1. It wasn't necessarily a thing of beauty, but Texas did what it needed to by picking up a pretty easy win and keeping hope alive that this can still be a fairly successful season. This was a pretty bad Iowa State team and Texas played down to ISU's level in the first half, but eventually the better team started making plays and the Longhorns picked up a much-needed win.
2. It seemed like in the first half Texas was dead-set on forcing the running game between the tackles (D'Onta Foreman had 18 carries at halftime). The logic certainly makes sense since ISU fields one of the worst run defenses in all of college football, but it was tough sledding for the most part and I would have liked to have seen Sterlin Gilbert force the issue a little earlier with the passing game.
3. In the third quarter, the Texas offense opened things up a little more and it paid off in a big way. There was very little rhythm to the UT offense in the first half, but allowing Buechele to work the passing game in the third quarter seemed to help him get settled in. Texas is going to need that kind of balance in all four quarters moving forward ... a slow start like tonight against future opponents will have the Longhorns in a big hole.
4. That was a heck of a performance by the Texas defense. 280 yards given up. 7 sacks. 6 points. That'll work.
5. So is the defense fixed?
I'm not ready to go that far. I've said repeatedly I'm going to need to see improved performances in consecutive weeks against some of the better offenses in the conference, and I still feel the same way. Do it against West Virginia, Texas Tech, etc and I'll start to believe.
6. I'm not putting too much stock into tonight's defensive performance, but you can't totally ignore the progress that was made. Iowa State isn't going to be confused with Oklahoma or Oklahoma State, but the Texas defense seemed energized, it tackled better and there weren't the repeated issues in the secondary that has plagued this team all season. Tonight was definitely a step in the right direction.
7. The Texas defensive line completely dominated the line of scrimmage all night. Naashon Hughes, Breckyn Hager, Chris Nelson, Poona Ford, Charles Omenihu and Bryce Cottrell were all extremely active.
8. Speaking of d-line, this one game isn't going to move the needle much with Marvin Wilson, but he had to like what he saw from the defensive front and the Texas defense overall. Saturday night isn't going to move UT up Wilson's list, but it keeps the Longhorns in contention, which is all you can ask right now.
9. Too many damn penalties. Again. Texas finished with 9 penalties (for 100 yards) but it felt like twice that many. The number of penalties and yards is too high, but it's the timing of them that is so frustrating. Too many times, Texas shoots itself in the foot with unnecessary penalties.
10. I have no idea what Kris Boyd did to get his taunting penalty, but he has to be able to keep his emotions in check. On one hand, his attitude is exactly what Texas needs. On the other hand, he needs to learn to celebrate with his teammates instead of constantly talking trash to the opponent.
11. D'Onta Foreman was a beast, again. He didn't have a ton of running room in the first half, but was still able to pick up yards by finishing his runs. Foreman runs so hard it's just a matter of time before defenses wear down, and that's exactly what happened in the second half. Foreman finished the game with a tough 136 yards and 1 TD on 30 carries. I know there are plenty of good backs in college football, some of which are much more high profile than Foreman, but I don't think I'd trade him for any of them.
12. Texas actually worked the middle of the field in the passing game a couple times in this one and was very successful when it did throw in that area. More of that please.
13. I would have bet a large sum of money before the season that we would not see a game where John Bonney and Kris Boyd were the starting corners. It's hard to fathom how far Davante Davis and Holton Hill have fallen.
The Texas OL quietly played a pretty good game. The run game was able to have success in the second half and Buechele really never faced much pressure. Solid effort by that group.
15. It was another disappointing performance for Malik Jefferson, who finished with 2 tackles, 2 assists and 1 whiff on what should have been an easy sack. Jefferson was credited with 1 sack, but it came on a play when the QB stepped out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage and Jefferson was in the area. Anthony Wheeler also had a quiet game, with just 3 solo tackles.
16. What a fitting way to end Iowa State's last drive with Chris Nelson and Naashon Hughes teaming up for a sack on fourth down.
17. Texas is now 3-3. That's the best record this team has had through six games in Strong's first three years in Austin.
18. It wasn't the most exciting win. The first-half performance on offense was downright ugly and had fans pulling out their hair. This win kind of has a "ho-hum" feel to it, but with the way things have gone this year, and could still go in the upcoming weeks, my advice is to just enjoy the win, enjoy the moment and don't nitpick it too much.
Player of the game: Tough week to pick. D'Onta Foreman certainly deserves recognition yet again, but he wasn't as good statistically as he has been and the defense was the dominant force tonight. I'll give the nod to Breckyn Hager, who tied for the team high with 6 tackles and also recorded 1 sack.
Best position group: Easy choice here. The entire defense was good, but it starts with the defensive line and that group was dominant all night. You can pretty much pick a name of a defensive lineman, and he was probably making plays in the ISU backfield.
This game was over when ... Shane Buechele hit Devin Duvernay for a 75-yard TD in the third quarter, stretching the Longhorns' lead to 17-6. There was still 7+ minutes left in the third quarter at the time of the score, but there was no way Iowa State was going to keep up with Texas at that point and close an 11-point gap.
Best decision: Opening up the offensive playcalling in the third quarter. Buechele seems to be a quarterback who really has to be in rhythm to be accurate and effective, and the playcalling in the first half really didn't give him much of a chance to settle in. In the third quarter, Buechele was able to throw the ball around a bit and he found his groove, including a couple perfectly-thrown balls downfield.
Head-scratcher: There were a couple offensive play calls in the first half that were a bit perplexing (draw on third-and-8, throwing a fade on third down from the 3), but I thought it was a pretty clean game overall for the entire staff.
What's next?:Texas evened up its record, but much tougher tests remain. The Longhorns will head to Kansas State next weekend with some much-needed confidence, particularly on defense. KSU starting quarterback Jesse Ertz was injured in his team's loss to OU on Saturday, so that could certainly tip things in UT's favor heading into what should be a competitive game.
