Inside Texas November 1, 2021 | Texas vs Baylor

SLOW FINISH B.J. Foster's early interception got Texas off to a fast start, but for the third straight game Texas could not hold a double-digit lead and fell to Baylor in Waco.

THIS WEEK: Cook The Longhorns surrender a double-digit lead for the third straight game

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Five Quick Thoughts |

8

Groundhog Day |

by Joe

Boyd Once again key mistakes cost the Longhorns

Post Mortem |

by

by Ian

12

Scipio Tex

The scheme on defense and missed plays on offense doom Texas in Waco

Thinking Contrasting Texas Football |

by

Eric Nahlin

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Eric discusses the disconnect causing non-complimentary football

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Texas vs Baylor | November 1, 2021

November 1, 2021

3

GROUNDHOG

WACO, Texas — It happened again.

With two weeks to prepare for No. 16 Baylor, two weeks to try and overcome the continued struggles in the latter portions of games, and two weeks to ready for the battle of a sixty-minute football contest, the Texas Longhorns surrendered a second-half double-digit lead and lost, 31-24, dropping to 4-4 in Steve Sarkisian’s first season in Austin.

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G DAY IN WACO

BY JOE COOK

November 1, 2021 Xavier Worthy

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- TEXAS | BAYLOR -

T

he second-half script barely

midway through the third quarter.

Add in a special teams blunder late

changed from the previous two

Tight end Ben Sims scored early in

in the fourth quarter on a fake punt

showings. The Longhorns sur-

the fourth on a one-yard rush, and

attempt, and Texas completed the

rendered 21 points and 217 yards

Smith added a late 32-yard run that

third in a trilogy of collapses.

in the second thirty-minutes while

gave the Bears a 10-point lead.

only scoring 10 points of their own.

And there’s no way to know for

Three Bears, Abram Smith, Trestan

It wasn’t just the defense that held

Ebner, and Gerry Bohanon, aver-

true to its poor form. The offense

aged over 5.4 yards per carry.

could not score 30 points, seem-

“That was a tough one to swallow,”

certain when the series will end.

ingly a magic number in Big 12

Sarkisian said. “Any time you lose

Bohanon wasn’t asked to do much

contests. Star running back Bijan

a game like that, with the little bit of

in the passing game, particularly af-

Robinson couldn’t crack 100 yards,

the trend we’ve had now for three

ter throwing interceptions to BJ Fos-

let alone 50. Texas itself needed 29

consecutive weeks, that’s tough.

ter and Luke Brockermeyer. Texas

carries to muster 102 yards.

That’s tough on our locker room.”

could only manage seven points off What was unique about Texas’ defeat issued by the Bears was that where the Longhorns played decently well in the first halves of the Oklahoma and Oklahoma State games, that was not the case in Waco.

Robinson was stifled early, with Texas accumulating 36 yards on 12 carries in the first half. His lone score of the day was a one-yard run on the opening drive of the second half.

Joshua Moore caught a touchdown pass on Texas’ first drive, but struggled mightily as the first half wore on. He had a sequence where he dropped a pass from Casey B.J. Foster

Thompson in the end zone, then on the very next play had a pass slip through his hands and into a

those two Baylor turnovers.

Though Xavier Worthy added his

defender’s, costing the Longhorns

Baylor’s ground game did every-

third 100-yard game of the season

a chance at points at the end of the

thing Dave Aranda’s squad needed

along with a touchdown reception,

first half.

in order to secure the win. Three of

Texas’ offense could not maintain

the four Bear touchdowns came via

the marginal effectiveness it had in

Moore wasn’t the only player who

the rush. Bohanon reached paydirt

the first half.

dropped passes on the day. Late

after a nine-play, 75-yard drive

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in the game and down a touch-

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- TEXAS | BAYLOR -

down, Thompson heaved a pass for Marcus Washington that would have put Texas in position to tie, but could not haul it in. Two plays later, Texas turned it over on downs and Baylor knelt out the clock.

