream. Texas now must await the outcome of the Oklahoma State-BYU game in Stillwater to see who they will play next Saturday in Arlington. The game will be televised by ABC at 2:30pm.

(Scipio Tex) 2023 Texas Tech Postmortem: Defense/Special Teams

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Catharsis. An intense and emotionally satisfying release provided only by invested drama. With a berth in the Big 12 game and the college football playoff at stake, not to mention additional payback needed to be meted out on the Big 12 Embrace The Hate Tour, the tension was real. For a while, at least. The build up and drama was short-lived in a 50 point rout, but the ensuing catharsis was no less satisfying.

The Texas defense and special teams headlined the 57-7 massacre in Austin in front of Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire, two men whose mouths wrote offseason checks that their teams couldn’t cash. On Saturday, they couldn’t even land a payday loan. Judging from this season’s Big 12 television rankings sans Texas and OU, their future IOU’s won’t be accepted most places either. Enjoy ESPN Ocho, fellas.

While the road to the Big 12 title definitely didn’t run through Lubbock, it is true that the team from Lubbock couldn’t run offense on the road in Austin. Bright lights, a gigantic packed stadium, better players and coaches and a tangible reminder of the SAT scores that they couldn’t manage all around them were off-putting for Raider Nation. It’s these sorts of nuanced home field advantages that so often lead to a 50 point deficit.

The Longhorn defense held Tech to 198 total yards, 110 on the ground and 88 of them through the air. I’ve never seen a quarterback stat line that goes 19 of 36 for 88 yards and 3 picks, but I did tonight. Texas Tech’s longest completion in four quarters of football – a game where they kept their starters in despite Texas putting in reserves in the 3rd quarter – went for 15 yards.

A little business decision there at the end from the Tech QB. So what happened? Texas defense throttled the easy button on offense and practiced more denial than an A&M coaching hire. There were no route concessions and the general execution of the Longhorn scheme was:”We will allow nothing. If you want more, take it from us. We don’t think you can.”

It wasn’t just about the coverages played, per se. Even on the change-up snaps that featured off coverage or zone, Texas defenders were on their front foot, actively attacking routes. Not letting routes happen to them.

The Texas players and staff dialed in and executed a strong game plan that clearly wasn’t what Tech offensive coordinator Zach Kittley expected from his scout. As I mentioned on the On Texas Football Tale of the Tape before the game, breaking tendency can be powerful if the opposing team builds out an entire game plan banking on the defense carrying on business as usual.

Business did not continue as usual. Behind the stone wall of the defensive line, the Texas secondary featured extensive use of press man coverage, even some inside leverage on in-breaking routes (!), with second and third level personnel chopping down route trees before they bloomed. It was a complete smothering of anything that Tech wanted to do behind the line of scrimmage much less between the hashes just beyond it. Tech’s staple routes were denied, baited, or jumped mercilessly.

Joey McGuire couldn’t cash any of his verbal checks, but his offense sure cashed in a lot of 0-2 yard check downs. When it became clear that the Red Raider receivers had zero ability to separate from Texas defenders (a function of both aggressive coverage and timing disruption) and that Morton was going to take hits anytime he held the ball, the game was effectively over in the late first quarter.

It was only going to be a question of margin. That margin was provided in no small part by absolutely dominant Longhorn special teams, defensive touchdowns and repeated short fields for the Longhorn offense. The Horns D/ST scored two non-offensive touchdowns and then gifted the offense scoring drives of 33, 27, 19, 6 and 1 yards.

I will offer props to Tech running back Tahj Brooks. I thought highly of him before the game and he impressed me even more in person, running for a hard 95 yards on 19 carries. He was their sole wellspring of productive offense, though a majority of his carries still went for nothing. 28 of his rushing yards came after Tech fell behind 43-7.

Defensive Line

Texas had 9 hits on the QB and they repeatedly affected Morton in the pocket. Murphy, Sweat, Collins, Broughton all had numerous game impacts. Sweat had a pass break up that he nearly picked off and then created another errant throw that led to Jett Bush’s Shoe Six. Burke missed a first half sack he’ll be sick about after watching it on replay. I have no idea how many snaps Collins played, but he logged 5 tackles in a very short time span and drew a big holding call. Bledsoe flashed a couple of times in mop up. As did Tapp. Finkley had no tackles, but had 2-3 QB pressures.

