Was able to rewatch the game on SkyCast last night. Fascinating to actually see what's going on from behind the play vs what gets sold to you on TV. First, Ohio State did a really good job of throwing a ton of different looks on the field early on in the game and especially simulating and bringing pressure off the back side. Quinn was very uncomfortable early and abandoned the pocket too soon. But Banks did a really good job of making sure nobody ever got home early, and Quinn would eventually settle down. Unfortunately, as the game went on, it would be the Jack Sawyer show on the right side of the O-line as he should have been charged with a crime for the way he abused Cam, DJ, and Cole.
I wish I had the time to grab clips, but I will look for the right software and stuff for next season when we're looking at Arch to be able to give some better breakdowns but for now it's just some thoughts based on the rewatch.
Quick Hitter on coverages.
- Ohio State started in their Tampa 2 look with Downs in the middle and Sark went right at it on the first play of the game by putting the play side corner in conflict. The message was pretty clear. We'll take 4 in the flat all day if you want to stay in Tampa and Ohio State didn't for very long. They ran a very good mix of cover 3, match quarters, and man. They rolled coverage A LOT. I thought it was a really good game plan to try and confuse Quinn. For the most part they didn't after the 1st quarter. He rarely threw the ball to the wrong read. Don't get me wrong, this was not a "GREAT" game by Quinn. He missed some throws because of his initial reads, he made a couple errant throws because of pressure that shouldn't have been there, he turned down a couple of throws, but overall and until late he protected the ball in the air in a game that became about field position and big plays. It was really tight coverage all night. None of our WR's had a great night on tape. The OL did not have a great night on tape. Depth of concept was too deep quite often based on how fast the pressure was getting home. The RB's did not have a great night on tape outside of Blue's TD passes. A lot is made of Sark not scheming guys open, but he didn't leave a concept in the bag. Ohio State simply covered very well, and they got pressure on the passer. That's pretty much the story to the entire game. The best roster in college football played better against a roster that's close but not quite there. By the way, if you want to see a QB miss wide open targets, go watch the Sky Cast and watch Will Howard not have a clue how to throw the ball in to the Texas defense.
Running Back Portal Season - It has to begin now and in the spring. Wisner got 1 armed and shoestring tackled far too many times. I was actually pretty pleased with the run blocking. Unfortunately, Wisner missed the gap a few times, he ran into his own blockers, and when he did find some open space, he was brought down far too easy. Blue was always lightning in a bottle, and this was a thumpers game. We don't have that guy, and we need him. Bijan would have killed Ohio State. I'm not convinced RoJo wouldn't have killed Ohio State. They wouldn't have come down by one arm tackles and they would have been looking to make someone pay. Gotta find a dude this off season.
WR's - I'm amazed at how much the health of Bond impacted the overall play of this WR unit. He truly was the one guy who could force the middle of the field open for guys like Helm, Moore, and Wingo. Golden had a helluva season. I'd pay him big money to return (Shit he just announced). I feel like we wasted Bolden's transfer at times. He didn't have a great game, he ran the wrong option on a route at least once, so maybe there's some playbook recognition reason as to why he didn't see more time. But I thought we could have drawn up some things with picks to try and get him the ball in space. This is another unit that we have to be looking for in the spring. If it was me and I could get two elite dudes, I wouldn't even hesitate. Our WR room is not that loaded. 2 transfers started. One of them started even when hobbled the back half of the year. Tamper tamper tamper.
OL - I'm not quite sure what happened to the right side of the OL this year. I understand why from a measurable standpoint that Cam gets the love that he does but he needs another year IMO. The same way that Jones did. With the NFL getting more and more pass heavy, Cam is a liability there right now. Maybe it was because he wasn't fully healthy, but why play him over a guy who's "warm" with game reps in Goosby? Another portal spot for me. Gotta get two interior guys, and maybe a tackle if Cam is announcing.
On Quinn - As a fan of his I think I've been fair in the analysis over the year. He wasn't as bad as the numbers suggest. 11 on 11 has a way of making things look weird at times. But he also wasn't as good as everyone expected him to be. I think that's also fair. I'm thankful he was the change agent for our football program. His time as a starting QB here was much different than when VY took over. VY took over a loaded roster with monsters crawling all over it. Will anyone ever have as good of an O-line as VY had? Love me some Blue and Wisner but Selvin, Charles, and Ramonce would have killed this year. Quinn did his job. He was the first big QB we got here in a sad decade of coaching on the 40. There's no need to list all of Quinn's accomplishments. I don't think we'll truly miss him until Manning is gone. I think everyone including myself is fatigued covering Quinn. A passionate fan base will always find a way to split.
Sark has done a great job of rebuilding the culture, improving the roster, and elevating the brand of Texas Football. And we may have a roster than 95% of the country would kill for, but it's not the roster that's clearly better than Georgia or Ohio State. It's not the 2005 roster either. There's work to be done and I believe Sark will get it done. He knows he wasn't playing with a full deck this season. That will eat at him until it's right.
