It’s Texas/ou week. You will hear the analysts and talking heads call this the “oklahoma/Texas game” or “ou/Texas,” but that is incorrect. The correct way to say it is “Texas/ou.” If you say it the other way, it is wrong. There is no exception to that unless “Texas” is followed by something else, like “A&M”. In fact, that’s the only exception and even that should probably be frowned upon. Anyway, its Texas/ou week and that means everything. Even when both teams are bad, it still means everything. The fact both are undefeated and one of them is ranked No. 1 and the other is No.10 is just extra cheese on this already-awesome pizza.
I don’t like them and I make no secret about that. I don’t like them so much that I won’t even talk about them when they play. Except this week, because its Texas/ou week, and I love this week. I love the stadium, the atmosphere and the tunnel.
I can’t wait. Let’s do this.
No. 17 TEXAS 37 IOWA STATE 14
I said last week I thought Texas would come out a little off and rusty and they did. The offense wasn’t clicking like it was at UCLA and the defense had some trouble with the Iowa State running game … and Texas was leading 34-0 at halftime. That is definitely something when you can honestly say you are far from perfect and still lead by five touchdowns on the road at halftime. I thought Texas mentally checked out at halftime and started thinking about the Cotton Bowl resulting in uneven and sloppy play. Still, this game was never in doubt and the Horns got nearly everyone on the travel squad valuable reps. Texas moved to 4-0 and now IT’S ON. Here’s what I saw on Saturday in Ames:
Quarterbacks: I thought the unit came back to earth a little bit this week. And by “back to earth” I mean they didn’t absolutely obliterate the defense with 10-plus minutes to play in the first quarter. That is not to say they were bad by any means, just not space-stuff-falling-on-your-house-last-week hot like they were in LA. Much has been made about the fact David Ash seemed to get more snaps in critical times than Case McCoy did even though they both played, but I think it was terrific for two reasons. First, Texas is morphing and growing and evolving as an offense and they need see how both quarterbacks perform in all sorts of situations. The “who gives us the best chance to win” mantra this coaching staff has is true, meaning they need to see who gives the team the best chance to win. Secondly, it gets a lot of scenarios on tape for oklahoma to have to deal with. Defensive coordinators are always looking for tendencies and trends to key on and the more formations and packages they have to sift through can hide those tendencies and trends if not eliminate them completely. David Ash was in on throwing downs and throwing the ball and Case McCoy was in on running downs as Texas pounded the ground game; it was a total script flip from the first three games and the tendency to run with Ash in the game is not necessarily true anymore. What makes that profound is that Texas was successful with Ash in there throwing the ball, as he was 7-12 for 145 yards and two touchdowns. McCoy was solid in his efforts as well, going 7-12 for 110 yards; but, as was mentioned, Ash was the guy playing in the situations McCoy was playing at UCLA. Something to think about, sooners.
No turnovers and a combined 14-24, 255 yards and two scores. There were some bad throws, but all in all a good day from CAsh.
Running Backs: Not the dominant day I thought I’d see from the backs even though it was still a solid day. Malcolm Brown didn’t turn it over but he also didn’t completely take it over like I expected him to. He finished with 63 yards on 15 carries and was the victim of some inconsistent play from the offensive line. He’ll have better days even though this wasn’t a bad day. Fozzy Whittaker is just dynamite in the HarsinWhite scheme. He had a fumbled snap and a pass attempt negated by a penalty, but he continues to shine in the Wildcat role, rushing for 41 yards on seven carries and a touchdown and was easily the best Texas running back on the field Saturday night. D.J. Monroe also had a nice day with five carries for 31 yards and Texas has barely scratched the surface with him as a receiver (maybe this week?). The bobbled snap was the only thing close to a turnover and while no one was great, everyone was good.