Linebacker

Bush has a sack and a pick six on his senior night. What a gratifying way to go out in front of the home crowd. Jaylan Ford led the team in tackles, had a couple of QB hits and dropped an interception that hit him in the chest. Anthony Hill drew a personal foul early for — being intimidating? — but finished out the game with 4 tackles and a sack. David Gbenda had some real impact in his run, getting 4 tackles in limited snaps. Morice Blackwell matched those tackle numbers. Tech made the Longhorn linebackers make quite a few plays in both the running and short passing game and they were up to the challenge.

Defensive Back

Great game all around. Freshman safety Derek Williams put on a tackling clinic against the short passing game while Manny Muhammad and Terrence Brooks absolutely dominated Tech’s receivers in press, each nabbing a pick. Gavin Holmes spelled both nicely after Ryan Watts went out on the first play of the game. Jerrin Thompson missed a tackle that allowed a 25 yard run from Brooks, but he was otherwise solid in coverage. Kitan had a PI call in the end zone, but tackled well.

Here’s an example of lock down man from Brooks. No concessions here and he’s lined up with his right foot inside. Still dominates the sideline route.

Texas Tech was 3 of 14 on money downs and a huge piece of that was because of the play of the Longhorn secondary. Their aggressive and decisive play was unrecognizable contrasted to the unit on display the last three weeks. Frankly, it looked a lot like the bunch that shut down Rice’s throw game early in the year. On pass attempts >10 yards from scrimmage, Morton was 1 of 7 for 13 yards with a pick.

On throws behind the line of scrimmage (a big part of Kittley’s offense), Tech was 7 of 9 for 5 yards. The first stat is about aggression in coverage, the second is about tackling and recognition. Do all three and an opponent can average less than 3 yards per pass attempt.

Special Teams

Texas dominated a strong Tech special teams unit. Or at least what had been a strong Raider unit. Look at the strong lead block on the right that sets Keilan’s return up…hey, who is that?

Incredible job by Jeff Banks and Taaffe on the blocked punt. Tech’s punter is right legged and he drifts two steps right to kick, which allows the late shift edge pressure from #16 – which Banks clearly had scouted out. Outstanding body control and acceleration from Taaffe to pick it cleanly right off of his foot. Textbook. Coaching clinic tape.

Highlights included:

• Michael Taaffe’s punt block
• Keilan Robinson housing a 95 yard touchdown kick return
• Three Worthy punt returns for 48 yards
• Two Sanborn pins inside the TT20
• Bert Auburn going a perfect 5/5, including a cold-blooded 54 yarder
• Tre Wisner covering kicks like a maniac

A complete special teams domination that, in concert with oppressive Longhorn defense, created the conditions for a 50 point destruction.

Final

This was the dream and what the Texas defense is capable of when they challenge every aspect of a mediocre and limited offense. As for Jeff Banks and Longhorn special teams personnel, they put on a coaching and execution clinic. Dominance in these phases is about as much legal fun as you can have watching a football game. 11-1. Hook ’em!

 

 

[LTtxfan 48962]

Texas mauls Texas Tech, 57-7 | Big 12 Championship | On Texas Football | Grading the Horns

[LTtxfan 48962]

Babers and Drew Kelson

DKR was ELECTRIC | Worthy's Toughness | Longhorns def. Tech, 57-7 | On Texas Football | No Cap Recap

[LTtxfan 48962]

Long but has some interesting comments.

Babers, Bobby Burton and Gerry Hamilton

OTF LIVE Postgame | Texas demolishes Texas Tech, 57-7 | Arch Manning Debut | Longhorns | Big 12

 

[LTtxfan 48962]

20 hours ago, satyanash said:

Bobby Burton: Texas beat Texas Tech every which way on Friday night

(Scipio Tex) 2023 Texas Tech Postmortem: Defense/Special Teams

 

Sunday Morning...   Scipio Tex and Bobby

Big 12 Championship Game Set! | Texas vs Oklahoma State | On Texas Football | Sunday Conversation

[satyanash 14281]

(Scipio Tex) 2023 Texas Tech Postmortem: Offense

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Tech got Wreckt. It’s a bit of an an anticlimax to write about good offense after the best defensive/special teams combo performance in years, but the Texas offense did terrific things in the running game while still experiencing some red zone inefficiencies that prevented Texas from scoring…77? The Longhorn passing game was middling overall, but did its job on early downs in the RPO game punishing Tech nickels, safeties and linebackers who got too nosy.

