Mike Roach
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Weird things can happen after dark, and the Longhorns found themselves on the losing end of a game full of twists and turns. California outlasted Texas 50-43, and we bring you five takeaways following that loss.
1. Plenty of blame to go around
On a night where plenty of fingers will be pointed at different aspects of this squad, it's important to remember that this is still a very young team struggling to grow up. After riding high through two weeks this was a massive trap, and the mistakes were endless. We'll get to the defense in a bit, but penalties reared their ugly head once again. While the Horns cut down on the number of overall penalties from previous weeks, the infractions tonight came at the absolute worst times. Freshman center Zach Shackelford committed penalties on back to back drives that stalled the offense in crucial situations. Add in unforced errors like drops and blown coverages, and you have a recipe for disaster. Speaking of drops it appears that John Burt is in the middle of a sophomore slump. For Texas to be a consistently dangerous offense they he will need to do whatever is necessary to slow the regression. While we're talking about blame, can we discuss special teams? Trent Domingue missed two field goals, and I'm not going to hold those against him too much since they were from well outside of his range, but there were plenty of other errors there. Outside of the Brandon Jones blocked punt in the second quarter I'm not sure there was anything to applaud. The return team is the opposite of dynamic, and the coverage team looks like a big return waiting to happen every time down the field.
2. About that defense
Yes this unit is still young, but the performance tonight was inexcusable on many levels. The Longhorns couldn't get a stop when it mattered, and they let the Cal offense go up and down the field without effectively pressuring Davis Webb. From my couch it looked like Vance Bedford opted to let Cal dictate the way they'd play defense, and that played right into the Bear Raid's hand. The offense has improved enough to win more games, but the question of if Texas is back or not cannot be truly answered until some things are fixed on the defensive side of the ball. The secondary is in shambles, and they were dominated by a receiving corps full of inexperience and youth. While most fans lament the safety duo of Dylan Haines and Jason Hall, the Texas cornerbacks were mostly at fault for big passing plays tonight. Cal does have a dynamic offense, but Texas better get ready to see this style for the majority of the season. Vance Bedford definitely has some heat on him from the fanbase.
3. Shane isn't perfect
We knew there would be some rough patches in his development, and to be honest I'm not sure he didn't push himself back on the field through a concussion. The true freshman wasn't horrible by any means (19/33, 196 yards, 1/1 TD/INT), but he didn't look himself after returning to the game. Buechele stared down receivers, forced balls into coverage, and let a deep pass hang for an interception that could be considered the turning point of this game. It's mind boggling that a defense as porous as Cal was the one to decode Buechele so effectively, but this wasn't a back breaking performance. There's still enough there to be encouraged about as Texas moves forward throughout the season. The priority will be to keep him upright and in positions to succeed.
4. Process vs. results
Twitter was buzzing with pleas from the fans to run the ball continuously, but that's not what this offense does. While Texas found great success with the run, they have to continue to be aggressive and take shots when they are presented with them. Results tonight weren't in their favor, but the Texas offense did plenty enough to pull out a win. Remember that Sterlin Gilbert is also maturing as a young coordinator, but also remember that you shouldn't bemoan aggressive play just because it didn't work out. If nothing else, find encouragement in the fact that an off night for this offense by some people's standards resulted in 500 yards of total offense and 41 points. As this offense continues to develop remember that process oriented decision making usually wins out over result oriented decision making.
5. Where does Texas go from here?
Before the season I think many considered a 2-1 start a realistic best case scenario for this team. Texas enters the bye week at a great time, because they've got some banged up players in need of recuperation. The Longhorns need to enter conference play as healthy as possible in order to to achieve their goals. This is still a dynamic offense, and if Texas can find something to plug the leaks on defense they should be a tough out for any team on the schedule. While this might feel like a major step back, I'd offer that I think this is something young teams learn from. The Longhorns know they have some emerging players in the front seven on defense, and a nasty running game. We think that there is finally a quarterback in place to take this team to the next level, but there are still important areas of growth needed. If Texas can recover and play well against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, they should be able to springboard into the rest of the season. If they let this loss get them down they will be right back where they were last year. Adversity is always a test for young teams, and despite failing their first true road test they have the opportunity to pass the adversity exam.
