Jump to content

Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (CFP Round 1)


satyanash

Recommended Posts

Sam Khan Jr.: Texas, a complete but imperfect team, looks poised to make deep Playoff run

Quote

AUSTIN, Texas — Throughout its first journey through the SEC and second to the College Football Playoff, Texas has had its share of underwhelming moments.

In the back half of the regular season, red zone woes nagged a Texas offense with the talent to be one of the nation’s best. In their SEC Championship Game loss to Georgia earlier this month, the Longhorns’ run game was nonexistent. Turnovers and protection problems have popped up at times, as have injuries to key players. Sometimes, the Longhorns have made winning look harder than it should, leading critics to question their lofty ranking and take exception to their resume, which included no wins over Top 25 teams entering the Playoff.

But in fifth-seeded Texas’ 38-24 first-round Playoff win over No. 12-seed Clemson on Saturday, the Longhorns showed why they’re a trendy pick to advance deep into the bracket. The flaws they have can be papered over with excellence in other areas. That’s the beauty of constructing a roster as deep and talented as the one Texas has, in the fourth year of the Steve Sarkisian era.

Texas’ win over Clemson, in many ways, embodied what the Longhorns have been this year: a complete, if imperfect, team. And in a tournament with no dominant power or overwhelming favorite, Texas, with a favorable draw, has as good a chance as anyone at hoisting the national championship trophy.

Offensively, the Longhorns are explosive enough to jump out to a lead or put a team away. They rode that side to a 31-10 lead midway through the third quarter. A hot start from quarterback Quinn Ewers, who completed his first eight passes, and a dominant run game helped the Longhorns grab control. Defensively, Texas is physical and above all, consistent. The Longhorns kept Clemson’s running game quiet aside from one 41-yard run by receiver Adam Randall. The Tigers managed just 76 yards on the ground, and the Longhorns corralled mobile quarterback Cade Klubnik for most of the day.

Neither side was perfect. Ewers’ ninth attempt bounced off the hands of receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. and into the hands of Clemson’s R.J. Mickens for a turnover. Ewers completed just nine of his last 16 passes and was off target on a key fourth-down attempt in the second half. Klubnik started having success attacking the Longhorns secondary, completing four passes of 25 or more yards over the late third and early fourth quarter, to help cut Clemson’s deficit to seven points.

But in key moments, the Longhorns responded. After Ewers’ interception, he led a touchdown drive on the next series, finding tight end Gunnar Helm in the back of the end zone to extend Texas’ lead to 18. When the Tigers trimmed Texas’ 14-point lead to seven, the Longhorns answered emphatically. Jaydon Blue’s 77-yard touchdown run came less than a minute after Clemson narrowed the lead.

Later in the fourth quarter, when Clemson threatened to again make it a one-score game, the Longhorns’ defensive front stood tall. With the Tigers facing third-and-goal from the 1, safety Michael Taaffe and linebacker David Gbenda stuffed Klubnik on a quarterback keeper. On fourth-and-goal, Clemson tried to do what Texas A&M couldn’t three weeks ago — hand it off to the running back on a dive play.

This attempt ended the same way that one did: with Texas’ defensive line imposing its will at the line of scrimmage and coming up with a fourth-down stop. This time, it was defensive tackle Bill Norton who used his 335 pounds to clog the middle and stop Clemson running back Keith Adams Jr., stifling the Tigers’ last real chance to keep pace. “It just was kind of typical of who we are,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got big people, and they know how to play a physical brand of football.”

It’s easy to forget that Texas operated shorthanded in multiple areas on Saturday. Isaiah Bond, Texas’ speedy receiver transfer from Alabama, missed the game because of an ankle injury. But Helm, Matthew Golden and Ryan Wingo stepped up. The Longhorns’ running back depth chart, which has been tenuous because of injuries all season, took a hit when Tre Wisner had to leave the game. No worries. Blue responded with a season-high 146 yards and two touchdowns.

The offensive line lost two starters in the second quarter, center Jake Majors and right tackle Cam Williams. Texas slid left guard Hayden Conner into the middle, then plugged in Cole Hutson (left guard) and Trevor Goosby (right tackle) and continued to run the ball effectively and protect Ewers. He was sacked just once after the lineup was shuffled.

It’s not the first time the O-line adjusted seamlessly midstream. In the regular-season finale against Texas A&M, All-American left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. left with an ankle injury and Goosby filled in minimal issues. “It’s definitely a brotherhood,” Conner said. “We all rely on each other. We trust each other, like when Kelvin went down at A&M, Goosby came in, we didn’t skip a beat. That’s why we practice.”

The Longhorns have blown teams out, winning each of their first six games by at least three scores. They’ve survived low-scoring slugfests against Arkansas and Texas A&M. They won by three at Vanderbilt in October. They’ve done it with flashy quarterback play and speedy receivers or dominance at the line of scrimmage. They’ve bludgeoned teams with their defensive front. The fact that they can do all those things makes the Longhorns dangerous.

Texas’ Playoff path from here is a friendly one. The Longhorns return to Atlanta, where they played for the SEC title two weeks ago, to take on Arizona State, the lowest-seeded conference champion that earned a first-round bye. The Sun Devils ended the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the country, but Texas’ talent advantage is substantial.

If the Longhorns win the Peach Bowl, they’d get their semifinal opponent in the Lone Star State, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, less than a three-hour drive from campus. It’s easy to envision a sea of burnt orange in JerryWorld on Jan. 10 if the Longhorns get that far. Georgia, the team that has been Texas’ kryptonite, is on the other side of the bracket and the Longhorns won’t have to see the Bulldogs unless both get to the national title game.

First, Texas must get past the Big 12 champions. But Sarkisian knows, no matter what it takes, Texas can deliver. “That’s kind of the beauty of this team … we can win games a lot of different ways,” Sarkisian said. “We can win low-scoring, tight defensive, but we can also score points … and extend leads when we have to do that. We’re not just one dimensional. … And I think there’s more there for us to even improve upon.”

(Bruce Feldman) Sorry, Lane Kiffin: Indiana earned a Playoff spot. SEC teams that got left out did not

Quote

Curt Cignetti, once again, didn’t hold back. His team was less than two hours away from kicking off its first College Football Playoff game, and the 63-year-old Indiana head coach sat in the middle of the “College GameDay” set and went right at the skeptics.

“We don’t just beat Top 25 teams, we beat the s— out of them!” Cignetti said, referencing that his teams had beaten Nebraska earlier this year and Coastal Carolina when he was at JMU. It was a rewind-the-TV moment. As in, did he really just say that?! It also wasn’t true. The Huskers had fallen out of the poll by the time they played the Hoosiers. Ohio State was ranked, though, and beat Indiana 38-15.

