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

[satyanash 14282]

Collecting all the post-game analysis articles, including those behind paywalls, regarding the blOU game here:

Jeff Howe: Texas falls to Oklahoma in Big 12 title game, 39-27

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ARLINGTON, Texas — Even after rallying back to tie the game after falling behind by 13 points in the second half, Texas couldn’t do enough to get back in front of Oklahoma in the Dr. Pepper Big 12 Football Championship. In a game expected to be a shootout resembling the AT&T Red River Showdown won by the Longhorns, 48-45, on Oct. 6, it was a field goal and a safety that made the difference as Oklahoma claimed a 39-27 victory over Texas at AT&T Stadium on Saturday.

For Texas (9-4 overall), a close loss isn’t the way the Longhorns wanted their first appearance in a conference championship game since 2009 to go. A 12-point first half lead vanished by halftime and the Longhorns watched the roles get reversed from the first game as it seemed every time Oklahoma (12-1 overall) needed a critical play, the Sooners got one. That includes when the Sooners closed out the game on an 11-play, 69-yard drive that took 6:19 and ended when Kyler Murray hit Grant Calcaterra for an 18-yard touchdown to put the game officially out of reach for the Longhorns.

Murray was 3-for-3 for 49 yards and a touchdown on third down on the game-clinching series that allowed the Sooners to win the Big 12 title for the 13th time in their program's history while Texas was denied a chance to win the league crown for the first time in nine years. With Sam Ehlinger taking turns picking on the Oklahoma secondary with one critical pass completion after another to Collin Johnson and Lil'Jordan Humphrey, the defense made what appeared to be the play of the year. Murray connected with CeeDee Lamb for a 54-yard completion that looked like it was going to ice the game for the Sooners, but a tremendous hustle play by a trailing Gary Johnson resulted in a fumble Brandon Jones recovered at the Texas 8-yard line.

Two plays later, however, the momentum was lost on the Texas side and swing back in violent fashion to the Sooners. On second-and-11 from the Texas 7-yard line, Ehlinger dropped back to pass but never saw Oklahoma’s Tre Brown blitzing off of the edge and by the time Ehlinger finished his play-action fake, Brown had him down on the ground in the end zone for a safety to extend the Oklahoma lead, 32-27, with 8:27 to play.

Oklahoma opened up a 27-14 lead on the first offensive possession of the second half on what was the third touchdown drive in a row for the Sooners when Trey Sermon finished an 8-play, 75-yard series with a 6-yard touchdown run against a Texas defense that looked gassed and it felt like things were on the verge of getting out of hand. When it seemed like the Longhorns were done, Ehlinger brought them back by going back to his wide receivers and exploiting the biggest matchup in the game that favored the Longhorns to get Texas back in the game and erase the 13-point deficit by the end of the third quarter.

A 7-play, 75-yard touchdown drive saw Ehlinger connection with Johnson for 25 and 21 yards before the sophomore quarterback hit his 6-foot-6-inch target in the back corner of the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown to get the Longhorns back within six points, 27-21, with 8:47 to go in the third quarter. The defense forced an Oklahoma three-and-out, highlighted by Charles Omenihu dropping Murray for a sack, and Ehlinger engineered an 11-play, 68-yard scoring drive to close out the third quarter.

Ehlinger scrambled for 10 yards on third-and-1 from his own 41 and connected with Humphrey for 18 yards on third-and-7 at the Oklahoma 46 before he hit Humphrey on an out route on third-and-goal for a 5-yard touchdown to tie the game, 27-27. The Longhorns were an extra point away from tying the game, but the try by Cameron Dicker was blocked by Oklahoma’s Amani Bledsoe and hit the crossbar to keep the game tied heading into the fourth quarter.

Texas couldn’t have asked for a better start or a worse end to the first half. After dominating the Sooners for the first quarter and a half, the Longhorns saw a 14-6 lead disappear and turn into a 20-14 halftime edge in favor of Oklahoma due to Murray and Co. putting together two touchdown drives late in the half that covered 167 yards in just 11 plays and took a total of 3:25 off of the clock.

Early in the game, it was Ehlinger and the Longhorns who set the tone early with a pair of physical touchdowns over the offense’s first three possessions. Ehlinger ended a physical 9-play, 75-yard drive to open the game (a series which featured a bomb down the sideline to Johnson for 32 yards and toss over the middle to Humphrey for 16 yards to move the sticks on the first two third-down tries of the game) with a 16-yard touchdown run.

Ehlinger got three great blocks on the play (one from Cade Brewer, another from Daniel Young and a third from Elijah Rodriguez) as the Longhorns flexed their muscles early. The same was true of the defense, who a third-and-goal tackle for loss from Gary Johnson on Trey Sermon and a third-and-goal pass breakup in the end zone by Kris Boyd defending Marquise Brown to force Oklahoma to settle for a pair of field goals on their first two scoring drives.

Leading, 7-6, the Longhorns went on another 9-play, 75-yard where Johnson had a 31-yard reception to open the series and a 23-yard catch-and-run to move the chains on fourth-and-4 at the Oklahoma 38. The drive ended on-second-and-goal from the Oklahoma 2-yard line when Ehlinger reached the end zone on a quarterback counter.

The Longhorns were unable to build on the 12-point lead, however. A 46-yard bomb from Murray to Lamb to Oklahoma’s first touchdown drive started. After the Texas defense held the Sooners to 96 total yards on their first 23 plays from scrimmage and only one explosive play, Murray completed five passes of 17 yards or more over the final two drives to give Oklahoma a halftime lead.

Penalties were a huge issue in the first half for the Longhorns and were a big reason why the Sooners were able to not only get back in the game, but Texas was flagged for three 15-yard penalties on Oklahoma’s two field goal drives in the first half. Eight penalties for 78 yards were levied against Texas in the first two quarters of play with an offensive pass interference called on Johnson causing a drive the drive following Oklahoma’s first touchdown to stall; a personal foul facemask penalty called on Breckyn Hager aided the go-ahead touchdown drive for the Sooners.

