I'm going to be glass half-full guy today.
No, the offense wasn't great n the first half. No, the interior of the offensive line wasn't great. No, this performance wasn't good enough to win in Tuscaloosa next week.
But, in theory, that's what game one performances are for, right?
The bottom line is that the Longhorns handled their business, especially in the second half when the defense stuffed Rice three straight drives and the offense scored touchdowns on three straight, themselves.
The team has a lot of improvement to make, but there's plenty of time to get there.
Signed,
9-3 guy
(Other thoughts)
1. Quinn Ewers still can't throw the deep ball well, but his overall performance was pretty strong, as he finished with a 169 game rating (very, very good), three touchdowns passing, one rushing touchdown and zero turnovers.
Pretty good stuff.
2. The interior of the Texas offensive line better get better fast. Rice did some damage against that group (6 TFL in the first half) and I don't have to tell you who arrives next week on the schedule.
3. Xavier Worthy is still the best player on the offense. He could have caught 20 passes today if they wanted to go for it. Rice still hasn't truly covered him.
4. Really good day for the Texas defense. JT Daniels is terrible and the defense made him look terrible.
5. Interesting that Steve Sarkisian had zero fear to go for it on fourth down inside his own 35-yard line. You can call it gutsy, brave, careless or all three, but it gave us some insight into how aggressive he wants to be with this offense.
6. Worthy had four targets in the opening two drives on offense. He's still the guy the offense is built around.
7. I Loved the play-call on the screen pass to Jonathon Brooks on the opening touchdown of the game. Perfect execution.
8. Freshmen Derek Williams and Anthony Hill were on the field by the second series of the game in the first half. Malik Muhammad gets in on the third series..
9. Texas 0 for 3 on third downs on offense going into the second quarter.
10. Jaylan Ford is just a damn ball hawk. It was kind of an otherwise quiet performance, but the big-play creating plays were still there in his game. Good to see that.
11. J.T. Sanders has a touchdown in the second quarter if Jordan Whittington doesn't run his defender into his spot. Kind of crazy thing to see that happen and a touchdown get wiped off the board because an opposing defender got his helmet in the way by accident.
12. T'Vondre Sweat was fantastic today. Maybe the best player of the game on defense.
13. Keilan Robinson didn't get a touch until there were under 7 minutes in the 2nd half, Kind of surprising.
14. The Texas offensive line got bullied in the first half when trying to convert 4th and 1. That feels ominous going into next week.
15. I thought Kriss Ross played pretty damn well as a second-team defensive end.
16. Shout out to Ethen Burke, who recorded 1.5 sacks and nearly had 2.5.
17. AD Mitchell needs to block better.
18. Rice 3 sacks in the first half. Again, the line has to be better... fast.
19. Bert Auburn might have been the game MVP if he had hit the 56-yarder.
20. The second half started exactly like you wanted. Three and out by the defense and a touchdown drive for the offense. Low-key one of the big stretches in this game for the team.
21. It was a perfect call to Sanders for the touchdown and I called it in the OB Live Show.
22. Again , zero turnovers for Ewers. That's not insignificant.
23. Did Ewers do the Icky Shuffle after his touchdown run to make it 37-3? I'm fairly certain he did and I have some questions.
24. David Gbenda led the team with 6 tackles. Not a bad start.
25. Malik Muhammad played very well, finishing with 5 tackles and one pass break-up.
26. Here's hoping CJ Baxter is ready by next week. That injury was one of the few true negatives in this game.
27. That being said, Jaydon Blue was pretty to very good in place of him.
No, the offense wasn't great n the first half. No, the interior of the offensive line wasn't great. No, this performance wasn't good enough to win in Tuscaloosa next week.
But, in theory, that's what game one performances are for, right?
The bottom line is that the Longhorns handled their business, especially in the second half when the defense stuffed Rice three straight drives and the offense scored touchdowns on three straight, themselves.
The team has a lot of improvement to make, but there's plenty of time to get there.
Signed,
9-3 guy
(Other thoughts)
1. Quinn Ewers still can't throw the deep ball well, but his overall performance was pretty strong, as he finished with a 169 game rating (very, very good), three touchdowns passing, one rushing touchdown and zero turnovers.
Pretty good stuff.
2. The interior of the Texas offensive line better get better fast. Rice did some damage against that group (6 TFL in the first half) and I don't have to tell you who arrives next week on the schedule.
3. Xavier Worthy is still the best player on the offense. He could have caught 20 passes today if they wanted to go for it. Rice still hasn't truly covered him.
4. Really good day for the Texas defense. JT Daniels is terrible and the defense made him look terrible.
5. Interesting that Steve Sarkisian had zero fear to go for it on fourth down inside his own 35-yard line. You can call it gutsy, brave, careless or all three, but it gave us some insight into how aggressive he wants to be with this offense.
6. Worthy had four targets in the opening two drives on offense. He's still the guy the offense is built around.
7. I Loved the play-call on the screen pass to Jonathon Brooks on the opening touchdown of the game. Perfect execution.
8. Freshmen Derek Williams and Anthony Hill were on the field by the second series of the game in the first half. Malik Muhammad gets in on the third series..
9. Texas 0 for 3 on third downs on offense going into the second quarter.
10. Jaylan Ford is just a damn ball hawk. It was kind of an otherwise quiet performance, but the big-play creating plays were still there in his game. Good to see that.
11. J.T. Sanders has a touchdown in the second quarter if Jordan Whittington doesn't run his defender into his spot. Kind of crazy thing to see that happen and a touchdown get wiped off the board because an opposing defender got his helmet in the way by accident.
12. T'Vondre Sweat was fantastic today. Maybe the best player of the game on defense.
13. Keilan Robinson didn't get a touch until there were under 7 minutes in the 2nd half, Kind of surprising.
14. The Texas offensive line got bullied in the first half when trying to convert 4th and 1. That feels ominous going into next week.
15. I thought Kriss Ross played pretty damn well as a second-team defensive end.
16. Shout out to Ethen Burke, who recorded 1.5 sacks and nearly had 2.5.
17. AD Mitchell needs to block better.
18. Rice 3 sacks in the first half. Again, the line has to be better... fast.
19. Bert Auburn might have been the game MVP if he had hit the 56-yarder.
20. The second half started exactly like you wanted. Three and out by the defense and a touchdown drive for the offense. Low-key one of the big stretches in this game for the team.
21. It was a perfect call to Sanders for the touchdown and I called it in the OB Live Show.
22. Again , zero turnovers for Ewers. That's not insignificant.
23. Did Ewers do the Icky Shuffle after his touchdown run to make it 37-3? I'm fairly certain he did and I have some questions.
24. David Gbenda led the team with 6 tackles. Not a bad start.
25. Malik Muhammad played very well, finishing with 5 tackles and one pass break-up.
26. Here's hoping CJ Baxter is ready by next week. That injury was one of the few true negatives in this game.
27. That being said, Jaydon Blue was pretty to very good in place of him.
