This is when we find out just how tough this Texas team really is.
“I told the team, I'd much rather get knocked down in the sixth round than get knocked out in the 12th round,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian told the press Monday following the 30-15 loss to Georgia. “We’ve got to get up off the mat. We’ve got to get back to work the way we know how to do it, which we will do. We'll fight like crazy and we'll, we'll make this a 12 round fight for the season.”
All of the team’s goals at the start of the season are still achievable, but they don’t have any margin for error after losing to Georgia last week.
If the Longhorns want to win the SEC championship, then they need to go into Nashville and beat Vanderbilt … something that seems harder today than it did before the season started.
Of course, while everyone remembers the big win against Alabama, they forget this team also lost to Georgia State.
Statistically, the Commodores are not elite at anything. They’re a run first team which is middle of the pack in the conference (8th, averaging 162 yards per game). They don’t pass for a lot of yards (12th in the league at 201 yards per game). They don’t really stop anyone with great success on defense (10th in total defense and 14th in scoring defense).
So how do they win? With grit … and quarterback Diego Pavia.
“He's kind of that definition of grit,” Sarkisian said Monday. “You know, grit is always something very hard to define. Sometimes it's easier to see. And he's a gritty player. He's tough. He finds a way to make plays, whether it's with his legs, with his arm, with his legs and his arm. You know, he runs tough, he runs hard. He makes the throws when he needs to make them. And I think that that he's infused that grit into their program.
“He definitely is the straw that stirs the drink for them in the run game and in the pass game. He's definitely infused a competitive, winning mentality into that team. And so we've got our we've got our work cut out for him and defending him as well as their entire team.”
Pavia, who transferred in from New Mexico State University, knows this offense inside and out. He, along with offensive coordinator Tim Beck (the OTHER Tim Beck) have worked together for several years now. There is not much that a defense can show that Pavia and Beck haven’t worked through before. But some things can’t be taught. Grit.
“It all starts with that quarterback,” said Texas safety Michael Taaffe. “He’s a baller. The offense goes through him and he shows his grit and his toughness every single play. Whether he’s handing the ball off and he’s going to add on and be the lead blocker or he’s throwing for a touchdown or running for a touchdown, it goes through him.”
Other players also described Pavia as having “grit,” so clearly Sark’s messaging about Vanderbilt has sunk in to the players.
Pavia isn’t just a tough player, he’s disciplined. Vanderbilt is elite in one category … they take care of the ball. The Commodores have two turnovers on the season (one lost fumble and one interception) and they lead the conference in turnover margin.
That disciplined football, along with a commitment to the run game, has helped Vandy lead the conference in time of possession. They slowly lure defenses into a lull.
“Their win is a four yard run,” said Taaffe saying that eye control and discipline on defense is the key to stopping the Commodores offense. “If you get three four yard runs, that’s a first down. So the second they get a safety to be like, ‘ok, I’m not ok with a four yard run, I’m going to sneak in here and not do my job,’ pop – touchdown.”
The Texas defense needs to get some three and outs on Saturday to give the offense a chance.
“You got to maximize your possessions offensively,” Sarkisian said. “We had 76 plays the other night. When Alabama went to Vanderbilt a few weeks ago, they ran 48 plays. I think their next opponent ran 52 I think Ball State ran 60. You've got to be really efficient with your plays offensively. And we’ve got to fight like crazy on the field, extending our drives on third down.
“Then we’ve got to find a way defensively to get them off the field, which probably means we’ve got to win on first down. We’ve got to do a great job on third down and try to minimize the third and short opportunities that they get.”
Of course, coming out of the Georgia game, the questions on this team center around that offense.
Quinn Ewers got pulled in the first half. The offensive line gave up seven sacks. The run game averaged a whopping 1.1 yards per carry.
This is a Texas offense, once considered elite, that is all of a sudden struggling to find itself.
“We struggled to execute our plan in the beginning,” said offensive tackle Kelvin Banks. “I feel like if we execute what Coach Sark is coaching us to do and putting in front of us, we’ll be ok. We just have to lock in to what our game plan is and once we get out on the field, go out and do it.”