“I’m sure those guys would love to have those plays back,” Sarkisian said. “They’d love to make those plays. It didn’t happen, but the sign of really good football teams is they overcome those obstacles when they present themselves and we just weren’t able to overcome them today.”

Frustration surely exists within the Texas locker room. Thompson,

Casey Thompson

Ovie Oghoufo, Bijan Robinson, and Keondre Coburn said as much

to turn things around before the

“I just think we need to make the

postgame. And after three-straight

season is out even with conference

corrections we need to make

losses in heartbreaking manner,

title hopes seemingly lost.

throughout the week, then translate

why wouldn’t it?

it to the field on Saturdays,” he said.

“Small margin losses, those are

The same applies to the coaches,

the ones that hurt the most,” Ovie

Sarkisian mentioned how in addition

too.

Oghoufo said. “That also gives us

to execution, the psyche issues that

hope that we can fix it up.”

hampered Texas versus Oklahoma

“When you don’t ultimately get the

and Oklahoma State did so again

result that you’re looking for, that’s

Keondre Coburn put it this way:

disheartening for them and so I feel

“We’re in the fight the whole game

frustrated for them because I know

until it’s just a couple plays, a cou-

He admitted it’s on the coaches

what they put into it,” Sarkisian said.

ple series that aren’t in our hands.

to draw the players out of that

“My job ultimately is to get them to

That means we have to execute

rut while also encouraging better

continue to put in what they’re put-

more than we have been doing.”

execution.

percent better in whatever capacity

Said Robinson, “We need to under-

But when given the chance to prove

our responsibilities are, we’ll get

stand every team is going to bring it

those psyche issues were a thing

over this hump. And it’ll be very

no matter who we play. We have to

of the past, they thrust themselves

gratifying when that happens.”

execute at a high level and sustain

back into Texas’ present.

versus Baylor.

ting in, and if all of us can get one

in the game. We’ve got four quarResponsibility never falls solely

ters to play, and we just can’t let up

“That’s something we worked

on the coaches. Players shoulder

at any point in the game.”

on this week,” Sarkisian said. “I

some of the blame as well, and several Longhorns have ideas on how

thought we were better, but clearly And Thompson?

it wasn’t good enough.”

Jean Delance

November 1, 2021

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5

QUICK

vs

thoughts

By Ian Boyd

The Longhorns made a number of adjustments in the bye week to

Texas is a program who has yet to establish their identity. They know

try and avoid another 4th quarter fade yet succumbed once more. In

they want to be a bend don’t break defense, but they bend too easily

Waco against the Baylor Bears they were defeated by a team with a

at times. Steve Sarkisian has designed a shot-taking offense which

more established sense of identity.

wants to attack opponents down the field and routinely creates opportunities for big passes, but they hit them inconsistently.

Baylor quarterback Gerry Bohanon had an awful first half, throwing a pair of picks and gifting Texas a few opportunities to blow the game

The plan to set up Bijan Robinson revolves around constraining de-

open and deny the Bears a chance to get their run game going in the

fenses with RPOs and play-action, but opponents have been wiling

second half. Texas dropped this opportunities, quite literally, and the

to rope a dope Texas and let them punch themselves out knowing the

Bears ran the ball 23 times for 110 yards at 4.8 ypc in the second half

shots won’t result in a knockout.

while landing several key play-action shots to pull out a win.

Texas now has zero chance of winning the Big 12 Championship and Baylor knows who they are as a program. They have a clear identity

little chance of an inspiring season. The proof of concept for what a

built around the wide zone run game and Dave Aranda’s blitz pack-

Sarkisian Longhorn team could be exists in outline form, but it’s not

ages from the 3-down defense. Everything they need to do in order to

going to be realized in the 2021 season.

win games, they know how to execute.

#1: ROPE A DOPED It was a solid day at the office for Casey Thompson. Here was his line

with play-action. Those shots were available for the entire game, but

on the day:

because Thompson didn’t see them, missed them, was pressured, or had his throws dropped, Texas couldn’t do enough damage.

23-38 passing for 280 yards at 7.4 ypa with two touchdowns and a single interception. Five carries for 31 yards rushing at 6.2 ypc. Texas

The entire shot-taking system of the Longhorn offense just isn’t good

had a number of drops on throws down the field, many down the

enough to establish Texas’ preferred identity and allow them to put

stretch.

away these Big 12 teams, all of whom they’ve played close before fading in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter is where your identity

One was a dropped touchdown pass just before the half, another

shows up in a close game if you have one.

was a tipped ball which immediately followed and was intercepted by Baylor, removing any scoring chance for the Longhorns.

Casey Thompson was on pace early in this game to throw for 300 or 400 yards, but eventually some of the shots dried up or Texas’ receiv-

Bijan Robinson, Texas’ star running back and perhaps the best offen-

ers couldn’t haul in contested catches.

sive player in the conference, had 17 carries for 43 yards at 2.5 ypc with a single touchdown run.

The image of Casey Thompson scrambling to try and make a winning play while Bijan Robinson is trying to pick up a blitz is indeed the

The way this offense is designed to maximize a special talent like

image of how this game was determined. The Bears succeeded in

Bijan Robinson is primarily to do so by attacking teams over the top

making Thompson out-produce the Baylor rushing attack.

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#2: ANOTHER FADE BY THE DEFENSE The Texas defense played a decent game, literally BARELY

interception let him off the hook the Bears were able to put

holding Baylor under 200 yards rushing and giving the Texas

together a second half plan which kept him clean from major

offense a chance to win the game in the first half with a pair of

responsibilities other than hitting all or nothing throws down the

turnovers. Down the stretch, they couldn’t stop the run on a few

field on play-action.

key plays, particularly the speed option which was nearly as devastating and automatic for the Bears as counter was for the

There are a number of serious challenges left on the schedule

Sooners.

for this unit, including next week’s road trip to Ames, IA to play an even better offense and then the season finale against Kan-

This defense has not been good enough to handle the assign-

sas State and one of the league’s better quarterbacks.

ment they’re routinely handed, which is to try and help dominate single-score games played in the 20s.

This unit can continue to improve and perhaps work in some young players down the stretch but they simply couldn’t bend

They mixed in a few different packages and looks in this game

and hold up this season in any of the big games. They needed

and had Gerry Bohanon reeling in the first half, but when the

a cavalry charge that wasn’t coming.

Luke BTTT

Casey Thompson

November 1, 2021

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- 5 Q uick T houghts | O klahoma S tate -

#3: GAME SLIPPED AWAY ON SPECIAL TEAMS All three phases had their chance to either win or at least not blow this game and all three failed. On 4th-and-11 with the ball on the Baylor 49, punter Cameron Dicker was given the unfathomable task of trying to scramble for the marker against a defense which wasn’t fooled. He picked up only two of the 11 needed yards.

With a short field, Baylor then drove 53 yards in three plays for a touchdown which put them ahead 31-21 and left Texas in a deep hole where they’d once held a solid lead.

Texas has routinely schemed up some good plays with special teams under Jeff Banks coordination, but something slipped in a major way here. To fail to punt on 4th-and-11 at midfield was a disaster. You don’t just win games on special teams, you also lose them.

Shades of the Jeff Banks desperation “have the place-kicker lead block for Mac Jones in the National Championship game” call here.

Faced with a short field, the defense predictably snapped rather than bending (or holding firm) and Texas was nearly completely out of the game. If not for a fumbled snap by Baylor on their next drive, the game might have been over with the touchdown after this snafu.