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1. Plenty of blame to go around
On a night where plenty of fingers will be pointed at different aspects of this squad, it's important to remember that this is still a very young team struggling to grow up. After riding high through two weeks this was a massive trap, and the mistakes were endless. We'll get to the defense in a bit, but penalties reared their ugly head once again. While the Horns cut down on the number of overall penalties from previous weeks, the infractions tonight came at the absolute worst times. Freshman center Zach Shackelford committed penalties on back to back drives that stalled the offense in crucial situations. Add in unforced errors like drops and blown coverages, and you have a recipe for disaster. Speaking of drops it appears that John Burt is in the middle of a sophomore slump. For Texas to be a consistently dangerous offense they he will need to do whatever is necessary to slow the regression. While we're talking about blame, can we discuss special teams? Trent Domingue missed two field goals, and I'm not going to hold those against him too much since they were from well outside of his range, but there were plenty of other errors there. Outside of the Brandon Jones blocked punt in the second quarter I'm not sure there was anything to applaud. The return team is the opposite of dynamic, and the coverage team looks like a big return waiting to happen every time down the field.
2. About that defense
Yes this unit is still young, but the performance tonight was inexcusable on many levels. The Longhorns couldn't get a stop when it mattered, and they let the Cal offense go up and down the field without effectively pressuring Davis Webb. From my couch it looked like Vance Bedford opted to let Cal dictate the way they'd play defense, and that played right into the Bear Raid's hand. The offense has improved enough to win more games, but the question of if Texas is back or not cannot be truly answered until some things are fixed on the defensive side of the ball. The secondary is in shambles, and they were dominated by a receiving corps full of inexperience and youth. While most fans lament the safety duo of Dylan Haines and Jason Hall, the Texas cornerbacks were mostly at fault for big passing plays tonight. Cal does have a dynamic offense, but Texas better get ready to see this style for the majority of the season. Vance Bedford definitely has some heat on him from the fanbase.
3. Shane isn't perfect
We knew there would be some rough patches in his development, and to be honest I'm not sure he didn't push himself back on the field through a concussion. The true freshman wasn't horrible by any means (19/33, 196 yards, 1/1 TD/INT), but he didn't look himself after returning to the game. Buechele stared down receivers, forced balls into coverage, and let a deep pass hang for an interception that could be considered the turning point of this game. It's mind boggling that a defense as porous as Cal was the one to decode Buechele so effectively, but this wasn't a back breaking performance. There's still enough there to be encouraged about as Texas moves forward throughout the season. The priority will be to keep him upright and in positions to succeed.
4. Process vs. results
Twitter was buzzing with pleas from the fans to run the ball continuously, but that's not what this offense does. While Texas found great success with the run, they have to continue to be aggressive and take shots when they are presented with them. Results tonight weren't in their favor, but the Texas offense did plenty enough to pull out a win. Remember that Sterlin Gilbert is also maturing as a young coordinator, but also remember that you shouldn't bemoan aggressive play just because it didn't work out. If nothing else, find encouragement in the fact that an off night for this offense by some people's standards resulted in 500 yards of total offense and 41 points. As this offense continues to develop remember that process oriented decision making usually wins out over result oriented decision making.
5. Where does Texas go from here?
Before the season I think many considered a 2-1 start a realistic best case scenario for this team. Texas enters the bye week at a great time, because they've got some banged up players in need of recuperation. The Longhorns need to enter conference play as healthy as possible in order to to achieve their goals. This is still a dynamic offense, and if Texas can find something to plug the leaks on defense they should be a tough out for any team on the schedule. While this might feel like a major step back, I'd offer that I think this is something young teams learn from. The Longhorns know they have some emerging players in the front seven on defense, and a nasty running game. We think that there is finally a quarterback in place to take this team to the next level, but there are still important areas of growth needed. If Texas can recover and play well against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, they should be able to springboard into the rest of the season. If they let this loss get them down they will be right back where they were last year. Adversity is always a test for young teams, and despite failing their first true road test they have the opportunity to pass the adversity exam.
This post has been promoted to an article
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