On another day and against another team, the kind of sloppiness that we saw from the No.1 Texas Longhorns on Saturday against bottom-feeder Mississippi State might get them in trouble.
You can't drop sure-hire touchdowns, fumble all over the field, allow free runners to get to your punter, commit needless penalties and get bullied in the run game on both sides of the ball and expect that you won't pay for those combination of sins
Oh, and if you're going to take points off the scoreboard in the name of aggression, you better have a play-call that is able to justify the decision.
Add it all up and the Longhorns didn't play anything like a No.1 team.
The performance was good enough to pull out a victory and that's not unimportant. That matters and we shouldn't lose sight of that. yet, the Longhorns played about 7 rungs below the desired standard. That also matters and isn't unimportant.
Perhaps the best news is that Steve Sarkisian will be able to coach his team hard the next two weeks after this performance. If there was any worry about not being dialed in for Oklahoma for two weeks, Sarkisian and his staff have all the ammo they need to make sure they have this team's attention.
There's no reason to freak out. These things happen.
If the Longhorns want to remain undefeated, they might make every effort to make sure it doesn't happen again.
(Other thoughts...)
* The Texas running game feels like a bit of a problem coming out of today. One week after Jaydon Blue seemed to somewhat cement his place as the No.1 guy, he turned in a borderline disaster performance today.
* Have yourself a day, Deandre Moore. I believe this is officially a breakout performance.
* I've never been more certain in my life that a player was going to get a sack before a play than I was right before Colin Simmons got a sack on third and 18 in the third quarter. That poor left tackle never had a chance.
* Every time I thought Cole Hutson was playing at a level that didn't warrant sharing snaps with DJ Campbell, Campbell did something that made me understand why the coaches felt like they should rotate.
* Jerrick Gibson not getting a carry until there was less than 3 minutes in the third quarter was a surprise.
* I hated the fourth and three play-call. I have no idea why they didn't spread things out.
* Jaydon Blue has to protect the ball better. Period. Or he can't be the primary back.
* Everything about this game can be summed up by Texas turning the ball over on the first play of the quarter after almost certainly spending a;; 20 minutes of halftime talking about the importance of coming out and imposing some will after a lackluster first half.
* Attaboy, Vernon Broughton. That was one hell of a play.
* David Gbenda was excellent today. He's turned into a really good player this season.
* Arch by quarter...
1st Q: 7 of 8 for 105 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (197.8 rating)
2nd Q: 8 of 11 for 97 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (176.8 rating)
3rd Q: 5 of 5 for 50 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (153.3 rating)
4th Q: 6 of 7 for 72 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (219.3 rating)
* Poor, Barryn Sorrell. He finally is in a position to get a sack and he doesn't get the quarterback down to the ground, which allowed Anthony Hill to scoop up his sack.
* Arch as the best player on the field by a mile in that first half.
* Good grief, Johntay Cook. You can't drop that and expect to play more.
* The Longhorns have outscored its first 5 opponents by a score of 56-0 this season. Incredible.
* Arch looked absolutely fantastic on that opening drive... 4 of 4 for 56 yards. That young man was ready to play.
* That opening drive by the Bulldogs was so methodical that the word methodical actually blushes at the comparison. I mean... 13 Plays, 47 Yards, 7:08 TOP. I was just waiting for someone on the Texas defense to make a play and Anthony Hill finally did on 3rd and 5 at the Texas 33-yard line. The defense wasn't playing poorly, but it wasn't playing at a plus-level up until that point.
