Inside Texas September 26, 2022 | Texas vs Texas Tech

BREAKDOWN IN LUBBOCK

After a fast start, Hudson Card and the Longhorns stalled in the second half, losing to Texas Tech in overtime.

Broken Down in the Panhandle

Post Mortem

by SCIpIo

by

boyd

SECOND HALF BREAKDOWN

LUBBOCK, Texas -- No. 22 Texas led the Texas Tech Red Raiders 24-14 at halftime thanks to touchdowns from Keilan Robinson and Bijan Robinson and a field goal from Bert Auburn. Although the Longhorns had a 10-point advantage on the scoreboard, the Red Raiders laid the groundwork for their eventual comeback. They ran seven more plays and held the ball for three more minutes in the first half. Tech would only make that margin larger.

BREAKDOWN IN LUBBOCK

BY JOE COOK

Tech kicks winning FG in overtime

They also figured out the Long horn defense couldn’t stop them on fourth down. With a prolific Air Raid attack, Texas Tech put the pres sure on Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense, and that defense crumbled.

six of them, and of those six a few of those were close.”

Those six fourth-down conversions stand as a Texas Tech record since they joined the Big 12 in 1996.

Those decisions also kept a tired Texas defense on the field, and a Texas offense that was hit-or-miss on the sidelines.

“At the end of the day, when you play 100 plays on defense and you only run 60 on offense, that’s not a great formula for success in any league,” Sarkisian said.

Smith stayed on the field for a significant amount of time with the Red Raider offense, but he rarely was brought down onto the playing surface.

Texas had two sacks total in the game, one on a Smith scramble where D’Shawn Jamison was the closest player when Smith ran out of bounds before the line of scrimmage. The other was via DeMarvion Over shown after his targeting suspension had passed.

Tech outscored Texas 23-10 in the second half and staved off Texas in overtime despite a late, game-tying rally.

After Bijan Robinson fumbled pos session away on the first play of the extra period, Tech kicker Trey Wolff was finally called into action on fourth down. His 20-yard field goal split the uprights, giving Texas Tech a 37-34 win, their first over UT in Lubbock since 2008.

“Our inability to get off the field was a real factor,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said postgame. “They went for it eight times on fourth down, got

Texas Tech ran 100 total plays in the game, including a whopping 60 in the second half. Red Raider head coach Joey McGuire went for it on fourth down regularly and succeeded.

Tech’s first drive had two fourthdown conversions, including one that resulted in the first of three total touchdowns for TTU quarterback Donovan Smith.

McGuire’s decisions proved to be the difference. Those conversions helped the Red Raiders continue drives that put 20 of their 23 secondhalf points on the board.

With room to operate, Smith was proficient in the Tech offense. He finished 38-for-56 for 331 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 42 yards and a score on the ground. Texas threw multiple defensive looks at him, but the tired front and sec ondary could not get him before he gained the necessary yards.

“We couldn’t get the quarterback on the ground to get them off the field, which was disappointing,” Sarkisian said.

That wasn’t just on first, second, or third downs. It was on all four downs, and it made the difference in what

Roschon Johnson

will go down as a signature win for McGuire.

Smith completed passes to 11 differ ent receivers, with Myles Price lead ing the Red Raiders with 13 catches for 98 yards. Baylor Cupp also record a 50+ yard game with four catches for 65 yards and a score.

The Longhorns struck quickly on the opening drive, with Hudson Card finding Keilan Robinson for a 35-yard score. Auburn continued the Long horn scoring effort with a 40-yard field goal before Bijan Robinson and Xavier Worthy added second-quarter touchdowns to give the Longhorns their 10-point, 24-14 half time advantage.

That touchdown be the last catch of the day for Worthy. He was knocked out of the game with what Sarkisian described as a lower leg in jury. X-rays were negative.

Without Worthy, Texas was operating without its best receiver. Sarkisian asked his backup quarterback and an offensive line with three players making their first career road starts to carry Texas to victory without the complete array of offensive weapons they entered the year with.

Card operated well with Worthy, but it was tough sledding for the offense without him. He finished the game 20-of-30 for 277

yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Texas managed just one more touchdown in the second half via a 40-yard Bijan Robinson rush.