C-Bog: Overachievers

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Punching above their weight class. In over their heads. Lucky just to be there. Playing with house money. Overachieving. Ahead of schedule. You read the Internet enough, it appears the University of Texas football team ought to be happy just to have the scraps from Oklahoma’s table at the Big XII Championship Game. We’ll be blessed if OU even deigns to take the field against such a scrappy (but clearly overmatched) bunch of ne’er-do-wells as the Longhorns.

If there were any justice, the Sooners would save themselves the trouble, skip the game, collect their conference championship paycheck, and head straight into their pre-fitted college football playoff spot. Texas would, in turn, thank OU profusely for even allowing us to be mentioned in the same sentence as them.

Am I overstating things? Not by much. The betting line on the game is 7.5 points, more than a whole touchdown and PAT conversion. The ESPN app on my phone predictsthe percentage odds of each team winning: Oklahoma – 72.9%; Texas – 27.1%. It’s an improvement on the 6% we were given for the original Red River Shootout, and it’s substantially better than the odds on buying a winning lottery ticket, but the message is blunt: If we play this game ten times, OU will win seven of them.

It’s not just sports reporters rehashing old clichés or statisticians with mindless algorithms. The last two quotes in the list above are directly from the mouth of the Longhorns’ head coach, Tom Herman. Is the good Coach tempering expectations, or is something else going on? Maybe Mensa Tom is tapping into something significant with the “Awe, shucks, folks, we’re just glad to be here” schtick.

While the Sooners’ offense is phenomenal (I say it through gritted teeth out of grudging respect for those ethically-challenged bastards), there are a few mitigating factors to consider: We whipped their ass the first time around. Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi was once asked aboutfootball being a contact sport. His reply was telling: “Dancing is a contact sport. Football is a collision sport.”

One reason we love the game is that, stripped of its hype, glamor, phoniness, and Lee Corso, football is fundamentally about having the mental strength, tenacity, and guts to physically impose your will on your opponent. Football players are entitled to commit socially-approved acts of violence which could be classified as aggravated assault outside the confines of the stadium.

It’s good for football players to be fast and strong. But if you hit them harder than they hit you, if you physically punish them, if you inflict pain with the force and violence of your collision, the advantages of speed and strength are mitigated. In any football game, the physically imposing team always has a chance, regardless of the alleged talent gap. In my mind’s eye I keep seeing those Sooner defensive linemen during the fourth quarter of the last game, sitting on the ground, faking cramps or other insignificant injuries because they were tired of being manhandled every play.

Bitches be tapping. They remember us whipping their asses. The conscious mind is capable of all kinds of gymnastics, and not just related to politics and political party affiliation. Unpleasant, cognitively dissonant memories can disappear faster than white powder in Barry Switzer’s bathroom. The conscious mind may put on a brave face and call the first OU loss an outlier, a lucky Longhorn break, a chance happenstance when we caught the Sooners on a bad day.

The subconscious, on the other hand, is a clever receptacle for otherwise inconvenient facts. The subconscious remembers being down 21 points in the fourth quarter, Sooner fans headed toward the exits. It remembers letting lowly Kansas hang around for four quarters – in Norman. The subconscious mind can’t forget last-minute wins over Texas Tech and Oklahoma State or letting Army amass 339 rushing yards – in Norman.

Pretend all you want, Dirt Burglars, but your primitive, lizard brain stored every hit, hurt, and hematoma from the RRS. Have fun faking your way through Round Deux. We have nothing to lose. Seriously. There is almost no downside to losing this game, unless it turns into a Mack Brown-type blowout, which I don’t think either team expects. What everybody does expect is for us to lose. You’ve heard it before: it’s almost impossible to beat a team twice in one season, OU’s offense is hitting on all cylinders, their defense is improved under Ruffin McNeill, etc.

OU is playing for a prestigious spot in the college playoffs. We’re playing so Breckyn Hager can cut his hair. OU seeks immortal glory. We want a better parking spot at the Sugar Bowl. “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” Our underdog status makes us free. Free to blitz a little too much. Free to go for it on 4th down. Free to fake a punt or field goal. Free to dial up some weird, risky play that hasn’t been on a game film so far this year. Free to go for the interception instead of the PBU. Free to have Jerrod Heard or Lil’Jordan Humphrey throw a pass.

What’s the worst that could happen? We’ll lose to a heavily-favored team with arguably the best offense in college football? No problem. As every gambler knows, it’s impossible to lose when playing with house money. Hook ‘em.

A 1986 graduate of the University of Texas, Jeff Conner has held many jobs in his life: husband, brother, uncle, son, oil field roustabout, short-order cook, sandblaster, irrigation pipe mover, musician, retail assistant manager, attorney-at-law, public school teacher, preacher, cartoonist, and writer. While he does have a hot, young wife, Conner is neither as clever nor as good-looking as he believes himself to be. Jeff is currently teaching Algebra 2 and A.P. Statistics at Legacy Early College High School in Taylor, Texas. Conner’s regularly submitted commentary appears in InsideTexas.com and Inside Texas Magazine. The opinions presented do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inside Texas editorial staff.

 

[satyanash 14282]

(Harrison Weir) Five Thoughts: Big 12 Championship

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Texas came up short today against the Sooners. The Longhorns had plenty of opportunities, but couldn't capitalize. Texas fought hard, but ultimately Kyler Murray and the Oklahoma offense did just enough to get the win in Arlington. Texas will now have to wait and see where it will go bowling later in December. They are destined for either the Alamo Bowl against Utah/Washington State or the Sugar Bowl against Georgia, Florida, or LSU (depending on the results of the SEC Championship. Here are some thoughts about the game.