Ben Davis

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- 5 Q uick T houghts | O klahoma S tate -

#4: MISSED EARLY OPPORTUNITIES The best way for Texas to win games of this

ly) to a wide open Xavier Worthy who scores

nature, in which opponents are committed to

with a solid throw but was instead lead out of

denying running room for Bijan and have the

bounds. The drive was then ruined when a

quality and discipline on defense to achieve

nice spin move by Joshua Moore to gain the

such an outcome, is to light them up with the

marker was erased when he fumbled and

passing game. In particular, to light them up

Baylor recovered.

early when you get open receivers with the early play script.

Another drive saw Casey Thompson hit Moore in the end zone, but the ball was

The blockers aren’t there on this roster to

dropped, then the next play on 3rd-and-5 a

force their will in the run game and the trap

rushed bullet by Thompson went off Moore’s

is set every single week. Opponents are

hands and into those of a Baylor safety.

looking to weather the storm, refuse to allow Bijan to control the game, and hope Texas

This the reverse of the situation later, when

can’t deal enough damage in the passing

Baylor scored quickly off the horrible fake

game to pull away.

punt attempt by Dicker. Baylor’s big chance came late and they seized it. Texas’, as

For three weeks in a row, Texas has done Joshua Moore

usual, came early and it was fumbled.

damage early before completely fading and failing to either score enough early or to

If Texas scored on those early drives, they

score more later in the game.

had a chance to put a lot of pressure on a struggling quarterback and force a team who

There were a number of missed opportuni-

wants to run early and often to make plays in

ties early in this game which would have

the passing game. Instead, they set up the

made for a different contest. Casey Thomp-

now weekly late game fold.

son threw pass from his back foot (needless-

#5 WHAT’S LEFT FOR 2021?

There aren’t obvious paths for Texas for the rest of the year other

They’re close to being an upper tier Big 12 team, although the

than playing hard, trying to improve, and finishing this recruiting

finish isn’t possible this season, but they aren’t close to being

class while adding more through the transfer portal.

a champion in this league nor the next without some upgrades which fit the desired system. Many of those will be possible with

They can play spoiler in Ames next week and potentially wreck

a good recruiting class and perhaps a transfer or three combined

Iowa State’s play for a Big 12 Championship after propelling

with another offseason, but it all came up short for 2021. Next

Baylor’s efforts this week. A more modest goal would be simply to

season the goal should be to have a team which can blow away

avoid either a beatdown or the second half fade which has defined

opponents of this caliber rather than competing with them down to

this inaugural season for the new staff.

the wire.

Ultimately, this team is a year away from realizing the vision of

Recruiting and development will now be a major focus for what’s

the new staff. They need more playmakers at linebacker (inside

officially a building season. Sark will face an interesting question

or outside), they need more time to develop good fundamental

in whether to keep starting a limited veteran in Casey Thompson

play in the defensive backfield, they need more weapons at wide

who’s been close with no cigar in multiple games, or to give reps

receiver, more talent along the offensive line, and they need better

to Hudson Card. Iowa State and the flyover defense await.

pocket play at quarterback.

November 1, 2021

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POST-MORTEM |

O F F E N S E

by Scipio Tex Steve Sarkisian set up the Texas offense to score 40+ points but

been close, but the Horns likely escape with a W.

player error largely kept the Horns stuck at 24. If my defensive postmortem was a deconstruction of stubborn coaching and a

Baylor OC Jeff Grimes and Steve Sarkisian were both fright-

lack of introspection, the offensive postmortem is a highlight of

ened of their starting quarterback doing traditional quarterback

player failure to capitalize on opportunities.

things on 3rd and 5+, so both coordinators had to find their opportunities where they could. Grimes had the easier task and did

The score at halftime should have been 31-10, Texas. Then the

it by establishing the run against the Texas defense – because

game might have taken on a very different quality if the already

who can’t? – and then layering back on single read RPOs and

twice intercepted Gerry Bohanon had to throw the ball repeat-

underneath routes on the sideline to exploit off coverage, while

edly on predictable downs to catch back up. Just kidding. Baylor

Sarkisian schemed up set piece wide open deep shots on neu-

would have kept running the ball and the game would have still

tral downs where he could correctly predict Baylor’s defensive

BIJAN ROBINSON

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coverages and put their DBs into conflict.

