With the way this game started, Clemson driving the field for a touchdown, I thought for a minute that Texas might be in for a battle all game. It turns out, the Longhorns were the superior team and they really didn’t have to sweat this one very much despite a nice rally by Clemson. If Texas can play in the coming weeks like it did in the first half of this game, the Longhorns are going to be awfully tough to beat. Second half … ummmm.
Game ball to the entire offensive line. That group suffered some tough injuries today but the line dominated this game. Kyle Flood’s guys were on fire today against a good Clemson defensive front.
Other random thoughts from the game …
Isaiah Bond in street clothes. Either he’s hurt way worse than Sark was letting on, maybe they're resting because they think they won't need him and to get him close to full strength?
Impressive drive by Clemson to start the game. Never would have guessed Clemson would march down the field for a pretty easy touchdown against this Texas defense.
Third-and-10 run call and it works. A fullback dive of sorts on fourth and short. Sark playing chess early on.
Nice response by Texas on the Longhorns’ first drive of the game. Both QBs looking sharp early on.
I’ve said this several times but it’s worth repeating, Tre Wisner runs HARD for a smaller back who came in to college as more of a receiving back. That dude doesn’t mind lowering his shoulder and he finishes runs like a big back.
Jaydon Blue with the jets. Put that touchdown run on the NFL resume tape. That was well-blocked but Blue showed some explosiveness on that run.
How good did that sack feel for Ethan Burke? Westlake guy sacking a Westlake guy.
Touchdown Longhorns and touchdown Steelers within about 3 seconds of each other. Holy hell was that fun!
The Texas offensive line is MASHING the Clemson defensive front. Some of the holes for the running backs were gigantic. And that’s a good defensive line that they’re manhandling early on.
Colin freaking Simmons. Man when that dude gets going he is such a force. Big-time tackle for loss and then an interception on back-to-back plays. Unfortunately Texas couldn’t make Clemson pay when they turned it over on downs. I’m okay with the decision to go for it, but I probably would have kicked the field goal to go up by three scores.
That throwback screen was a disaster. Loss of yards and two players banged up. Doesn’t feel like Texas has had much success with that play all year from what I remember. Throw that play away for the rest of the season.
DeAndre Moore, that cannot happen. Texas was close to putting the game away if he holds onto that ball and the offense goes down and scores.
Michael Taaffe with a couple missed tackles in the open field. Haven’t seen much of that all year.
First-half stats of note … Quinn Ewers 11-14 for 141 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT for a passer rating of 172.5 (should have been higher since the INT wasn’t his fault); Tre Wisner 10 carries for 80 yards and 2 TDs; Jaydon Blue 7 carries for 56 yards and 1 TD; Seven different Longhorns with receptions; Texas zero penalties; Texas 289 total yards, Clemson 182 total yards; Anthony Hill 7 tackles (6 solo); Ethan Burke 1.5 sacks; Texas 0 punts.
That screen to Gunnar Helm was perfect. Called against the blitz, Quinn made a quick decision in the face of pressure, changed his arm angle and then Helm made a beautiful one-handed catch.
Good to see Tre Wisner back on the field in the second half. It’s not that Jaydon Blue can’t be the lead back if need be, but the running back depth is frighteningly thin moving forward if Wisner was out for an extended period of time. Wisner would return to the sideline in the second half but it didn’t look like it was anything too serious.
Another not great third quarter by the Longhorns. The yardage totals were nearly identical but Texas was outscored 7-3 and gave Clemson a lot of momentum heading into the fourth quarter.
Jaydon. Freaking. Blue. Wow. It looked like he was toying with the defenders once he broke into the open field, letting them stay just close enough to think they had a chance at catching him.
Man, I gained a lot of respect for Cade Klubnik for the way he played and battled in this game. He carved up this Texas defense in a way we haven’t seen any other quarterback do.
Huge fourth-down goal line stop by the Texas defense. This wasn’t the finest day for that side of the ball, but that was a huge stand when backed against a wall. Ball game.
Hell of a drive to eat up the clock by the Texas offense and the ground game. Hell of a job by the ground game overall in this one. That was domination.
Survive and advance. Bring on Arizona State.