Lack of run production

It's hardly ever great when your quarterback has the most rushing yards for your offense in the biggest game of the year. Sam Ehlinger had 42 yards rushing, averaging 2.8 YPC. Tre Watson had 39 yards rushing on 13 carries. The Oklahoma defense is statistically one of the worst run defenses in the country, and Texas could not take advantage. The Texas offensive line did not have a great performance today, and it showed by the lack of a rushing attack. This lack of rushing led to predictability in the Texas offense, which helped Oklahoma make several key stops throughout the game. It appears that bringing in David Beaty, who put up 40 points on Oklahoma and had a freshman running back put up crazy numbers, did not help the Texas offense much.

Offense's failure to capitalize cost Texas

Texas had several opportunities throughout the game to build a double digit lead, but never capitalized. At the beginning of the game, Texas had a chance to go up 21-6, and couldn't capitalize. Oklahoma quickly surged back and scored 21-unanswered points to lead 27-14 at one point. Later on, with Texas trailing by three, Gary Johnson forced a huge fumble by Cedee Lamb to give Texas another chance to garner the lead. Two plays later, Tre Brown came untouched on a corner blitz and sacked Sam Ehlinger for a safety. There were several other opportunities for Texas to capitalize, but they just continued to stall in key moments. That can't happen when you're playing the best offense in the country. Todd Orlando's unit did the best they could, and holding Oklahoma to 39 points is usually enough against the Sooners' defense. Not today.

Penalties

There was no doubt some atrocious penalties against Texas in this game. As I've stated before, this is going to be a huge factor that determines whether Texas stays in the Big 12. Instead of focusing on whether horns up or down should be a penalty, maybe Bob Bowlsby should focus on fixing this referee problem. Somehow it's gotten worse since Big 12 Head of Officiating Walt Anderson went to the NFL. Can't believe that's the case. With that being said, Texas had some really boneheaded penalties. Kris Boyd, specifically, did not have a great day penalty-wise. The senior CB got burned on several deep balls and was flagged for DPI. He also had a facemask penalty that negated an interception and a horse collar that was offset by an Oklahoma penalty. Anytime a team has over 100 yards in penalties, that's tough to overcome. The Texas defense had some penalties that extended Oklahoma drives and resulted in points. The Texas offense had some key penalties that killed drives, which just can't happen against the No. 1 offense in the country. This has been an issue for Texas all season, and is certainly something that Tom Herman is disappointed about following the loss.

Kyler Murray can ball

Love him or hate him, Kyler Murray is absolutely electric. Texas did a pretty solid job of playing contain the entire game. Even then, Murray was able to create plays out of nothing frequently. I don't know if I've seen a quarterback that's more elusive or fast as Murray since Michael Vick played at Virginia Tech. Granted, Murray had pretty much all day to throw due to Todd Orlando attempting to drop 8 and rush 3; regardless of pass rush, he's an elite playmaker. For a quarterback that's only 5'9, he has an elite feel for the pocket and is dangerously accurate. The Texas defense did about all they could today to give the offense a chance. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough. The only thing the defense could have done better on was something they've struggled with all year — get off the field on third down. Oklahoma had a great conversion rate today, and it's something that ultimately led to Texas' demise. Todd Orlando will have to clean that up in the offseason, as it costed Texas some games earlier in the season.

Bowl game looms large

It will be interesting to see how this team responds to this loss. Will they come out flat in the bowl game, or will they get up and ring in a solid performance? Time will tell, and it will show how much Tom Herman's culture has been engrained in the Texas program. Texas will either be placed in the Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA) or Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX). Obviously, many fans would prefer to see Texas in the Sugar Bowl. If the Longhorns travel to New Orleans, they will likely play Georgia (unless the Bulldogs beat Alabama in today's SEC Championship). That would be a tough matchup for Texas, but also gives Tom Herman a chance to show how well his team can stay with the best of the best. If Oklahoma doesn't get into the CFP and goes to the Sugar Bowl, Texas will face either Washington state or Utah in the Alamo Bowl. That's a much more favorable matchup, but Washington State will be tough to beat. Either way, this Texas team has come a long way from where it was several years ago. Texas fans should be proud of this team's accomplishments and should be excited for the future.

Cody Daniel: After Big 12 title loss, Texas likely headed to Sugar Bowl; Alamo Bowl possible

[satyanash 14282]

(Ian Boyd) 5 Quick thoughts: Texas comes up short in the title game

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This was a good, hard-fought Big 12 season by Texas but they couldn't quite put it together for the league championship, yielding it to the Oklahoma Sooners who maintain their place atop the conference. It was an inspired performance by the Sooners, who managed a stronger defensive effort than they'd shown in some previous game, and who mostly protected the ball despite Texas regularly forcing Kyler Murray into uncomfortable situations.

Texas finishes 9-4 with an upcoming trip to the Sugar Bowl, pending the SEC title game outcome and the committee's decision making about whether to ignore the SEC title game outcome or not. Presumably an Alabama win secures the Sooners' place while a Georgia victory (particularly a narrow one) makes things more interesting. But let's talk about that disappointing outcome in Jerry World.

Quick thought no. 1: Oklahoma had a good gameplan

My main contention before the game was that Texas needed to make this a contest that was settled between the hash marks. Oklahoma is too explosive on the perimeter and the chance for Texas to attack the young Sooner safeties, inconsistent front, and struggling slot defenders was huge. There was an opportunity there for the Longhorns to beat them up with the run game and tosses to Humphrey over the middle that lead both to consistent point scoring and long drives that kept Kyler Murray on the bench.

While Ruffin McNeil and the Oklahoma coaching staff was well aware of that potential issue. Their answer was to stick with their 4-3 defense that barely allowed a victory over West Virginia with a tweak in their slot coverages. They settled on a Mike Stoops-style defense, which their defense predictably understood and executed better than McNeil's subsequent gameplans, and played a lot of looks like this.

They had Caleb Kelly as the Sam LB, much like Allen Kenney of Blatant Homerism predicted over at CrimsonandCreamMachine.com. But the real key was that they freed him up to play the run aggressively by sending freshman safeties Delarrin Turner-Yell and Brendan Radley-Hiles to the bench while playing three cornerbacks and using Tre Norwood up tight on Lil'Jordan Humphrey.

