Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Sugar Bowl)

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

Jeff Howe: Texas takes down Georgia 28-21 in monster Sugar Bowl upset

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NEW ORLEANS — Entering the Tuesday’s Allstate Sugar Bowl between Texas and Georgia, the Bulldogs were supposed to have the more physical team, were supposed to be the team most capable of dominating the line of scrimmage and — being one of the true big dogs of the SEC — were supposed to too much for the Longhorns handle.

Kirby Smart brought a crew to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome that looked like every bit of one of the best teams in the country, but Georgia wasn’t too much for Tom Herman and Texas to handle. With the defense under Todd Orlando putting the clamps on Jake Fromm and the Georgia offense for the better part of three quarters and Sam Ehlinger and the offense putting together physical scoring drives when they had to, the Longhorns scored arguably the program’s biggest win of the current decade with 28-21 victory over Bulldogs.

For Texas (10-4), the win gets the Longhorns to the program 10 victories in a season for the first time since 2009, which also the calendar year in which Texas last won a New Year’s Six bowl game (the 2009 Fiesta Bowl at the end of the 2008 season). Georgia (11-3) becomes the second No. 6-ranked team in the Associated Press Top 25 to fall to the Longhorns this season (Texas beat No. 6 Oklahoma, 48-45, on Oct. 6).

The dominant brand of defense Texas displayed in the first half bled into the third quarter. Georgia’s first drive went down in flames as Fromm was intercepted on a wobbly throw deep and over the middle of the field by P.J. Locke III and in a period where the Longhorns couldn’t get on the board, Georgia had an 11-play drive end in a punt and another drive go three-and-out as the Bulldogs averaged just 3.7 yards per play in the quarter.

The three-out-and, for all intents and purposes, was Georgia missing a window to get back into the game before the Longhorns could extend the lead to a three-touchdown margin. The ensuing drive following the Georgia punt saw Texas benefit from a 13-yard run by Tre Watson (featuring a tremendous block on the edge by Samuel Cosmi to spring him free) and a 35-yard bomb from Ehlinger to Collin Johnson with a 2-yard run by Ehlinger giving the Longhorns a goal-to-go situation to start the fourth quarter.

On fourth-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line, Ehlinger’s fourth crack at reaching the end zone proved to be the charm as he scored his third rushing touchdown of the night, a score that was upheld upon review. Rather than kick the extra point, Texas went for two and it connected as Ehlinger hit Johnson on a jump ball in the end zone where the 6-foot-6-inch Johnson made a great adjustment in the air to secure the catch and give the Longhorns a lead that seemed like an unfathomable achievement entering the game, 28-7.

Other than a few missed opportunities in the form of the inability to fully maximize cashing in on Georgia miscues like turnovers and field position the Bulldogs gave away, Texas dominated the first half in every way imaginable en route to building a two-score lead at halftime. The Longhorns had the edge over the Bulldogs at the break in first downs (10-9), rushing yards (80-29), passing yards (98-89), total yards (178-118) and time of possession (15:14-14:46) while Texas had the edge in the turnover battle, 1-0.

Texas need didn’t do anything other than to get the offense on the field and execute right out of the gate open up an early lead, 7-0, after the first series. Ehlinger had a 5-for-5 throwing the football on the opening drive of the game after Georgia won the toss and deferred to the second half, including a 16-yard blitz-beating screen pass to Keaontay Ingram and an 8-yard strike to Lil'Jordan Humphrey on a slant to move the sticks on third down.

One play after the pitch and catch with Humphrey, Ehlinger called his own number over the right side of the line for a 2-yard touchdown run to put an exclamation point on a 10-play, 75-yard drive that set the tone for the Longhorns from the jump. Texas caught a break to extend the lead to 10-0 when the knee of Georgia punter Jake Camadara was ruled to have touched the ground, resulting in the Longhorns taking over possession at the Georgia 27-yard line.

Rather than having to drive the ball down the field from inside their own 10-yard line, the Longhorns benefitted from a drive that only netted the offense only six yards as Cameron Dicker put points on the board by booting home a 37-yard field goal. Texas caught another break late in the quarter when Ta'Quon Graham ripped the ball out of the arms of Georgia running back D'Andre Swift, giving the Longhorns the ball at the Georgia 12.

This time around, the Longhorns would do more than settle for a field goal, making the most of what was quickly turning into a mistake-filled first half for the Bulldogs. On the first play of the second quarter, a third-and-7 for Texas from the Georgia 9-yard line, Ehlinger pulled the ball down after dropping back to pass and weaved his way into the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown to give Texas a sizeable lead, 17-0.

Georgia finally had an answer for the Longhorns and got on the board on their the ensuing possession for Fromm and Co. The Bulldogs drove the ball 75 yards in 12 plays — a 12-yard connection from Fromm to Riley Ridley to move the chains on third-and-11 at the Texas 29-yard line going down as the biggest play of the drive — and stuck in the end zone on a nicely-executed throw and catch down the seam from Fromm to Brian Herrien for 17 yards.

Texas went to work and the offense came through with a hugely important series at a time when it looked like Georgia might be ready to make a move. A 17-yard scramble by Ehlinger where he broke free from a would-be sack before racing down the field and a 20-yard run by Watson where he avoided being taken down around the line of scrimmage before darting free down the sideline highlighted an 11-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard field goal by Dicker for the final points of the first half.
16COMMENTS

A first half dominated defensively by the Longhorns ended on a high note. Orlando brought pressure at Fromm throughout the first two quarters of play, but it didn’t get to him until third-and-10 from the Texas 31 on Georgia’s final series of prior to halftime when Anthony Wheeler came up the gut and brought Fromm down for a 9-yard loss, forcing the Bulldogs to punt and allowing the Longhorns to run out the clock — including a critical 52-yard punt by Ryan Bujcevski — and take a 13-point lead into the locker room.

(Mike Roach) Snap Judgments: Texas proves toughness in Sugar Bowl win.

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How sweet it is! In year two of the Tom Herman era, the Texas longhorns won 10 games and capped off the season with a win in a New Years Six bowl. Did I mention that they did it against the No. 5 Georgia team that many felt should have been in the playoff? I’m not sure I can think of a better way for Texas fans to start 2019.

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Toughness and physicality won this game. Tom Herman spoke about being the most physical team since day one, and that showed in the thrilling finale. Not only did they play tough, but they picked the right spots to do it. Texas didn’t try to run into a brick wall for 60 minutes, but with the game on the line they were able to be the bully against a team that went toe to toe with Alabama a few weeks ago. The goal line series early in the fourth quarter where Sam Ehlinger ran the power four straight times will have a place in Texas history. The Longhorns lined up man on man with one of the SEC’s best defenses and didn’t back down. Teams feed off the energy of their quarterback, and most of the time they take on his personality. Texas is tougher as a team because of Sam Ehlinger. If there were any remaining Sam Ehlinger doubters out there, I think they’re probably in hiding. It doesn’t always look pretty, but Sam proved throughout the year that the lights aren’t too bright for him. His emergence is the best thing to happen to this program in the last decade.

