View from the Cheap Seats-Arkansas

[echeese]

[SIZE=16pt]View from the Cheap Seats-Arkansas[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=16pt] [/SIZE]​

[SIZE=16pt]Pigs play “line football”, SOOIE[/SIZE]​

Let’s make no mistake, TEXAS went to Arkansas and got their backsides beaten.   It started with both sides of the lines where the Pig OL & DL dominated the game.     We’ll break down some problems, but line play is at the head of the list.   BTW, the comment about “playing line football” came from the Pigs staff before the game.    Lots of truth to this.   Neither TEXAS line played well while the Pigs simply dominated. . . . we might be repeating ourselves.   And this one of the hardest Cheap Seats to author.

It was sad to see so many TEXAS fans drinking the kool aid and boasting we’d win this game going away.  Too much Nintendo and too little understand of real football.   Real football is a highly emotional game, played in front of raucous crowds, played by angry men.  TEXAS certainly faced that last night as the Arkansas fans set a record for home attendance and volume.   Our first problem was badly underrating a very good defense the Pigs brought to the table along with an outstanding running game.   Our second problem was getting seriously out coached.   Seems that last year, Sark had no answer for the Pigs D as they would hand Bama their lowest scoring and yardage output of the season.   Not just by a little bit but by around half.   Not sure what Sark was thinking constantly trying to run the way he did vs an excellent run D.    Sorry, we love Sark but this was a poorly schemed/called offensive game plan.

Thursday night, the Dallas Cowboys opened against Tampa Bay featuring one of the best run D’s in the NFL.    Dallas did not stubbornly pound the ball into the line, Dallas threw early and often, short throws to talented WRs and TEs, keeping the Tampa Bay D off balance.   And they threw quickly, not giving the TB line time to pressure Dak.    They bootlegged away from pressure with throws to TEs and RBs.  We could have used a bit of this Sat night.   But then again, we could have used a bit of anything that worked.

Basically, Sark did his young QB few favors with the game plan and the by product is going to be a full blown QB controversy.     For the 2nd week in a row, Casey Thompson was the best QB on the Longhorn side of things.    Granted in both games Casey’s snaps came during garbage time but it’s hard to ignore how he lit up the offense with both his passing and running when he was on the field.  This is the next BIG test for Sark, how to get his young QBs confidence back up as well as the confidence of the entire team.   Can he keep 1 loss from becoming 2.  Good news on that front, tomato can Rice next up.  Bad news, we then must travel to TCU, another team that gets “geeked up” (to quote Nate Newton) for TEXAS.   And even thought TCU looks like crap this year, they ALWAYS play TEXAS hard.

We called it pre-season, Hudson was going to have a time where the game was too big for him.   It came very early in the season.   At one point, there were 3 long passes where receivers were running wide open for touchdowns, explosive plays that certainly would have helped.   Card missed each of them badly.  Though there was one long beautiful pass to Jordan Whittington, hit him in both hands only to be dropped.   Card never looked comfortable in the game.

Defense

Defense played well in the 1st half, limiting the Pigs to FGs on 3 of their 4 scoring drives including off their very short field blocked punt.   Well not great with no real help from the offense.   2nd half those figures would flip as the D gave up 3 TDs and a FG on 4 drives and were unable to stop the Arkie rushing attack.    We are simply not physical enough to play a strong rushing team.   And sadly, our 2nd half adjustments were poor.   BJ Foster did have a great INT to blunt the Pigs 1st drive of the 2nd half that the offense turned into 7 but it simply wasn’t enough.

2nd Half adjustments

One of the biggest gripes about Mensa was a lack of halftime adjustments.   Sark and Coach K lost this battle to Barry Odom and Kendall Briles.   We would lose the 3rd quarter 17-7.   Not a good sign

2 plays that defined the night

Football is a game of inches and TEXAS blew a chance to take an early lead when by the length of a big toe, Arkansas muffed a punt but the TEXAS player was out of bounds at the 3 by the narrowest of margins.   Minus 7 (at least 3) and an early lead after TEXAS 1st 3 and out

Early in the 2nd quarter, at his own 16, Cameron Dicker DROPS the ball where it is blocked then scooped and returned to the TEXAS 11.   The D bowed up and forced a FG for the 2nd time that night in the Red Zone but the swing of the two plays was 10 points.   Would it have mattered in the end?   Football is a funny game that way and the best way to take a loud crowd out is to take an early lead.   TEXAS trailed wire to wire.

Refs

In a fairly well called game, have to bitch about 2 BLATANT targeting calls which were not made.  1st one on BiJan would have turned a 3rd down stuff into a 1st down.  The 2nd did not impact the drive as it happened on the goal line but if it’s about player safety then stop worrying about the fans and call the game right.

Offensive player of the game

Casey Thompson shined leading TEXAS to 2 TDs on the 2 drives he had the reigns

Defensive player of the Game

BJ Foster   His INT was the highlight of the night and he came up with 2 big tackles on 3rd down.

Stats that matter

333    Arkansas’ total rushing yards, not one Pig player broke 100

7.1   Average Yards per carry for the Pigs

4-13   3rd down conversions for the Horns

6   Drives of 3 plays and out or less (ugh)

9       Number of times Pigs kicked off (double ugh)

3-1  Turnover ratio, another stat line we lost

10/3 Tackles for Losses/Sacks recorded by Arkie

0-19    Sark’s record as a HC when down by 10 or more at half.

Summation

No way to sugar coat the azz beating the Pigs put on us.  Make no mistake, the Pigs are a good team with a stout defense.  Anyone who said otherwise, well doesn’t know football very well.  Best D the Horns face all season?   We hope so.   Rice on deck so we have our slump buster but TCU before OU is a bit of a concern today.   Sark needs to work some QB magic on young Mr Card.   He is the future, is he the present?    And does Casey have some James Brown in him, a guy who shines brighter under the lights not in practice?    At least we can dispense with the “we’ll be 5-0 and Top 10 ranked when we face OU”.   

One comment, watched some of Tennessee’s game, South Carolina’s game and obviously the Pigs game.   This is why we are moving to the SEC.   Fans get jacked up for the games, they fill the stadiums and the stadiums are not 45,000 seat cracker boxes (except for Vandy).   Hopefully by the time we get there, we show up with a better team.

Mack and the Tar Heels

Always good to have a tomato can on deck after an ugly loss.   Tar Heels bounce back against Georgia Southern.  They will need some help to win their division.

Ranking the BigXII

#1  OU   Torched a tomato can

Fair to say NO ONE in the BigXII is very impressive today, not really sure after 2 weeks who deserves to be ranked where from 2 to 8.  Frankly put them in any order   9 & 10 are easy, TT barely beat FCS Stephen F while Kansas was abused by Coastal Carolina.

#2  KSU 2-0

#3  TCU by virtue of a 2-0 record.  Beat a poor Cal team

#4  Okie Lite   Another 2-0 record coming from behind to beat Tulsa with 21 in the 4th

#5  ISU  Pounded by Top 10 Iowa

#6  TEXAS, prison raped by the pigs but solid win vs a ranked opponent in week 1

#7  WVU   Put a whipping on Long Island High School.   Oh wait, Long Island has a college and a football team. . .  .who knew?

#8   Baylor   Whipped Texas Southern. . . . who cares?

#9   Texas Tech    You barely beat Stephen “FCS” Austin?

#10   Kansas   

Way too early playoff picture

#1 Bama

#2  Oregon   New kid in the mix proves they are for real beating tOSU on the road.  Must say, many scoffed at the idea of Mario Christobal as a Mensa replacement candidate.   Does a great job with OLs, wins (back to back Pac12 champ) and now in the drivers seat to win 3 years in a row/make the playoffs.

#3  Norte Dame   Biggest beneficiary of the tOSU loss

#4  Georgia    If both Bama and Georgia run the table, both most likely in

Outside looking in?

Oklahoma

Clemson

Penn State

USC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tGTpuTyDaQ

 

[NEOkHorn]

Great stuff Cheese. 

I'm probably mistaken but I was thinking the first targeting no call was the 4th down stuffed running play. Then again, the kool-aid hangover was probably just wearing off.

 

[tejasrulz]

Refs

In a fairly well called game, have to bitch about 2 BLATANT targeting calls which were not made.  1st one on BiJan would have turned a 3rd down stuff into a 1st down.  The 2nd did not impact the drive as it happened on the goal line but if it’s about player safety then stop worrying about the fans and call the game right.

Very well stated, especially the player safety part

 

[North Texas Golfer]

Texas looked like they were being coached by Charlie Strong and his staff. And the players played like a Charlie Strong coached team.  

 

[Eastexhorn]

Card is not a long ball passer misses too many. Arlie QB hit his wide open long ball and he not rated as a passer. 

Vdo not want a QB conterversity but IMO Casey has earned a start. Rice played Arkie much closer than Texas. Then old axiom is teams improve the most in second game.

This only applies to Hogs I guess,

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

Texas looked like they were being coached by Charlie Strong and his staff. And the players played like a Charlie Strong coached team.  

Yeah, last night's game reminded me of Bert Bielema's borderline erotic performance and outcome. Sad, but true. I knew we were screwed when Card started the 2nd Half.

When you've got a suspect offensive line, play the QB who can improvise with his feet. That ain't Card. #TeamCasey

 

[Johnny Depp]

Card is not a long ball passer misses too many. Arlie QB hit his wide open long ball and he not rated as a passer. 

Vdo not want a QB conterversity but IMO Casey has earned a start. Rice played Arkie much closer than Texas. Then old axiom is teams improve the most in second game.

This only applies to Hogs I guess,

Watch Lake Travis reels and you'll see Card is a long ball passer, and adept runner. So far all his "misses" have been long and ahead of receivers who did not get there. Timing will come, a new QB needs a chance to settle, not get sacked 6 times and hand off the ball until we have a long 3rd down. At least take off the handcuffs.