Norwood played a great game, denying Humphrey the space and leverage he's accustomed to working in the slot and resulting in a relatively quiet seven catch for 51-yard day with a TD. Additionally, the late INT by Ehlinger came trying to force the ball in against that coverage and Humphrey and Ehlinger had a different read on what the route adjustment should have been there.

With Kelly up tight in the box Texas' tight zone play that had gashed Oklahoma in round one, as well as much of the rest of the run game, was tough sledding. Tre Watson and Keaontay Ingram combined for 17 carries that produced only 46 yards, no touchdowns, and a fumble that went out of bounds but cost Texas a few yards. That gameplan begged for Texas to attack them by throwing the ball around, so that's what they did, but that resulted in the Sooners getting the outcome they wanted from this game. A contest in which Texas and Oklahoma were both flinging the ball around and it was a contest of which team could be more efficient in that style of fight.

Quick thought no. 2: Texas didn't have enough answers on offense

This will likely be a common takeaway and I think it's the right one. Oklahoma's defensive staff had the same read on this game I did but unlike me, they were determined to work out a way to put their defense in a decent position to get stops and not be the achilles heel in pursuit of a Big 12 championship. Meanwhile, the Texas offensive staff clearly did not anticipate the defensive gameplan by the Sooners and spent the day cycling through various dropback passing game adjustments. In the first half they had a few plays where they stubbornly ran into loaded fronts, in the second half they tried to work the passing game more but just couldn't do enough damage.

There were chances in this game for the Longhorns to take over the game and the offense came up short. The first was the drive early in the second quarter after the defense forced a quick punt with Texas already sitting on a 14-6 lead. Had Texas gone up 21-6 by scoring a TD on this drive, this is a different ball game. Instead, after an initial first they ran into a loaded front for no gain, then Sam Ehlinger ended up with "carries" on the next two plays with that last one consisting of a play where Sooner DL Amani Bledsoe bulldozed Sam Cosmi and inflicted a sack.

The second was after Gary Johnson's hustle play on defense that forced what could have been the decisive turnover. Texas immediately came out and failed to pick up a boundary corner blitz that resulted in Sam Ehlinger taking a blindside hit and safety. In a game like this Texas had to have the edge with their line of scrimmage adjustments. Ehlinger's ability to make checks at the line, find the mismatches, and then distribute the ball to Texas' various ball-control weapons is what makes this offense tick. In a crucial moment, they failed to win the chess match at the line.

Obviously they still made a game effort. They almost covered the spread with the late drive and Collin Johnson had a record-breaking day working against Parnell Motley with eight catches for 177 yards and a TD. Sam Ehlinger made a lot of plays with his legs and arm, hitting 391 total yards of offense on the day and scoring four TDs. He missed some others obviously, Texas couldn't play the game like they wanted or score enough points to abuse the OU defense like they needed in order to get the win. They didn't have enough answers in the booth to break the Sooner gameplan and break the game open.

Quick thought no. 3: Texas' defense made a solid effort

Kyler Murray had a pretty strong game but Texas did a great job dealing with his abilities and taking away weapons from the Sooners. They played nickel personnel in this game, trusting Shark McCulloch to help contain Murray in the pocket (which he did pretty well with just a few exceptions) and deferring stress to the Texas CBs as they've done in other big games in which they came out ahead.

The Texas CBs and deep safeties barely held up under the strain. Kris Boyd incurred a good number of penalties scrambling to hold up isolated in space, Brandon Jones got picked on some, and a crucial early INT by Caden Sterns was taken away by a blatant facemask/hold by Kris Boyd trying to keep Marquise Brown under wraps. Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks combined for 28 carries for 93 yards at 3.3 ypc and a score. Kyler Murray ran around some with mixed results, 10 carries for 39 yards and a few first downs but also a few sacks and TFL when he couldn't beat Texas contain.

Ultimately though, Oklahoma made some adjustments and switched to playing with four wide receivers. Texas remained in nickel in those instances and made game efforts but obviously also gave up 379 passing yards at 11.1 ypa to Kyler Murray, along with a 3-0 TD/INT ratio. They did force some punts and field goals but they didn't generate enough turnovers to flip the game. Oklahoma was able to win on offense by getting the ball on the perimeter, which is where they are most explosive and dangerous.

Quick thought no. 4: Texas lost the game on special teams/team discipline

I said before the game that I thought Texas was the tougher and more disciplined team. They are tougher and more physical, but Oklahoma brought the more focused and disciplined effort into this game, likely because they had a better gameplan that put them into position to play to their strengths. Texas had a number of special teams gaffes that added up in the big picture. There was a shanked punt, a punt into the end zone after taking a delay of game penalty to make that less likely, a missed/blocked extra point, a kick catch interference that gave OU the ball on the 20 instead of the 5, and an unneeded hold on a Lil'Jordan Humphrey kick return.

Oklahoma's insistence on doing the horns down after their decisive TD put their kick team in a bad spot and Humphrey almost made them pay in spectacular fashion, only for a Thompson hold to negate the score. They had a shot at attempting an onside kick down eight with well over a minute to play. Texas was penalized for 128 yards on the day and they weren't bogus calls by the officials but multiple instances of Texas either losing their composure or compensating poorly for getting beat.

The officials did miss a DPI call on Humphrey on a fourth quarter drive by Texas, but Humphrey and Johnson also dropped crucial passes. All that to say, leave the "officials blew this game" complaint in Arlington because that wasn't decisive in this game. The failure to prevent the Oklahoma score before the half and then the huge swing after the safety loomed largest in this game. That was when they punted into the end zone and then played overly conservatively on defense even though that had cost them badly in the fourth quarter of the previous contest and consequently gave up a TD and the lead before the half.