Cignetti’s bluster ultimately fell flat. The Hoosiers were whipped at the line of scrimmage Friday night by Notre Dame. They were two steps slower, and when they were down 20-3 with 11 minutes left in the game, Cignetti punted and coached like he was hoping not to get routed. A damning stat about Cignetti’s team this year: Against 11 unranked opponents, Indiana averaged 46 points per game. In two games against ranked teams, Indiana averaged 16 points and didn’t have a play of 30 yards or longer.

Because the Hoosiers were getting handled for much of the night — they trailed 17-3 at halftime — the college football world had plenty of time to vent. Some tried to relitigate whether Indiana actually belonged in the 12-team Playoff field. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin didn’t miss his chance to stir the pot, mocking Indiana and the selection committee.

But the truth is, no one who didn’t make the 12-team Playoff earned their way into it. Whatever happens on the field over the next month won’t change the fact that the teams that didn’t get picked simply didn’t do enough to get in. Kiffin’s Ole Miss team? The Rebels lost three games, including one at home against a dreadful Kentucky team that didn’t win another SEC game and finished 4-8.

That loss by itself, coupled with the Rebels’ 28-10 home win over Georgia, wouldn’t have kept them out, but they had two other losses against unranked LSU and Florida. Alabama? The Tide also beat Georgia, but they had an embarrassing 24-3 beatdown at the hands of a mediocre Oklahoma team in late November. Alabama also gave up 40 points in a loss to 6-6 Vanderbilt and lost to Tennessee.

South Carolina? It got blown out 27-3 by Ole Miss at home, and it also lost to Alabama and unranked LSU. The Gamecocks do have a road win over ACC champion Clemson, though.

Indiana went 11-1 in the regular season. The Hoosiers don’t have impressive wins on their resume. Not one. But they did blow out almost everybody they faced. Only 7-5 Michigan, the team that upset Ohio State at the end of the season, got within two touchdowns of them until the Buckeyes. But Indiana played who was on its schedule. That schedule did have the two teams that actually played for last season’s national title — the Wolverines and Washington — but both of them had to replace their head coaches and most of their starting lineups. You play who you play, and it’s not IU’s fault how other teams turned out in 2024.

If you don’t think Indiana deserved to make the Playoff, you’re saying it had a one-game schedule this fall at Ohio State, and because it lost that one game, nothing else it did mattered.

There’s no doubt some of this criticism of the Hoosiers is rooted in the fact that they have almost never been good before. As the broadcast Friday night repeatedly noted, Indiana is the losingest program in college football history. But the Playoff is supposed to consider only what happened this year, not the past, even if it’s always been hard for human nature and those biases not to creep into the thought process.

Cignetti didn’t do himself any favors, either, when he said before he took the job that he looked at Indiana’s suspect 2024 schedule and got more excited about the Hoosiers’ coaching vacancy. One concern as college football moved to a 12-team Playoff was that it would devalue the regular season. The TV ratings this fall would indicate that it hasn’t.

But if the Playoff selection committee disregards wins and losses because it wants to just go by its own eye test or what Vegas thinks about potential matchups or what NFL personnel people think of a team’s “talent,” it will devalue the regular season, and that’s not worth it for all of the second-guessing and knee-jerk reactions as the revisionist history seeps into the dialogue.

Expect more of this if and when the Playoff expands to 14 or 16 teams. That would just mean more teams with even more flawed resumes will get in, and more will also be sitting at home watching it.

Matt Baker: College Football Playoff blowouts are nothing new, whether it’s 12 teams or 4

Quote

The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff that kicked off this weekend featured an unwelcome carryover from its four-team predecessor. Bad games. All four first-round matchups were decided by double digits. Over 120 combined second-half minutes, the score was within one touchdown for all of 55 seconds. ESPN’s win probability never dipped below 87 percent in the fourth quarter for Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State or Texas.

The performances — like ACC runner-up SMU, the last at-large team in, losing 38-10 to Penn State — will be scrutinized by fans and administrators trying to prove their points and shape future models. But they also require historical context. Though last year’s semifinals were close, in the four-team Playoff era (2014-23), the average margin of victory in the first round was 17.9 points.

Add national title games, and the margin was 18.6. The average spread in this year’s first round was 19.3 points. Worse, but not drastically different. The difference in yardage this weekend (121.8 per game) was actually closer than the first round in the last model (125).

A pair of garbage-time touchdowns made the first on-campus game of the 12-team era — Indiana’s 27-17 loss to Notre Dame on Friday night — look closer than it was. But it was still tighter than the first CFP game a decade ago: Oregon’s 59-20 demolition of undefeated Florida State in the Rose Bowl. That semifinal’s enduring image was Seminoles star quarterback Jameis Winston slipping and fumbling backward for a 58-yard scoop-and-score Ducks touchdown. Not exactly the pinnacle of elite competition.

Clemson made its trip to Texas interesting by fighting back to make it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter. But the Tigers were dominated on the ground (outrushed 292-76), and a Texas win never felt in jeopardy. As soon as Clemson cut the lead to seven, the Longhorns’ Jaydon Blue broke off a 77-yard touchdown run. It was Clemson’s 11th CFP game. The Tigers’ first 10 were decided by an average of 17.7 points. Clemson lost by 14 Saturday.

Ohio State’s 42-17 obliteration of Tennessee was perhaps the most shocking, as the Buckeyes outgained the Volunteers 205-16 in the first quarter. But Ohio State’s 21-10 halftime advantage wasn’t as big as its lead over Clemson (35-14) through two quarters of a Sugar Bowl triumph in January 2021. Though the Buckeyes won by 25 Saturday, it was merely the 10th-largest CFP blowout (Ohio State even had losses by 31 and 28 in the four-team era).

As much as Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin — who made sarcastic social media remarks during the “really exciting” Indiana loss and “riveting” Penn State romp — and others want to gripe or snicker about the system, the issue isn’t new. It’s not a product of the electric home-field advantages that were on display; teams were blown out at neutral NFL stadiums and with reduced crowds during the 2020 COVID-19 season.

It’s not a product of shakier teams with lesser reputations making the field, either. Florida State, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Michigan State suffered larger first-round losses in the old era than SMU and Indiana did this weekend. And it’s not unique to college football. The average margin of victory in the Wild Card round of last season’s NFL playoffs was 17.3 points.  Was anyone grumbling about whether the Philadelphia Eagles deserved to make the field after their 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

The lopsided results don’t lend themselves to easy big-picture takeaways. A poor showing by 11-win SMU didn’t help the ACC’s case against SEC fans who thought Alabama, Ole Miss or South Carolina belonged. But the dud by a team that finished higher in the SEC standings than all of them (Tennessee) nullified that talking point. If any fans are clamoring for the older system, those days weren’t much better. From 2014-23, there were almost as many blowouts of 20-plus points (22) in CFP/New Year’s Six bowls as there were games decided by single digits (26). The average national title game in the BCS era was decided by two touchdowns.

