During the year, Texas won a bunch of games, but didn't look all that great in doing so. We had three really good games, against Alabama, Oklahoma State, and Tech. These were, all three, teams that did not pass the ball on an elite level, and Texas handled all of them.
But for the rest of the season, we had a maddening (and consistent) inability to put teams away, because of two issues. We could not get a decent pass rush, especially rushing four, and our DBs could not cover well. In addition, we had weak play on the OL, with way too many penalties, especially pre-snap.
We also had inconsistent play at QB. Some of it early was Quinn still feeling his way, and some late was he was recovering from injury. But Quinn also has a maddening ability to play sloppy for a few drives, especially early. He also plays really well late in the game, once he's got a rhythm.
All of that was on display against UW. Washington has a really good quarterback and good receivers, and if you give Penix time, he will carve you up. That's exactly what he did. And the OL didn't play well, especially early, and Quinn was throwing lazy sidearm passes that were easy to knock down. Throw in two fumbles, and that was it.
Lots of folks on here complaining about the game plans on both sides of the ball. Why didn't Sark run more? Why didn't we cover better? PK gotta go. Etc etc. Reality: we played to the ability of our players. When the best players on your defense are the two tackles? That's not necessarily a good thing. Ironically, we would have matched up better against Michigan, because we defend the run far better than UW. But with the personnel we have? This was the outcome you'd expect.
Hopefully help is on the way for next year. We should be better in the secondary, and hopefully our pass rush will improve. Quinn will have another year of practice and experience, as will Arch.
But for 2023? Instead of being frustrated watching Michigan handle the team that beat us, I get that we had personnel weaknesses, and yet we still wound up winning the conference, making the playoff, and finishing in the top 5. If you had asked me before the season st...YES I WILL TAKE THAT.
But for the rest of the season, we had a maddening (and consistent) inability to put teams away, because of two issues. We could not get a decent pass rush, especially rushing four, and our DBs could not cover well. In addition, we had weak play on the OL, with way too many penalties, especially pre-snap.
We also had inconsistent play at QB. Some of it early was Quinn still feeling his way, and some late was he was recovering from injury. But Quinn also has a maddening ability to play sloppy for a few drives, especially early. He also plays really well late in the game, once he's got a rhythm.
All of that was on display against UW. Washington has a really good quarterback and good receivers, and if you give Penix time, he will carve you up. That's exactly what he did. And the OL didn't play well, especially early, and Quinn was throwing lazy sidearm passes that were easy to knock down. Throw in two fumbles, and that was it.
Lots of folks on here complaining about the game plans on both sides of the ball. Why didn't Sark run more? Why didn't we cover better? PK gotta go. Etc etc. Reality: we played to the ability of our players. When the best players on your defense are the two tackles? That's not necessarily a good thing. Ironically, we would have matched up better against Michigan, because we defend the run far better than UW. But with the personnel we have? This was the outcome you'd expect.
Hopefully help is on the way for next year. We should be better in the secondary, and hopefully our pass rush will improve. Quinn will have another year of practice and experience, as will Arch.
But for 2023? Instead of being frustrated watching Michigan handle the team that beat us, I get that we had personnel weaknesses, and yet we still wound up winning the conference, making the playoff, and finishing in the top 5. If you had asked me before the season st...YES I WILL TAKE THAT.