Card even orchestrated a furious late-game rally while down threepoints with just over 20 seconds left on the clock. He put the Longhorns in position to send the game to over time, and Auburn followed through with a 48-yard field goal as time expired.

But Robinson fumbled away pos session in overtime, and Sarkisian notched another loss despite holding a halftime lead after the aggressive

Red Raiders mounted their come back.

Texas hosts West Virginia this week end in Austin, and looks to notch its first Big 12 victory of the 2022 campaign. The Longhorns will also look to keep their offense on the field a little bit longer than the 24:06 they recorded against the Red Raiders. Otherwise, the defense will be asked to hold up against another Air Raid style offense.

How they fare (and how many plays they have to defend) remains to be determined.

Ja’Tavion Sanders

QUICK thoughts

By Ian Boyd

Like many Big 12 games for Texas in 2021, there were mo ments in this contest where it appeared the Longhorns might bury their opponent in the second half only to instead sputter and run out of fuel before blowing a lead.

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The defense’s situational play-making was missing as they slowly turned “bend don’t break” into breaking. The offense went dry and contributed to the issue with only 199 yards in the second half and a fair number of them from desperate two-

MISSING DIMENSION

If there’s a saving grace for Texas in this game in terms of making the most of their opportunities in Big 12 play, it’s the fact they were missing two important offensive pieces in this game.

Hudson Card played a pretty good game but couldn’t land any shots which might have cleared some space on offense or kick started some second half drives.

Much more impactful to this game was the loss of Xavier Worthy. Without their star, deep-threat receiver the Longhorns struggled

to punish some of the defensive strategies by the Red Raiders.

Overall while Card threw for 277 yards at 9.2 ypa, a very productive day, the Longhorns were missing the deep passing game and gen eral explosiveness Xavier Worthy (or Isaiah Neyor) would provide.

Card has played pretty well this season and gives Texas a higher floor than perhaps has been ap preciated but this team loses a ton of ceiling when Worthy isn’t on the field even if he hasn’t brought down many deep throws yet.

minute completions which forced a surprising overtime.

A bigger issue was Texas’ inability to corral Donovan Smith on 3rd and 4th down, the Red Raiders went for it on virtually every 4th down situation and converted six of eight to grind out a win in a contest the Longhorns once lead 31-17.

This was a bad opening loss to start the conference season and an ominous sign of some unresolved issues with the team which may or may not find a solution with better health from key players.

Xavier Worthy vs

#2: TECH PRESSURED WITH THEIR DEFENSIVE GAME PLAN

It was a good gameplan by the Red Raiders. They weren’t going to allow Texas to just lean into the Ro-cat (wildcat with Roschon Johnson) and Bijan Robinson en route to a big win behind 200+ rushing yards if they could help it.

They played a lot of single-high man coverage in this game and pressed up on the receivers quite a bit, especially once Worthy was out of the picture. It was a boom or bust approach to defense, daring Texas to blow them out landing shots in the passing game.

Tech head coach Joey McGuire complimented this defensive strategy with an aggressive approach to offense heavy on tempo, going for it on 4th down at every opportunity.

They were going to up the variance and get as many plays as they could to erase a deficit and try to win a shootout late once they were down. There was no alignment to allow Texas to hold the ball with steady passing or runs. The Longhorns were going

to have to go over the top or break a long run and they couldn’t manage either.

Perhaps with more opportunities on offense they might have leaned on the Tech defense down the stretch as they did in the 2nd quarter, but the opportunities were not forthcoming. A great encapsulation of the 2nd half came when Texas was backed up to their own goal line after successfully stopping 4th and goal from the Raiders at the end of a long drive.

1st and 10: Big formation, downhill power run to Bijan thwarted by Cole Hutson losing his man and a blitzer off the backside hitting him from behind.

2nd and 9: Card tries to punish press coverage with a slot fade route to Tarique Milton where he leads him further outside than his trajectory. Incomplete.

3rd and 9: Delay of game. 3rd and 10: incomplete again and punt. Tech gets the ball, goes back down the field and ties the game at 31.