Just because other postseasons have been lackluster doesn’t mean future ones have to be, of course. The conference commissioners and school administrators that organize the system will and should consider future changes when this Playoff winds down next month in Atlanta. Expansion (likely to 14 teams) is one possibility. Giving first-round byes to the top four teams, regardless of whether they won their conference, is worth discussing. So is reseeding the teams after the first round.

But there’s no need to overreact after the first, small sample of uninteresting games. This first round, unfortunately, wasn’t much different than usual.

Joe Cook: A rejuvenated ground game leads to red zone, overall success for the Longhorns offense vs. Clemson

Quote

During an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday morning, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian explained what he believed to be the key to a victory that would advance his No. 5-seeded Longhorns past the No. 12 Clemson Tigers. “The reality of it is, we’re moving the ball really well but the key to the drill is we’ve got to get the ball in the paint,” Sarkisian said. “I think tonight is going to come down to our ability to execute when we get those opportunities.”

Texas succeeded inside the Tiger 20 and then on a few more critical occasions thanks in large part to a rejuvenated run game. The Longhorns were 4-for-5 in the red zone on Saturday night against Clemson, scoring touchdowns and settling for a field goal only once during a night where Texas picked up almost 300 yards on the ground. The lone blemish occurred on a failed fourth-down attempt, but that mishap was undone by two long Jaydon Blue scoring jaunts that boosted Sarkisian’s program to a 38-24 win and the quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff.

Texas reached the red zone on two of its first three drives. The first, when the Longhorns took the ball down 7-0, culminated in a Quintrevion Wisner three-yard score near the end of the first quarter. Blue added his first explosive run of the game early in the second quarter on a 38-yard rush. Then, Texas put up seven more points when Wisner found the end zone from 16 yards out to make it a 21-7 game.

Blue’s touchdown occurred thanks to an audible from quarterback Quinn Ewers at the line of scrimmage, according to Sarkisian. That type of play from Texas’ starting quarterback would be a difference-maker later. Texas recorded its final rendition of six-point success late in the first half when Ewers found tight end Gunnar Helm for a six-yard score. Bert Auburn‘s first and only field goal attempt of the game, a 22-yarder in the third quarter to make it 31-10, functioned as the final time the Longhorns would venture into the red zone.

Luckily for Texas, a reinvigorated Blue was ready to keep the Tigers at bay. The Longhorns saw what was a 31-10 lead halfway through the third quarter dwindle down to 31-24 in the early portions of the fourth. Tiger quarterback Cade Klubnik threw two second-half touchdowns as part of the best evening an opposing quarterback has put together against the Longhorn defense.

Needing a scoring drive in order to make the contest a two-possession game, Blue provided the Longhorns with just what the doctor ordered. Yet another Ewers check at the line of scrimmage into a run play created a gap on the left side of the line that Blue scampered through. Seventy-seven yards later, the 101,150 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium were in a frenzy as Blue crossed the goal line.

In the end, 292 of Texas 494 total yards came via the rush. Blue carried the ball 14 times for 146 yards and two scores. Wisner had 15 carries for 110 yards and two scores himself. Even Jerrick Gibson, who saw more action after Wisner was dinged up in the second half, rushed nine times for 35 yards and was trusted with the football in key second-half moments.

Much of that rushing offense came as the result of blocking from a pieced-together offensive line. Both Jake Majors and Cam Williams sustained injuries that kept them from participating in most of the second half. In response, Hayden Conner bumped one spot over from left guard to center, Cole Hutson replaced him at left guard, and Trevor Goosby stood in again at tackle.

That O-line group continued to protect Ewers, who was 17-of-24 for one touchdown and an interception that deflected off of DeAndre Moore‘s hands, and create lanes in the run game to reach the 292 yard mark. That rushing total was most the Tigers gave up throughout the course of the 2024 season and more than option-based The Citadel recorded at Clemson on November 23. The 492 yards posted by Texas eclipsed the previous season high against Clemson of 458 set by fellow Playoff team SMU in the ACC Championship.

The piecemeal offensive line was critical in helping Texas’ ground game bounce back. The 292 total yards were a season high for Texas, topping the 250 recorded against Kentucky on November 23. The rushing offense also bounced back in a major way from the 28-carry, 31-yard night Texas had against Georgia in the SEC Championship game. Even when sack-adjusted, Texas logged a meager 58 yards against the Bulldogs a few short weeks ago in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Now, the Longhorns will return there for a game with arguably higher stakes.

No matter who was on offense for the Longhorns, the ground game helped Texas advance to the next round of the Playoff. Continuing to advance in the College Football Playoff may not be so difficult if the Longhorns can produce the type of red zone and rushing performances they put together versus Clemson on Saturday night against Arizona State in the Peach Bowl and against whatever opponent might come after the Sun Devils.

 

  • Hook 'Em 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eric Nahlin: Takeaways from Texas' playoff win over Clemson

Quote

I just got home after staying in Bellville, Texas. A true Texas hamlet of a town. What a surreal time. A Friday Christmas party in said town followed by a playoff game in Austin just days from Christmas. So weird, so awesome. That was a great crowd befitting of the day. Texas no longer takes a back seat to the more animated crowds in the country. Where to start?

*****Hello Jaydon Blue! Just when I was out, he pulls me back in. That’s the running back we thought we’d see this year with his elite, elite play-speed. Chris Johnson and Jamaal Charles are the running backs I’ve seen that are faster. Maybe Raheem Mostert, who Blue is pretty similar to. Once he’s in the open field you just hope nobody makes a needless block to get it called back. There’s no catching him. The craziest thing is how effortless his speed appears to be.

*****Coming into this game the turnover battle was key. Drawing even in that regard greatly increased Texas’ chances of winning. Texas protected the ball other than the Ewers interception that wasn’t all that careless. Maybe a little too much heat on it? Either way, a clean game for the most part.

*****As I was writing the ‘four scenarios’ piece I became quite agitated thinking about the persistent miscues this season. There have been way too many turnovers and penalties. In addition to holding onto the ball Texas played a clean game when it came to the zebras. Texas still found ways to make life difficult for itself — what the hell is up with these third quarters — but it wasn’t due to penalties. Sark had the team ready to play. 

*****Cade Klubnik had a sensational game. He wasn’t going to Texas so I never truly became familiar with him but how can you not like that kid? I’m hoping his game against the vaunted Texas pass defense will make the secondary better going forward. Michael Taaffe and Malik Muhammad won’t enjoy film review today but they’re ballers who will use the game as motivation. No concerns there. It was wild to see Clemson start the game off with a touchdown drive. 

******Barryn Sorrell is one of my favorite Horns. My faves are always the grinders who put in work. I think Sorrell made himself some money on Saturday afternoon. His strength at the point of attack will translate to the league but he showed some play-making ability yesterday that will gain notice from scouts. 

*****Very solid performance from Quinn Ewers. His confidence has slowly been restored and he indeed looked the healthiest he has since September. His deep ball is rounding into form. If you squint, this offense has the makings of a team that can win the whole thing. Run-pass balance is probably the single most important aspect of this team going forward. The TD to Gunnar Helm was clockwork. 