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Speaking of toughness, how about the performance from Tre Watson? He sealed off a tremendous block on Ehlinger’s second touchdown run, and aside from that he produced several huge runs in moments where Texas needed them. I’m not sure anyone expected the contribution he gave the Longhorns this year, but Texas will need to figure out how to replace that production next season. The first drive was scripted as well as any drive has ever been under this staff. The Texas coaches knew they wouldn’t match up well playing head to head with Georgia, and they did a great job finding openings to gain chunk yardage and sustain an impressive scoring drive.

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Georgia was in prime position to cut the lead to one score with 7 minutes left, and Todd Orlando dialed up three devastating blitz packages. They resulted in a sack and two incomplete passes leading to a three-and-out. That was in a spot where the Longhorns have surrendered big leads throughout the season. Charles Omenihu showed up big time in his last collegiate game. What a tremendous evaluation by Charlie Strong’s staff, not to mention a great job by both staffs to develop him over time. Barring injury, he’s going to have a long career in the NFL. The Longhorns struggled on third down in the first half, but Anthony Wheeler’s sack on third down late in the first half was one of the biggest plays of the game. The play took Georgia out of field goal range, and the Longhorns were able to take a thirteen-point lead into the half. One thing that stood out to me all season and continued tonight was the technique of defensive backs on pass plays. Credit to Craig Naivar and Jason Washington for teaching their guys to play through the hands even when they are beaten deep.

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I can’t wait to see Joseph Ossai next year with a year in the offseason program under his belt. He played pretty strong on the edge and seemed to be a constant presence around the ball. Keaontay Ingram should see a huge jump in his game after an offseason with Yancy McKnight. There were several runs this year that he could have finished with more authority. Texas played a clean game for 59 minutes, and then all hell broke loose. Davante Davis and Anthony Cook were both called for targeting, and Gary Johnson threw a punch in the ensuing scrum. Cook’s targeting call showed no intent, but the resulting yardage gave Georgia hope in the waning minutes.

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The nature of my work leads me to ponder what this win does for recruiting. Obviously, there won’t be much opportunity in 2019 with the majority of the class signed, but it could help with a guy like Bru McCoy who will make his decision in a few days. Outside of that, this is huge for 2020 as Texas no longer has to sell a rebuild. As good as this season was, finishing with ten wins is so much bigger than losing two straight to end it with nine.

Wescott Eberts: No. 15 Texas smothers No. 5 Georgia in physical and defining Sugar Bowl win, 28-21

Jake Rowe: Texas rocks Georgia 28-21 in Sugar Bowl

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NEW ORLEANS, La. -- A brutal start that included turnovers, miscues, and overall uninspired play silenced Georgia's gripes about being left out of the College Football Playoff Tuesday as the No. 5 Bulldogs were defeated soundly at the hands of No. 15 Texas by a score of 28-14. Jake Fromm had a similar showing as the last time he visited the Bayou State, missing the mark on a number of potential game-changing throws as the Bulldog offense scored just seven points in the first half. He completed 20 of 34 passes for 212 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in the loss. UGA also had a hard time getting the ground game going, rushing for just 72 yards on 30 carries.

The Longhorns looked unstoppable on their opening drive, traveling 75 yards in 10 plays, converting a pair of third-down opportunities through the air. Sam Ehlinger punched it in from two yards to put Texas up 7-0. It didn't get much better from there for the Bulldogs. After grabbing just one first down on its opening drive, UGA was forced to punt. An errant snap by Nick Moore forced freshman punter Jake Camarda to a knee to field it. It gave Texas the ball at Georgia's 27-yard line and negated a punt that the Bulldogs downed at the Longhorn seven-yard line. Texas was able to get three points out of the excellent field position but only gained seven yards on three plays. Cameron Dicker connected on a 37-yard field goal to put his team up 10-0.

Two possessions later, Georgia made it's second major mistake of the game. Pinned at the 10-yard line to start the drive, D'Andre Swift fumbled a second-down handoff after gaining six yards. It was recovered by the Longhorns at Georgia's 12-yard line. Ehlinger punched it in three plays later from nine yards out for his second touchdown of the day, making the score 17-0 in favor of Tom Herman's crew.

Georgia offense got going on its next possession with a much-needed 12-play, 75-yard drive that took over five minutes of game clock. A 17-yard pass from Fromm to Brian Herrien cut Texas' lead to 17-7. After a fairly uneventful third quarter, Texas reached the end zone once again in the fourth when Tom Herman put the ball in the hands of Ehlinger four-straight times from the one-yard line. He punched it in on the last try and a two-point conversion pass to Collin Johnson made the score 28-7.

Kirby Smart and company wouldn't go quietly. The Bulldogs responded with a six-play, 67-yard drive on their next possession with Fromm connecting with Mecole Hardman Jr. for a four-yard touchdown. Rodrigo Blankenship's PAT cut the Longhorn lead to 28-14.

But that drive was too little, too late. The Bulldogs defense would force a punt and get the ball back to the offense with almost seven minutes left but a first-down sack by the Longhorn defense led to a three and out. Georgia punted and didn't get it back until there were 70 seconds left to play. The Bulldogs were able to tack on another touchdown when Fromm connected with D'Andre Swift from five yards out with 14 seconds left, but the ensuing onside kick attempt failed, sealing UGA's fate.

Elijah Holyfield eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in the loss, joining D'Andre Swift. It marks the second time in as many seasons the Bulldogs have had two 1,000-yard rushers. The loss gives the Bulldogs an 11-3 record on the 2018 season. Texas moves to 10-4 on the year.

Rusty Mansell: Final thoughts on Sugar Bowl loss

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-Tip your cap to Texas they were ready to play, they flat out whipped UGA up front on both sides of the ball. Their QB is one tough dude and made play after play for the Longhorns, this game will likely propel him into some offseason Heisman talk because he does so much.

-Georgia played as bad it has all year, especially the first half. Jake Fromm has been as good as any QB in the country the 2nd half of the season, but he missed some easy throws tonight. Two were possibly touchdowns.

-There is not really much you can say about this game, Texas got after UGA from the starting whistle until the end. Not being able to run the ball really surprised me.

-Georgia had missing pieces tonight on defense and that is valid, but on offense their pieces were there and they did not make it work. Fromm didn’t look like he could identify who was going to blitz when they went five wide either, that is surprising honestly.

-The bigger picture is this team and how they will handle off season. Holly Rowe touched on it, but there were some times in bowl practices I heard this team was not handling things well. Some were not exactly getting after it and the coaches were concerned with it.

-Georgia is going to need some leaders emerge on this team moving forward. Everyone knows this team has a ton of returning players coming back and will have a lot of off season hype. They need some leaders to emerge and that is off the field.