Worthy

Hudson Card

GROUNDHOG DAY ON DEFENSE

This defense is certainly improved, but they continue to have a bend don’t break approach which isn’t being paired with 3rd down/4th down success to get off the field.

Tech was 7-20 on 3rd down and 6-8 on 4th while the Longhorns went 3-9 on 3rd down and 1-2 on 4th.

The Raiders’ ability to hold the ball really took its toll. They ran 100 plays to Texas’ 60.

100 plays to 60…

Time of possession told a similar story but it’s hard to beat a team if they run 100 plays and you run 60. Your 60 plays better be awfully successful and even if they are your defense is going to have is sues down the stretch.

I’m not sure the Texas defense necessarily wore down in this game, but they had issues throughout because of the need to substitute in some players in the back seven who were consistently less effective than the starters. It made for an awful watch.

1st and 10: Texas stuffs the inside zone run game from Tech. 2nd and 10: Tech completes a short route for 3-4 yards.

3rd and 6: Texas brings a blitz, they have Smith! They don’t…he escapes and finds a receiver for a first down or close enough to

pick it up on the following drive.

Over and over again.

On initial watch there wasn’t an obvious, recurring issue on de fense which lead to the conversions save for a general inability to handle…

#5

SIDESHOW BERT WITH THE

Hudson Card executed the two-minute offense with precision and set up a field goal attempt from Bert Auburn from 48 which he absolutely nailed. It almost looked like the broadcast crew might have to dig back into the archives and use the 2020 highlights rather than the 2008 upset win by Tech.

But no, it went differently.

Bijan Robinson had a good day overall but the pressure of having to create explosive runs against loaded boxes will catch up to you eventually. His final line was 16 carries for 101 yards at 6.3 ypc with two touchdowns and a

Diamonte Tucker-Doresey (3), Jerrin Thompson (28) and Ovie Oghoufo (18)

Bert Auburn

#4: DONOVAN SMITH

The quarterback we’d seen struggle to know where to go with the football or feel pressure in the past few weeks was not on the field for Texas Tech in this game. He wasn’t replaced by Behren Morton though, he just grew up.

Donovan Smith did have some issues early against the blitz but he kept his composure, avoided interceptions, broke tackles, and was very effective as a runner both as a scrambler falling forward for the chains and hitting crossing patterns into vacated zones against the blitz.

The Raiders did go back to the well too often on their quarterback zone-follow play from 12 personnel (a Tom Herman staple the Cyclones stopped on that fateful 4th and 1 back in 2020) and got

stopped on the goal line. Generally though, Smith was terrific on that concept and either breaking free from pass-rushers or fighting through tacklers to find the chains.

His line on the day is a perfect encapsulation of the game. 38-56 passing for 331 yards at 5.9 ypa with two touchdowns and zero picks. A passing line which would portend a smothering defensive performance normally. However, he also ran the ball 15 times for 42 yards at a deceivingly low 2.8 ypc and one rushing touchdown which allowed the otherwise paltry passing numbers to suffice for long, sustained drives.

It was a Sam Ehlinger-type performance really, mixing steady Air Raid passing with power running from the spread.

NEAR SAVE

fumble in overtime which sealed the Long horns’ fate.

Texas is now 0-1 in all-important conference play with a dangerous home game next week against West Virginia and the Red River Shoot out looming.

They need their vertical passing game to allow them to handle these inevitable Big 12 tactics by either scoring loads of points or present ing enough of a threat to clear space for Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson. Getting Quinn Ewers back could help, they really need Xavier Worthy as well.

Donovan Smith

POST-MORTEM | OFFENSE

by Scipio Tex

If I told you before the game that the Texas offense averaged 7.1 yards per play while Texas Tech averaged 4.8 yards per play and asked you to guess the score, you would probably have predicted a three touchdown Longhorn win. Or at least a double digit separation. Unfortunately, that’s not how it played out. The Red Raiders ran 40 more plays from scrimmage, owned 4th down a half dozen times, and that queered the results substan tially.

