Gary Patterson was absolutely right about Texas sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger when he called the sophomore from Austin Westlake the X-Factor of the Texas offense in Saturday's game against TCU.
In a game where I expect Texas to struggle to run the ball effectively for four quarters, it's going to be Ehlinger's play at the quarterback position that defines the outcome of this critical game.
Ready or not, the moment where his presence on the field will start to matter the most has arrived.
No coach scouts Texas better than Patterson. No coach on the schedule this season will be more ready to force Ehlinger to face off with his weaknesses as a player than Patterson. No coach owns the Texas kryptonite more than Patterson.
The good news is that Ehlinger both survives and thrives this weekend against a team that might just be the best Texas faces all season, there's zero reason to think that he can't truly take off as a player before this season is over. We're talking about a contest with a ton of symbolism embedded in it.
The bad news is that up until this point, Ehlinger has been just average enough to rank 8th in Big 12 quarterback efficiency, which represents a rather ominous storm cloud heading into a game against Patterson.
A week ago, the game against USC proved to be less about Ehlinger and more about the other elements of both teams, which is partly what led to a 23-point win. That's not going to be the case this week.
Like I said, ready or not, the moment has arrived for Ehlinger to take a step forward. Texas can't win this weekend without it.
2. As dangerous as this TCU team is, it brings the ninth-rated quarterback in Big 12 efficiency into this game with sophomore Shawn Robinson, which means that we could see a very low-scoring game on our hands, unless big plays on defense/special teams trigger an onslaught of points. If Texas can get an early lead and put a ton of pressure on Robinson to make plays, you could easily see a path for victory emerge. Getting the fast start and not allowing one is the key.
3. If you're asking me how Texas wins the game on Saturday, I think Ehlinger has to have more touchdowns (passing and rushing) than he has turnovers and the defense/special teams will have to contribute at least a score. It's going to take 30+ points to win this week and I don't think the Texas offense can get there by itself.
4. Both of these teams look ripe for an explosive play to go against them on special teams. TCU's special teams come into this game as one of the worst combined special teams units in the nation, while Texas seems on the verge of having a punt blocked each week. There should be a red siren going off all week for both teams in this third phase of the game.
5. Memo to Texas coaches: DO NOT KICK THE BALL TO KAVONTAE TURPIN UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
6. Declaration I made in the recording of the TicketCity Podcast: "Gary Patterson is the greatest evaluator of talent at the college level in this state than anyone that has ever coached in this state at the college level."
I'm not sure that it's even close.
7. Weirdly, this four-game stretch that begun with USC and ends with Oklahoma might not be the most difficult stretch of football on the schedule, at least not if quarterback play significantly matters. Beginning with Oklahoma, there's a run of six games where the Longhorns face the five highest-rated quarterbacks in the Big 12. Two of those games will be on the road. It's very likely that the real grind on this schedule doesn't end with Oklahoma, instead the Oklahoma game just starts it.
In a game where I expect Texas to struggle to run the ball effectively for four quarters, it's going to be Ehlinger's play at the quarterback position that defines the outcome of this critical game.
Ready or not, the moment where his presence on the field will start to matter the most has arrived.
No coach scouts Texas better than Patterson. No coach on the schedule this season will be more ready to force Ehlinger to face off with his weaknesses as a player than Patterson. No coach owns the Texas kryptonite more than Patterson.
The good news is that Ehlinger both survives and thrives this weekend against a team that might just be the best Texas faces all season, there's zero reason to think that he can't truly take off as a player before this season is over. We're talking about a contest with a ton of symbolism embedded in it.
The bad news is that up until this point, Ehlinger has been just average enough to rank 8th in Big 12 quarterback efficiency, which represents a rather ominous storm cloud heading into a game against Patterson.
A week ago, the game against USC proved to be less about Ehlinger and more about the other elements of both teams, which is partly what led to a 23-point win. That's not going to be the case this week.
Like I said, ready or not, the moment has arrived for Ehlinger to take a step forward. Texas can't win this weekend without it.
2. As dangerous as this TCU team is, it brings the ninth-rated quarterback in Big 12 efficiency into this game with sophomore Shawn Robinson, which means that we could see a very low-scoring game on our hands, unless big plays on defense/special teams trigger an onslaught of points. If Texas can get an early lead and put a ton of pressure on Robinson to make plays, you could easily see a path for victory emerge. Getting the fast start and not allowing one is the key.
3. If you're asking me how Texas wins the game on Saturday, I think Ehlinger has to have more touchdowns (passing and rushing) than he has turnovers and the defense/special teams will have to contribute at least a score. It's going to take 30+ points to win this week and I don't think the Texas offense can get there by itself.
4. Both of these teams look ripe for an explosive play to go against them on special teams. TCU's special teams come into this game as one of the worst combined special teams units in the nation, while Texas seems on the verge of having a punt blocked each week. There should be a red siren going off all week for both teams in this third phase of the game.
5. Memo to Texas coaches: DO NOT KICK THE BALL TO KAVONTAE TURPIN UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
6. Declaration I made in the recording of the TicketCity Podcast: "Gary Patterson is the greatest evaluator of talent at the college level in this state than anyone that has ever coached in this state at the college level."
I'm not sure that it's even close.
7. Weirdly, this four-game stretch that begun with USC and ends with Oklahoma might not be the most difficult stretch of football on the schedule, at least not if quarterback play significantly matters. Beginning with Oklahoma, there's a run of six games where the Longhorns face the five highest-rated quarterbacks in the Big 12. Two of those games will be on the road. It's very likely that the real grind on this schedule doesn't end with Oklahoma, instead the Oklahoma game just starts it.
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