2. It seemed like in the first half Texas was dead-set on forcing the running game between the tackles (D'Onta Foreman had 18 carries at halftime). The logic certainly makes sense since ISU fields one of the worst run defenses in all of college football, but it was tough sledding for the most part and I would have liked to have seen Sterlin Gilbert force the issue a little earlier with the passing game.
3. In the third quarter, the Texas offense opened things up a little more and it paid off in a big way. There was very little rhythm to the UT offense in the first half, but allowing Buechele to work the passing game in the third quarter seemed to help him get settled in. Texas is going to need that kind of balance in all four quarters moving forward ... a slow start like tonight against future opponents will have the Longhorns in a big hole.
4. That was a heck of a performance by the Texas defense. 280 yards given up. 7 sacks. 6 points. That'll work.
5. So is the defense fixed?
I'm not ready to go that far. I've said repeatedly I'm going to need to see improved performances in consecutive weeks against some of the better offenses in the conference, and I still feel the same way. Do it against West Virginia, Texas Tech, etc and I'll start to believe.
6. I'm not putting too much stock into tonight's defensive performance, but you can't totally ignore the progress that was made. Iowa State isn't going to be confused with Oklahoma or Oklahoma State, but the Texas defense seemed energized, it tackled better and there weren't the repeated issues in the secondary that has plagued this team all season. Tonight was definitely a step in the right direction.
7. The Texas defensive line completely dominated the line of scrimmage all night. Naashon Hughes, Breckyn Hager, Chris Nelson, Poona Ford, Charles Omenihu and Bryce Cottrell were all extremely active.
8. Speaking of d-line, this one game isn't going to move the needle much with Marvin Wilson, but he had to like what he saw from the defensive front and the Texas defense overall. Saturday night isn't going to move UT up Wilson's list, but it keeps the Longhorns in contention, which is all you can ask right now.
9. Too many damn penalties. Again. Texas finished with 9 penalties (for 100 yards) but it felt like twice that many. The number of penalties and yards is too high, but it's the timing of them that is so frustrating. Too many times, Texas shoots itself in the foot with unnecessary penalties.
10. I have no idea what Kris Boyd did to get his taunting penalty, but he has to be able to keep his emotions in check. On one hand, his attitude is exactly what Texas needs. On the other hand, he needs to learn to celebrate with his teammates instead of constantly talking trash to the opponent.
11. D'Onta Foreman was a beast, again. He didn't have a ton of running room in the first half, but was still able to pick up yards by finishing his runs. Foreman runs so hard it's just a matter of time before defenses wear down, and that's exactly what happened in the second half. Foreman finished the game with a tough 136 yards and 1 TD on 30 carries. I know there are plenty of good backs in college football, some of which are much more high profile than Foreman, but I don't think I'd trade him for any of them.
12. Texas actually worked the middle of the field in the passing game a couple times in this one and was very successful when it did throw in that area. More of that please.
13. I would have bet a large sum of money before the season that we would not see a game where John Bonney and Kris Boyd were the starting corners. It's hard to fathom how far Davante Davis and Holton Hill have fallen.
The Texas OL quietly played a pretty good game. The run game was able to have success in the second half and Buechele really never faced much pressure. Solid effort by that group.
15. It was another disappointing performance for Malik Jefferson, who finished with 2 tackles, 2 assists and 1 whiff on what should have been an easy sack. Jefferson was credited with 1 sack, but it came on a play when the QB stepped out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage and Jefferson was in the area. Anthony Wheeler also had a quiet game, with just 3 solo tackles.
16. What a fitting way to end Iowa State's last drive with Chris Nelson and Naashon Hughes teaming up for a sack on fourth down.
17. Texas is now 3-3. That's the best record this team has had through six games in Strong's first three years in Austin.
18. It wasn't the most exciting win. The first-half performance on offense was downright ugly and had fans pulling out their hair. This win kind of has a "ho-hum" feel to it, but with the way things have gone this year, and could still go in the upcoming weeks, my advice is to just enjoy the win, enjoy the moment and don't nitpick it too much.
Player of the game: Tough week to pick. D'Onta Foreman certainly deserves recognition yet again, but he wasn't as good statistically as he has been and the defense was the dominant force tonight. I'll give the nod to Breckyn Hager, who tied for the team high with 6 tackles and also recorded 1 sack.
Best position group: Easy choice here. The entire defense was good, but it starts with the defensive line and that group was dominant all night. You can pretty much pick a name of a defensive lineman, and he was probably making plays in the ISU backfield.
This game was over when ... Shane Buechele hit Devin Duvernay for a 75-yard TD in the third quarter, stretching the Longhorns' lead to 17-6. There was still 7+ minutes left in the third quarter at the time of the score, but there was no way Iowa State was going to keep up with Texas at that point and close an 11-point gap.
Best decision: Opening up the offensive playcalling in the third quarter. Buechele seems to be a quarterback who really has to be in rhythm to be accurate and effective, and the playcalling in the first half really didn't give him much of a chance to settle in. In the third quarter, Buechele was able to throw the ball around a bit and he found his groove, including a couple perfectly-thrown balls downfield.
Head-scratcher: There were a couple offensive play calls in the first half that were a bit perplexing (draw on third-and-8, throwing a fade on third down from the 3), but I thought it was a pretty clean game overall for the entire staff.
What's next?:Texas evened up its record, but much tougher tests remain. The Longhorns will head to Kansas State next weekend with some much-needed confidence, particularly on defense. KSU starting quarterback Jesse Ertz was injured in his team's loss to OU on Saturday, so that could certainly tip things in UT's favor heading into what should be a competitive game.