This Texas offensive post mortem will be relatively short and sweet, unlike so many of Tech’s offensive possessions. Steve Sarkisian and Texas sliced up Texas Tech in the first half, with the Horns scoring on 4 of 5 first half possessions. Early on, it looked good, with Hudson Card finding Keilan Robinson on a wheel route out of a full house formation for the first score of the game.

HUDSON CARD

The only possession Texas didn’t score on in the 1st half was an ill-advised deep ball interception to a safety standing over the top. As against UTSA, the main thing holding back the Texas offense in the opening half was the Longhorn defense’s in ability to get it more possessions.

Texas Tech’s corners couldn’t run with Xavier Worthy and in addition to the easy 39 yard touchdown toss to him running crossers, that fact created a lot of space elsewhere, which is why Whittington and the Texas running backs excelled early and often.

Then Worthy went out.

There was a good offseason debate about who our most valuable nonQB skill player is. I said Worthy. Others said Bijan. It’s Worthy. Heck, it may be Neyor. In the second half, Tech dared Texas to beat them deep or find separation and Texas could not. It was a steady dose of single high and press coverage with blitzing linebackers and the Tech front coming hard. The field got small for the Longhorn offense. When it had seemed so big just a few plays earlier.

Could Sark could have done more to manufacture the passing and running game? Probably.

Was the repetitive RoCat lead power the best use of that forma tion against a hard charging front? Probably not.

Would Sark like to have back the 2nd half possession coming out of the end zone after the Texas defense made a rare 4th down stop? I think so.

Did Texas mismanage time outs at end of game, despite the as surances of one Rod Gilmore? In my estimation, yes.

That’s all worth discussion. But Texas dominated Tech offensive ly in the 1st half and then floundered in the second half when Worthy left the game. I understand the weak Texas second half

narrative must be served and there are some areas where I still find it valid, but Worthy’s departure was a game-changing event.

The only effective drive Texas had in its last four possessions was when Tech mistakenly called off the dogs by playing prevent with baby powder soft coverage that allowed the Card to Milton completion and eventually the Auburn game tying field goal.

QUARTERBACK

Hudson Card played his best opening stanza as a Longhorn, going 13 of 18 for 205 yards and two passing touchdowns in the game’s first 30 minutes. He was hitting designed layups and open guys on many of his drop backs, but he climbed the ladder, moved subtly in the pocket to buy time (see the drop off pass to Roschon that went for 20+) and then carried it over to the early 3rd quarter with a beautiful throw to Casey Cain on 3rd and long followed by a decisive 3rd down conversion run later in that drive.

It was Card at his best. When the field got smaller with Worthy’s departure and Sark didn’t find ways to manufacture some work able throws using the running backs and tight end, Card was not able to throw guys open or show the feel-based ball placement needed on single coverage slot fades or the go routes which

BIJAN ROBINSON

Tech was daring Texas to connect on. Overall, Card was 20 of 30 for 277 yards and certainly played well enough to win.

RUNNING BACK

A fantastic start to the game as Texas exploited Tech’s lack of speed at linebacker with both Robinsons and Roschon getting big gains and a touchdown in the passing game. As a runner, Bijan had 16 carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns, but if you remove his 40 yard run, the Longhorn run game was incon sistent and Robinson certainly turned a couple of plays blocked for -3 yard into 3-8 yard gains.

As for his fumble, that’s a football play. Great hit right on the ball. It just came at a terrible time. If I have a critique for #5, it’s that he squatted in the hole looking for a cut a couple of times instead of putting his pads down and taking a hard 4 yards and maybe running through someone.

Roschon played hard as usual. Not effective as a runner, par ticularly in RoCat: 9 carries, 15 yards. Not his fault really. Lack of push and outnumbered. You’d like to see Texas option that or allow him to throw a pop pass to Sanders.

Keilan had an easy rumblin’ stumblin’ touchdown in the passing game where it looked like the turf monster might get him, but he

delivered it to pay dirt. In total, the running backs had 80 yards on 4 catches. Might Texas have tried to be a little more persis tent reviving them as pass catchers when Worthy departed? We’ll never know..

WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END

Whittington was very good early but struggled to get separa tion as the emergency deep threat. 4 catches, 56 yards, good blocking.

Worthy made Tech pay for man coverage running a crosser route with a 39 yard touchdown and looked poised for a big day before his injury. Had a contested drop on a go route where he clearly expected the ball inside.

Casey Cain had a couple of nice grabs, but possibly didn’t play defense enthusiastically enough on the sideline route that Card hung up to the safety. Agiye Hall got his first action and caught a short ball and drew a pass interference. He will be integrated more if he can demonstrate understanding of the playbook.

Beautiful catch by Milton on the final regulation Longhorn drive. He has lost speed from his prime at Iowa State. Good pass catching game from Sanders (5-40) and he showed up in a lot of hustle plays all game.

JORDAN WHITTINGTON

OFFENSIVE LINE

A very mixed performance overall. They gave up too much interior pressure and Jaylon Hutchings worked over Majors (with Conner late) and then Cole Hutson with big pressures and hits on Card on key downs in the second half.

They also struggled for consistency running outside zone and they’re not strong and physical enough to maul a defense with out some help from bells and whistles.

Their best run blocking play was the short side counter play touchdown by Bijan and they seem to excel better at man block ing than trying to exchange defenders in zone.

Currently, Texas doesn’t have a lot of options in its running game, which is to be expected with two true freshman starting. Christian Jones played pretty well for long stretches but had some lapses, most notably giving up a bad pressure inside that drew a hold when a blitzing linebacker ran right past his inside shoulder from distance.

These guys just aren’t strong enough across the board to displace defenders firing straight out unless they can get more possessions and run more plays to wear down defenders late in drives or the game itself. They need help with a fully functioning

offense around them that creates doubt and favorable angles.

FINAL

The Texas offense dominated their few possessions and then fell off a cliff after they lost Worthy. This highlights the impor tance of Worthy, but also the importance of finding some other options in the game plan when Worthy isn’t there to open up the field.

Easier typed than done, but that’s why the Texas offensive staff makes the big bucks.

CHRISTIAN JONES (70), COLE HUTSON (54), JAKE MAJORS (65), HAYDEN CONNER (76) AND KELVIN BANKS (78)

POST-MORTEM | DEFENSE

For the second straight week, the Texas defense opened the game by allowing back-to-back time-consuming touch down drives from an offense that had been struggling.

The Red Raiders opened with a 18 play, 75 yard touch down drive where they converted two 3rd downs and two 4th downs, followed immediately by a 13 play, 80 yard touchdown drive in which they converted only one 3rd down.

But that was a 3rd and 26. Texas linebacker David Gbenda jumped offsides, abetting a free play downfield shot that resulted in a Jaylon Guilbeau pass interference. Eventually, Tech cashed in on a blown coverage touch

down toss.

Starting the game conceding 5 of 5 3rd and 4th down con versions allowing 14 points on 31 plays over two drives doesn’t suggest a strong initial game plan. Or maybe Tech’s default game plan fits with Kwiatkowski’s prefer ences.

To date, the only thing Texas Tech’s offense had shown that they can do with any proficiency is throw accurate balls short. Pete Kwiatkowski’s game plan allowed the opposing offense its only competency since it fit snugly within his larger defensive philosophy of keeping the ball in front of the defense.

DONOVAN SMITH

Generally, the idea of a defensive game plan is to craft and execute a strategy to take away what a team does best. At least situationally. To make them play left-handed. To make them demonstrate that they will have to do other things to hurt you.

Coming in to this game, Texas Tech had lost seven turnovers over their last two games, including two pick 6s. Additionally, Donovan Smith’s numbers under pressure were terrible.

Tech also surrendered 10 sacks against Houston and NC State with numerous other pressures. Against those two opponents, Tech was a combined 10 of 37 on money downs – a 27% success rate.

How did Texas fare? On Saturday, Smith put it up 56 times with no turnovers while completing 38 of 56 (68%) throws. Texas notched two sacks and surrendered first downs on just under half of Tech money down plays. Tech was 13 of 28 on 3rd and 4th down. Of course, Tech going 6 of 8 on 4th down is much more powerful than that aggregate number.

