2020 LONGHORN SCHEDULE
who makes the Cowboys difficult to attack
them apart with a few key throws and drives,
throwing. Caden Sterns lined up directly over
in the passing game. Ogbongbemiga is
but the Cowboys will have a stouter and
Wallace (until he left the game with injury)
an above average athlete as well but he
more disruptive defensive line in 2020 and
and ensured that he couldn’t get behind the
translates that into creating negative plays
return most everyone from the defensive
defense working off play-action.
with the blitz and had 15.5 tackles for loss
backfield.
A solution in 2020 could be more difficult
and five sacks.
because of the inevitably increasing The main challenge will be for Ehlinger and
skill of Spencer Sanders combined with
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles decided
the offensive line to pick up and block Ford
the inevitably increasing capacity of the
to borrow from Iowa State’s defense and will
and Ogbongbemiga and avoid Rodriguez
Oklahoma State offense to make the most of
play three deep safeties before the snap that
darting to pick off hot routes.
Wallace and Hubbard.
The biggest threat from Oklahoma State
In this game as much as most any other, the
He also moves his “leo” weakside end/
is managing all of their threats on offense.
right approach for Texas will be to bracket
linebacker hybrid to different positions before
Any given play could feature strong-armed
everything deep with the safeties and match
the snap, kinda like Will Muschamp did with
Sanders flipping a deep out to Tylan Wallace
routes underneath with the linebackers,
Sergio Kindle back in 2009.
against an isolated cornerback or running a
forcing the Cowboys to make consistent
then move around into different alignments.
zone-option scheme with Chuba Hubbard.
gains in the run game and finish drives with
He usually blitzes to create a 4-down front
Any of those options are potential home-runs
touchdowns in the red zone.
but he’ll do it off the edge or inside. By the
for the ‘Pokes, you can’t afford to leave any
end of the year they’d settled on 6-3, 230
of them with space in which to work.
pound freshman Trace Ford for this role and
As sturdy as the Cowboys look overall, they still aren’t immune up front to getting
he’s a more explosive athlete than Oklahoma
Most of the secondary would close pretty
whipped from time to time by D-linemen of
State has tended to have in recent seasons.
hard on OSU’s zone running game, including
the caliber of Keondre Coburn or Joseph
the cornerback on Sanders if he saw
Ossai. You can’t stop a unit this talented,
the Cowboys running option rather than
only contain them to field goals or hope to kill
Ehlinger worked it all out in 2019 and took
drives with turnovers. Getting through this final stretch in position to play for a Big 12 championship, perhaps in a rematch against one of these teams, could hinge on Longhorn D-line play. That’s where Texas has real advantages against their opponents and in colder weather games played in November and December that’s where those guys can thrive. Texas needs to be in great form throwing the ball by this point, picking up strength in the trenches on both sides, and forcing teams to contend with the Longhorns’ superior size and athleticism in the box. If things instead hinge on winning with skill on the perimeter, Texas is in better shape than in previous seasons but Iowa State and Oklahoma State won’t be overawed or
Roschon Johnson
62
inside texas
overmatched.
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