Wide Outs/Tight Ends: Darius White? Darius? Anyone seen Darius White? I’m looking for Darius White? The Horns had a two-man show on Saturday with Mike Davis and Jaxon Shipley combining for 203 yards and two scores on nine catches. Mike Davis seems to have shaken off his early case of dropsies and is excelling as the deep threat when teams focus on the running game and Jaxon Shipley over the middle and underneath, evidenced by his td on a beautiful pass from Ash as the Iowa State defense bit hook, line and sinker on a play-action. Shipley was Shipley, leading the team with 141 yards receiving on six catches, including an awesome 40-yard touchdown catch from Ash on a trick play. A great day from these two, but where in the world was everyone else? Maybe a search party for White?
Offensive Line: Not super. Not bad, but not super. Iowa State’s defense is the strength of their team and they are loaded with upperclassmen, but I thought the o-line was going to take this game over and they didn’t. It wasn’t like a systemic failure or anything; it wasn’t a failure at all. It was just a guy missing his assignment here or there, and everyone not getting on the same page. Dominic Espinosa sprained his ankle and the line did some shifting in the second half as a result, but everything I said above kind of sounds like an excuse and I will make no excuses for a unit that has overachieved so far this season. It has to be better next week and they know it.
Defensive Line: I saw those defensive ends in action on Saturday. Alex Okafor and Jackson Jeffcoat combined for eight tackles including one for loss and Okafor recovered a fumble on Iowa State’s second drive to start the scoring for Texas. Inside the tackles were OK, showing little on the stat sheet, but they (and the ends) did a good job not allowing Jantz to get loose for any big gains. Solid day from all, but they had trouble in the second half keeping the Iowa State zone read in check and Kheeston Randall’s facemask penalty was insane. It looked like he wanted to take the guy’s helmet home as a souvenir or something. Good effort from all and better production from the ends, but it has to be improved this week.
Linebackers: Texas played a two-linebacker formation (extra db in the nickel) for much of the game and while EAcho was good with eight tackles and a sack, I thought he and Keenan Robinson (five tackles, forced fumble) had a lot of trouble dealing with the Iowa State running game. There were times when they couldn’t get off blocks and make plays, and that was the reason Steve Edmond got into the game. I said earlier this year I thought he’d see more time when Texas played more physical running teams and he got in against Iowa State, finishing with six tackles including one for loss and broken up pass. He’s a beast and a true middle linebacker that can handle the running game and I thought he was better than the starters in that capacity Saturday night.
Solid day from Acho, but Robinson has played better. We need unit-wide A-games next week, fellas.
Secondary: I’m stealing a line from my offensive line review after UCLA: out-expletive-standing. Iowa State could do nothing when it mattered and the scrambling Steele Jantz couldn’t find his guys running free against the young Texas secondary. Blake Gideon had a terrific interception and set Texas up for points with a 43-yard return and played as well as he has maybe ever. Kenny Vaccaro was excellent in the other safety spot as well, notching a sack and getting another qb pressure. The safeties were great, and you’d never know that Texas is lining up a true freshman and sophomore at cornerback. These two limited the senior-laden Iowa State receiving corps to minimal effect on Saturday night and every game they are successful is light years in development.
Well done from everyone and they were the best unit on the defense Saturday.
Special Teams: Pretty close to outstanding. Mykkele Thompson blocked a punt that Josh Turner returned for a touchdown and the coverage team forced a fumble on a kickoff that set Texas up for their first touchdown and a 10-0 lead. Justin Tucker missed his first field goal attempt of the year and I’m okay with that, because it will create focus and intensity in him next week, which is a good thing.
The coverage could have been better, but Iowa State didn’t get any big plays off a return and Texas scored off the blocked punt and set up the offense with a short field for a touchdown. More of that, please.
In Conclusion …
Texas is 4-0 heading to Dallas and so far Texas has passed every test. It wasn’t outstanding from start to finish, but it was pretty outstanding for a half. Everything gets harder starting this week.
No. 10 TEXAS (4-0/1-0) vs.