Texas finished with 528 yards on 75 plays at 7 yards a play, paced by a running game that was both explosive and consistent. Texas running back averaged 8.6 yards every time they carried the rock. The best run game efficiency of the season.

Texas ran for 302 yards overall but even if you throw out the three most explosive runs of the game: 69 yards (Blue), 24 yards (Red) and 21 yards (Wisner), Longhorn running backs still averaged 5.9 yards per carry. That’s outstanding and a big reason why the game never felt competitive, even when it was briefly 10-7.

Texas was surprisingly poor on money downs, converting only 4 of 13 opportunities, but that was largely attributable to penalties and Ewers not performing particularly well in predictable straight drop back passing situations. Texas played quite a bit of Canadian football, staying in 1st and 2nd down for large portions of their successful drives.

I really liked some of the wrinkles in the run game that combined misdirection with the zone blocking concepts that this OL thrives in.

This angle gives you a better appreciation for the backfield choreography:

21 personnel. The flow of the play and counter motion from Sanders suggest that it’s going left, which confuses the Tech linebackers into false steps and general paralysis. They can’t locate the football.

Meanwhile, the OL zone blocks right and Blue does a terrific job of recognizing that he needs to press this run inside immediately. Jake Majors whips the nose tackle 1 one 1 and you see what makes Blue so special in terms of acceleration. 215 pound Tech safety Marquis Waters has the angle on him and Blue makes him look like he’s running in molasses.

On that play, Waters ran still. More 21 shenanigans:

This is a fun example of Sark’s unique machinations. Whittington’s quick motion from an old school unbalanced I formation (but from the Pistol, no less!) turns him into a de facto lead fullback. Predictably, Whitt does his job. Note that the run blocking counter action backside with Baxter freezes both the playside LB, DE and safety.

Slow defenses can’t afford to get frozen. Simple speed of execution creates numbers and that means that Robinson will win the edge if Mitchell and Whittington do their jobs. Texas got there firstest with the mostest. Football and warfare explained in seven words.

Please note Adonai’s blocking on both plays. I gave him major (and deserved) crap for his blocking through midseason, but over the back stretch of the season he has been really sound. He was outstanding this week.

Quarterback

Per usual, Quinn Ewers was at his best in the RPO game. He fit it in some tight spots and threw accurately. Particularly on early downs. The numbers bear that out. On play action, Ewers was 13 of 16 for 162 yards. Excellent. On straight drop backs, he was 3 of 9 for 26 yards. Not excellent. His other three throws were screens: 3 for 3 for 27 yards.

As against Iowa State, he self-sacked twice. Let’s get rid of it, Quinn. He had an interception in the end zone where didn’t put enough air under it to Mitchell. Shrug. That’s football. Sark is setting #3 up to do what he does best (RPOs, more traditional play action, creative screens) and if he’s feeling it, we expand the playbook and dial up more. If he’s not, we dial it back and manufacture offense.

Running Back

Jaydon Blue went 10-121-1 TD and ran with authority and great burst. At this point, he’s an upgrade over Baxter as a pure runner, but Baxter is a superior pass protector and executes general assignments better. CJ was a lightly used 9-45 and that will carry over well with an extra day of rest for Oklahoma State on Saturday morning. He is still getting caught up in clutter too easily and tripping on partial contact. He needs to power through asses and elbows. Pleased with both his run and pass blocking.

Savion Red and Tre Wisner got late run and feasted on a Tech defense that didn’t get a run blocking reprieve facing Neto, Big Cam and Chatman in the 4th quarter. Red went 9-72 and Wisner went 7-60. Made all the more delicious because Tech knew it was coming.

The passing game is the most important aspect of offensive football, but there’s nothing more intensely satisfying than running it well when the other team expects it. The style of blocking and our running schemes for this game really rewarded decisive quick running. As mentioned in my preview, Tech had a major quickness deficit that they could never make up for so long as Texas executed assignments and wasn’t predictable.

WR/TE

The game plan was RPO heavy and the receivers did a solid job catching it in tight spaces and maximizing gains. No gaudy stats, but a good distribution across the board. Worthy, Whittington, Mitchell and Sanders all caught between 2-4 balls with 35-50 yards each. Good blocking from all. Impressed with Worthy for rallying back and finishing the game after getting rolled up on pretty viciously by a diving Tech defender. Wispy warrior.

OL

Excellent game as a unit. Less concerned with individual play, though I thought Jones, Majors and Banks really performed. Sark really set them up well with his schemes by creating indecision all over the defense and the backs ran well, but it’s worth noting that a stunt heavy Tech defense had no negative plays inflicted on any standard run.

That’s how Tech hurt us at some key moments last year and it’s a tribute to the maturation of this OL and Sark implementing some better run approaches at the point of attack. The sacks given up were largely on Quinn. The OL will get the blame, but that’s life for the big boys. Loved seeing 20-25 snaps for every member of the backup OL and they all took their playing time seriously.

Final

Texas eviscerated the Red Raiders and bid them happy trails to Lubbock and whatever bowl game that takes 6-6 teams who gain their bowl eligibility by scheduling Tarleton State. Texas leaves the series with a 75.3% winning percentage (55-18 all-time, 5 of the last 6) and while the 57-7 destruction of the Red Raiders was cathartic, it wasn’t a particularly unusual result in the series.

You just don’t realize it because you’re a Texas fan and wins over Texas Tech don’t really register in your long term memory. Texas has blown Tech out 11 times since ’95…

1995 48-7

1999 58-7

2001 42-7

2004 51-21

2005 52-17

2011 52-20

2013 41-16

2014 34-13

2019 49-24

2021 70-35

2023 57-7

So while Raider fans celebrate their infrequent victories over Texas like they’d won a lifetime supply of Marlboro lights, last Saturday, Texas did what it so often does to the Red Raiders. Blew them out, celebrated and then quickly forgot they even exist.

 

Coach V: Texas will remember this senior night forever

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By Mike Venable: Senior night is some kind of special when the crowd numbers over 100K and national television has you as it’s featured game. There is little doubt that UT came to play in a 57 to 7 mismatch. This night was special because every member of the winning team wanted to say goodbye to both our graduating seniors and to the Big 12 with Lubbock sacked in the rearview mirror. Senior night is the game you will remember forever and always and then some. Our seniors played themselves proud and the rest of our bunch made sure the game remained special. While we celebrate these seniors we will also talk about the improvements of our returnees.

It all starts with our DL every week. Sweat (93), Murphy (90), Collins (95), Carter (98), Broughton (45), and Bush (43) are all seasoned veterans that may have played their last time in DKR. They saved the best for last. They limited a really good RB (Brooks) to less than 100 yards and that’s no small feat. They pressured Tech’s best rifle relentlessly. They never took a play off. Impressive to say the least. Burke (91), Sorrell (88), Finkley (1), Tapp (17), and Bledsoe (94) all made at least one quality play in another display of winning effort.

It was fun to watch this collection of DLs show how far they have come this season. Sweat is the most impressive college DL seen this season by these worn out eyes. Be honest—how many had TVS a sure fire first round playmaker at the start of this season? Murphy did a ton of the dirty work—pushing the blocking scheme into the mesh point with measurable disturbance. Collins has always displayed superstar talent but never the consistency to actually be a superstar. He’s definitely gaining ground on it this year. Broughton often displayed quickness and athletic ability but couldn’t hold the LOS nor make closing plays. He’s probably the most improved player not being counted on but still needs more strength to be a big timer. Bush is the complete Jack of all trades for this team. It’s probably poetic justice that Bush (43) got my first witnessed “toe” interception. Bush ran (43) yards for the touchdown that gave us a (43) point lead (50-7) and added a spin move sack to balance the spreadsheet.

Ford (41) and Gbenda (33) had good games with both making the most of their opportunities. Ford led in tackles and will absolutely remember the interception that got dropped away. Gbenda has become a better player over the season. Hill Jr. (0) has lived up to his newspaper clippings with the eyepopping big plays plus he’s taken coaching well. He’s definitely the man next year in more ways than we can count unless we find that old pot of LB gold in the next few months.

Ryan Watts (6) has been a plus all year. Barron (23) is definitely our best DB that played hurt and still played well. Thompson (28) had timely interceptions and was traffic director most of the year. Holmes (9) gave us solid snaps and a few big plays in a strong support role at corner. Muhammad (5) and Brooks (8) have seen a ton of snaps at both corners and are the corners of the future. Guilbeau (3) served well as a star despite being behind Barron and being nicked most of the year. Taaffe (16) had a big play punt block and several tackles. Catalon (11) gave us valuable early season work and strong leadership and knowledge sorely needed on this secondary. Williams (2) is the next great player. It’s amazing the strong play he gave despite no spring practice and fresh out of the prom.

I hate false starts and obvious holding penalties. We get more than our share of the former and our opponents should get more of their share of the latter. Our O-line had another strong outing despite the QB sacks attributed to their stats that were not their doing. Majors (65) is the unsung hero of this bunch. Campbell (52) isn’t given enough credit for his mauling style of play nor his pass blocking improvement. Conner (76) finds a way to get his assignment temporarily out of the picture but has definitely improved his pull blocks. Jones (70) has had a tough end of the year compared to his lead the way first 2/3 of the year. Banks (78) has played on a bad wheel all year and still is among the best around. Hutson (54) is a good sixth man (very valuable at OC or OG). Cam Williams (56) is going to be very good (he already is) and Neto (72) just needs polishing at this point (attitude needs mellowing at the end of play).

Sanders (0) makes spectacular receptions period. His blocking has become marginally better but not a positive. Helm (85) is getting better in all phases but can’t match the weapons Sanders has in the passing game. Worthy (1) and Mitchell (5) are NFL bound and they deserve the best. Great teammates and outstanding competitors. Players period. Once you add Whittington (13) we are losing three great leaders and producers. These three/four have carried the load and now will make their mark at the highest level. Thanks guys.

Cook (2), Moore (11), and Cain (8) are the next man up at receiver. They didn’t get as many snaps as probably they needed but will be joined by several new big time arrivals plus Niblett (18). We won’t lack talent but experience will be short and hopefully not painful.

Let’s hear it for the stallion named Jonathon Brooks (24) that gave his all for this team. Let’s hope his future is as good as he is as a person. The future at RB looks to be in really great shape. CJ Baxter (4) had a good freshman year despite several nagging injuries. Jaydon Blue (23) came on super strong the second half of the year and looks to be our next home run hitter for a fact. Savion Red (17) has shown a nasty attitude in both blocking and carrying the mail. It was nice to see Wisner (26) show his stuff on both special teams and RB. Another senior that has given an unselfish attitude along with positive results is Keilan Robinson (7). A terrific gunner and punt blocker returned a kickoff 95 yards with the second half kickoff to put the dagger in any effort to turn the game around for the red raiders.

One of the hardest positions to grade is QB for me. I tend to ask for too many quality decisions be made by the passer and having never played the position makes it even tougher. Ewers (3) seemed very hesitant in the pocket—he wasn’t in any hurry to climb up the pocket and find the open avenue. I blamed at least three sacks on him waiting too long to leave the protection—I felt the O-line blocked the necessary time to deliver the ball. It should be thousand one, two, and three, then must do something. Manning (16) threw two Nolan Ryan fastballs through the red zone that would have shattered shoulder pads had either hit the target and ran once very athletically for a first down.

It was extremely difficult to determine which drew the loudest ovation between Manning’s anticipated first college series in the third quarter or the jumbotron airing the farewell speech from the commissioner. Both were fun times. Well, it’s either OK State or Oklahoma for the rings. Hello Arlington. At least we are experienced in those 11 am get-togethers. Bring that bacon home.

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.