If you’ve blocked out how many times Texas players didn’t draw iron on their free throws, here’s a brief recap…

Joshua Moore dropped an easy touchdown pass that Casey Thompson delivered right on the money between two Baylor defenders before the half. 7 off of the board.

Casey Thompson threw a horrific fade away helium ball off of his back foot in the general vicinity of Xavier Worthy. The directional arm punt managed to drift out of bounds instead of into the hands of a wide open Worthy who would have scored easily. Any competent throw scores 7 points there.

CASEY THOMPSON

Joshua Moore volleyball set an imperfect but catchable Thompson throw at the Baylor 29 yard line. The ball

conventional running game struggling.

was returned 40 yards to the Texas 39. 3 or 7 points taken off of

QB

the board, complete field flip.

Casey had two effective scrambles and did put some balls on the money, but he held back the offense overall. Since TCU,

Joshua Moore was stripped and fumbled on the Baylor 19 yard

I’ve cautioned against evaluating quarterbacks purely by box

line by Doyle. 3 or 7 off of the board.

scores (Thompson’s was a respectable 23 of 38 for 280 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 pick), “winnerness” (Casey is 3-0!), and media

A poor blitz pick up from Robinson and slow recognition from

narrative personality cults. They eventually meet the reality of

Thompson prevented Texas hitting a wide open receiver in the

skill set and the ability of the player to make the actual plays

middle of the field who could have jogged in for a long touch-

presented on the field. Sark is cautious with his starting QB on

down. Instead, sack.

predictable passing downs where he’ll have to make a read and stand strong in the pocket. Count up the number of Bijan Robin-

3rd and 6 on the Baylor 44 in the 4th quarter down 3 points,

son runs on 3rd and 5+ in the first half. Not to mention 2nd and

Tope Imade false started due to…gravity? Texas goes from

23 and 3rd and 20. That sort of play calling is not just changing

being able to run two plays (and call the 3rd down play with

it up trying to catch a defense napping.

the awareness that 4th down is available) to 3rd and 11 and a predictable passing situation that exposes Thompson. Stupid

Little surprise that Texas was 3 of 14 on third down conversions.

punt fake ensues.

While the Texas receivers not named Worthy didn’t much help I could go on, but you get the drift.

the QB, it’s important to note that Casey’s velocity and late recognition create some of the contested balls and pass break ups

If I have any quibbles with Sark, it’s that I’d like to have seen

that dominated the 4th quarter of play. Weak armed QBs must

more of Bijan in the passing game, a sprint pass that goes

throw with anticipation and they certainly can’t overcome self-

against the flow of outside zone that Baylor was jumping, and

imposed poor mechanics. Poor pocket presence, slow recogni-

more of the RoCat on normal downs as a change up with the

tion, and an unreliable arm are not ideal traits for a consistent

November 1, 2021

13

WR/TE Texas has a #1 WR who is a 160 pound true freshman and several #4 receivers pretending to be #2.

Joshua Moore was worth -14 to -17 points on Saturday. 11 targets yielded only 5 completions for 64 yards despite single coverage, dropped a touchdown, had two turnovers in Baylor territory. Rough outing and it doesn’t speak well for the options behind him that he wasn’t or can’t be pulled. At some point, I have questions for Andre Coleman.

Xavier Worthy notched 115 yards on 4 catches, but Baylor was able to take him out of the game for long stretches with more coverage attention.

Marcus Washington plays hard though he has athletic limitations. 7-70 yards. Had one clear drop, but two other balls were broken up due to throws timed on an hourglass.

It’s hard to imagine that the most commoditized position in football that goes 15 to 20 deep in quality in the state high school football ranks is in scarcity at Texas.