No. 1 oklahoma (5-0/1-0)
Saturday, October 8th
11 am
ABC
This game is the reason guys go to Texas and the other school with all the kids from Texas. The Cotton Bowl is split down the middle: half burnt orange and the other half Dallas residents (current, previous or future) in crimson and cream. They don’t like us and I sure as heck don’t like them. Most of the kids on both teams were recruited by both teams and know each other very well. The winner gets bragging rights for the year and those fans have a super terrific day at the fair and an excellent Saturday night. Of course the opposite is true for the losers. ESPN Game Day will be on hand as the No. 10 Horns try to unseat the No. 1 sooners. Can they? You bet they can. Will they? Let’s see.
sooners
They are coming in with their no. 1 ranking, their mouths, their whatever colored Mohawks and their swagger. They are good and they know it and they really, really want you to know how good they are. Their coaches talk tough and so does their team. The national media, the ou fans and the oklahoma team are going to tell you the Horns don’t have the talent, the experience or the mindset to win this game. Nonsense. These sooners can be had: It’s just a matter of whether or not Texas has the right pieces in place to do it.
Offense
I’m not a Landry Jones fan. I’m sure he’s a lovely young man off the field, but I have not been a fan of his play. When he has time and his first read is open, he’s very good. He’s much more accurate this year than ever before, showing the ability to make the deep throw and put it exactly where he wants it. On the year he has 1,447 passing and 10 touchdowns. He’s averaging 361 yards per game and completing 71.6% of his passes. When the junior has time, he’s lights out; however, when he doesn’t have time, all bets are off. I think Jones under duress still makes some curious decisions and those decisions result in interceptions, which he has five of on the year. He isn’t a runner and they don’t expect or want him running the ball; his job is to get the ball out to the playmakers and so far he has done that very well.
The main two targets are names you know: Ryan Broyles and Kenny Stills. Broyles is the senior All-American that seems like he’s been playing for 10 years. On the year the 5-foot-10, 188-pound Norman native leads the team in catches (38), yards (476) and touchdowns. In fact, Broyles has more catches than the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 receivers combined. He isn’t very big, but he’s lightning quick, fast and terrific in the open field. He must be accounted for every play, because he can score from anywhere on the field at any time. The sophomore Stills is bigger at 6-foot-1, 189 pounds and has shown the Limas Sweed-like ability to stretch the field (see the Florida State game). With Broyles working underneath and Stills working downfield the sooners have two great weapons for Landry Jones to find, and he finds them a lot. Guys like Trey Franks, Jazz Reynolds and tight end James Hannah combine for about 130 yards receiving per game, but the go-to players are Stills and Broyles.
Running back Dominique Whaley is not on scholarship. That has to be the “Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley are roommates” moment for ou fans. It’s true, though. The 5-foot-10, 197-pound junior transferred from Langston College, which I’m pretty sure is just made up. The sooners had blue blood in five star recruits at the tailback spot, but the alley cat Whaley came in and won the job and starts. On the season he has 379 yards rushing and seven touchdowns (both team highs) and runs fast, hard and decisive and sure doesn’t play or carry himself like a walk-on. He’s definitely the best option at tailback, but they also play superstar freshman Brandon Williams and sophomore Brennan Clay. Look for all three to play, but the workhorse is Whaley, who catches the ball nearly as well as he runs it.
The big boys up front will decide how much time Jones has and how well Whaley & Co. run it. The sooner offensive line has talented veterans, but they aren’t the dominant unit they have been in the past. Injuries to Jarvis Jones in the spring and center Ben Habern two weeks ago have left them woefully thin up front and their ability to move the pile in the running game has been affected. Whaley is a great story and good back, but the running game only produces 177 yards per game on the ground, which is 50th nationally. They are all excellent pass blockers, allowing only a ½ sack per game and it’s no surprise when you see these numbers that ou makes their money throwing the ball and they must throw the ball to be successful. They would like to be balanced, but if they are giving Jones time to throw, they are doing fine.