The safety was a major failure by the Texas offense to identify Tre Brown's obvious inside lean and leverage, as well as another instance of Texas struggling to send in a play-call that could generate a good or quick read for Ehlinger because they were frustrated by Norwood's coverage on Humphrey in the slot. Finally that was followed up by an all too typical Texas defensive series in which they made regular stops against the run only to blow coverages or get beat on third down in the passing game.

The Sooners converted three third downs on that series, two of them coming when they targeted Foster playing in Sterns' position and another coming when Texas blew an assignment on a mesh play over the middle. Thanks in part to that final drive, Oklahoma finished 8-14 on third down with a fourth down conversion while Texas was 8-13 and also with a third down conversion. With the game on the line in the crucial possessions, Oklahoma had the better plan and were more composed and on point. Interestingly, that showed up on first down for the offense and third down for the defense.

Quick thought no. 5: A few close plays away

The takeaway from Texas this season is that they are close but not there. A team with freshman kickers, freshman safeties, and then a sophomore QB still looked like it when the game was on the line. On the bright side, the normal trajectory for a team in rebuild is to lose big, lose close, win close, and then win big. This team regularly won close, often winning close when it seemed they should be winning big. The goal this coming offseason will be to finish the construction of this team into a unit that can regularly win big and then be in position to try and win close when facing elite competition.

They'll probably get a really tough draw in their bowl game that could be useful for measuring themselves against the sort of team they'd be likely to face in the playoffs and then it's back into the clutches of Yancy McKnight, back into the grad transfer market, and back into the early morning workouts to try and make the kinds of gains that can allow Texas to cover the remaining gap. Tom Herman and the offensive staff will also have to do some self reflection on how to make sure they don't come up short again in 2019.

 

[satyanash 14282]

 

[satyanash 14282]

(Bobby Burton) Snap Judgments: Just Not Enough

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The fourth quarter problem is real for Tom Herman. Texas lost the 4th quarter all season long. And they lost it again on Saturday afternoon. OU outscored Texas 12-0 in the final period and it was the final 12 points and ultimately the difference in the game. Texas had three possessions in the fourth and scored zero points. Texas must get better next year, both on offense and defense.

**

Yes, there were some uncalled penalties on Oklahoma. The non-call against LJ Humphrey thwarted one of those fourth quarter drives. The officials didn't help Texas much all game long. There was a dubious interference call on Brandon Jones, too. And there was the holding call on Josh Thompson which was questionable at best. Of course, Texas made their own bed too often, too. Kris Boyd had multiple penalties, including one that negated a Texas interception in the first quarter. Breckyn Hager getting called for a facemark penalty as the first half wound down - with the clock moving - was perhaps the biggest mental mistake of the game. I think the refs definitely blew some calls today. However, I'm certainly not ready to say Texas should have won without those calls.

**

The bottom line is that Kyler Murray was spectacular on third down. And really all game long. His throw for the final touchdown, another on third down, was outstanding. So was his scramble earlier in that drive where he looked up and found an open receiver at the last second. Murray was the difference in this game.

**

Texas' Sam Ehlinger played well but did not have his best game throwing the ball. He missed two Texas receivers wide open in the first half and had a couple of other poor throws. But really the biggest problem for Ehlinger might be his inability to see the whole field. More than once, Ehlinger seemed like he had a predetermined player he was going to throw to regardless of the look the defense gave him. Devin Duvernay ran down the middle of the field multiple times free but Ehlinger opted to go to the outside. Collin Johnson was wide open on the failed third-down attempt to Humphrey in the fourth quarter.

**

Gary Johnson's hustle play to dislodge the OU receiver from the ball could have turned the game in favor of the Horns. It was an outstanding effort by Johnson, one that I'll always remember because a lesser player would have given up on that play so far down the field. But just two plays later Ehlinger didn't see the corner blitz until it was too late and OU got the safety.

**

The Texas run game never got sparked like it was in the first contest this season. Instead, OU was able to bottle up both Tre Watson and Keaontay Ingram. The inability of Texas to be able to run the ball put the game on Ehlinger's right arm. And Ehlinger just couldn't keep up with Murray.

**

Collin Johnson had a whale of a game. He made multiple contested catches, including a beautfiul TD catch in the third quarter.

**

Todd Orlando attempted to keep OU from running the ball against the Horns effectively. And the Horns accomplished that for the most part. It was Murray's arm, the lack of a consistent pass rush by Texas and just a strong Sooner OL that was too much.

**

Texas needed to out-score OU, to take advantage of a poor Sooner defense. The Horns didn't do that, not like they did in the Cotton Bowl in October.

**

This was not a horrible game from Texas. The Horns didn't lay a big, fat egg. They got beat because they didn't execute as well as their opponents did.

**

Now, we wait to see if Texas heads to the Sugar Bowl or Alamo Bowl. Either way, it's been a season of rebirth for the Horns. They came down to a single quarter to win the Big 12. Next year, the Horns need to start winning the fourth quarter.

 

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2725]

Did Duvernay not point out to Sam the CB blitz? I could swear
I saw him do that but wasn’t sure if Sam picked up on it.

[taybo20 2815]

4 minutes ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

Did Duvernay not point out to Sam the CB blitz? I could swear
I saw him do that but wasn’t sure if Sam picked up on it.

CJ was pointing, but Sam never saw him pointing. Didn’t seem to even look right pre snap. The play was to throw to CJ over the blitz, but we just failed there. They tried that same blitz in the first half and checked out of it cause Sam looked and saw it. 

[satyanash 14282]

5 minutes ago, taybo20 said:

CJ was pointing, but Sam never saw him pointing. Didn’t seem to even look right pre snap. The play was to throw to CJ over the blitz, but we just failed there. They tried that same blitz in the first half and checked out of it cause Sam looked and saw it. 

Kind of reminded me of Gilbert failing to adjust the line and getting strip sacked late in the NC game against Alabama.

Two seemingly simple mistakes with disastrous consequences in title games.

[taybo20 2815]

Just now, satyanash said:

Kind of reminded me of Gilbert failing to adjust the line and getting strip sacked late in the NC game against Alabama.