-Said it all season, replacing Chubb, Michel, Carter, Smith and Bellamy off the field was just as important as on the field. I never sensed they had one guy this year much less 4-5 of them.

-Going to be interesting who UGA brings in on the defensive staff as a DC or a DB coach. They have some very talented young players on this roster.

-With all that being said, UGA lost the last two games of this year. They are bringing back the most talent I can remember on a Georgia roster in my life time. What can they do with it? There will be pressure on this team no doubt about it.

-Would imagine the twitter talk will be a teaching point forever to teams and not just Georgia..

 

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Thanks for posting this

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(Ian Boyd) 5 Quick thoughts: When Bevo came for Uga

"You have to be Texas tough to beat these top SEC teams." -Texas after this game, probably. This was a huge narrative win for Texas. They beat the team that was supposed to be in the playoffs over Notre Dame. They beat the team that Oklahoma couldn't beat a year ago. They beat an SEC power that Texas A&M hasn't beaten this century. They beat the spread (Georgia +13!!!!).

And they did it with toughness, outrushing Georgia 178 to 72 and controlling the game from start to finish, even finishing with 35 minutes of possession. Sam Ehlinger was warned by Jake Fromm about the level of physicality he was in for from Georgia and it was a good warning, the Dawgs landed some big hits. But Georgia should have been better warned about Ehlinger and Fromm probably took the worst of it, enduring a couple of sacks and several big hits from the Longhorn defense.

Texas also officially finished the 2018 season with 10 wins and a pair of victories over top 10 teams. They also appeared in the Big 12 title game and had a chance to win in the fourth quarter. Of course things got a little interesting in the fourth quarter in the Sugar Bowl, like every other game this season. Every. Single. One. But Bevo set the tone early...

...and Georgia's players looked no better prepared than their mascot for the goring that Texas had in mind for them in this contest.

Quick thought no. 1: Sugar Bowl MVP Charles Omenihu?

Georgia wasn't ready for Omenihu in this game. He was in the backfield all day long, flushing out Fromm, inflicting TFLs on the vaunted Dawg run game, and basically erasing Georgia's main selling point as a program. Kirby Smart's Georgia is built around running the football downhill behind a massive and physical OL to what appears to be a permanently two-headed dog (three someday if they can convince Justin Fields to stay) in the backfield.

Elijah Holyfield joined D'Andre Swift as a 1k-yard rusher this season but outside of that, it was a quiet and disappointing day for the Bulldogs. Todd Orlando helped him out a lot, he understands how to stuff run-centric offense as well as any DC in the country. Texas used the timed insert-blitz and some other tricks to create angles and matchups for their DL and Omenihu was too strong, too quick, and too big for even the big Georgia OL to handle. Charles, you will be missed, enjoy that NFL payday.

Quick thought no. 2: Georgia did scout the Texas offense, they just couldn't stop it

The Bulldogs played a lot of two-deep coverage. They were determined not to let Texas find Lil'Jordan Humphrey in the seam or Collin Johnson over the top. Ehlinger finished the day with just 169 passing yards at 6.3 ypa with zero TDs or INTs (close calls on each though). Georgia was counting on being able to run the ball on Texas' front and stopping up the Texas run game without overloading the box on defense.

Well, Tre Watson ran really hard in this game with 91 yards on 18 carries and Ehlinger added 64 and three touchdowns. That gave Ehlinger 16 rushing TDs on the year, breaking Vince Young's record. The Longhorns worked GT counter in a few different ways with a few different QB options attached including some swing passes and some keeper options that worked to help Texas punch holes for the RB at the point of attack. At the end of the game they had good clock-killing runs with the tight zone play, especially running it behind RT Sam Cosmi.

Georgia clearly struggled with Texas' tempo. Incidentally, Kirby Smart and Nick Saban picked Tom Herman's brain about how Ohio State beat them back in the day and Herman told them about how the Buckeyes knew they were vulnerable to tempo. The problem is that if you don't face it like you do in the Big 12, it's hard to really master the art of stopping it, to the extent you can. It's obvious that Big 12 style offense is indeed superior to the offense played in other conferences. It's not just the lack of good defenses in the Big 12, it's also that the tactics and skill are superior.

But anyways, Georgia tried to out-tough Texas in the trenches and win that way and failed. That's pretty promising for a program that isn't what they will be in future seasons as a downhill rushing team. Well, save for their QB run package...

Quick thought no. 3: Ehlinger put the T back in Texas

Texas utilized what I like to call the "dread-wing" formation in this game.

This is schematic end game in the spread offense. They kept Beck in the box in position to block for QB power and then flexed out four receivers to put Georgia in an impossible bind. You can't get safety help over Johnson AND Humphrey here and then also get six defenders in the box to stop six blockers. That means that Texas had a chance to win the point of attack and get Ehlinger into the second level with downhill momentum. Georgia had no answers unless they were backed up on the goal line to where they could just bring their safeties into the box. There are no answers except to beat blockers working with angles and then try to tackle Ehlinger, both of which are pretty difficult.

The Tim Tebow comparisons have always been pretty good and Ehlinger lived up to them, taking shots and watching Bulldogs bounce off of him while pounding Georgia for three touchdowns and 75 yards on 19 carries (after removing sack yardage). If you were curious whether 230 pounds of will and athleticism could translate against higher level opponents, wonder no longer. Props to Lil'Jordan Humphrey as well, who took a lot of big shots moving the chains over the middle over the course of the game and ended up delivering the final blow late in the fourth quarter. Mess with the bull, get the horns.

Quick thought no. 4: Georgia ran into a buzzsaw

Georgia coughed the ball up three times, if you count the botched punt where the kicker's knee went down while he was corralling a low snap. D'Andre Swift fumbled twice and Texas recovered one, should have recovered both but Gary Johnson tried to scoop and score on the second one and wasn't able to come up with the ball. Jake Fromm was confounded by the Texas defense and threw a pick to P.J. Locke an instant before taking a hit from Anthony Wheeler.

Those two players had their struggles facing Big 12 offenses this season but they were ready to go in this one. The Bulldogs didn't have a good gameplan for this contest. It was obvious enough from film this season that Texas had a physical and tactically lethal run defense but could be had if you spread them out, executed with tempo, and caught them in some of their frequently poorly executed overload blitzes on third down.

If you see Texas line up with 2-3 DL to one side of a formation and everyone else standing up, you can be about 99% sure those DL are going to slant to the opposite side and be replaced by multiple blitzers who may or may not be coming in a timely fashion. Georgia certainly wasn't shocked to find that to be the case and converted 6-13 third downs. However, they didn't press their advantages in the passing game but got caught trying to run inside zone into run blitzes time and time again.