No doubt ou has seen Texas struggle some with the power running game and they will test that on Saturday. The zone read has been very successful against Texas so far this year and it seems logical they would try that, but a few things might make that easier said than done: first, center Ben Habern is out with a broken arm and the already-thin o-line is going to be maxed out. Secondly, running the ball isn’t something ou does extremely well and it certainly isn’t something Landry Jones does well. Check that, it isn’t that they do it poorly, it’s just they throw the ball really, really well and I don’t know if they will be patient enough to do that. Maybe they show the wildcat or a variation, or maybe they run it with another guy, either with a new formation or someone off the bench. At the end of the day I think ou will run their normal offense with lots of motion, movement and a super-quick tempo. If they can keep Jones clean, he’ll make some plays. If they don’t, Texas will make some plays.
Defense
I know this is the big, bad oklahoma sooners and all and they have the fearsome Ronnell Lewis, Travis Lewis and Tom Wort, but on paper it sure doesn’t seem all that fearsome. The numbers: 50th ranked defense: 50th rushing defense (129 ypg allowed), 59th ranked pass defense (219 ypg allowed) and the 40th ranked overall defense (348 ypg allowed). See? That doesn’t look all that scary, does it? They do some things well, though, like create turnovers (10 total, plus .75 per game), get to the quarterback (11 sacks) and scoring defense (15.25 ppg). I see opportunities.
Up front they are led by the aforementioned Ronnell Lewis. The 6-foot-2, 244-pound junior leads the team in tackles with 27 including 1.5 sacks and three passes defended. A former linebacker, he makes plays in the backfield and outside, but he isn’t a huge guy that can stand up to the power running game consistently. Opposite him is the anchor of the line in senior Frank Alexander. He’s a bigger, more polished version of Lewis, but not quite the same athlete. Still a formidable end, Alexander leads the team with 2.5 sacks. I don’t think either player is a true game changer, but both are very, very good and need to be accounted for. Inside at tackle Jamarkus McFarland and Casey Walker start and neither have great individual stats, but both do a pretty good job of keeping the linebackers clean and able to make plays.
And the linebacking corps is where the heart and soul of the defense is, led by senior Travis Lewis. The 6-foot-2, 227-pound former running back from San Antonio returned early from a broken foot in fall camp and has shown few ill effects of that injury. He does it all: he can run, he can hit and he can cover and he’ll tell you about it the entire time. If he played for Texas I’d love the guy, but he doesn’t. He can blow up plays before the start if not accounted for. Inside at middle linebacker is sophomore Tom Wort and his pink hair. At 6-foot, 229-pounds the Englishman from New Braunfels isn’t ideal for mike, but he has 25 tackles (second on the team), including 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and an interception and a fumble recovery on the season. He’s undersized to handle a serious running game, but he does a good job doing what is asked of him. Can he do it this week?
Basically the sooners run a 4-2-5 scheme, calling 5-foot-10, 199-pound sophomore Tony Jefferson a linebacker. He has a team-high three interceptions and 24 tackles on the year, including a sack, and he moves around a lot, dropping into coverage as often as he attacks the line of scrimmage. The question mark for the traditional four-man secondary unit was at safety coming in, but so far they have played well. Aaron Colvin and Javon Harris have combined for 42 tackles, two picks, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble. These two can really bring the lumber: Remember Harris in the Florida State game? But I am still not sold on them in coverage consistently. The sooners like to play that deep cover 2 and I watched Missouri abuse them in the first half. They are good at corner with Jamell Flemming and Demontre Hurst, who both have experience and lots of speed; still, no interceptions for either player and the sooners allow 219 yards passing. What does that mean? It means that they will make plays (14th in pass efficiency defense nationally), but they will give up some plays as well.