Two seemingly simple mistakes with disastrous consequences in title games.

Yeah very similar indeed. But Sam should know better. And next time hopefully he does and knows where to attack the defense

[Monahorns 34]

Boyd keeps saying that Texas is more tough than Oklahoma.  They absolutely weren't today.  This wasn't the same OU defense that couldn't tackle Pooka Williams.  He gets lost in how teams align.  Yes they played a 4-3, but that is a front you can still run on if you are the tougher team.  The Offensive staff could have done a better job, but OU was at least as physical as Texas all game.

[Hank Chinaski 6310]

9 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Kind of reminded me of Gilbert failing to adjust the line and getting strip sacked late in the NC game against Alabama.

Was exactly what it reminded me of. 

[Disco Missile 456]

39 minutes ago, satyanash said:

(Ian Boyd) 5 Quick thoughts: Texas comes up short in the title game

 

Closest to my own thoughts right here

[Machinator 32098]

Inside Texas: Offensive Report Card---OU the second time around

The chips were on the line in Arlington this time. We had some rise to the occasion. We had some that allowed the magnitude of the game affect their performance. We still scored 27 points but fell far short of the time of possession domination we needed to influence the game as a positive in our direction. We shot ourselves with penalties to kill drives. We trick played our way into other drive killers. It wasn't our finest performance---players and play-callers alike.

We missed two wide ass open receivers on our first drive. We still scored. Sometimes stuff like that happens. We evidently didn't feel we could pound our RB's down their throat---their normal workload was cut to the bone. I still think it's a shame we don't use the QB keep off the zones and counters---we limit his carries to powers and scrambles (draw). Keeping defenses honest sparks positive production in most games.

The short answer is they scored more punches than we did. They hit us more in the mouth than we hit them. It wasn't a majority decision but it was definitely different than our first encounter this season. Some might say we got away from what brought us to the dance. I think that's fair but won't be convinced it would have been a bunch different regardless---they played with their hair on fire for 60 minutes. We played very good in spurts but lacked enough consistency to counterbalance their effort.

Here are the grades:

11---Sam---B+

5---Watson---B+

26---Ingram---B

6---Duvernay---A-

9---Johnson---A-

84---Humphrey---A-

47---Beck---B

52---Cosmi---B

56---Shack---B-

66---Anderson---B+

72---Rodriguez---B-

77---Vahe---B-

Young (32) had a good block.

Heard (13) had one good catch.

Eagles (82) had a good block.

Brewer (80) had two good blocks. 

That's it for the backups.

Sam (11) missed a couple of snowbirds and a really bad read on a corner blitz (safety) but overall gutted his way thru a winning performance.

Watson (5) had one fumble (not loss of possession) but otherwise ran well when he got the chance,

Ingram (26) needs more carries period. He damn sure doesn't need any more passing attempts.

Devon (6) has been one consistent performer the last half of the season. Blocking and catching (every opportunity) has been top shelf.

LJH has been targeted with combo coverages and he still finds ways to produce. 

Beck (47) had one good catch/run with several excellent blocks. He also had a couple of misses and penalties that hurt. 

Cosmi (52) had one off balance pass block turn into a sack. Sam's run blocking varied from terrific to a couple of "dammits" where he allowed escapes to make tackles.

Shack (56) had a tough go with blitzing backers. Snaps were very good and he held his own in the ground game but it wasn't his best game.

Anderson (66) had a very nice game. Lost a couple of run blocks but overall was our best OL this week.

Rodriguez (72) had two penalties and three beats---not his best game this week.

Vahe (77) still has problems in the passing game. He had some excellent run blocks but blitzing backers are still a foreign language to him.

We did a bunch of good things but this wasn't our "A game". Maybe we will bounce back in whatever bowl game we get invited.

My grading system is based on total points earned against number of plays played. The points are awarded individually on each and every separate play. There are five different possible grades for each play. Players may earn a plus three (3) for a five star type play—-plus two (2) for above average execution—-plus one (1) for doing their job successfully—-zero (0) for getting beat but knowing and attempting their assignment—-and minus 3 (-3) for a missed assignment.

Each player has a total number of points and a total number of his own individual plays. You divide the total number of plays into the total number of points which gives you scale. The grading scale is as follows:

Any player averaging one point per play (1.0) grades out a B which is winning football. If a player plays 60 plays with 60 total points he would earn a passing grade—each point he goes over the total number of plays raises his grade accordingly. The system is built around rewarding any player that doesn’t beat himself or his team with mental mistakes.

The system also punishes any player that knows what to do but loses too many individual battles. If a player plays 60 plays but loses 10 of those with zero special plays (60 plays—50 points) he falls below the 1.0 needed for a passing grade of B.

I use the plus/minus (A-, B+, etc,) when the numbers indicate a partial add or subtract from the grade. This system was used by my first coaching staff and I kinda carried it with me for thirty years—it’s not perfect but it gives the position coach a measuring stick for his individual players.

The only way to earn the highest grade of A is to play a perfect game. I’ve had exactly zero up to right now so great games still can be better so A- is a very popular second best. This system and my grades will always be subjective filled with agree and disagree opinions. It’s entirely fair for disagreement (without it we might not have horse races) but it’s important to remember that each play only counts once instead of allowing a big mistake to have major influence on an individual’s final grade.

[satyanash 14282]

Jeff Howe: Texas earns berth in Sugar Bowl

Texas is officially a New Year's Six Bowl team in 2018. By way of Oklahoma finishing in the top four of the final College Football Playoff rankings and earning a berth in the national semifinals, the Longhorns are set to represent the Big 12 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on Jan. 1. An official announcement from the Sugar Bowl is expected to be released on Sunday.The representative of the Southeastern Conference for the game will be determined by the final rankings issued by the CFP Selection Committee, which will be released later on Sunday afternoon.

