Photo via TexasSports.com
It was not pretty. Yeah, it was ugly at times. Texas' offense may not win any beauty awards for its performance during a 41-7 win against UTEP on Saturday.
Honestly, it does not matter.
Texas offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert is doing a great job.
Yes, the offensive performance against Notre Dame was his coming out party as a coordinator. Texas produced 517 offensive yards against the then-10th ranked team in the country. The Longhorns converted 26 first downs, and Gilbert’s play-calling led to backup quarterback Tyrone Swoopes being named Big 12 co-offensive player of the week (this conference makes players share more awards than i9 Sports).
Texas went into halftime with a 20-7 lead against a UTEP team with only one offensive weapon. However, it is hard to ignore what Gilbert really pulled off.
The Longhorns played without injured offensive linemen Connor Williams, Tristian Nickelson and Kent Perkins. Center Zach Shackelford sustained an injury on Saturday and was unable to continue playing. It is hard for any offense to look good with a second-string offensive line, even if the opponent is UTEP.
Gilbert was also without starting running back D’Onta Foreman, who missed Saturday’s game due to a groin injury. That left him with Chris Warren, Kyle Porter and Swoopes as his primary rushers. These are not excuses. They are just facts to consider when discussing Gilbert’s offense on Saturday.
Here is another fact.
Two games.
91 points.
“Just putting pressure on defenses and being able to … when you can be balanced where you can run the ball, and you can add a dimension where you can throw the ball deep, and a lot of our routes are vertical routes, and when you can run outside, then it puts so much pressure on defenses,” Texas coach Charlie Strong said. “Now, if you want to load the box, then you have to be able to cover outside. We feel like we have enough guys outside where we can win. Now, if you want to back up and play coverage, we can just hand off the ball to 25 (Chris Warren) or 33 (D’Onta Foreman) or 21 (Kyler Porter), and let the big ol’ backs run.
“Shane (Buechele) did a really job tonight of pulling the ball and being effective with it. He’s doing a great job of mixing it up with the run and pass.”
As the offensive numbers start to accumulate, Gilbert is becoming more concerned about one category.
His team's win-loss record.
The Longhorns are 2-0 for the first time since the 2012 season when Texas started 4-0. This is the first time Texas has been two games over .500 in Strong's tenure.
“I don’t know if I (would have) ever thrown a number on point,” Gilbert said. “At the end of the day, what you want to do is win. Whatever it takes, we just want one more than they have. It just happens those have been the numbers the last two weeks, but we’re extremely excited. We’re extremely motivated about what’s happened over the last two weeks. We know we have a lot of room for improvement. We’re by no means satisfied with what’s going on. We’re going get back in tomorrow (Sunday), and go back to work. We know we have a great opponent coming up this week (Cal).”
The true test for this team is about to occur.
Texas faces Cal and Oklahoma State in back-to-back road games. After OSU, Texas plays against Oklahoma in Dallas. Texas must be prepared for potential high-scoring games against quarterbacks Davis Webb (Cal), Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State) and Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma). Even if Texas’ future opponents have struggled this season, the Longhorns were not good in games away from DKR last season.
The first step toward redemption was defeating Notre Dame this season. The next step was avoiding a letdown on Saturday. Now Texas must find consistent success away from Austin.
However, this is why Gilbert was hired.
Strong needed an offensive coordinator to successfully lead a unit capable of putting up enough points to take pressure off his defense. The offense did not need to average 50 points a game. However, it can't be the unit that was held scoreless against Iowa State, or scored only seven points against TCU.
So far, Gilbert is giving Strong what this team needs.
Gilbert is the reason why Longhorn fans are comparing Shane Buechele to Colt McCoy. Buechele completed 22-of-27 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns against UTEP. He is a true freshman. Buechele is also a true talent.
Look at what Gilbert has done with Jerrod Heard.
Heard was destined to be a third-string quarterback behind Swoopes and Buechele if he hadn't switched positions. He officially switched to receiver around a month ago, but plays like a guy who has done it since stepping on campus. He nearly had a touchdown reception against Notre Dame. Heard finished with six receptions for 46 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday.
We witnessed Jacorey Warrick record seven receptions for 73 yards and one touchdown against UTEP. Dorian Leonard had 52 receiving yards and one touchdown. Jake Oliver has been productive in Gilbert’s offense. There was even a Collin Johnson sighting on Saturday.