*****Trevor Goosby is an unsung hero this year. I wondered how he’d fare on the right side but his play there was seamless. They need to clone that guy.

*****The Texas D-tackles were quite active to my eyes. Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton showed up numerous times. Broughton started off the season hot then gave way to Collins. Now they’re both balling. Broughton makes a lot of plays that don’t show up in the boxscore. 

*****Bill Norton. Wild Bill is turning up of late and becoming exactly what we hoped when he joined the roster. That’s a tough guy to move, especially on predictable run downs. 

*****Texas’ inability to definitively put teams away is maddening but they somehow still never lose game control. It’s an odd phenomena that I hope to be bitching about after they win the National Championship. 

*****Clemson DT Peter Woods is pretty damn good. There has been talk he’ll enter the portal which is sort of hard to believe if you investigate him. He’s clearly a leader on that team. If he goes in, the market for him will be insane but Texas will be part of the insanity. You know his tweet last night put everyone on notice so I’m not talking out of turn.

******I see Tennessee got dismantled. That was a team I was hoping would lose for portal purposes. Not that I really wanted Ohio State to win, that’s a bridge too far, but I am curious to see who all volunteers for the portal. 

*****New Year’s Day can’t come quick enough. I like that Texas has the early game. Let’s get another vintage 2024 Texas win, a schizophrenic blowout close game, and then let’s enjoy the Oregon vs Ohio State rematch and the Georgia vs Notre Dame rock and stick fight.

Dave Wilson: Texas answers Sarkisian's challenge as RBs explode in CFP win

Quote

AUSTIN, Texas -- Coach Steve Sarkisian said he had a simple message for his offensive line and running backs after Texas' SEC title game loss to Georgia, the Longhorns' second loss to the Bulldogs this season. "Run to win." Texas ran for just 60 yards in the two games against Georgia -- 29 in a 30-15 defeat in Austin in October and 31 in a 22-19 overtime loss two weeks ago. On Saturday, in the first round of the expanded College Football Playoff, the Longhorns ran for a season-high 292 yards in a 38-24 win over Clemson. Now, they will run all the way back to Atlanta, the site of that second Georgia loss, with a quarterfinal trip to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl to face Arizona State on Jan. 1. "We needed to run the football to win this game," Sarkisian said. "We're going to need to run the football to advance in these playoffs. That's what playoff football's about."

Running back Jaydon Blue, who struggled with an ankle injury early in the season and missed the UTSA game, reeled off 38- and 77-yard scoring runs, both on audibles called by quarterback Quinn Ewers, who finished 17-of-24 passing for 202 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Blue, who had lost four fumbles this season and was carrying a football around a month ago to highlight ball security after fumbling against Kentucky, had 2 yards on two carries in the two Georgia games. On Saturday, he rushed for a career-high 146 yards, calling it a "sigh of relief." "Going back to the SEC championship, we didn't run the ball well at all," Blue said. "[Sarkisian] just stayed on us in practice. The O-line, running backs, the whole offense took that in, and we were more physical in practice. He really made a big emphasis on us running the ball."

And the Longhorns managed it against the Tigers despite some key linemen suffering injuries in the game. Shortly before halftime, center Jake Majors and right tackle Cameron Williams were hurt. Hayden Conner moved from left guard to center, with backup center Cole Hutson playing left guard and Trevor Goosby at right tackle. Meanwhile, Clemson's offense was able to press Texas. The Longhorns, which hadn't allowed more than 350 yards to any team this season, gave up 412 yards, including 336 yards and three touchdowns through the air from Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik. Texas had allowed just four previous touchdown passes all season. The contest represented a rematch of the 2020 Texas state championship game between Ewers, who was born in San Antonio, and Klubnik, an Austin native playing against several former high school teammates on the Longhorns squad.

Texas safety Michael Taaffe, one of Klubnik's best friends, said after Saturday's game that the signal-caller posed challenges that the Longhorns hadn't previously seen this season. "When you look across the sideline, no matter how close you are with the other opponent, they're your opponent," Taaffe said of Klubnik. "We were definitely sharing words back and forth. So that was fun. But then, at the end of the game, it's all love. He had a great game. ... He helped us get ready for next Saturday, for sure. So hats off to Cade; he's a baller." Sarkisian said this team has proved to him it is versatile and resilient. "I don't know if this was our best game defensively, but when we had to have it, they made those plays. To me, that's a sign of a great defense," Sarkisian said.

After Clemson rallied from a 31-10 deficit to make it 31-24 following Klubnik's third touchdown throw, Blue was off on that 77-yarder early in the fourth quarter. Sarkisian saw it as a sign of resolve, both for Blue and the Longhorns. "He was able to continue to work and improve his game and then have a game like this in the playoff," Sarkisian said of Blue. "Just really proud of him, but I think that is kind of symbolic of everybody on our team. Everybody's been dealing with stuff. I know one thing about our team, it's that when times get tough, we respond. And Jaydon was a great example of that."

 

  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stewart Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Don’t blame Playoff committee for first round getting out of hand

Quote

GettyImages-2190989282-scaled.jpg

And now, 12 Final Thoughts from the first weekend of the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.

1. The first on-campus Playoff game kicked off at 8:10 p.m. ET in front of 77,622 roaring fans at Notre Dame Stadium. You didn’t have to be in the 25-degree South Bend weather to get the chills. Anyone watching on TV could appreciate the magnitude of this moment for a sport that has only ever played its postseason at bowl games and neutral sites.

The honeymoon lasted about 40 minutes, until Indiana fell behind Notre Dame 14-0 and the first wave of complaints began. The wrong team(s) got in. The game(s) were boring. Twelve teams was too many. Or too few. Twenty-seven hours later, Ohio State completed the fourth home blowout of the first round, an anticlimactic ending to such an anticipated weekend. Maybe the committee did a bad job. Maybe it was the weather. Or … maybe Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas and Ohio State are really good teams.

2. The eighth-seeded Buckeyes were the biggest wild cards coming into the weekend. Who knew where their heads would be three weeks removed from their Michigan nightmare? Many of the fans who booed them off the field that day apparently stayed home for this one, as tens of thousands of orange-clad Tennessee fans infiltrated the Horseshoe.

Well, those concerns went out the window before the end of the first quarter. Ohio State raced to a 21-0 lead en route to a 42-17 demolition of the ninth-seeded Vols. The Buckeyes’ star-studded offense did whatever it wanted, starting with quarterback Will Howard’s best performance of the season: 24 of 29 for 311 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Tennessee’s cornerbacks had no answers for receivers Jeremiah Smith (six catches, 103 yards, two TDs) and Emeka Egbuka (five catches, 81 yards), and running back TreVeyon Henderson (14 touches, 134 yards, two TDs) was electrifying.

Only head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly can say why Ohio State’s offense has so rarely played to its potential, or why it flat-out no-showed against Michigan. But this version could win a national championship.