Does it matter if Texas stops Tech on any 3rd down where they then went on to convert 4th down? The net effect is 100% success in obtaining a new set of downs, even if a failed 3rd down and successful 4th down suggests a 50% “success” rate in aggregate. Make sense? Player indiscipline was one culprit as on two of those plays Texas jumped offsides to give Tech a free down to take a shot downfield.

Interestingly, after Texas Tech’s first two scoring drives, they had a four possession drought on offense where they gained 22 yards on 13 plays. Had Texas adjusted to the one note Red Raider offense?

Just when that thought started to embed in Longhorn minds, Tech made their own tweaks (or just kept doing what they’d been doing a little better) and had the follow ing game ending possessions:

15-59, Field goal 12-75, Touchdown 13-66, Turned over on downs, Texas 2 yard line 5-30, Touchdown 11-56, Field Goal 5-23, Field Goal (OT)

Over their last 6 possessions of the game, Tech was going to drive and score points. In methodical, agonizing fashion.

Giving up 6 of 8 on 4th down conversions was a result of both bad situational coaching and player indiscipline. Multiple Longhorn players helped give Tech new downs with unforced penalties and the Texas staff never showed the ability to adjust to a fairly narrow set of Tech offensive options.

Over the course of the game, a defensive coordinator gen erally develops a feel for what the offense is trying to do on 3rd and 4th down. Tech never really had to alter their basic offensive game plan.

After watching 16 games of the Texas defensive approach under Sark’s regime, it appears that the Texas defensive staff doesn’t understand that not giving up a big play isn’t

JAHDAE BARRON (23) AND DAVID GBENDA (33)

the only concern on defense if smaller chain moving plays are so easily obtained at key moments. Particularly on money downs. Texas is allowing opponent offenses to dominate and control the tempo of the game.

How about situational football more broadly? When Bijan Robinson fumbled and Tech got the ball for their overtime possession, their task is straightforward. No negative plays or turnovers. Kick a field goal. They are going to run the ball. Inside the tackles. The job of the Longhorn defense is to hold them down and/or inflict a negative play to entice more offensive risk-taking on 2nd and 3rd down for a miracle turnover or simply to lengthen Tech’s field goal try.

Texas rolled out with two safeties deep and Overshown walked up on the edge to blitz, removed from the second level or an opportunity to shoot a gap. Tech took advan tage of this alignment and as Overshown blitzed from a wide angle, SaRodorick Thompson ran for 17 yards through the linebacker’s interior spot. The play also fea tured high pad levels from Sweat and Oghoufo and false steps from Jerrin Thompson and Jaylan Ford. On the bright side, Tech didn’t throw the ball over the defense’s head. Game over.

SPECIAL TEAMS

I’ll start with special teams because I don’t want Bert Auburn’s clutch kicking to go unappreciated in the loss. Sideshow Bert drilled two field goals from 40+ with his last try a pressure-packed 48 yarder to tie the game and push it into overtime.

Auburn is now 9 of 11 on field goals for the season and a perfect 5 of 5 on kicks between 40-49 yards. One of those misses was a tipped ball. He’s also perfect on extra points. So far, Auburn has been a team strength. Danny Trejo punted effectively and since replacing Isaac Pearson he has been a stabilizing force and demonstrated increased competence each week.

DEFENSIVE LINE

The Texas defensive line actually got some pressure early and in spurts throughout, but they seemed to wear down, particularly in the second half.

Keondre Coburn had a strong 1st half (drew a hold) and a poor second. T’vondre Sweat made some second half plays, including a batted ball and a hustle play on the sideline. Alfred Collins got his most snaps of the season and had some really good moments. Byron Murphy was excellent and almost single handedly stopped Donovan

ANTHONY COOK

Smith’s QB power runs on a terrific goal line stand. No Ojomo and his motor was missed. The edge players were adequate but wore down and none of them could simulate what either the Houston or NC State’s edge players did in terms of disruption.