Also notable, Texas trotted out a three-safety tandem of Brandon Jones, P.J. Locke, and B.J. Foster in this game. Those guys all play downhill and bring hat really well, but all three can also be had in the passing game. Georgia wasn't ready to play that style of game. They figured that they could be their normal big, bad SEC selves and out-physical Texas on both sides of the ball en route to victory. They were wrong.

Quick thought no. 5: Texas is back!!!!

Sam Ehlinger said so and if you disagree you're welcome to take it up with him.

 

     

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Jeff Howe: Upset of Georgia improves Herman's impressive underdog record

NEW ORLEANS — There’s something about being an underdog that brings out the best in Tom Herman. Texas entered the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Tuesday as an 11.5-point underdog to Georgia, but Kirby Smart the Bulldogs suffered the same fate so many favorites have when going up against a squad led by Herman hungry to prove they belong on the same field with a perceived superior opponent. The surprising 28-21 victory the Longhorns netted over the Bulldogs in front of a rowdy crowd of 71,449 fans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome was a game Texas (9-4) controlled for the vast majority of four quarters. Georgia (11-2) became the latest victim to fall to an underdog bunch coached by Herman, who improved his record to 13-2-1 against the spread as an underdog.

Examining Herman’s record further, he’s 8-2-1 against the spread as an underdog since taking over the Texas program. Perhaps even more impressive than the covers are the 10 outright wins against the spread as an underdog Herman has recorded (five each at the University of Houston and with the Longhorns). Georgia is a special one, however, due to the Bulldogs becoming the first double-digit favorite to fall to Texas since Herman took over the program. The Longhorns have only been a double-digit underdog one other time under Herman, which saw Texas drop a 27-24 decision to USC in double overtime on the road in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in a game where the Trojans were a 16.5-point favorite.

The last time Texas won a game as a double-digit underdog also came away from Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. It was the 2015 season finale, a 23-17 win over Baylor at McLane Stadium to close out a 5-7 season under Charlie Strongin a victory that proved to be the last home game for Art Briles as the head coach of the Bears.

Needless to say, things have changed for the Longhorns since then. The win over Georgia allowed Texas to get to 10 wins, something the program hasn’t done since the 2009 season. The year Colt McCoy, Earl Thomas and the rest of the Longhorns won the Big 12, went 13-1 and played for the national championship was one season after the program’s last BCS/New Year’s Six bowl victory, a win over Ohio State in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl to close out the 2008 season.

By winning convincingly winning battles within the game like rushing yardage (178-72), total yards (355-296) and turnovers (2-0), the Longhorns recorded one of the most impressive wins in the recent history of the program. That’s the way Herman has won as an underdog in previous outings and it’s becoming more of an expectation than a surprise for the Longhorns to rise up and deliver when their backs are against the wall. “Just really proud of the physical nature in which we played this game,” Herman said after the game. “At this point in our program's trajectory, that's what we're going to need to do to win — we have got to out-hustle people, we've got to out-hit people and we've got to play with a purpose and a passion greater than anybody in the country. Tonight, I feel like we did that.”

Chip Brown: Good, Bad and Ugly from Texas' Sugar Bowl upset of Georgia

NEW ORLEANS — A picture of Bevo on the video board of the Superdome with 6:40 left in Tuesday night's Sugar Bowl got one of the largest ovations of the night. It was Bevo who set the tone for the night during pre-game, when he got one look at Georgia’s live mascot Bulldog UGA and charged out of his pen, sending onlookers (including Horns247’s Taylor Estes and myself) scrambling for cover.

But the Longhorns charged into 2019 and into the first quarter in Bevo-like fashion and never looked back, winning 28-21as a sledge-hammering Sam Ehlinger, who finished with 21 carries for 64 yards and a Sugar Bowl-record three touchdown runs, and a suffocating Texas defense led UT to the upset. Ehlinger was 10-of-13 passing for 90 yards with two rushing touchdowns in the first half, while the Texas defense held Georgia’s powerful rushing attack to 29 yards on 20 carries in the first half and just 72 yards rushing for the game.

With Georgia starting to gain some momentum after cutting Texas’ lead to 28-14 and then forcing a punt, Gary Johnson came up with a huge sack of Jake Fromm on first down for a 4-yard loss. The Longhorns were then able force two straight incompletions and a punt with 6:43 left. Texas then put the game away with soul-crushing drive to a field-goal attempt missed by Cameron Dicker with 1:10 left to play. The defining play of the drive was a third-and-6 pass from Ehlinger to Lil'Jordan Humphrey, who ran over linebacker Adam Anderson short of the first down and then ran for another 11 yards.

THE GOOD

Ehlinger finished 19 of 27 passing for 169 yards and ran 21 times for 64 punishing yards and three touchdowns, setting a Sugar Bowl record for most rushing TDs by a quarterback.

Georgia came into the Sugar Bowl averaging 251.6 yards per game on the ground, led by star backs D'Andre Swift and Elijah Holyfield. Texas held the Bulldogs under 100 yards rushing (72).

Elijah Rodriguez appeared to recover a fumble at the Texas 37 by Tre Watson at the end of a 12-yard run midway through the fourth quarter.

EHLINGER’S THIRD TD RUN PUTS TEXAS UP 28-7: Ehlinger is going to wake up battered and bruised after the 14-play, 70-yard drive to his third touchdown run with with 11:49 left to play. Ehlinger then threw a back-shoulder pass to Collin Johnson for the 2-point conversion, putting Texas up 28-7. Ehlinger ran the ball on the final six plays of the drive and took hard hits on every one of them. On third-and-10 from the 11 Ehlinger ran for a first down but took a crushing hit from Georgia end Jay Hayes at the 1.

Ehlinger ran the ball on the final six plays of the drive and took hard hits on every one of them. On third-and-10 from the 11 Ehlinger ran for a first down but took a crushing hit from Georgia end Jay Hayes at the 1. Herman then ran Ehlinger four straight times with his sophomore quarterback finally scoring on fourth-and-goal from the 1. Ehlinger then threw a back-shoulder pass to Collin Johnson for the 2-point conversionn It was Ehlinger’s second, fourth-down conversion of the drive, which took 5:37 off the clock.

Johnson’s first reception of the Sugar Bowl didn’t come until the final minute of the third quarter, but it was a big one, for 35 yards to the Georgia 22. Johnson’s second catch came two plays later for 2 yards, and then Ehlinger converted a fourth-and-1 from the Georgia 13 with a 2-yard run.

Right tackle Sam Cosmi had a great seal block on Georgia DE Robert Beal (who replaced injured starter D’Andre Walker), freeing Tre Watson for a 13-yard run around right end on second-and-10 to the Texas 43 late in the third quarter.

B.J. Foster had a great pass breakup on a deep ball from Jake Fromm intended for Jeremiah Holloman down the left sideline with 3:53 left in the third quarter. That play was followed by Jeffrey McCulloch flushing Fromm from the pocket on third-and-7 and dropping for only a 5-yard gain, forcing punt.