3. How would you like to be No. 1 seed Oregon watching that game? The Ducks went undefeated, including beating Ohio State at home in a classic — and now they’ve got to go play the Buckeyes again in the quarterfinals? While Penn State gets Boise State? Seems like a bug.

But it’s going to make for a fantastic Rose Bowl — and a classic Big Ten-Pac-12 matchup, no less. Dillon Gabriel and the Ducks get my benefit of the doubt because they’ve been more consistent all season and they’ll be well-rested. But remember, Ohio State was on the verge of winning their first meeting before that back-breaking offensive pass interference call on Smith. And Howard will be out for revenge after his last-second clock miscue cost the Buckeyes their last shot.

4. No. 5 seed Texas has been at its best this season when the running game gets cranked up, and that’s exactly what happened in Saturday’s 38-24 win over No. 12 seed Clemson. Tailbacks Jaydon Blue (14 carries, 146 yards, two long touchdowns) and Quintrevion Wisner (15 carries, 110 yards, two TDs) became the first Longhorns tandem since 2022 to both go over 100 yards. Texas advances to the Peach Bowl, where it will meet Big 12 champion Arizona State and will be expected to win. The Sun Devils got much better as the season went on, and star running back Cam Skattebo finished fifth in the Heisman voting, but man, Texas’ defense is really good. And this time it’s not playing Georgia in Atlanta.

5. Clemson finished with four losses for the second straight season, but quarterback Cade Klubnik gives the Tigers hope for 2025. After falling behind 31-10 in the third quarter, Klubnik got Clemson back within one score despite the Tigers being down their top two running backs. Klubnik finished 26 of 43 for 336 yards, three touchdowns and an interception and had more rushing attempts (13) than his teammates (11), but he got no help from Clemson’s defense. Two plays after Clemson cut it to 31-24, Texas’ Blue dashed 77 yards for the dagger touchdown. Dabo Swinney recently signed his first-ever defensive player out of the transfer portal, Purdue end Will Heldt. Now he just needs a few more.

6. Penn State’s 38-10 rout of SMU must have been cathartic for the 100,000-plus in Beaver Stadium, even if it meant becoming popsicles for four hours. Nittany Lions fans have spent much of the past eight years getting let down in big games, but this performance was emphatic. Two pick sixes in the first 17 minutes got the crowd roaring, and it soon became apparent that SMU’s offense stood no chance against Kobe King, Abdul Carter, Dominic DeLuca and Dani Dennis-Sutton. Penn State’s own offense was hardly overpowering (5 yards per play), but it didn’t need to be. Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings (20 of 36, 195 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions) struggled badly against the best defense he’s faced, while SMU managed just 58 rushing yards on 36 attempts.

7. Penn State now heads to the Fiesta Bowl, where its rushing defense gets a next-level challenge in No. 3 seed Boise State and Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty, who has 2,497 yards and 29 TDs on the ground this season. James Franklin’s team will likely be a heavy favorite for a second straight game. (It opened as a 10.5-point favorite, per BetMGM.) Thanks to this tournament’s funky seeding, the Nittany Lions managed to draw the committee’s No. 9 (Boise) and No. 10 (SMU) teams in their first two games. Top seeds Oregon (against No. 6 Ohio State) and Georgia (against No. 5 Notre Dame) have tougher quarterfinal draws than Penn State, which has the second-best odds to make the title game (40 percent), according to The Athletic’s model. It’s a golden opportunity for Franklin’s team in its biggest postseason game since the 2017 Rose Bowl against USC.

8. If you thought the bickering from three weeks ago over the final spots in the bracket would be rendered moot once the games started… you must be new here. Just like in the BCS and the four-team CFP, every lopsided postseason game becomes a retroactive rallying cry for the team(s) left out. Even Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, still miffed his 9-3 team didn’t get in (while pretending that home loss to 4-8 Kentucky never happened), took some shots at the committee during both the Notre Dame-Indiana and Penn State-SMU games. (He was noticeably silent during the Ohio State-Tennessee game.)

Look, SMU got embarrassed. But the committee boxed itself in when chairman Warde Manuel declared after their penultimate rankings that teams whose seasons had ended would not be reevaluated after the conference championship games. At that point, the story became whether SMU would get “punished” if it lost to Clemson (which it did). Given a truly blank slate, maybe the committee would have given someone like 10-2 BYU a second look. As it was, it faced considerable pressure to avoid “knocking SMU out” for playing a 13th game. And then the Mustangs lost on a 56-yard field goal. They had to be in.

9. No. 7 seed Notre Dame finally got its first BCS/CFP win, dominating No. 10 seed Indiana (the final score was 27-17, but it was 27-3 with two minutes to go) to set up a fascinating Sugar Bowl quarterfinal against No. 2 seed Georgia. In some ways the Irish and Bulldogs are mirror images: Both teams are physical on offense but with the ability to be explosive (see Jeremiyah Love’s 98-yard touchdown run Friday), and both have filthy defenses. Adding to the intrigue, Georgia is expected to be without injured quarterback Carson Beck, meaning backup Gunner Stockton will make his first career start against the nation’s top-rated pass defense.

But we may find out just how important those first-round byes can be. Whereas Georgia will have had 24 days of rest come Jan. 1, Notre Dame saw several key players suffer injuries 11 days out. Standout defensive tackle Rylie Mills went down clutching his knee after a sack and did not return. And starting right guard Rocco Spindler spent the second half in street clothes. The severity of those injuries is not yet known, though Marcus Freeman told ESPN that Mills’ injury was “not season-ending.”

10. Curt Cignetti’s Indiana was one of the best stories of the 2024 season, but boy did it end with a dud. It wasn’t just that the Hoosiers got blown out. The brash Cignetti, who just hours earlier on “College GameDay” proclaimed, “We don’t just beat Top 25 teams, we beat the s— out of them,” could not have coached more conservatively as IU punted from the Notre Dame 37 in the first quarter, settled for a field goal from the Irish 16 already down 14-0 and bafflingly punted down 20-3 in the fourth quarter.

Just like against Ohio State on Nov. 23, Indiana (11-2) was completely overmatched in the trenches, and quarterback Kurtis Rourke (20 of 33, 215 yards, two TDs, one interception) misfired to several open receivers. A disappointing ending to the program’s best season in a half-century.
Notre Dame beat Indiana in their first matchup since 1991. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

11. With the game out of reach in the final minutes, ESPN’s Sean McDonough was not shy about questioning why Indiana, with its weak schedule, was included in the CFP in the first place. Kirk Herbstreit went in for more the next morning. In general, I agree with them that the committee needs to be more discerning about schedule strength in this age of 16/17/18-team conferences. Indiana will not be the last Big Ten or SEC team to win 11 games against empty calories.