I see ou with a similar problem in defending the power running game and I’ll be curious to see if they bring in a bigger linebacker to replace Jefferson at sam to deal with that. Old school football principals here — control the line of scrimmage with the front seven and mix up the coverages to confuse the Texas quarterbacks … probably. You really don’t have any idea what Texas is going to do. We all know Texas wants to the run the ball but the different formations and packages are going to make it difficult for ou to figure out what is coming and when. They want to rattle CAsh’s cage and force turnovers while controlling the running game. It is definitely something they can do, but I just don’t see them being able to do it the entire game.
Special Teams
They stink at returning kicks, ranking 110th in kickoff returns and 98th in punt returns. They are excellent at kickoffs, holding opponents to an average of the 21-yard line to start drives, but they are terrible covering punts as they allow 14 yards per punt return despite an average of 40 yards-per-punt. Their two kickers are a combined 8-9 on field goals this year. The sooners are far from great in specials and they are going to have to work very hard to keep Texas from winning this battle.
When Texas won in 2008 they ignited their offense by taking advantage of poor kick coverage from oklahoma. It seems this game has a big special teams play every year (Aaron Williams’ fumble on the punt at the end of the game last year) and no doubt this year will be the same. The sooners need to work to make sure Texas isn’t the one making that play.
TEXAS
Offense
There are opportunities here for the Texas offense. Film will show that you can run on the sooners and you can throw on the sooners. They stiffen as the goal line approaches and will pounce on any mistakes, creating turnovers. They will also hit you very, very hard. Texas needs to stay composed and not let the setting, the opponent or the atmosphere overwhelm them. Stay loose, stay calm and stay focused and do your job.
I can’t wait to see what Brian Harsin cooks up for Saturday. I’ve seen him thoroughly confuse opponents and I have no doubt some of that will happen this week against ou. The numbers tell me Texas is going to have some success running the ball, which will open up the passing game some, and as long as Texas can hold on to the ball I like the odds. The sooners are going to bring the heat on CAsh and the o-line is going to have their hands full, but the mobility of the quarterback and the kid named Jaxon are going to make up for some of those breakdowns. The sooner d is going to make some plays, but the Texas offense is going to make some plays as well.
I see D.J. Monroe doing something special on Saturday.
Defense
Get after Landry Jones. Texas simply must get Jones on the ground and knock him around. He isn’t mobile, doesn’t run and makes some very silly decisions with the ball in his hands when under pressure. He’s going to make some plays and the sooner offense is going to move the ball, but I say who cares. It doesn’t matter if he throws for 1,000 yards, the goal is to keep him out of the end zone and if that happens then it’s a win.
Texas has to tackle well, which they have done so far this year, and they have to keep their heads and not get sucked into anything stupid like they did last year. They have to keep Broyles in front of them and a man on Stills deep. I think the Texas front seven has the chance to play this ou offensive line even for most of the day and, if the corners can play well, the pass rush and exotics Manny Diaz will bring could shock those national media guys. I think that’s exactly what happens as the 16th-ranked defense and the 5th ranked pass efficiency defense add to their total of 11 turnovers forced on Saturday and give the Texas offense a chance to win the game.
Special Teams
And those opportunities to score will come from the special teams as well. Texas broke out last week on specials, scoring a touchdown and setting up another score, and I see some very leaky coverage from ou that could lead to a big play from Jaxon Shipley and/or Quandre Diggs. Texas doesn’t cover kicks well, but ou runs them back even worse, so the opportunity for oklahoma to exploit Texas’ special teams weakness is smaller than Texas’ chance to exploit ou’s. The Horns are 26th nationally in punt returns and expect to see one get something going for Texas on Saturday.
Come on, Horns. You can win this phase. You have to win this phase.