With the Sugar Bowl not being a national semifinal game this season, the game’s contract pitting a Big 12 program against an SEC squad kicks in with Texas getting in by being the Big 12 runner-up. Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby confirmed prior to Saturday's Dr. Pepper Big 12 Football Championship that Oklahoma beating Texas and advancing to the CFP would put the Longhorns in the Sugar Bowl. "It's a fairly clear outcome, actually," Bowlsby told reporters in the press box before kickoff. "If OU wins and moves up, Texas will be in the Sugar Bowl."

Qualifying for a New Year’s Six bowl is a huge step forward for the Longhorns in the second season of the Tom Herman era. Texas hasn’t played in a BCS/New Year’s Six bowl game since 2009 when the Longhorns played Alabama at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. for the BCS championship.

The Longhorns had a chance on Saturday to secure their Sugar Bowl bid and win the program’s first Big 12 championship since 2009 in the Big 12 title game. However, Texas had to wait until Sunday's rankings release after being unable to complete a season sweep of Oklahoma following a 48-45 win over the Sooners in the AT&T Red River Showdown on Oct. 6 as the Longhorns fell in the conference title game, 39-27, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

While the Longhorns had to watch Oklahoma raise the Big 12 championship trophy for the fourth time in a row and the 14th time since the inception of the conference prior to the 1996 season, Texas gets a nice consolation prize by getting to a New Year’s Six game. Enjoying the program’s first regular season featuring at least nine wins since 2009, the Longhorns have a chance to claim 10 victories in a season for the first time since that season when Colt McCoy, Jordan Shipley, Earl Thomas and the rest of Mack Brown’s Longhorns went 13-1.

Herman brought the Texas program back to national relevance in 2018, a far cry from the 7-6 mark the Longhorns posted in Herman’s debut. It’s also a huge step up from the three losing seasons in a row Texas endured during the Charlie Strong era. This is the first trip to the Sugar Bowl for Texas since the end of the 1995 season. John Mackovic got the Longhorns to New Orleans after winning the final Southwest Conference championship with a 28-10 loss to Virginia Tech making for a 10-2-1 final record.

[Machinator 32098]

Inside Texas: Defensive Report Card---OU the second time aroun

We did a few things different this time around. We also did a few things exactly the same way. Some of what we did was very good. Unfortunately, we didn't do enough of those good things to slow down their express. I will limit my negative takeaways to just three situations because I have spent 12 weeks bitching about missed tackles and ugly angle taking. By the way, we held them to 39 so we improved a full point from our October encounter. So, there's that.

I really wanted to believe we wouldn't allow any receivers behind us in the deep middle this time. Any defense that usually aligns two safeties as deep as we normally do should have deep middle covered, one would think. Well, OU decided to test our ass again and we failed miserably once again. We may have the best DB's (safeties) recruited but one things for sure---12 games ain't enough to teach/learn them stay as deep as the deepest receiver. I realize we work on all those fancy coverages but can't seem to find time to drive home that point---I guess it's a good thing every middle school in Texas starts out with that cardinal rule and works back to the LOS from there.

I was definitely surprised to find out we had decided to limit our pressure against their passing game. I have seen playing "piggy-piggy" to contain a punt/kickoff returner (even did it a time or two myself) but never have I seen it as opposed to actually rushing the passer like we did yesterday. In all my time watching this game I learned something new---instead of attempting to get upfield (pressure) simply slide with your dance partner as a way to help curtail their QB's ability to scramble. Of course, the downside is he might take a lunch break while picking out his choice of targets while your coverage guys run gassers chasing their guys. 

My last wtf is just how much we learned about our/their speed concerning our decision making from the first meeting this year. We must really believe we are very fast because I keep seeing our pursuit flat as hell and yet we come up short so often one would think we have misjudged own abilities. I keep hearing we are a very fast defense (our own DC) and yet all I see is those OU guys pulling away from us time after time. Are we playing as fast as our ability/talent should allow us to play? 

Here are the grades: 

90---Omenihu---B+

44---Hager---C+

91---Chisholm---B-

97---Nelson---B

94---Wilbon---B

32---Roach---B+

55---Christmas---B-

23---McCulloch---C+

33---Johnson---B+

45---Wheeler---B-

2---Boyd---C

7---Sterns---C+

11---Locke---C

15---Brown---B-

18---Davis---C+

19---Jones---B-

25---Foster---B-

29---Thompson---C-

Johnson (33) played well period. 

Omenihu (90) wasn't able to produce any big plays but held his ground well against a very good OT. 

Jones (19) was very active against the run but coverage was lacking at times.

Foster (25) is a much better player the closer to the LOS and blitzing seven ways from sundown. 

Brown (15) played well in a sub role for (7). 

Roach (32) played well---he play the game very fast/hard. 

Nelson (97) had a tough opponent (C) but fought the good fight. 

Speed kills and they had more of it against our big play guys. We missed so many tackles. We didn't bring our A game in too many areas. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat---we weren't good enough to beat them with the number of breakdowns we suffered. Once you add that we had too many individuals that are not fast enough to play average against their speed you have a losing proposition over a full game. 

Bowl game left but after that we need our S&C guy to get hold of this group---strength builds speed and this bunch needs to build both in my opinion.

My grading system is based on total points earned against number of plays played. The points are awarded individually on each and every separate play. There are five different possible grades for each play. Players may earn a plus three (3) for a five star type play—-plus two (2) for above average execution—-plus one (1) for doing their job successfully—-zero (0) for getting beat but knowing and attempting their assignment—-and minus 3 (-3) for a missed assignment.

Each player has a total number of points and a total number of his own individual plays. You divide the total number of plays into the total number of points which gives you scale. The grading scale is as follows:

Any player averaging one point per play (1.0) grades out a B which is winning football. If a player plays 60 plays with 60 total points he would earn a passing grade—each point he goes over the total number of plays raises his grade accordingly. The system is built around rewarding any player that doesn’t beat himself or his team with mental mistakes.