Officials initially ruled Ehlinger threw a third-down interception at the Georgia 10-yard-line (on a deep ball to Devin Duvernay against double coverage) with 4:00 left in the third quarter. But upon further review, the call was reversed, and Texas was forced to punt (a holding call on Patrick Vahe was declined by UGA on the play).

Sam Ehlinger connected with Lil'Jordan Humphrey for a 6-yard gain on third-and-5 from the Texas 11, and Humphrey did a great job of hanging onto the ball despite a huge hit from UGA linebacker Juwan Taylor.

Jeffrey McCulloch got pressure on Fromm on a first-down pass attempt, and Malcolm Roach got pressure on Fromm on third-and-5, leading to another incomplete pass and forcing a punt with 7:41 left in the third quarter.

Texas held the Georgia rushing attack to 29 yards on 20 carries in the first half (1.5 yards per carry). Meanwhile, Tre Watson ran the ball 10 times for 49 yards (4.9 ypc) with an incredible, long run of 20 yards in which he broke a tackle at the line and bounced outside down the right sideline.

Texas was flagged only twice for 10 yards in the first half. Georgia was flagged once for a 15-yard personal foul on the final play of the first half.

After an unsuccessful onside kick to start the second half, Anthony Wheelergot pressure on Jake Fromm, forcing a hurried throw that was intercepted by P.J. Locke at the Texas 17 and returned 22 yards to the 39 with 12:50 left in the third quarter.

Texas freshman punter Ryan Bucjevski boomed a rugby punt that rolled to a stop 52 yards down the field on the final play of the first half, after Georgia called a timeout with 14 seconds left to try to set up a return for Mecole Hardman, who has a punt return for a touchdown this season.

Georgia receiver Tyler Simmons was flagged for a personal foul (unnecessary roughness) for cheap-shotting P.J. Locke while Bujcevski’s punt on the final play of the first half was rolling to a stop. Georgia was penalized 15 yards on the opening kick of the second half.

Anthony Wheeler blitzed right up the middle of Georgia’s line and dropped Jake Fromm for a 9-yard sack on third-and-10, knocking the Bulldogs out of field-goal range and forcing a punt with 1:07 left in the first half.

Davante Davis had a nice pass breakup in the end zone on a pass intended for Jeremiah Holloman with 1:19 left in the half, bringing up third-and-10 from the UT 31.

Tre Watson ducked into the line and then broke a tackle and bounced outside to the right and ran for a 20-yard gain to the UGA 15 with six minutes left in the half.

Sam Ehlinger ducked out of a sack by Georgia’s Robert Beal and then ran down the left sideline for a 17-yard pickup midway through the second quarter.

Charles Omenihu, B.J. Foster and Kris Boyd all had early tackles for loss that helped kill Georgia drives.

Georgia freshman punter Jake Camarda’s rough start continued with an 11-yard shank off the right side of his foot, giving Texas the ball at the 50 with 3:59 left in the first quarter.

The Longhorns’ defense continued to attack on Georgia’s second possession, using a four-man front with Joseph Ossai as the B-backer standing up on the line. Sometimes Ossai would rush, sometimes he’d drop, and Orlando used blitz pressure to stuff UGA’s second drive.

Georgia freshman punter Jake Camardawent low for the snap and inadvertently put his knee on the ground when he caught it, giving Texas the ball at the Georgia 27 after UGA’s first possession. Texas parlayed that into a 37-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker, putting Texas up 10-0 with 6:05 left in the first quarter.

Texas’ defense came out attacking on the Georgia’s first possession, sending Anthony Wheeler on a blitz and B.J. Foster on a delayed blitz, and the Longhorns were able to force a punt after Charles Omenihu and Foster pressured Jake Fromm into an incompletion on third-and-9 from the UGA 41.

EHLINGER PERFECT 5-5 PASSING, SCORES ON OPENING DRIVE: Sam Ehlinger connected on 5-of-5 passes on Texas’ opening drive, including a 19-yard completion to Lil'Jordan Humphrey in which teammates pushed him forward 8 yards, and then Ehlinger run it in for a 2-yard touchdown, capping UT’s opening, 10-play, 75-yard drive that took 4:25 off the clock, putting UT up 7-0 with 10:35 left in the first quarter.

On third-and-7 from the Georgia 10 on UT’s opening drive, Ehlinger found Humphrey on an in route for an 8-yard gain, setting up first-and-goal from the 2. After the completion, Texas raced to the line of scrimmage in max tempo, and Ehlinger ran QB power behind Andrew Beck and Ingram into the end zone for the score.

Texas attacked the edges of the Georgia defense on the Longhorns’ first drive as Ehlinger connected on a lateral to Tre Watson for a 7-yard gain on first down and also a swing pass to Keaontay Ingram for 16 yards on third-and-4.

Davante Davis and Anthony Cook were both called for targeting in the final two minutes of the game, and Cook, a likely starter at cornerback next season, will have to miss the first half of UT's opener against Louisiana Tech.

Patrick Vahe failed to pick up a stunt and allowed Georgia DT Devonte Wyattto sack Ehlinger for a 6-yard loss on third-and-4, forcing a Texas punt with 7:30 left in the game.

After Texas went up 28-7 following a 14-play, touchdown drive, Georgia needed only 1:15 to go 67 yards in six plays for a 3-yard touchdown pass from Jake Fromm to Mecole Hardman, cutting the Longhorns’ lead to 28-14 with 10:25 left to play.

After B.J. Foster forced a fumble by D’Andre Swift (nearly recovered by Gary Johnson) for a 3-yard loss, Davante Davis appeared to have Riley Ridleystopped for a 9-yard reception on second-and-13. But Ridley spun out of Davis’ tackle without his knee touching the turf and ran for another 15 yards, picking up a gain of 24 to the Texas 42 with two minutes left in the first half.

Despite Texas’ continued pressure, Jake Fromm finally settled down early in the second quarter, converting a critical, third-and-11 with a 12-yard pass to Riley Ridley to the Texas 17. After Gerald Wilbon stuffed D’Andre Swift for no gain, Fromm did a great job of spotting a blitz by P.J. Locke and hitting running back Brian Herrien with a pass in the space Locke just vacated for a 17-yard touchdown with 9:03 left in the first half.

Caden Sterns (knee) was kept out of the Sugar Bowl because of his injury.

THE UGLY

What would’ve happened to Georgia’s little bulldog if Bevo had gotten his Horns on him.

[satyanash 14282]

(Horns247) Sugar Bowl Grades: Texas shows SEC what Big 12 teams can do

Quarterbacks

Sam Ehlinger didn’t light it up throwing the ball, but he didn’t really need to.What he did do was put the game on his back and bully an SEC defense full of blue-chip players. Ehlinger accounted for 233 yards and three touchdowns en route to an MVP performance. Aside from the touchdowns, the most important number was zero turnovers.Ehlinger also did a great job arranging protections and getting the Longhorns into the right play pre-snap.