LINEBACKER

They were OK. Ford had another double digit tackle game and Overshown was effective in the second half, notching a sack. Gbenda created new life for a dead Tech drive that ended in a touchdown with his offsides. Tucker-Dorsey should have excelled in this type of game opposing Tech’s short passing game but was largely quiet.

DEFENSIVE BACK

It seems that they largely did their jobs within the scheme provided though there were too many busts on tight end coverage near the red zone.

Cook had a career high 14 tackles with 11 of them solo. Barron played well: 9 tackles, 2 tackles for loss jumping on perimeter throws. Guilbeau was a target when he was in the game. Jerrin Thompson had a big hit on Price but also had a pass interference.

Watts had a much better game than last week, finding the slow outside receivers for Tech more to his liking. 7 tackles, 2 break ups. Unfortunately, also an offsides which bailed Tech out. Not often you see that from a cornerback.

It’s hard to evaluate the secondary without considering the game plan they were tasked with. No forced interceptions is a hard pill to swallow when a turnover prone QB throws 56 balls with about 80% of those routes happening in tight groupings at similar depths.

FINAL THOUGHTS

A defense must save its own life. A coordinator can’t allow an offense to run 100 plays. A low yards per play yield or “making them work for it” is irrelevant if the defense can’t turn the offense over or get them off of the field on 3rd and 4th down.

The defense just dies slowly, wears out mentally and physically, and robs the entire Longhorn team of energy. You have to change the dynamic. Both in preparation the week before the game and in making adjustments in-game to take away what the offense does best on key

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IS TEXAS ANY BETTER THAN

IN 2021?

BY IAN BOYD

Texas’ loss to Texas Tech was one of the more emotionally deflating for fans I’ve seen in some time.

There’s a lot of reasons for the big emotions around the game. One is the rivalry between Texas and Texas Tech right now, which is particularly intense because over a short period of time the University of Texas left Tech behind in the Big 12, poached their ultra-popular and successful basketball coach Chris Beard, and beat them in the recruitment of transfer Quinn Ewers.

Consequently, Tech hates Texas right now as much as they ever have and new head coach Joey McGuire is harnessing the hatred to consolidate his position in Lub bock.

Another factor is the way the game played out. Texas looked fantastic early, built a two-score lead which they maintained deep into the second half folding late with multiple short and ineffective offensive possessions paired with a defense which couldn’t get off the field on money downs (3rd and 4th). In other words, exactly how they lost six games in a row back in 2021.

HAS ANYTHING CHANGED? IS TEXAS ANY BETTER THAN IN 2021??

Right now, I think a lot has actually changed and the circumstances of the Tech loss were somewhat inci dental. But there are a few key factors which have to be discussed in moving past the emotions of this loss to fully understand the dynamic at play with Texas football right now.

TEXAS’ SECOND HALF OFFENSIVE MALAISE

A key ingredient to every gut-wrenching Texas loss of the Steve Sarkisian era is the following dynamic. In the first half the Longhorns get after their opponent with a clever play script and some terrific drives, often involv ing an explosive run by Bijan Robinson or pass to Xavier Worthy.

In the second half, the script dries up and Texas cannot consistently execute as teams load up the box to pre vent Bijan (or Roschon Johnson) from protecting a lead with a steady diet of runs.

Such was the case against Tech.

Bijan got 10 carries after halftime which yielded 57 yards at 5.7 ypc with a touchdown and a fumble that ultimately gave Tech the last bit of good fortune it needed. On the surface, those numbers sound solid and the complaint about his lack of touches doesn’t resonate. However this is all clouded by the fact one of those runs was a 40-yard touchdown scamper.

So otherwise, nine carries for 17 yards at 1.9 ypc with an overtime fumble.

This differentiation makes clear the reason Texas’ second half drive chart went:

Four plays, eight yards, punt

Eight plays, 75 yards, touchdown (long run)

Three plays, two yards, punt

Three plays, -1 yard, punt

Five plays, 17 yards, punt

Five plays, 42 yards, field goal (two-minute drill against prevent defense)

One play, zero yards, fumble

Boom or bust with a good deal more bust than boom. In the last two years of the Bi jan/Sarkisian partnership at Texas, the Long horns have had a boom or bust run game.