All of this occurred because of Gilbert.
“He has a plan,” Warrick said. “Since he first got here, he’s been giving us the plan bit by bit. It’s a process. Some guys like to see the numbers. He showed us the numbers of where he’s been. It’s just about trusting him. He’s always calm. He always provides us the plan, then we rep the things we do so much that it comes second nature in the same.”
Gilbert’s success is becoming a pretty consistent occurrence, too.
Postgame Wrap
- Heard turned 21-years-old on Saturday, and you would think two receiving touchdowns would be the highlight of his annual celebration. Actually, this is the second best birthday in Heard’s life: “When I turned eight, I went to Sea World. I don’t think anyone can top that. I got to pet him (Shamu).”
- By the way, Heard said his transition to receiver has been easy. He said, “All you have to do is beat the defender down the field and go catch the ball. It’s not that hard. It’s fun and I enjoy it.”
- Gilbert said the team’s main goal prior to UTEP was to focus on itself. He wanted a huge growth between the season opener and week two. Gilbert still needs to look at the film to determine if that occurred.
- Here is Gilbert's take on being able to run the ball with a banged up offensive line: “The number one thing is I’m extremely proud of our guys for fighting through adversity and the next man up mentality. That’s what we got. For those guys that were forced into action tonight to be able to play, I’m proud of those guys for going out and fighting and battling. What it does, naturally with that, you’re in the process of creating depth. It’s a long football season. To be able to create depth up front, especially to be in a situation to play some of those young guys at all those skill positions, that’s been (helpful).”
- Gilbert on Buechele’s composure as a freshman: “I think it’s natural for him. That’s something definitely that comes from our room we’re coaching. We’re talking about never too high, never too low, always in the middle. It’s really part of his personality. He’s pretty natural with it. Within that, you kind of continue to coach it, be aware of it. Again, just continue to do a great job of growing and learning. By no means do we have a veteran quarterback. The guy is just a two-game starter right now in college football. He’s got a lot of room for growth and improvement. The things about him is, he’s really honed in on it. He’s a student of the game. He’s really motivated to be a good player.”
- Gilbert described his players as battlers, fighters and a determined group of athletes. He said the staff will challenge them again as they approach this three-game road stretch.
- Running back D’Onta Foreman could have played in an emergency, according to Gilbert. He declined to expand on Foreman’s injury.
- Buechele said he loves to spread the ball between receivers, which was evident against UTEP. He connected with eight pass-catchers against Notre Dame.
- Here is Buechele on the offensive line: “They did a great job, and they were tough. They stayed throughout the game whenever they were in. They did a great job with pass and run block.”
- Buechele was asked if his favorite play was the fade route. He said, “It’s fun to throw, but my favorite play is a touchdown.”
- Texas guard Patrick Vahe said one player from UTEP asked him if their offense could go slower. Vahe responding saying, “Sorry, I can’t do that for you.”
- Vahe on the offensive line: “I wasn’t hesitant when people came in. I just knew that they had a job, and they were going to execute it, so I trusted them. There really wasn’t anything for me to get onto them about. We just had a play called. They knew what to do on that play, and they executed the play. Really, that’s big thing. They stepped up a lot. I give them a lot of credit for that.”
News And Notes
Here are some notes provided by UT:
• UT recorded its 888th win all-time.
• The victory was Texas’ first win as an AP Top 25 team since beating New Mexico State on Aug. 31, 2013 and its first victory as a Top-11 team since defeating Texas Tech 24-14 on Sept. 18, 2010.
• The seven points are the fewest allowed by Texas since Nov. 15, 2014 at Oklahoma State, a 28-7 win.
• The win is No. 50 of Charlie Strong’s career.
• Texas is now 5-0 all-time against UTEP.
• Offensive linemen Alex Anderson and Elijah Rodriguez both picked up their first career starts. Safety Kevin Vaccaro also started for the first time in his career.
• OL Terrell Cuney, QB Matthew Merrick, LB Johnny Tseng, RB Trenton Hafley, RB Tristian Houston, OL Garrett Graf and OL Garrett Thomas all made their first appearances of the season and their careers.
• True freshmen Denzel Okafor, Lil’Jordan Humphrey and D’Andre Christmas all appeared for the first time in their careers on Saturday night.