 That being said, I have no problem with Casey getting a start. He damn near won the job anyways apparently? Developing a future NFL arm is one thing, but we must win NOW!

 

[Eastexhorn]

No offence but what he did in HS does not matter to me. It is what he does at Texas that counts. He over threw vs La. and again vs pigs.

Hope he does improve Sark relys on long ball..IMO its the QB job to hit the wide recieverjudge his speed and throw a catchable ball.Espically when WR is behind DB. Arkie QB did and he is not rated as NFL prospect.

 

[NEOkHorn]

No offence but what he did in HS does not matter to me. It is what he does at Texas that counts. He over threw vs La. and again vs pigs.

Hope he does improve Sark relys on long ball..IMO its the QB job to hit the wide recieverjudge his speed and throw a catchable ball.Espically when WR is behind DB. Arkie QB did and he is not rated as NFL prospect.

Jefferson may not be an NFL prospect but he is a RS Soph which gives him not only more time in college but also more time in the current scheme. Hopefully Sark is the qb whisperer we have been led to believe and some game experience will allow him to make positive strides. 

 

[david ficken]

Great write up.

 

[Johnny Depp]

No offence but what he did in HS does not matter to me. It is what he does at Texas that counts. He over threw vs La. and again vs pigs.

He earned the job in camp because he had a better arm. You may not have seen him at his best yet, but he has 0 int's. because when he makes an attempt he throws where the defense isn't. Thompson was an int. machine in camp.

 

[dillohorn]

Great read again. As for the team, I think this is going to be a long, long season.

 

[tejasrulz]

Watch Lake Travis reels and you'll see Card is a long ball passer, and adept runner. So far all his "misses" have been long and ahead of receivers who did not get there. Timing will come, a new QB needs a chance to settle, not get sacked 6 times and hand off the ball until we have a long 3rd down. At least take off the handcuffs.

 That being said, I have no problem with Casey getting a start. He damn near won the job anyways apparently? Developing a future NFL arm is one thing, but we must win NOW!

That statement is not accurate, on at least 2 balls (may have been back to back plays) the balls not only sailed long but to the right. One one of those plays you saw the WR try and turn his body around. 

Card has some talent, that's for sure. However without mentioning names, we've had QBs in the past that looked great in practice but not so great in games. Be that said, Casey deserves the next start in my opinion but I'm not the coach. I will root for and support whoever starts against Rice.

 

[Eastexhorn]

Casey will start. vs Rice.

 

[Eastexhorn]

He earned the job in camp because he had a better arm. You may not have seen him at his best yet, but he has 0 int's. because when he makes an attempt he throws where the defense isn't. Thompson was an int. machine in camp.

Hopefly I have seen him at his worst. How many inceptions has Casey thrown?

 

[Johnny Depp]

Hopefly I have seen him at his worst. How many inceptions has Casey thrown?

Casey threw a 1/2 dozen in the last few weeks of practice. Several for pick 6's. That's not High School. To be fair, Casey hasn't had a start ever, only mop up duty. We need to see him start against real competition before we know more. 

No coincidence that Card mercifully got pulled after his 1st turnover. Shark has preached turnovers, and the starting decision was tilted heavily because of them.

 

[longhorn_mig]

Said this in another thread, but each QB has their flaws. Reports out of practice were Casey had issues throwing INTs and Card had issues taking bad sacks. We've seen the latter play out, and I'm sure Casey's INTs are coming. But like you said above, "Developing a future NFL arm is one thing, but we must win NOW!" Casey is the best fit for the team as currently constituted, especially with the terrible O-line play we're getting. At least at this point, Casey is reacting more and playing on instinct. Not saying Card won't get there, but Casey's been in the program for years even if he hasn't been playing in games. In general, he's more seasoned, working off more knowledge and training, and he feels more confident and sure of himself, which isn't shocking.

 

[Eastexhorn]

Do they keep stastics on practices Bet Casey threw incepts. in Junior High.

Bottom line is both have had same amount of tïme with present staff

IMO Rice will not mean much  jt TCU will.

 

[echeese]

Watch Lake Travis reels and you'll see Card is a long ball passer, and adept runner. So far all his "misses" have been long and ahead of receivers who did not get there. Timing will come, a new QB needs a chance to settle, not get sacked 6 times and hand off the ball until we have a long 3rd down. At least take off the handcuffs.

 That being said, I have no problem with Casey getting a start. He damn near won the job anyways apparently? Developing a future NFL arm is one thing, but we must win NOW!

Pretty clear that for all of Hudson's hype, he was not ready for the bright lights.

Not one of the 3 missed deep balls was on anyone but Hudson, sorry that's just reality.

Now J Witt dropped a ball we needed but in the grand scheme, even if he catches it we aren't winning the game.

Do they keep stastics on practices Bet Casey threw incepts. in Junior High.

Bottom line is both have had same amount of tïme with present staff

IMO Rice will not mean much  jt TCU will.

The bright lights got to Card, just reality.    He will learn from it but I suspect we have our QB1 for the season.

Neither Rice nor TT mean much, other than adding wins.    TCU will be the 1st real test.