IT’S ON …
I know what you’re thinking: that I painted a pretty rosy picture for Texas to beat ou. Diagnosis and application are not the same thing, I know that. The oklahoma sooners are no. 1 for a reason: They have a dynamite, quick-strike offense and a quarterback that knows where to put the ball and when do to it. They have dynamic tailback and pair of NFL wide outs to throw it to. The defense has talent, is physical and has already played in a big game; but that quarterback has shown he still makes mistakes and that defense has shown that it isn’t invincible. Sure, Texas is going to have to play very, very well to win this game, but I think they are up to the challenge.
I see these two highly coveted coordinators showing why they are so highly coveted with some schemes and tweaks to get Texas in position to win this game.
I think they do win this game and I can’t wait to get to the Dallas and see it.
LAST WEEK IN THE BIG 12
No. 6 OKLAHOMA STATE (3-0/1-0) IDLE
MISSOURI (2-2/0-1) IDLE
No. 16 BAYLOR 35 KANSAS STATE 36
Turns out RGIII is somewhat human. Despite 346 yards and five touchdowns, Griffin was picked off for first time this season late in the fourth and The Purple drove down to kick the game-winning field goal with 3:01 to play. Wide out Kendall Wright said after the loss “"We didn't get beat …We lost the game … There's a difference between getting beat and losing, and we lost the game." No there isn’t. Don’t get beat twice by the same loss, Bears. Put it away and move on.
TEXAS TECH 45 KANSAS 34
Tech got down 20-0 before both teams remembered who they were and the Tech offense came to life. I bet the pre-gaming has already started for the Tech kids in anticipation of A&M coming to town.
Ball State Cardinals 6 No.1 oklahoma 62
Whatever happened to Kid n’ Play? Remember it was Martin Lawrence that played their buddy they all made fun of. And then in the second one it was the guy from Young Black Teenagers. Remember their song Tap the Bottle? No? Well I do.
No. 14 Arkansas Razorbacks 42 No. 18 TEXAS A&M 38
This game was insane. The Aggies blew another big lead, giving up 25 points in the second half and managing only three points after scoring five touchdowns in the first half. Arkansas’ Tyler Wilson threw for 510 yards, all of it to No. 4, and the Hogs mounted a furious comeback to win it with a touchdown run in the final two minutes. The Ags rushed for 376 yards and lost. That’s INSANE. Also insane was the guy in the Arkansas flag corps that owned the Jumbotron at the stadium. Well done, kid, you be you.
THIS WEEK IN THE BIG 12
IOWA STATE (3-1/0-1) @ No. 25 BAYLOR (3-1/0-1) 6 pm FSN/FX
Who gets right first? Well, it isn’t that easy. Iowa State will rebound first, but Baylor is much, much better than Iowa State. Still, how does Baylor react to that loss? I think they stomp Iowa State into the Floyd Casey turf. RGIII’s Heisman campaign gets back on track.
KANSAS (2-2/0-1) @ No. 7 OKLAHOMA STATE (4-0/1-0) 2:30 pm
This isn’t on TV and that’s a good thing. They literally might score 100 points in this game. Not Kansas, I mean. Well, maybe they will, but if they do, that means OSU scored 300. You think Gundy will dance if they score 100? Of course he will.
MISSOURI (2-2/0-1) @ No. 20 KANSAS STATE (4-0/1-0) 2:30 pm ABC
This should be a great game with Mizzou coming off a bye week and K-State getting ranked after the win over Baylor. I think this is a close, competitive game that someone will win. See what I did there? I didn’t even pick a winner, just said “someone.”
No. 25 TEXAS A&M (2-2/0-2) @ TEXAS TECH (4-0/0-1) 6 pm F/X
This is the last trip to Lubbock for the 2012 SEC Champs (not really). These Tech kids are going to be completely unhinged by kickoff and, if I were an Aggie fan, I’d stay home and watch it on TV. I think the Ags are in trouble. Big trouble. I think the atmosphere and setting are too much for the reeling Ags and they lose, falling to 2-3 and 0-2 in the league. Don’t worry, Ags, you will be owning the SEC next year (again, not really). |