Joe Cook: Three years into his tenure, Steve Sarkisian has changed the conversation about Texas

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For almost 15 years, the conversation around Texas was one centered around ridicule. The Longhorn football program, flush with resources envied by all but a handful of FBS programs, posted five under .500 seasons, including one in 2021 under current head coach Steve Sarkisian. Fleeting successes only gave critics and commentors local and national more material. The whole ordeal about being “back,” something born from a comment made when a 5-7 team defeated a 4-8 team in overtime, lingered around the program.  But even so, Texas went 5-7 more times than it was declared back.

While the Longhorns may not be consistent enough to be labeled “back,” there’s no question the conversation about Sarkisian’s program has changed. No longer are the Horns a subject of ridicule. Rather, the way Texas is spoken about these days involves an air of respect usually reserved for college football’s elite. This season, the Longhorns’ 11-1 record and Big 12 Championship game berth has earned them the right to be considered one of the land’s best teams.

“The people that has been here for this three-year span with Sark, we’ve come a long way,” Xavier Worthy said after the game. “We came from 5-7, to 8-4, and now we’re 11-1. We never want to take anything lightly because we were where we were.”

Even before Sarkisian replaced Tom Herman on the Forty Acres, Texas couldn’t find the recipe that had made the program one of the most successful in the 2000s. Colt McCoy‘s BCS Championship Game injury started a cascading series of events that moved the program backward more often than forward, the first of which was a 5-7 2010 campaign immediately following the national championship appearance.

Three different head coaches tried to make things work. Each would move within arm’s reach of success only to see it slip away. As expected, the national ridicule came back each time.

The problematic decade became more difficult to dig out of due to Texas’ regional rivals enjoying renaissance years. Oklahoma, long a foil to the Longhorns in the Big 12, kept on humming when Bob Stoops handed the keys over to Lincoln Riley. Texas A&M, who left the Longhorns’ shadows for the SEC, enjoyed victories previously thought impossible in College Station during their first year in the league. Baylor and TCU showed more consistency than the Longhorns, as did Kansas State.

Those were just the issues at home. Nationally, Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, and Clemson, teams the Longhorns would have thought to be their peers, lapped Texas again and again. Though potent and well supported, they didn’t have all the resources available to the Texas program let alone an entire network dedicated to all things burnt orange.

In 2023, Texas has undone so much of what plagued it over the course of the 2010s, Oklahoma excepted. Sarkisian’s team defeated TCU, Baylor, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Kansas, and Kansas State during league play, offering final farewells before the SEC patch is affixed to the Longhorns’ jerseys in 2024. They took care of business against Houston and BYU. The lone setback came to Oklahoma, a stinging loss but one that may not be a debilitating one to their lofty aspirations.

Of course, the Longhorns defeated Alabama in Tuscaloosa, something Sarkisian didn’t want to let slip from the minds of those who cover the sport and who determine the College Football Playoff field after the Horns’ 57-7 win over the Red Raiders on Friday night..

“I won’t back off the fact that I think we have the best win in the country this year going into Tuscaloosa, Alabama and beating them by double digits,” Sarkisian said. “I’ve said this before and I know we’re going into that league next year, if it were that easy then other teams in the SEC would have done it the other 53 games they went 52-1 in.”

Texas isn’t resting on its laurels, but they are cognizant of how far every aspect of the program has come during Sarkisian’s tenure. But to continue to change the conversation, and maybe even be regarded as back, another obstacle awaits.

“It’s just awesome to see everything that we’ve been through and all the hard work that we’ve put in since Sark got here is all paying off,” Jake Majors said. “A win like this solidifying ourselves in the Big 12 championship game, that’s all we wanted and we’re making it happen.” What the conversation is like next week, Texas can determine itself. It could include retribution against Oklahoma, or possible an extra leg on the revenge tour against Oklahoma State.

But there’s no doubt it’s changed from what was an almost 15-year trend, and it can change further with hardware next Saturday. “I’m proud of our guys for what we’ve accomplished up until this point in the season,” Sarkisian said. “Like I said, we’ll see how the dust settles next week. We’ve got to handle our business. That’s the most important thing.”

 

[LTtxfan 48962]

Longhorns Miraculous Defensive Turnaround | Oklahoma State | Lunch w/ the Coach | On Texas Football

 

-- Tech game review and looking ahead to okie lite game

 

Edited November 27, 2023 by LTtxfan