MARCUS WASHINGTON

wide-open passing game. #11’s best bet to win games is to nail

The tight ends combined for 5 catches underneath for 28 yards.

the clean shots that Sark schemes up and then take care of the

Wiley’s blocking is a tough watch.

ball.

OL

He sure as heck needs more help from his receivers than what

They surrendered 2 sacks and some pressures, but only two

#6 gave him.

other tackles for loss in the running game. Protection wasn’t good, but often adequate to get the throw off. The running game

RB

could have benefitted from some diversity, but Baylor did a ter-

Bijan Robinson had no space in the running game and no real

rific job of getting there first while not losing backside contain-

opportunities in the passing game. 17 carries, 43 yards, longest

ment and this system doesn’t have the counters built into the

run of 9. That’s disappointing. Roschon was really good from the

passing and outside zone running game that come from a more

RoCat and brought some physicality and energy in his opportu-

concentrated focus. Not really a criticism, just sort of how it is.

nities. I also liked his willingness to seek contact as a blocker.

Imade’s feet hamper wide zone.

5 carries for 23 yards. I was left wanting more RoCat variety on regular downs as a change up – not only using Roschon

Final

running power off tackle, but also running legitimate zone read

The Texas offensive coaches gave the Longhorn offense – par-

with Bijan, bringing a jet sweeper across to punish overplay, and

ticularly the passing game – multiple big play opportunities that

perhaps even working in a little pop pass.

the Longhorn players are capable of converting. To me, that’s effective coaching. Putting the players, even limited ones, in

I think Sark is going to have to start manufacturing offense down

position to succeed.

the backstretch of the season.

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POST-MORTEM |

D E F E N S E

JOSH THOMPSON (9) AND BEN DAVIS (6)

With two weeks off to reflect on a Longhorn defensive approach

14-80 Touchdown

that hasn’t been working, featuring second half run defense

3-53 Touchdown

swoons that would shame any southern belle, Pete Kwiatkoski’s midseason adjustments were to to play a few more backups

Welcome to Boot Hill. A headstone reads: Here, the stubborn

snaps in the secondary, double down on turning the Longhorn

and the dead.

defensive front into stalemate-seeking block magnets, and drill a coverage wrinkle.

The Texas defensive second half “stops” were Baylor running clock with a ten point lead, which included running a QB counter

Not quite the level of introspection and critical analysis I was

on 3rd and 14, and a kneel down. Had the game been in doubt,

hoping for from the Longhorn defensive chief. In fact, it was

Baylor would have continued doing what it wanted.

staking out a defensive identity of the “on this hill we will die” variety. Baylor was glad to help the Texas defensive brain trust

The Texas DC wants it one way. It’s the other way.

with its death wish once Gerry Bohanon stopped throwing it to Texas defenders standing in the middle of the field.

1. The Texas DL has the potential to be disruptive. Specifically: Collins, Sweat, Ojomo, Murphy. In the few instances

Baylor’s first three possessions of the second half went:

where they were allowed to attack, disrupt, and one gap, the

results were pretty good. Watch the 4th and 1 stand. Those

9-75 Touchdown

November 1, 2021

15

times were rare. They spent an inordinate amount of time catch-

fatigue. When you’re not strong and fit, everything gets harder.

ing blocks and eating space. When DL lined up in a gap, far too

Plays you can make in the 1st quarter won’t be made in the 4th.

often it was to hold it, influence, and draw bodies, rather than take it, be an athlete, and wreck things. Why neuter your front

4. Let’s use the phrase complementary football correctly.

for the illusion of freeing your linebackers? Not this front, not for

Yes, the Texas offense has failed in this regard. But Xavier Wor-

those linebackers.

thy isn’t going to kneel a 63 yard touchdown at the Baylor 20 so we can run more plays. And the Texas defense has it within its