• QB Shane Buechele became the first true feshman QB to ever start his first two games of a season at Texas. His 2-0 record puts him tied for third all-time among true freshmen QBs for wins in a season and 10th among all freshmen QBs.
• Buechele finished 22-of-27 and passed for over 200 yards for the second straight game after throwing for a freshman-record 280 yards last week. He threw for four touchdowns, besting his two passing touchdowns in game one.
• Jerrod Heard’s 29-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was the first of his career. The TD catch came on his 21st birthday. Heard finished the night with six receptions for 46 yards and two touchdowns.
• Brandon Jones blocked a first quarter punt which set up a Longhorn field goal. The blocked punt was the first for Texas since Carrington Byndom did so vs. Texas Tech on Nov. 3, 2012.
• Malcolm Roach’s first quarter sack was also the first tackle of his career. He finished with four tackles on the night.
• Jeffrey McCulloch also collected his first career tackle in the first quarter.
• Jacorey Warrick’s touchdown reception in the second quarter was his first career TD reception. He finished with a game-high 73 yards receiving.
• Davante Davis’ forced fumble in the second quarter was the first forced fumble of his career. DeShon Elliot collected his first career fumble recovery on the play.
• Collin Johnson recorded his first career catch in the third quarter.
• Chris Warren’s one-yard rushing TD in the third quarter was the first of his season. He finished with a team-high 95 rushing yards.
• Dorian Leonard caught a 46-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. The reception was the second of his career and marked his first career touchdown. He finished with two catches for 52 yards.
• Breckyn Hager finished the game with a career-high eight tackles.
• Tyrone Swoopes is 27 yards passing shy of 3,000 and 152 rushing yards shy of 1,000. He is 16 yards shy of moving into a tie for sixth all-time among QB rushing yards. When he reaches 3,000 and 1,000 he would join Vince Young and Colt McCoy as the only two players in school history to achieve that feat.
• Trent Domingue surpassed his point total from last week, registering 11 points while going 2-for-2 in field goal attempts. His second field goal was a 43-yarder.
• Kyle Porter’s first career rushing attempt came in the first quarter. He finished with eight carries for 33 yards including a 16-yard carry in the fourth quarter.
Funniest Thing You Will See This Week
Sports On A Dime
1. Oh, Oklahoma State. You may have been screwed by the officials during a loss against Central Michigan, but good luck getting any sympathy from Texas fans. Remember all those bad calls from last year’s Texas-Oklahoma State game? Texas fans will never forget the imaginary defensive holding call on Poona Ford, or bogus unsportsmanlike call against Charlie Strong. Karma remains undefeated.
2. While I was conducting interviews with Texas players, another Big 12 team went down, Texas is slowly creeping into the conference championship discussion:
3. There will come a day when players will wait until they get into the end zone before dropping the ball. Saturday was not that day:
4. The NFL claims to care about head injuries, but Carolina quarterback Cam Newton has every right to disagree. Sure, hits to the helmet are going to occur, but there was more than one missed penalty during Denver’s victory. Those officials did a poor job of protecting Newton.
5. That being said, I am all for flossing, but in the privacy of your bathroom:
6. Dak Prescott can rip the torch away from Tony Romo’s hands with an impressive performance against New York in the season opener. However, if Dallas’ secondary does not rise to the challenge, Odell Beckham will rip away their pride.
7. Why did I avoid drafting Rob Gronkowski for years in fantasy football? That’s right. Because he is always injured. I broke that rule this year. What happened? Gronkowski will not play in the season opener due to a hamstring injury. Thanks for the instant regret, Gronk.
8. Yes, it is too early to say former Cal quarterback Jared Goff is a bust. However, it is safe to say having the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft inactive for the season opener is a disappointment, especially since Carson Wentz (No. 2 overall pick by Philadelphia) will start on Sunday.
9. I was wrong about Tim Tebow. Honestly, I never wanted to believe Tebow only cared about publicity and his image. I wanted to believe Tebow was one of the fiercest competitors out there. However, when he decided to play minor baseball instead of spending a few years in the CFL before making an NFL comeback, that was my first red flag. When I read Tebow signed with the Mets because that was the only team that allowed him to do television work, it officially became impossible to defend him.
10. As a guy who has always liked Allen Iverson, his Hall of Fame speech was special. If you have time, it’s worth hitting play and having it on in the background while you are killing time this week:
