It wasn’t pretty, and Texas danced close to the line of throwing this game away but the Longhorns got the win 23-9 over the Wildcats. In a soggy, mistake prone environment, Jay Norvell kept things conservative and let Tyrone Swoopes do what he does best which is score touchdowns to continue the momentum carried over from the Oklahoma game. We bring you five takeaways from today’s game.
1. The 18 Wheeler delivers a win
I said it a few weeks ago, but I really can’t say enough about this package. The Longhorns have figured out how to turn Tyrone Swoopes into a plus player with tremendous value on the field. In a game where the Longhorns scored 23 points, Tyrone Swoopes was responsible for 20 of them. When Texas needed to close the game out in the 4th quarter, Tyrone Swoopes carried it three times for 52 yards capping the drive off in a touchdown. Texas is figuring out an identity on offense, and while it isn’t the high flying offense most fans want to see it is effective. Once again, credit Jay Norvell for the development of this package and Tyrone Swoopes for buying into the role of battering ram. While there still are questions about how effective this offense is, the growth of this personnel package presents a weapon on the field and protects Jerrod Heard from taking unnecessary contact. I even loved the 3rd and 1 pass call out of the package that resulted in a dropped pass. It was a wonderful design with poor execution from both Swoopes and Andrew Beck. Still, this grouping has become the most reliable offensive weapon in the Texas arsenal, but fans should keep things in perspective and remember…
2. There should be no QB controversy
This offense is effective enough with Jerrod Heard operating it until they get into short yardage and goal line situations. The dynamic between Heard and Swoopes seems to be clicking, and the team is really feeding off of that energy. Heard is still growing and needs the room to get better without the constant yo-yo of riding the hot hand. Heard still gives Texas the ability to pick up yardage in chunks and keep the chains moving, but the rushing game is starting to be figured out. Kansas State made adjustments at the half to shut down the read option game Texas lives on, and the Longhorns still don’t have much ability to throw the ball down the field consistently. It’s unfair to judge this game because of the weather conditions and difficulty throwing the ball for both teams, but Heard has to develop his overall passing game for the Longhorns to be a threat against the top teams in the conference. All things considered this offense is far more effective than last year’s version and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
3. Mistakes and stagnant play still plague this team
While the Longhorn fans should feel encouraged there are still far too many mishaps. Texas had one special teams disaster that resulted in a missed extra point and an almost disaster saved by Michael Dickson on a bad snap. Dickson got some nice redemption on a play that looked a lot like the one that cost Texas the game against Oklahoma State. The 3rd quarter issue came back into play today as the Longhorns struggled through multiple drives that either ended in a three and out or were hampered by inopportune penalties. I’ll stress again that this is a young team, but if Texas hopes to beat a team like Baylor they simply can’t shoot themselves in the foot game after game. This became evident when Texas went for it on 4th down in field goal range just one drive after a bad snap on the extra point. Charlie Strong did not trust his field goal unit to execute there because they’ve given him reason not to. Again, the weather played a factor today but it’s not like we haven’t seen these things happen to this team before.
4. #LetsRide with the hot hand at running back
Following the emergence of D’Onta Foreman over the last two games, fans have been vocal about putting senior running back Jonathan Gray out to pasture. Gray responded with a game that totaled 18 carries for 103 yards and looked like the better player on this day. There will be times when one is playing better than the other, and it’s up to the coaches to push the right buttons and play with the hot hand. The offensive line had an up and down performance today, but Gray ran hard and ripped off a couple of big gains at opportune times. In this era of football it’s simply foolish to have one feature back unless his name is Leonard Fournette.
5. Let’s take a moment to talk about what is right with this team and look ahead
We could certainly pick nits all day long, but let’s end on a positive. For starters, a win is a win and the Longhorns of the last half decade pissed away more than their fair share of games just like this. Texas is now 3-4 with games upcoming against Iowa State and Kansas. If Texas takes care of both opponents they have a chance to get to 7 wins in the regular season. The next 4 games are winnable though matchups against West Virginia and Texas Tech will pose more of a challenge. If Texas continues to generate momentum through those games they roll into Waco at 7-4 as a dangerous team. Players should continue to take things game by game, but it’s hard as a fan not to look ahead. I want to take some time in this space to talk about Caleb Bluiett. The junior defensive end converted over to tight end in what many thought was a needless move, but he’s developing into a pivotal offensive player. Bluiett plays with passion and effort giving Texas the physical edge they need on offense. His blocking is a plus from the position, and he’s turned into a bit of a downfield passing threat. Our own Ryan Bridges thinks Bluiett has an NFL future in front of him at the tight end position, but even if he doesn’t kudos to the young man for buying in and taking the change in stride. That says something about this coaching staff that constantly gets players to buy into things like this. I also want to take a moment to recognize the defense. Yes there were problems with the safety play today, and issues with tackling reared their head a bit, but the Longhorn defense stood up and made big plays today when they were needed. Hassan Ridgeway simply can’t be blocked these days and Peter Jinkens is playing inspired football. This unit took their lumps earlier in the season against better competition, but there is definite growth on this side of the ball.
Bonus
I’m not sure I could write this and not mention that hopefully this is the start to getting the Kansas State purple monkey off the program’s back. This team has been a nightmare for Texas for the better part of this century and Texas outplayed them today. With Snyder due to retire at the end of this season it looks like Texas could be getting close to ridding themselves of the purple kryptonite.