But there was nobody else worth going to the mat for this season instead. The alternatives either lacked their own big wins (Miami), lost to bad teams (Alabama and Ole Miss) or lost to multiple other teams on the bubble (South Carolina). It was only a few years ago people were complaining that the four-team CFP was mostly the same teams every year. I personally enjoyed the novelty of watching Indiana in a Playoff game. At least until that punt.

12. That’s not to say I have no beefs with the new format. Reserving the first-round byes for conference champions was well-intended, but it had a profoundly unfair effect on the seeding this first year. The No. 3 (Boise State) and No. 4 (Arizona State) seeds, both champions, are double-digit underdogs in their quarterfinals to the Big Ten (Penn State) and SEC (Texas) runners-up. That’s not how a bracket is supposed to work.

And there’s one other flaw worth considering, now that we’ve experienced our first on-campus games: The top four seeds don’t get to hold their own. I myself love a trip to Pasadena, but I bet even Oregon fans would trade their Disneyland trip in exchange for Ohio State having to come back to Autzen Stadium. But that’s not going to change in the next 10 days.

Charlie Williams: What we learned from Texas' win over Clemson in the College Football Playoff

Quote

First off, welcome back to the running game. This win against Clemson was built on the offensive line’s dominance from start to finish, setting the tone for what might have been Texas’ most complete team performance of the season. Let’s break it down position by position.

Quarterback

Quinn Ewers played a balanced game and showed that he doesn’t need to be a superstar for Texas to win a championship. The interception wasn’t his fault—it was the result of a dropped pass—but he managed the game well overall. His decision to step up in the pocket and run for a key first down before halftime was a big moment and helped keep the drive alive.

That said, he missed an easy throw on fourth down, which is just part of who he is at this point. It happens, so you’ve got to expect it a couple of times a game. This is the version of Ewers Texas can win with: a quarterback who manages the game, picks up key first downs, and makes the necessary throws. Plenty of teams have won championships with “bus driver” quarterbacks who don’t need to be elite, just consistent and reliable.

Running Backs

Tre Wisner was outstanding. He ran through tackles, made defenders miss, and imposed his will on Clemson’s defense. He didn’t shy away from contact and really set the tone for the game. Aside from the Georgia game, he’s been consistent all season. He’s 27 yards away from eclipsing the 1000-yard mark, which would keep Steve Sarkisian‘s streak of having a 1000 yard rusher every season alive. Just ignore the games needed to get to that mark.

Jaydon Blue showed growth. We already know about his speed and ability to break long, explosive runs, but what stood out in this game was his ball security. Covering the ball with two hands in traffic shows that he’s learning and applying what he’s been taught in practice. Wisner and Blue together are becoming a dangerous duo at the right time.

Offensive Line

This was an absolute clinic. Running for 292 yards doesn’t happen by accident—it’s all about effort, physicality, and dominance. Clemson’s decision to use smaller defenders to set the edge didn’t work, and Texas took full advantage, overpowering them all game. Did anybody else see a holding call on the Texas offensive line last night? Besides one false start and an illegal man downfield, this team played clean up front—or maybe this ref crew was just better than the SEC championship crew!

To sum it up the offensive line controlled the trenches from start to finish, and the only thing that stopped the run game was the guy with the headset on the sideline.

Receivers and Tight Ends

Gunnar Helm was as consistent as ever, and his touchdown right before halftime was huge. He’s reliable and always makes plays when it counts. The receivers had a mixed performance. They struggled to fight through contact on contested throws and had some key drops, including one that led to a nullified pick-six and could’ve swung the game’s momentum. On the other hand, they made some tough catches and did a great job blocking on the perimeter, which helped spring several long runs.

Defensive Line

The defensive line had a solid day. The edges were especially effective, creating pressure, getting sacks, and recording tackles for loss that kept Clemson behind the chains early. The interior defensive line played well situationally but wasn’t the dominant force we’re used to seeing. Still, their biggest moment came in the fourth quarter when they stuffed Clemson on a critical fourth-down run. This group continues to show that when it matters most, they won’t be moved—especially near the goal line.

Linebackers

The linebackers made some key stops, particularly against the run, but they struggled in pass coverage. They didn’t get enough depth on RPOs or crossing routes, which Clemson took advantage of. Liona Lefau made a great play reading a throwback screen, where Clemson had a hold my beer moment. Anthony Hill had a huge stop, chasing down a running back on a beautifully designed screen and pushing him out just short of the first down. That play got Clemson off the field and helped build momentum early in the game. Plays like these helped Texas stay in control.

Secondary

OK, they’re human! For the first time this season, there was noticeable miscommunication in the secondary, which led to big plays, first downs, and touchdowns for Clemson. Malik Muhammad had a rough day at the office, and Jaylon Guilbeau, outside of two well-timed blitzes where he caused tackles for loss, seemed lost in zone coverage. It felt like he was trying to do more than his job, which is out of character of how the secondary has played all season.

Give credit to Clemson’s young receivers and quarterback Cade Klubnik, who is the best QB Texas has faced this year. Thorpe Award winner Jahdae Barron was solid as ever, moving around and making key stops. Michael Taaffe and Andrew Mukuba also stepped up late, making plays to help seal the game. Even though the group had a rough day, they’re resilient and capable of bouncing back strong.

Special Teams

Special teams didn’t give me a heart attack, so that’s a win. There were a couple of shaky moments—a bad decision to return a kickoff and a muffed punt caused by teammates running into each other—but overall, they did what they needed to do. No need to elaborate further—I’m not jinxing anything.

Final Thoughts

This was an exciting and thrilling game where both sides of the ball had to depend on each other, and Texas got it done in all three phases with a complete team performance. There’s still room for improvement, especially with communication in the secondary, pass coverage from the linebackers, and some play-calling decisions.

But this is playoff football—it’s about surviving and advancing. Texas showed they have the focus and determination to make a deep run. On to Arizona State. Nobody cares how the sausage is made—just keep making it. See you in Atlanta.

 

  • Hook 'Em 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

(Scipio Tex) 2024 Clemson Postmortem: Defense/Special Teams

Quote

The Texas defense experienced its first real relative setback of the season as Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, strong Clemson receivers, and a fine offensive game plan conspired to allow a 400+ yard effort and 24 points on the scoreboard. Clemson opened the game with a good script of disciplined stop and comeback routes against zone coverage and then mesh (crossing routes) when Texas went to man. Their first touchdown is a good example of a double pick play paired with mesh.

The tight end gets the initial pick that interferes with Jaylon’s path and then #1 hunts Guilbeau down on the mesh route and literally stalk blocks him. Obvious pass interference(s) as neither pick player even tries to sell an actual route, but it wasn’t thrown.

Texas could help itself by not having Barron and Guilbeau playing at the same depth at the start of the play. They should be staggered. Barron can’t stop a tight end from firing off directly into him, so one of them has to be at a different depth. Additionally, Guilbeau should be running under rubs, not over them. But that level of blatant OPI has to get a yellow hanky.

Texas adjusted as Clemson’s initial script ran out and shut down Clemson on their next four drives (13 plays, 50 yards, 1 interception combined) and allowed a field goal on the fifth right before half on a short field after the Moore volleyball set. Why that run of success? They started shifting coverages more before the snap confusing the Clemson receiver reads and they brought various sim pressures and blitzes while allowing the Texas pass rush to get up the field.

That created one-on-one matchups on the edge and Horn pass rushers were able to let it go while still respecting lane integrity. That’s when Texas had its best pressure on the Clemson QB and put a fairly simple passing game under wraps by disallowing easy run-seven-yards-and-turn-around outlets and not allowing the slower developing routes at all. The profusion of batted balls around this time was not coincidental, either.

In the second half, Texas went to a stronger containment rush strategy – the Texas edges locked up with the offensive tackle at the line of scrimmage with both arms extended and watched before starting their pass rush – and Clemson began picking on Manny Muhammad’s failed attempts at press coverage on TJ Moore while exploiting overall poor communication with tempo.

If you’re going to press, put your hands on the receiver immediately or bail. The squat in no-man’s land where you feel out how they will release is a losing proposition against a bigger and quicker athlete unless you’re playing zone and we sure as hell ain’t. Muhammad is put into a trail position and actually does a decent job in recovery despite a jab to the face mask, but Klubnick throws a dime.

Texas clearly struggled with disorganization in the second half and the secondary spent an inordinate amount of time pointing and chirping at each other as Clemson ran to the line of scrimmage for another snap. Barron, Taaffe, McDonald and Mukuba were largely buttoned up while the Texas linebackers, Guilbeau and Muhammad struggled to understand exactly who had what or simply failed in their technique.

Clemson’s last four possessions of the game went for 55, 64, 73 and 31 yards with two drives resulting in touchdowns and the other two stopped on downs. Props for the 4th down stops, but the Texas defense was outplayed and schematically solved. Their best defense was a stubborn Clemson offense that thought they could play bully ball close to the goal line.

For the game, Texas allowed 6.1 yards per play despite no consistent Clemson running attack. This was a Clemson offense that limped into the postseason and badly struggled with reads on shifting coverages. Perhaps the two weeks off were what was needed to get them back on track and a lot of credit goes to Klubnik making some terrific throws to a talented young receiver corps, but this was the first time all year that the Texas pass defense showed composure and soundness issues and I’m not a fan of fretting a mobile QB’s legs so much that you deliberately cripple the best and most disruptive matchup you have in the game: pass rush.

DL

Strong game from Sorrell. He played with a lot of physicality. 3 pressures, a batted ball that led to an interception, and a sack. I really appreciate that even when he can’t realistically make a play on the ball, he’ll make the effort to torture the guy across from him. Ethan Burke had a nice coverage sack in the first half when Texas was still bringing a pass rush.

Colin Simmons brought Clemson offensive tackles in the first half and early 3rd quarter with 3 QB hits (and a PI call) but asking him to stand and watch and calling it “containment” isn’t a winner. I felt the same way about Trey Moore.

That’s textbook DT play by #15. Displace, don’t over penetrate, maintain your gap, shut down the other gap with the guard’s body by locking him out, keep that shoulder free, meet the RB in the hole. That’s poetry.

A really nice game from Bill Norton. He always struggles with pad level early, gets lower and then starts kicking ass. Collins and Broughton played fine – Broughton had a nice batted ball when Texas was actively pass rushing – and Collins had a tackle for loss in the red zone – but they weren’t particularly impactful as they seemed occupied with keeping their rush lane more than getting push and Clemson abandoned the run game fairly early.

LB

Hill was poor in coverage. When we ran zone against mesh, he didn’t seem to understand when he should mirror the QB’s movement versus whether to sit in his spot or find work. Great hustle play to prevent a 3rd down conversion on a Mafah checkdown and he had some nice run fills. He led the team in tackles and had 7 solos off of pure effort.

Gbenda blew a coverage that led to a Clemson TD pass on a RB release. Lefau played better than I thought he had on the rewatch. Very close to a pick 6 on an instinctive read of a Clemson trick play.

DB

Barron was exceptional. He shut down every receiver he faced. Clemson targeted him 8 times for 4 completions for 23 yards and two PBUs. Eventually, they just left him alone.

Muhammad got cooked. He allowed a staggering 120 yards on 8 targets and 6 completions. He needs a major rework on his approach to man coverage in press. Press or bail. In off coverage, he took way too many recovery steps when the ball was thrown in front of him. Clemson got in his head early and never left. Guilbeau was targeted 7 times and gave up 5 completions. He had a couple of timely nickel blitzes but he still falls victim to bad angles.

Taaffe uncharacteristically missed two key tackles that would have stymied large Clemson gains. He played better in the second half, but he wasn’t ready for Clemson’s skill speed or size early. He finished the game nicely though. Recognize that play?

Crosser! Great recognition by Taaffe. Jelani McDonald was terrific in 32 snaps. Massive hit on a Clemson screen. Very physical. I love #25. He’s going to be so good. Gavin Holmes subbed in at corner and put on a clinic in 19 snaps. Clemson targeted him three times, zero completions. If we’re going press man, Holmes may be the better option if Muhammad can’t figure out a viable approach.

Special Teams

Good kick coverage. Clemson’s punter sucked. No real game impact.

Final

The Texas defense is mortal after all. There are some things to clean up and probably some weaknesses that were revealed in both athletes and game plan with a lead, but the modern game favors the offense to get theirs when they execute beautifully. Need to find a way to disrupt that execution and timing.

(Scipio Tex) 2024 Clemson Postmortem: Offense

Quote

The Texas offense tore through Clemson in front of a boisterous over capacity crowd in the first ever playoff game hosted in DKR. Props to the Texas fans for bringing it. The energy and buzz was palpable through my television screen. The Tigers defense surrendered season highs in points, yardage and rushing yards as Texas nailed them for 38 on the scoreboard and just under 500 yards of offense.

A revitalized Texas running game led the way behind dominant OL play and a pair of backs who haven’t looked this spry since early August. There’s nothing more satisfying than handing off the football and seeing the other colored jerseys moving backwards or on their backs while explosive runners make cuts on the edge of a razor.

Quinn Ewers complemented a relentless run game with timely, accurate passing and several excellent checks at the line of scrimmage that led to positive results. That’s how the Horns averaged nearly 7 yards a play against what had been a Top 20 defense. The first three Texas drives of the game went for 75, 65 and 82 yards respectively, all ending in touchdowns.

After a bad luck interception on a Moore volleyball set of a Ewers strike and another turnover on downs, Texas drove 65 yards on 7 plays with 1:33 on the play clock to score before the end of half and take a 28-10 lead on a 19 yard Gunnar Helm skinny post. Clemson rallied gamely behind Klubnik and won the second half 14-10, but the game wasn’t really in doubt. Let’s get into it…

QB

This was game manager Quinn at his very best. That guy will win Texas a lot of football games. He finished 17 of 24 for 202 yards and was extremely sharp in recognition and in the overall quality of his throws and decision making. He started the game a sizzling 7 of 7 for 100 yards, including a 43 yard post strike to Golden to loosen up the Tiger defense that saw him subtly manipulate the Clemson safety before throwing a strike.