Grade: A

Running Backs

Texas had some difficulty running the ball at times, but they got some big plays when they needed them from Tre Watson. His 18 carries for 91 yards helped Texas sustain some drives and keep Georgia off of the field. Keaontay Ingram didn’t look ready to face an elite defense. Texas had to rely on Sam Ehlinger in tough yardage situations.

Grade: B-

Wide Receivers

It’s hard to believe Texas won this game without monster contributions from Collin Johnson and Lil'Jordan Humphrey, but they did. In the end, the game plan called for a different style.Humphrey led the way with 67 yards, and he came up with timely plays more than anything. Collin Johnson’s two-point conversion catch was obviously big, but he was very quiet on the evening.

Grade: C+

Tight End

Texas barely relied on the position in the passing game as Andrew Beck finished with one catch for five yards. He did help with protection and run blocking, but he also had a penalty when Texas was driving for a score. The tight end position grew leaps and bounds this year, but there is still a ways to go.

Grade: C-

Offensive Line

The offensive line definitely had their moments, but they also gave up some pressure to an undermanned Georgia front. It was going to take an average performance from this unit to get things done, and that’s what they got. The run blocking left a lot to be desired, but they were pretty solid in pass protection.

Grade: C+

Offense

For the first time all year, the team played a balanced game and didn’t need to depend on one side of the ball to carry them. The offense was effective even though they weren’t terribly explosive. There were times that they failed to gain yards or points in spots where they could have put Georgia away, but they did enough.Efficiency and a clean game ruled the day and propelled Texas to a defining win for Tom Herman.

Grade: B+

********

Defensive Linemen

Charles Omenihu played a fantastic game, and the Texas defensive line went toe to toe with one of the most physical teams in the country. The Longhorns did lack a dangerous pass rush, but their effort in holding Georgia to 72 yards rushing was nothing short of heroic. The coaching staff emptied the tank by playing just about every defensive lineman on the roster, and they came up big.

Grade: A

Linebackers

In a game that suited Anthony Wheeler, he came up with a few big plays including a huge sack late in the first half. Gary Johnson was all over the field while Joseph Ossai proved the lights were not too bright for him as he led the team in tackles. Johnson contributed five tackles and a sack, and they backed up the defensive line with a strong performance against a dangerous run game.

Grade: A

Defensive Backs

Texas didn’t experience the coverage breakdowns they’ve seen all year, and the secondary didn’t give up any huge plays to put Georgia back in it. Kris Boyd was strong in his final game, and Davante Davis played solid on the other side. B.J. Foster made several huge plays after getting the start in place of Caden Sterns. Texas gave up points on three passing touchdowns, but they forced an interception and kept Georgia receivers off the stat sheet for most of the night.

Grade: B

Special Teams

Solid is the only way to describe the special teams unit. They didn’t make an incredible impact, but they also didn’t do anything to put the game in jeopardy.While Georgia’s punter made costly mistakes, Ryan Bujcevski executed well enough to flip the field multiple times.Cameron Dicker missed a late field goal, but he was steady on makeable distances.

Grade: B-

Defense

What an effort from a group who was maligned for much of the season. To hold Georgia’s explosive offense to under 300 yards is one thing, but holding one of the best rushing attacks to 72 yards was herculean.

Grade: A

[Bruh Man 3160]

no bobby?

[satyanash 14282]

35 minutes ago, Bruh Man said:

no bobby?

Bobby's been away/unable to write for whatever reason. Mike Roach had to write the Snap Judgments piece instead, for example.

[Goredho 17358]

Been waiting for this thread.  Out of rep due to post-victory premature erepulation, but thanks.

Edited January 2, 2019 by Goredho

[texasstrong12 4668]

Too bad. I needed Bobby to tell me again that LJH was was the worst take in our recruiting class. 

[Machinator 32098]

 

[Barry_McCokiner 160]

Why did Roach mention Bru? He's already signed.

[Machinator 32098]

21 minutes ago, Barry_McCokiner said:

Why did Roach mention Bru? He's already signed.

That's not been confirmed yet.

[Barry_McCokiner 160]

16 minutes ago, Machinator said:

That's not been confirmed yet.

I thought OB confirmed. 

[Machinator 32098]

Inside Texas Offensive Report Card---Sugar Bowl

We made fewer mistakes last night and what few we made were not the drive killing big boys we normally make in close tight games. Good football teams stay focused and proud to execute down after down. We were a good football team last night. 

We avoided costly turnovers---one fumble we recovered and an interception canceled on replay. We limited our penalties to a couple of false starts, gave up two sacks (one coverage---one stunt), and two small drops in what might have been our best offensive game, considering the defense we faced.

Sam (11) just keeps making plays regardless of the situation. Our OLine does a fantastic job of working together. The RB's hit the creases with attitude and caught the swings very well. The WR's had a couple get stripped but overall made the plays they had a chance to convert. Team effort all the way.

Here are the grades:

11---Sam---A-

5---Watson---A-

26---Ingram---B+

32---Young---B+

6---Duvernay---B+

9---Johnson--A-

13---Heard---B+

84---Humphrey---A-

47---Beck---B

52---Cosmi---A-

56---Shack---A-

66---Anderson---B+

68---Kerstetter---B+

72---Rodriguez---A-

77---Vahe---B

Scattered notes that border on opinions and duh's:

(84) LJH is the best YAC WR I've seen at UT along with being a clutch receiver. He may not improve his draft status by staying but he will improve his abilities with another off season and senior season. Zero doubt about that. 

(9) Johnson might be the best jump baller I've seen at UT. We need to use this weapon more often---he turns low percentage throws into high percentage completions on jump ball fades. 

(6) Duvernay has quietly made himself an all around talent. Not many have this kind of playmaker at the third split-out.

(47) Beck went from a fringe finesse HB to a contact play maker after sitting out last year. Huge strides for this captain---he walked the walk. 

(11) Sam plays the game the right way. He not only reduced the freshman mistakes from last year but also gave us a wise beyond his years playing coach on the field. Setting protections and changing LOS plays with uncanny accuracy kept our offense on the field and in the game. Captain without the title or letter.

(5) Tre saved the day as a do-it-all threat at RB. Great transfer. 

(66) Anderson was an equally talented transfer that filled the blindside tackle position extremely well. 

Sometimes chickens---sometimes feathers with transfers. We hit jackpots with our two guys---hope we continue the trend every year. Experienced transfers help younger guys more than they get credit for. 

(56) Shack stayed basically healthy and it showed in his performance. We don't appreciate him enough. 

(77) Vahe plays winning football 80% of his snaps. Stunts and pass protection have consistently been his biggest problem areas. Four year starter that answered the bell every week and gave solid play every time. You win with the Patrick Vahe's of the world---every team needs foundation guys that show up ready to get the job done. 

(72) Rodriguez is the most flexible guy on our line. You need a guy that you can plug in at a troubled position. We got a ton of mileage out of ER at RG this year---center and LT the years before. Versatile OL are hard to find---we struck gold with Rod. 

(68) Kerstetter got a few plays as the inside guard on our unbalanced. I see strong improvement that should translate into strong competition for a starting job this spring. I think strength is his biggest disadvantage right now---Yancy should shore that up this offseason. 

(26) Ingram never fully recovered from his mid season assortment of bumps and bruises. Freshmen take longer to bounce back from hitting the wall---off-season should make next year a huge jump in production for the flash from East Texas. 

(13) Lastly, I take my hat off to Jerrod Heard for his unselfish career here at UT. From award winning QB to freshman standout he made the jump to WR while continuing to understudy at QB. He sacrificed his reps at WR to be sound insurance at QB (where we woefully underrecruited) during his career. Not everybody would make that team first decision in a world where transfers happen at the drop of a hat. Thank You Mr. Heard.

Fun year following this team---great win in the Sugar.

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.

[Funk Doctor Spock 11953]

Fuck Em. Only Bobby picked us to win. The rest can fuck one another and go suck the SEC tit together 

[Machinator 32098]

Inside Texas Defensive Report Card---Sugar Bowl

Fun game to watch. We made too many mistakes and missed too many tackles but we stuck a bunch of busy into their operation. We turned several "big play" potentials into minimal gains with tremendous hustle---because we all wanted to. That was a very talented offense last night---those two guys ran hard. 

I strongly believe that multiple saved our bacon last night. Our four man line definitely made a difference---every time we bounced into our 3-2 those bulldogs gashed us pretty hard. Omenihu and Ossai as DE's ruined their attack. Wilbon made a strong impersonation of our belly rubbing Nelson with TQG and Coburn adding plays. 

Gary Johnson and Tony Wheeler plugged with more authority than normal---they both made stout plays along the way. Ossai led us in tackles. McCulloch added selected pressure. Orlando came up with a few thousand blitzes that we managed to avoid confusion among the troops. 

Brandon Jones had another good game. Boyd and Davis were consistently good. Locke had his best game---good for the senior. BJ Foster can play this game. Here are the grades:

90---Omenihu---A-

44---Hager---B+

49---Graham---B+

97---Nelson---A-

94---Wilbon---A-

99---Coburn---A-

23---McCulloch---B+

33---Johnson---B+

45---Wheeler---B+

32---Roach---B+

46---Ossai---B+

2---Boyd---B+

11---Locke---A-

18---Davis---B+

19---Jones---A-

25---Foster---A-

29---Thompson---B

Thoughts are easy to spit out but sometimes harder to defend. Taking that chance here:

90---Omenihu---remember when Charles was a DE? Well, we got another part-time look last night and I could not keep from smiling. He's our best defender and consistently plays like it. I love watching him play the game. 

44---Hager should not ever align as a 4i again and that's a good thing. I never doubted his determination to play hard for the horns---we got good mileage out of him. It was never hard to find him on video---made grading easier. 

49---Graham probably should have played more snaps this year. I think nicks and close games robbed TQ of splitting time as the third 4i. Must be a leader on next year's defense. 

94---Wilbon made a statement case for being the leader in the clubhouse last night. He didn't play like a part-timer against a very good OLine. He stood up to the challenge. I doubt we would have held Georgia to their lowest output this year if we couldn't run our 4 man DL---Wilbon played a large part.

97---Nelson was the rock on this defense. He played like a captain that led by example as well as vocal. Glad he didn't transfer out as was often discussed---leader. 

23---McCulloch has potential to become a strong player but so far hasn't always played up to that potential. His play often reflects aces and spaces. He will make a five star play only to disappear for stretches after making a play. He may not find starter snaps at any position next year---he needs attitude change. 

33---Johnson saved our defense many times after his transfer. Worked extremely well with Jefferson where speed hurt the blocking scheme. Spent too many plays taking on immediate blockers which limited his range/effectiveness. He's the perfect 4-3 WLB where DL's can reduce down to free him up from defeating blockers. 

45---Wheeler looked better "mugging" last night than he does reading/reacting off the LOS. He's always found a way to make a big play or two each week and those help win the games. He just never adapted to plays developing in front of him. 

2---Boyd has unlimited skill set along with some wtf daydreaming. He makes you stand and cheer. He makes you laugh. He makes you cry. He makes you scream cuss words. And all that in just one series of downs. 

4---Cook will be a more attentive Boyd without the reps/experience at this level. He should be better fundamentally than 2 but he doesn't have the athletic ability of 2---yet.

7---Sterns was all world until the wrecks started adding up and he found out he was still a teenager. He has a tremendous future ahead of him. He will direct the back end in time. 

11---Locke went out with a bang. Great interception for a guy that carried coverage difficulties for most of two seasons. Always a big hitter that lit up his share on the edge, he also had his share of whiffs going for the slobber-knocker. 

18---Davis was a consistent plus as a corner. He made plays. He made big hit tackles. You can win many games with a Davis as your second corner. 

19---Jones has a decision to make but if he's honest with himself he will dedicate this offseason to Yancy and further develop next fall as a senior college player. 

25---Foster is my favorite frosh. He will sacrifice his body for cause. I really don't know where BJ fits best but I do know he's one of our best 11 period. He honors the game of football with his play. 

29---Thompson has terrific talent that does everything but make plays. He hasn't shown that he will attack contact nor has he made a play on a thrown ball. He gets into position to make the play and then making that play eludes him. 

Spring training should be fun.

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.

[TreatyOak 16169]

1 hour ago, Machinator said:

Inside Texas Offensive Report Card---Sugar Bowl

  Hide contents

(13) Lastly, I take my hat off to Jerrod Heard for his unselfish career here at UT. From award winning QB to freshman standout he made the jump to WR while continuing to understudy at QB. He sacrificed his reps at WR to be sound insurance at QB (where we woefully underrecruited) during his career. Not everybody would make that team first decision in a world where transfers happen at the drop of a hat. Thank You Mr. Heard.

 

Can't be said enough: 

[honolulu horn 6157]

12 minutes ago, TreatyOak said:

Can't be said enough: 

Damn right. Jerrod deserves so many accolades for his character and his athletic ability.

[sushihorn 3233]

Quote

There’s something about being an underdog that brings out the best in Tom Herman. Texas entered the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Tuesday as an 11.5-point underdog to Georgia, but Kirby Smart the Bulldogs suffered the same fate so many favorites have when going up against a squad led by Herman hungry to prove they belong on the same field with a perceived superior opponent.

 

Never go against a Sicilian Tom Herman when DEATH is on the line!

[Machinator 32098]

(Scipio Tex) Texas-Georgia Sugar Bowl Postmortem: Defense & Special Teams

Great game plan. Great effort. While the Texas offense deserves credit for their ball control effort, this game was won by the Longhorn defense and special teams. 