The system also punishes any player that knows what to do but loses too many individual battles. If a player plays 60 plays but loses 10 of those with zero special plays (60 plays—50 points) he falls below the 1.0 needed for a passing grade of B.

I use the plus/minus (A-, B+, etc,) when the numbers indicate a partial add or subtract from the grade. This system was used by my first coaching staff and I kinda carried it with me for thirty years—it’s not perfect but it gives the position coach a measuring stick for his individual players.

The only way to earn the highest grade of A is to play a perfect game. I’ve had exactly zero up to right now so great games still can be better so A- is a very popular second best. This system and my grades will always be subjective filled with agree and disagree opinions. It’s entirely fair for disagreement (without it we might not have horse races) but it’s important to remember that each play only counts once instead of allowing a big mistake to have major influence on an individual’s final grade.

[satyanash 14282]

Chip Brown: Todd Orlando didn't heed his own advice in Big 12 title game

ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando didn’t heed his own advice in the Longhorns' 39-27 loss to Oklahoma in Saturday's Big 12 Championship. Orlando told his guys, especially his seniors, he wanted them to take it all in and then cut it loose and let it all hang out, so there'd be no regrets. “We’re playing for a championship,” Orlando said last Wednesday. “What do we have to lose?”

So why didn’t Orlando heed his own advice? After doing a brilliant job of mixing fronts and pressures through the first quarter and a half against Oklahoma, becoming the first team all season to hold the Sooners out of the end zone in the first quarter, Orlando changed things up. He went to his version of the 3-8 cloud, rushing three and dropping eight into coverage. The result, like it’s been the second half of the season, was disaster.

For a quarter and a half, Orlando was using four- and five-man fronts and mixing pressures brilliantly, unsettling OU quarterback Kyler Murray and giving up only one explosive play - a run of 24 yards - while the Longhorns' built a 14-6 lead. Then, the Longhorns went to the 3-8 cloud and ended up clouding their chances of winning a Big 12 title. Texas promptly gave up a 46-yard pass from Murray to CeeDee Lamb, followed by a 28-yard touchdown pass from Murray to Lamb. That cut Texas’ led to 14-13.

It’d be one thing if Orlando’s defense ran the 3-8 cloud well. But it doesn’t. Not only is there no pass rush, but there are huge gaps in UT's zone coverage. Even worse, it takes Orlando and his attack-style-defense out of an attack mindset. You’d think that would’ve been lesson learned, causing Orlando to go back to mixing fronts and pressures like he had been - and like Orlando did brilliantly for four quarters in a 24-10 win over Iowa State.

But when OU got the ball back at its own 13 with 59 seconds left in the half, Texas was back in the 3-8 cloud - and got eviscerated. Murray ripped through Texas' cloud coverage like a tornado for a five-play, 80-yard, touchdown drive in 41 seconds. Forty-one seconds!

Under no pressure, Murray completed pass plays of 24, 20 and 17 yards — combined with a personal foul (facemask) on Texas’ B.J. Foster — before Murray hit tight end Grant Calcaterra for a 6-yard touchdown pass with 18 seconds left, putting OU up 20-14 at the half after scoring two touchdowns in 5:01 (after failing to score more than six points the previous 25 minutes).

All that after being burned for two big plays in the 3-8 cloud on OU’s previous scoring drive. “We backed off a little bit, but we should've been able to get cranked up,” said senior linebacker Gary Johnson, who finished with 11 tackles, including a tackle for loss, and had one of the plays of the game on a forced fumble midway through the fourth quarter.

When asked about the lack of pressure on Murray in the second quarter, when the game turned in OU’s favor Saturday, junior safety Brandon Jones said: “It was tough, especially with a guy like him who is versatile and can move around and make plays on the run. If you don’t get pressure, he’s going to make plays. He’s the type of quarterback that if he has enough time, he’s going to put the ball where it needs to be or he’ll run and make plays with his feet.”

Murray said after the game he was ready for UT’s 3-8 cloud. “A lot of teams started bringing three and dropping eight against us, because at some point you’ve got to stop the throw,” Murray said. “We were more prepared this time. The more you play against something, the more comfortable you get with it. As an offense, there’s no panic when we see it. We kinda know where to attack it. And on that (five-play, 41-second touchdown drive), we moved down the field. It was a crucial drive for us, and we put the ball in the end zone.”

Why did Orlando back off? Again? Like he did against West Virginia quarterback Will Grier, who was hit only twice the entire game against a ton of 3-8 cloud by Texas. And like Orlando did against Oklahoma State? And late in a near-loss to Baylor? Orlando isn’t made available by Tom Herman after games. But even Herman agreed the lack of pressure on Murray was a huge factor in Saturday’s loss.

“For him to sit back there for as long as he could,” Herman said, “and, you know, he gets a ton of credit — and deservedly so — for how quick and elusive he is. But his release and accuracy are elite as well.” In other words, the last thing you want to do is let Murray sit back in the pocket, set his feet and throw darts. For a quarter and a half, Orlando seemed to understand that. And then, he failed to heed his own advice as OU’s offense heated up and scored 21 unanswered points.

Orlando didn’t keep cutting it loose and playing as if “we have nothing to lose.” OU won the Big 12 Championship on Saturday, when Orlando backed off a little bit in the second quarter, and let OU’s likely Heisman Trophy finalist play like a Heisman Trophy finalist. It’s too bad Orlando didn’t heed his own advice.

[Knoxtnhorn 5941]

F Chip Brown but, unfortunately, he's right.

[utexas8 1433]

So Herman agrees that the lack of pressure was a reason for the loss. He’s the head coach then why don’t you do something in the middle of the game?

[taybo20 2815]

The throws were just too easy. Idk why we went to so much cloud, and not sure why we love to play off coverage so much, especially on blitz packages. Everything for us is very telegraphed and we always seem to run directly for a blocker. I get frustrated in how the DL don’t try to force double teams allowing for a free blitzer. Cloud coverage has been a disaster all year, and it was no difference yesterday