It’s not necessarily a problem with Bijan or

Bijan Robinson

Sarkisian either. Rewatching and charting all the second half plays made clear the primary issue was Texas’ inability to con sistently block well enough to prevent a disruptive Tech D-line from blowing a lot of plays up.

Jaylon Hutchings and at times Tony Bradford caused problems for freshman Cole Hutson on multiple plays. Texas also had some issues against Tyree Wil son either due to bad tight end blocks or failing to create enough hesitation from the big Edge on the backside of a few plays.

In short, Texas’ offensive line isn’t good at consistently executing the myriad schemes they run to generate positive gains. It’s like the inverse of the Tom Herman inside zone non-variety hour, where the Longhorns were pretty good at picking up steady gains with the run but rarely hit home runs.

At one point in the offseason I projected Bijan Robinson might run for 1,600 yards this season at 6-7 ypc. Why? Because of a brilliant offensive line? Terrific run schemes with bruising blockers across the front?

No. Because Texas was going to pair big-armed Quinn Ewers with Isaiah Neyor to one side of the field and Xavier Worthy to the other. Against that kind of vertical stress it becomes impossible to get numbers around the box and teams have to accept yielding some ground, even against a dangerous runner like Robinson. The Longhorns didn’t have any of those young men on the field when fading against Texas Tech.

Currently Bijan has 67 carries on the year for 412 yards at 6.1 ypc with seven rushing touchdowns. This puts him on track for 201 carries for 1,236 yards at 6.1 ypc with 21 rushing touchdowns for the year. Good, but not as explosive as expected and primarily because all of the run stuffs by opposing defenses (holding runs to two

yards or less) inflict the double whammy of reducing his per carry totals and also reducing possessions for Texas by forcing quick punts.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BELONGS TO PLAYMAKERS

After the loss to Tech, the easy place to place blame is on the coaching staff for all the various miscues along the O-line or defensive coverages for reducing the ef ficiency of the offense and getting beat on 4th down.

Here’s the truth. Texas is currently ranked 10th in the country by FEI (opponent adjusted efficiency data), despite its 2-2 record. The offense is ranked 16th, the defense is ranked 23rd. They’re 2-2 rather than 3-1 or 4-0 due to bad luck and injuries more than any other factor.

Over the 16 quarters of football they’ve played, they had their big-armed transfer quarterback on the field for five of them. The back-up quarterback (and the back-ups

behind him) have been healthy for maybe one quarter of football since the starter went out.

You could argue the defense is actually much better “coached” than the offense because they don’t have Bijan breaking long runs or Xavier Worthy running by defenders to create big plays.

although the offense should get more consistent on a down-to-down basis as the young O-line continues to improve.

The defense might get more explosive on the edges if younger players emerge down the stretch or perhaps if some of the defensive tackles catch fire as the weather cools down.

The biggest factor to this 2022 season though is adding more explosive plays on offense. The Longhorns will have a much larger margin for error if Wor thy is playing in the second halves of games and/or Quinn Ewers is flinging bombs all over the field which preclude defenses from loading the box to stuff the run, trigger punts, and run more plays at the Texas defense.

As we saw in the Tom Herman era, try ing to finish well above .500 in the Big 12 by grinding out wins with precision and mistake-free football is not a win ning strategy.

Especially if you don’t have Sam Eh linger running the show on offense with his knack for picking up third downs and avoiding turnovers.

The defense doesn’t have a single dominant pass-rusher across the front but have to manufacture pressure with movement and complex, zone-replacement blitzes which require a good deal of timing and cohesion across the unit.

They have to come by their success with greater chem istry because the Edges who define this scheme aren’t routinely inflicting negative plays on the offense. This is likely to be the case for much of the season,

It’s not the Sarkisian play anyways. The philosophy for Texas is to avoid getting into narrow, tightly fought games with Big 12 teams employing aggressive strategies by simply blowing their doors off with big plays.

If the Longhorns can get the explosive playmakers back on the field and maintain their relatively cohesive play on defense through conference play, they may not even need to get much luckier to still finish the season playing for the Big 12 title in Arlington come December.

Xavier Worthy