Even Bevo had a clever game plan, lulling Uga into complacency to set up his charge.

After facing a year long slate of Big 12 offensive X and O wizards attacking every Texas weakness and schematic issue from formations and with options that would make any DC's head spin, playing a conventional Georgia offense in the Sugar Bowl must have felt like a trip to a day spa for Todd Orlando and the Texas defensive staff. Run a conventional offense - even a really, really good one - against Texas at your peril. USC found that out early last year and in the Sugar Bowl the Bulldogs found out the same. 

Texas matched and exceeded Georgia's physicality while also winning the X & O battle more often than not. The Longhorns also shut down arguably the best conventional run game in all of college football. Georgia just sort of rolled out their offense and didn't seem to anticipate the adjustments Orlando's defense would offer with three weeks to prepare. My guess is that Jim Chaney and his offensive staff would like a do over, after wrongly assuming that vanilla game planning would complement Sugar. You have to dance with what brung ya, but I'm not sure how thoroughly the UGA staff did their scouting. 

Add in that fact that the Texas players came out hungry and Georgia came out as if Texas should kiss their SEC ring and end the inconvenient formality of the game being played and you have the best Texas defensive performance of the season. Longhorn failures on money downs were arrested in the second half as the Horns held Georgia to 1 of 5 conversions after a bad second quarter in which Georgia drove the field for a TD and converted 4 of 5 on 3rd down. For the game, Texas finished 6 of 14 on 3rd and 4th down - the first time we've held an opponent under 50% in six games. Against a Top 5 adjusted stats offense, no less. I liked out match-ups but that was my primary concern. Addressed. Game won. 

The Longhorns featured a predominant four man line with a heavy rotation and a lot of squeezing interior spaces, forcing the excellent Georgia RBs to bounce their initial read, and the full staffing up front seemed to agree with the Longhorn front who were able to enter the fight with favorable numbers. Add in Texas LBs who did a better job of plugging gaps than their season mean and you have the makings of a strong defensive performance. My most interesting takeaway from the game was in how Todd Orlando repeatedly schemed Longhorn secondary players into the run front with disguise and by adding corners and backside safeties to the front. He repeatedly sent a Longhorn cornerback as an edge run force while playing zone behind and then when Georgia sought to exploit that, switched it up dropping down BJ Foster late into the box to act as a general instrument of mayhem. Given the licks that Foster doled out, Operation Mayhem successful. 

Georgia was fully capable of scheming against a conventional loaded box. Instead, we did it very creatively (and with a hell of a lot of violence) and their staff couldn't find answers until the 4th quarter. 

DL

I thought the Texas front was built for stopping Georgia's run if we'd play some numbers up front and that's what Texas did. I didn't expect to hold them to 73 yards. I was hoping to hold them to twice that. Omenihu dominated with two tackles for loss and probably could have drawn a couple of holding calls, but I like that the Pac 12 officials were at least consistent on both sides. Chris Nelson was in his physical run-stopping element and Roach (4 tackles) really took over as he logged heavier minutes in the rotation as the game progressed. Hager didn't show up on the stat sheet, but played one of his more disciplined games lined up as a edge defender in the four man Texas front. 

Great spot play from Wilbon, Graham, Coburn and Ojomo. I'm not terribly worried about next year's front - particularly if Graham levels up as I anticipate. Particularly if one of our B-Backers (Ossai or McCulloch) can justify heavy snaps and show some pass rushing facility.

The Texas DL showed up big for four quarters against a very physical, though inexperienced Georgia OL.

LB

Anthony Wheeler made the most of some free runs into the backfield and on blitzes and Gary Johnson did the same. While I have some nits to pick with both when we lined up in the 3-2-6, they did a much more workmanlike job of filling gaps when we had four in front of them. The game gets a lot smaller for both and Georgia's lack of motion, deception and misdirection played into our hands. I can imagine the chuckles that Big 12 coaches had watching the game, shaking their heads at Georgia's refusal to attack what we've shown on film all season. 

Freshman Joseph Ossai - a surprise starter who earned his gig with terrific practices - led the team in tackles with 8 playing against a pretty dang physical football team. Imagine what he might be capable of if he actually gets strong? It's not like he's close to being maxed. Terrific recruiting eval by the staff. 

DB

PJ Locke probably played his best game of the year, some of that playing off where he could see the game unfold in front of him instead of being thrown into the 3-2-6 Nickel Pit. The benefits of facing convention had trickle downs everywhere. That interception was a good example of heady senior play. 

If you factor in how Texas attacked Georgia's running game and left Kris Boyd and Davante Davis on islands at times against some physically gifted Georgia WRs, it's hard not to appreciate how both seniors went out. They had a heavy burden and bore it well. A couple of timely drops from Bulldog WRs and a Fromm overthrow or two certainly helped the cause. As I mentioned in the game strategy section, both players were terrific against the running game and welcomed their role as exterior crashers to add a 7th or 8th man to the Texas front. 

BJ Foster deserves his own section. He was terrific watching him in live action and I have even more respect for him after watching the replay. He doled out vicious hits, attacked 335 pound Georgia OL like he was a run plugging Mike LB and was a general instrument of mayhem all game. If Caden Sterns (who didn't play) represents safety range and refinement, Foster represents violence and raw instinct. I can't wait to see what an offseason does for him. 

Josh Thompson doesn't always really get what's happening out there and I saw him looking pleadingly to teammates or the sideline anytime Georgia showed a formation he wasn't familiar with. The ensuing play typically bore out his lack of awareness. He needs the film room to complement his obvious physical gifts.

Special Teams

Buj had his best game of the year and, complemented by defensive play, was a big reason Texas slaughtered Georgia in the field position battle. Four punts downed inside the 20 and excellent touch on his directional punts to pin the Georgia returner on the sideline and disallow him a potential two way go. He even added to his hang time. 

Dicker went 2 of 3, whiffing from 45. He kicked off well save one out bounds miscue and both kickers seemed to like the Dome air. 

Texas won special teams. 

Final

A great way to go into the offseason. Such a satisfying win. The Longhorns have their first double digit win season since 2009 and plenty of ammunition to argue in recruit's living rooms that football is played in other places than the SEC. Not to mention plenty of optimism that Tom Herman is building a program at Texas that will be playing a lot more games in January.

[victory88 5663]

Man, BJ looked absolutely great against UGA and has looked very good against ou and usc.  Foster has insane athleticism for his size and hits like a truck.  Caden and BJ have very different strengths that pair very well together.  Caden started the year great but he was picked on a bit later in the year giving up some big plays.  That will change with more experience.  His instincts and diagnosing plays in the back end is at a very high level.  On the other hand, BJ is a stud at run support and blitzing.  If both these guys train hard together and play at this level, they will both have very successful collegiate and NFL careers. 

Edited January 3, 2019 by victory88