Sark has preached all season long that he likes to run practices and manage the team the same way week in and week out in order to prevent complacency from creeping into the team. That’s understandable when a team is winning … it’s critical when a team is coming off a loss.
Sark also says he likes his teams to play with emotions, but not play emotional football. This week, that means using the loss to fuel themselves to be better.
“Naturally, there's a bad taste in our mouth,” Sarkisian sad. “Naturally, you know, we're a prideful group. We want to play better than we did. I do think we have a lot to prove, and I think we've got a chip on our shoulder. There's nothing wrong with that. I think that's a good thing. I've always been a guy that has thrived when I have something to prove to somebody. I think that our team has taken on that personality as well.”
The Longhorns need to put their heads down, put in the work and come out and play to their level.
If they play to their standard, as Sark has preached all year long, then there is no reason why this Saturday shouldn’t be a comfortable win against Vanderbilt. That’s what a championship level team would do. Now we find out if Texas really is a championship level team.
AROUND THE SEC
LSU @ TEXAS A&M
The most intriguing game in the SEC this week is Texas A&M’s matchup against LSU. I wrote in my CFP projections that I think the winner of this game has a good chance of making the playoffs.
I had been predicting an A&M win for several weeks, but watching LSU more closely, I think we’ll see the Tigers pull this one out. It should be a great game no matter what. And the Aggie fans will be full on Aggie’ish for a night game against the team they tried to create a rivalry with when they defected the Big 12 for the SEC. I’m not sure LSU would agree that they’re rivals, but I’m sure they will delight in beating A&M if they do win.
OKLAHOMA @ OLE MISS
This is OU’s first game without Seth Littrell as offensive coordinator. I don’t think it will matter. OU will continue to be the worst offense in the league (nearly 40 yards less per game than the next lowest team).
Brent Venables may be able to slow down Jaxson Dart and the Ole Miss offense some. Dart has been sort of pedestrian the last couple of weeks. But even one touchdown may be enough to win Saturday.
ARKANSAS @ MISSISSIPPI STATE
The piggies lost in pretty convincing fashion last week against LSU. I thought it would be a much tougher game than that in Fayetteville.
Mississippi State has played pretty well against Texas and Georgia the last couple of weeks but not good enough for a win. Is this the week Jeff Lebby gets his first SEC win as head coach?
For Orangebloods fans, who do you root for in this game? Arkansas, one of Texas’ most heated rivals whose fan base hates Texas with a passion that burns hotter than the meth labs that dots the state? Or do you cheer for Lebby, the son-in-law of Art Briles who once sold t-shirts bearing the slogan #CAB (Coach Art Briles)? It’s a dilemma.
MIZZOU @ ALABAMA
Talk about disappointing seasons. Missouri came into the season with sky high expectations. They’re still 6-1 but they are the most anemic looking 6-1 team you can find. The Tigers offense, which was supposed to be prolific, has been middling at best. Missouri is eighth in the conference in scoring averaging 31.7 points per game. For the record, A&M is right behind them at 31.4.
Bama fans, meanwhile, are about to run new head coach Kalen DeBoer out of town. That’ll happen when you lose to both Vanderbilt and Tennessee.
AUBURN @ KENTUCKY
Both of these can look like they play pretty good ball one week and the crap the bed the next. In truth though, they’re both pretty bad.
Kentucky has absolutely no offense but a pretty good defense (if this were the draft, I would comp them to OU … which is appropriate since a Stoops coaches the team).
Auburn’s offense isn’t much better while their defense is much worse.
TWEETS OF INTEREST:
Congratulations Texas fans, your reputation proceeds you.
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Texas is still the best defense in the country. Number one in total defense and number one in scoring defense and they’re not going to face a team as good as Georgia the rest of the season.
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Cockamamie?
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If you can’t cheer for Jake Majors, who can you cheer for?
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Are we sure Texas should be in the SEC?
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This is going to be a tough game for A&M this week.
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This is a weird result of conference realignment. Honestly, what Oregon State and Washington State have gone through is just sad to me.
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Gosh dang I love me some college baseball!
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Gosh dang I love me some dogs even more!