2. Within that system, they execute it poorly. I mean pad

power to make the other offense get off of the field. If you give

level up front. Hand placement. Fits from the linebackers and

up 26 plays in three consecutive drives, I don’t want to hear

safeties. Basic understanding of gap integrity. It stinks and the

about the offense. 22 of Baylor’s 26 plays on those three scoring

only cover for it is hustle and effort. As fatigue erodes those

drives occurred on 1st or 2nd down. That’s Canadian Football.

qualities, the defense wilts. The Longhorn players are trying

That’s not bend but don’t break. That’s bend and break. Yes,

hard, which is what really guts me.

you get tired when it’s perpetually 2nd and 2.

3. This isn’t PK’s fault, but the team is physically weak.

Guess what else doesn’t play well to Pete’s approach if your

Which is a particularly poor match for PK’s insistence on ask-

players can’t handle accumulated fatigue? Bend but don’t break.

ing the DL to hold ground instead of take it. Weaker teams don’t claim space well. If you think strength is just about “being

This is a bad marriage of scheme, players, and offseason prep.

strong” and lifting heavy ****, you misunderstand its value. It makes all things more sub-maximal. It underpins all other athlet-

5. Speed option isn’t that mystifying.

ic attributes. Which means it has an effect on your conditioning.

Football is a largely anaerobic sport with accumulated fatigue

6. Count the number of times that Texas defenders move back-

with bursts of aerobic activity that generally don’t accumulate

wards at contact. Meeting a ballcarrier. Meeting a blocker. In the

JOSH THOMPSON (9) AND AYODELE ADEOYE )40)

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second half, who was the hammer and who was the nail? PK thinks he has an anvil that defuses the hammer’s blow.

It’s a nail.

LB Right now, Jaylan Ford isn’t the answer at linebacker, unfortunately. Demarvion and Brock are currently our best options.

Overshown had a nice couple of blitzes, a clean hard tackle in the open field, and a good breakup of a likely touchdown to Ebner when he swatted the QB’s arm.

His flow against pin n’ pull and a lot of conventional runs is basically guesswork.

Brock had a gift pick on a deep drop and some clean tackles, but unfortunately, we’re robbing Peter to pay Paul.

CHRIS ADIMORA

DL I’m not evaluating individual play in a group that’s not being utilized constructively. What’s the point?

Knock yourself out if you’d like to do so. I will praise freshman Byron Murphy for his effort and gameness.

DB A lot of guys played, so that’s good. I saw Barron, Adimora, Dunn get real work. BJ Foster had the early pick on a bad Bohanon read and made two good clean tackles on 3rd down passes. A lot of guys played and the general goal was to make Bohanon do QB things and make throws outside of the hash to the sideline. That tactic varied in its success, trailing off as Baylor realized they could run the ball for chunk gains with their

When the game mattered most, Baylor could run the ball when it wanted and Texas couldn’t.

Special Teams I can’t imagine the Dicker punt run was a called play, but rather a player taking what he perceived as an optional green light in a horrible game situation where he thought he saw something that wasn’t. Like Xavier Worthy taking a kickoff back five yards deep against OU and fumbling, coaches need to remind the player of the situation and turn that green light option to a cautious yellow or outright red.

reconverted linebacker.

Final

I did see several Longhorn corners come up and contest throws,

what he wants to do vs. optimizing the assets they inherit. The

have break ups, and make good, hard tackles throughout the game. Josh Thompson had some good examples. That’s the aspect of the defense I can live with when these guys tackle well and if Texas could shore it up against the run, the season record

There is a real tension between a coach installing and doing coach has to build towards his vision, but also remain practical about the near term. This is the fundamental tension of coaching and there’s no black and white answer. However, coaches who wish to see near term success should seek happy mediums be-

would be different.

tween their vision of how to play the game vs. player suitability.

Baylor did hurt Texas with some set piece RPOs, particularly

More crucially, if other critical systems that support that vision

when their running game started clicking, but the Baylor passing game isn’t what won it for them. Jeff Grimes was nearly as scared of his QB as Steve Sarkisian is of Thompson, but the

are failing - whether conditioning, or talent levels at linebacker and safety, what you want to do doesn’t really matter. It better be about what they can do.

Longhorn inability to stifle the Baylor run game situationally never put passing game pressure back on Baylor.

November 1, 2021

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THINKING CONTRASTING TEXAS FOOTBALL

by Eric Nahlin

T

his is a frustrating season, and more frustration is likely

accurate appraisal of the team so they can properly identify the

headed UT’s way as it stumbles through the rest of the

philosophical path forward.

schedule, but I’m still a firm believer in Steve Sarkisian as the head coach and offensive point man of the program.

Some might argue Sark and PK know what they have after falling to 4-4 but I would argue based on their divergent philo-

Three losses in a row, each hinging on a play or two away from

sophical approaches they don’t. Plus, from a talent acquisition

not just being wins, but likely comfortable wins, means this will

standpoint, PK’s approach is untenable for landing elite players

be the what could have been year. What should have been

long term. Elite players don’t like passive schemes.

doesn’t matter when it comes to the reality of what you are, but it might at least offer a view into the possibilities for Sark’s

That’s another conversation we’re sure to have, but for now I’m

second stanza.

concerned about contrasting philosophical approaches between offensive and defensive coordination.

That second year is truly why the rest of this season matters.

Other than pride, they’re playing for bowl practices and next

If Steve Sarkisian faced PK’s defense in a game he’d lick his chops

year at this stage. It will be key for Sarkisian, and just as im-

and run Bijan 35 times for 250 yards. But at least PK‘s defense

portantly his defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, to get an

wouldn’t give up a deep touchdown (for a couple reasons, sadly).

MORO OJOMO

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inside texas

insidetexas.com

Unfortunately Sark is facing defensive coordinators who are

dinators are content to give up a deep ball touchdown here and

okay with allowing a deep ball touchdown here and there, but

there in order to apportion numbers to the running game. Part of

who refuse to bleed out by guaranteeing easy yards in the run

that is not respecting Thompson as a passer but surely some of

and short passing game.

it has to do with not respecting UT’s receiving personnel outside Xavier Worthy.

PK’s death by a thousand papercuts approach yields bloodied, tired defenses, but more egregiously, it handcuffs his two most

I think most fans only understand quarterback play through the

talented units in order to protect his weakest. If your two best

end result: completion, incompletion, touchdown, drop, tipped

and deepest units are your cornerbacks and defensive line,

ball, etc. If you watch Thompson between the snap of the ball

shouldn’t you attack gaps up front and press your corners?

and the end result, you will get a better understanding of what leads to not enough good results.

Instead, PK wants to protect against the big play by having the D-line occupy offensive linemen up front to keep linebackers

Slow, sloppy footwork leads to slow progressions, poor mechan-

clean and keep his secondary in soft zones to defend against

ics, and missed opportunities (how many open receivers have

the big play.

gone unseen this year?). His decision making needs to speed up considerably. And yes, some of the problem is O-line play,

While the safeties are struggling to tackle in space this season,

but more so in the run game.

playing the corners in man would allow a safety to help the linebackers underneath and against the run from a closer align-

With the quarterback play UT is getting this year the offense

ment.

was never going to score efficiently enough to justify PK’s approach that gifts opposing offenses ball control.

Kwiatkowski’s preferred philosophy makes sense if UT’s offense is going to score 40 points a game but that’s not where the of-

In short, it is Texas who should be closing out games with the

fense is, which presents its own problem that further highlights

most talented running back in the country. Instead, it’s the op-

the flawed complementary approach.

posing team, and contrasting football, rather than complementary, makes the Texas coaches an accessory.

Opposing defenses are not afraid of UT’s passing game. Coor

November 1, 2021

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Texas Spirit Photo of The Week November 1, 2021

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