On Arch - Who can't be excited for the Manning era? He will have his own set of issues, but I'm not even sure the hype surrounding VY will compare to what it will be for Arch next season. He's put some great things on tape this year and some not so great things, but there's no need to go over it. He has 8 months and a few days to get it all right and then it's his time. Thankfully we won't be playing him as a running back next year!
Hook'em!
I wish I had the time to grab clips, but I will look for the right software and stuff for next season when we're looking at Arch to be able to give some better breakdowns but for now it's just some thoughts based on the rewatch.
Quick Hitter on coverages.
- Ohio State started in their Tampa 2 look with Downs in the middle and Sark went right at it on the first play of the game by putting the play side corner in conflict. The message was pretty clear. We'll take 4 in the flat all day if you want to stay in Tampa and Ohio State didn't for very long. They ran a very good mix of cover 3, match quarters, and man. They rolled coverage A LOT. I thought it was a really good game plan to try and confuse Quinn. For the most part they didn't after the 1st quarter. He rarely threw the ball to the wrong read. Don't get me wrong, this was not a "GREAT" game by Quinn. He missed some throws because of his initial reads, he made a couple errant throws because of pressure that shouldn't have been there, he turned down a couple of throws, but overall and until late he protected the ball in the air in a game that became about field position and big plays. It was really tight coverage all night. None of our WR's had a great night on tape. The OL did not have a great night on tape. Depth of concept was too deep quite often based on how fast the pressure was getting home. The RB's did not have a great night on tape outside of Blue's TD passes. A lot is made of Sark not scheming guys open, but he didn't leave a concept in the bag. Ohio State simply covered very well, and they got pressure on the passer. That's pretty much the story to the entire game. The best roster in college football played better against a roster that's close but not quite there. By the way, if you want to see a QB miss wide open targets, go watch the Sky Cast and watch Will Howard not have a clue how to throw the ball in to the Texas defense.
Running Back Portal Season - It has to begin now and in the spring. Wisner got 1 armed and shoestring tackled far too many times. I was actually pretty pleased with the run blocking. Unfortunately, Wisner missed the gap a few times, he ran into his own blockers, and when he did find some open space, he was brought down far too easy. Blue was always lightning in a bottle, and this was a thumpers game. We don't have that guy, and we need him. Bijan would have killed Ohio State. I'm not convinced RoJo wouldn't have killed Ohio State. They wouldn't have come down by one arm tackles and they would have been looking to make someone pay. Gotta find a dude this off season.
WR's - I'm amazed at how much the health of Bond impacted the overall play of this WR unit. He truly was the one guy who could force the middle of the field open for guys like Helm, Moore, and Wingo. Golden had a helluva season. I'd pay him big money to return (Shit he just announced). I feel like we wasted Bolden's transfer at times. He didn't have a great game, he ran the wrong option on a route at least once, so maybe there's some playbook recognition reason as to why he didn't see more time. But I thought we could have drawn up some things with picks to try and get him the ball in space. This is another unit that we have to be looking for in the spring. If it was me and I could get two elite dudes, I wouldn't even hesitate. Our WR room is not that loaded. 2 transfers started. One of them started even when hobbled the back half of the year. Tamper tamper tamper.
OL - I'm not quite sure what happened to the right side of the OL this year. I understand why from a measurable standpoint that Cam gets the love that he does but he needs another year IMO. The same way that Jones did. With the NFL getting more and more pass heavy, Cam is a liability there right now. Maybe it was because he wasn't fully healthy, but why play him over a guy who's "warm" with game reps in Goosby? Another portal spot for me. Gotta get two interior guys, and maybe a tackle if Cam is announcing.
On Quinn - As a fan of his I think I've been fair in the analysis over the year. He wasn't as bad as the numbers suggest. 11 on 11 has a way of making things look weird at times. But he also wasn't as good as everyone expected him to be. I think that's also fair. I'm thankful he was the change agent for our football program. His time as a starting QB here was much different than when VY took over. VY took over a loaded roster with monsters crawling all over it. Will anyone ever have as good of an O-line as VY had? Love me some Blue and Wisner but Selvin, Charles, and Ramonce would have killed this year. Quinn did his job. He was the first big QB we got here in a sad decade of coaching on the 40. There's no need to list all of Quinn's accomplishments. I don't think we'll truly miss him until Manning is gone. I think everyone including myself is fatigued covering Quinn. A passionate fan base will always find a way to split.
Sark has done a great job of rebuilding the culture, improving the roster, and elevating the brand of Texas Football. And we may have a roster than 95% of the country would kill for, but it's not the roster that's clearly better than Georgia or Ohio State. It's not the 2005 roster either. There's work to be done and I believe Sark will get it done. He knows he wasn't playing with a full deck this season. That will eat at him until it's right.
On Arch - Who can't be excited for the Manning era? He will have his own set of issues, but I'm not even sure the hype surrounding VY will compare to what it will be for Arch next season. He's put some great things on tape this year and some not so great things, but there's no need to go over it. He has 8 months and a few days to get it all right and then it's his time. Thankfully we won't be playing him as a running back next year!
Hook'em!