#3 also converted a key 3rd and 3 with his legs and found outlets on extended plays, like another 3rd down conversion check down to a late-releasing Blue. He hit both of his deep balls. He also coolly engineered an end of first half scoring drive.

Sometimes playing QB for Sark is as simple as hitting your free throws and Quinn did that. Later in the game, he drilled an off balance 3 pointer as a Clemson blitz into a Helm screen forced Ewers to get the ball out unconventionally and urgently. Helm one handed the reception to turn the play into a first down gain. Terrific improvisation turned a sure sack or batted ball into a nice Helm gain.

The only real negatives were a 4th down ball thrown behind Golden on a crosser and a pair of self-sacks. On the first sack early in the game, he bailed directly into pressure as DJ Campbell walled off penetration inside. Later, he had a weird self-sack slide as he fled the pocket. That should have been a throwaway. Seeing Sark absolutely lose his mind on the sideline on that one almost made it worth it.

OL

Dominant. Having Kelvin Banks back healthy provided immediate dividends as he was one of three Longhorn tackles who manhandled Clemson edge setters in outside zone, repeatedly pinning their outside shoulder and creating massive holes.

I thought Banks had a good matchup coming in with Clemson’s much hyped TJ Parker and that proved correct. Banks toyed with Parker for four quarters, limiting him to zero pressures on the QB. Eventually, Parker just stopped pass rushing and sort of hung out hoping for a batted ball. No knock on Parker – he will play in the NFL – but Banks is just that good.

The other Clemson edges were more or less abused down to down and their big men inside operated mostly on the “try really hard for a play then try to tie” method. That won’t work when the Texas OL is playing with desperate violence. Regrettably, Texas had to demonstrate its depth. Jake Majors went down on a cheap shot and Cam Williams got hit on the side of his knee on a blown throw back screen.

Losing a starting center and a tackle is less than ideal in a playoff game, but Conner slid to center, Hutson came in capably at guard and Goosby carried the weight at right tackle. Three new faces at three positions and Texas carried right on. If that had happened just a couple of years ago, Texas would have been in complete disarray. Instead, Next Man Up. That’s the kind of machine we want to build and maintain.

There’s a noticeable deficit in Williams versus Goosby blocking bigs at the point of attack, but Goosby is terrific on second level defenders and he’s a fine pass protector. Hutson brought his characteristic physicality in his 46 snaps, including a Peter Woods pancake on a screen pass.

I expect Majors back. I’m less than optimistic on Big Cam. DJ Campbell was incredibly physical. He brought it. He and Cole Hutson thrive when they can fire out and rock people. No Texas unit played better or dominated more from start to finish. They earned their pancake money and they whipped an athletic but unsound Clemson front for four quarters of play.

RB

The Texas running game led the way with a pair of 100-yard rushing efforts from Blue and Wisner and each scored two touchdowns. That 100+ yard, 2 touchdown duo combo is only the third time that’s happened in Texas history.

That’s the easiest touchdown that Tre will score. Please watch DJ Campbell on the pull hitting the outside edge until the play’s completion. I promise satisfaction. Violent. Jake Majors is impressive on the quick pull from center. Great job getting a hat on a better athlete in space. The block downs playside are fantastic as well. The white jerseys are only going one way. There’s an urgency and speed of execution happening here that’s exciting to watch.

Tre Wisner’s steady slashing cutback runs on outside zone (14-110-2 touchdowns) were deadly and he repeatedly got small through creases only to finish runs with the most power a 195-pound RB can muster. Great game. Am I Blue? Yes, I’m Blue.

Note that Clemson is in a 8 man front running a 6-2 against our 12 personnel. They should have this covered up. They do not have that covered up. Several key playside blocks, but please note how DJ Campbell reaches the 3 technique while big Cam Williams reaches the edge and turns him like a child. Helm and Davis do their job impeding and screening with real effort, but the big men getting play side reach blocks was the key.

A defense cannot allow that to happen and I seriously question Tiger fundamentals. The players also got their asses handed to them, so there is that. It also helps that the Clemson safety #7 underestimates Blue’s foot speed. Uh, no Khalil Barnes, that won’t cut it. This run was similar – every blocker does his job, the movement is all in one direction at the line of scrimmage and Blue shakes off an arm tackle to explode through a fat crease.

Good luck running him down. Jaydon Blue delivered the coup de grace when Wisner got nicked up with 16 touches for 177 yards and another pair of scores, including touchdown runs of 38 and 77 yards. We haven’t seen this Jaydon Blue since the Texas Tech game last year. I hope he sticks around, because the confident player we saw on Saturday looks a hell of a lot like Jahmyr Gibbs for the Detroit Lions.

The hesitant runner slipping and falling like a baby giraffe on ice that we saw for the bulk of the season is no more. He clearly healed up his body and his mind. Speaking of baby African ungulates, baby rhino Jerrick Gibson came in late to close and his ball security and effort were on point. If you throw out the three longest runs for each Texas running back (77, 22, 21) the trio still averaged a very healthy 4.9 yards per carry.

When you combine down-to-down success with explosives, that’s as good as it gets. It’s also worth noting that Texas handed the ball off on 3rd and long multiple times for first downs. Clearly Sark liked what he saw in those spots, but that’s the ultimate insult to a defense.

WR/TE

Golden played even better than I thought on review. Texas’ steadiest receiver caught 2 for 49 yards, but he drew two big PI calls and probably deserved two more. Wingo caught a pair of balls and drew his own PI to get Texas out of its own end zone, but he didn’t win a ball downfield (his arm was being held) on a Ewers dime and he ran a couple of wrong routes that led to one incompletion.

Gunnar Helm was fantastic. Probably the best and most complete game I’ve seen from a Texas tight end in years. The best weapon on the field was too big for Clemson safeties and too athletic for Clemson linebackers. Terrific after the catch. He finished with 6-77 and a touchdown and he had his best blocking effort of the season. Extremely competitive and aggressive. Great effort and feet.

Juan Davis drew 35 snaps in 12 personnel. He was active, but I can’t say that he was particularly good down to down. He’s more of a screener than a people mover. I love DeAndre Moore but he needs to clean up the volleyball set bullshit.

Final

Texas drew the most dangerous of the opening round lower seeded opponents and delivered a decisive 38-24 win. ACC champion Clemson concludes the season 0-3 against SEC opponents. They were 10-1 against everyone else. Texas’ next opponent is Big 12 champion Arizona State, a scrappy and very well coached team that’s about to find out that there are levels to this.

It turns out that there may only be two conferences that matter. Where have I read that before!?!

 

  • Hook 'Em 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...