Report Card for the ISU game (by: Lukus Alderman)

[HornSports Staff]

Quarterback: Last week Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes took a big step forward with his performance against OU. The question coming into this week was whether that game was a fluke or the beginning of the norm. Against Iowa State, Swoopes started out by picking apart the Cyclones for two quick TDs before throwing an ill advised pass in the red zone for an interception that put the Cyclones back in the game rather than putting them further behind. Throughout the game we saw some struggles with blitzes but also some great reads that turned into long runs as he finished with 95 yards and a TD on the ground. The best part of his game, however, were the two clutch passes with 22 seconds to take Texas from their own 30 to the ISU 3 to win the game.

Grade: A


Runningbacks: Playing against the 113th ranked rushing defense in the nation, the Longhorns should have been able to run at will considering they have two five star RB's on the roster. Unfortunately, the Texas RB's only combined to rush for 105 yards on 25 carries, which is less than stellar against an awful rush defense like ISU. While Brown & Gray didn't play like they should have, they still gained over 100 yards and scored 3 TD's.

Grade: B-


Wide Receivers/TE's: John Harris has become Swoopes' go-to receiver, and he continues to produce big numbers every time he steps onto the field. Both he and Jaxon Shipley played great throughout the game, and were clutch when the game was on the line with their two grabs to put the Longhorns in position to win. Marcus Johnson produced early for the only receiving TD and McFarland looked very good grabbing a couple of passes. The only negative was the fumble on an end-around by Harris that was returned for a TD.

Grade: A-


Offensive Line: The Longhorns played very well offensively and much of that has to with how well this group played. What we didn't see were drive-killing penalties, poor snaps on the goal line, or a bevy of sacks. The OL provided good protection, solid run blocking, and decent discipline. It was the best game so far and even more impressive considering Camrhon Hughes started in place of Darius James.

Grade: A


Defensive Line: The Longhorns D-Line was up and down most of the game. On one hand, the line recorded two sacks and two pass breakups, including 9 tackles by big DT Malcom Brown. On the other hand, the Cyclones ran the ball for over 200 yards and passed for 300+. The line looked good at times, but the contain on the QB was poor and the pressure was inconsistent which led to the ISU QB having all day to pass the ball.

Grade: C-


Linebackers: Jordan Hicks played a very good game and the stat sheet backed that up as he recorded 13 tackles, 2 for a loss, 1 sack, and 1 pass breakup. The problem was at MLB (manned by both Steve Edmond and Dalton Santos) where the unit only had 7 tackles and had difficulty in coverage. The big issue that the linebackers (and defense) had was that they couldn't stop the running game or the passes to the big Cyclone TE (Bibbs).

Grade: C


Defensive backs: I said this before the game, but I really worried that the Longhorns would miss Jason Hall a lot against the big physical receivers of Iowa State. The Cyclones had two 6'5" WR's and a top NFL TE prospect that the Texas secondary needed to shut down. As Coach Strong mentioned after the game, there were certain DB's lined up incorrectly most of the first half which led to easy slants and big gains. There were too many open receivers who found spots in the secondary and too often the Cyclone receivers overpowered Texas DB's fighting for position to make the catch. The secondary did get a boost from an interception returned for a TD by Haines, but they've got to do better than giving up 345 and 3 TD's.

Grade: C-


Special Teams: No penalties. No turnovers. No poor or missed kicks.

Texas has been awful on ST's throughout the season and have been a major reason why the Horns were 2-4 heading into the matchup against Iowa State. Against the Cyclones, all that was asked was that they stay average and not be a problem that would lead to a loss. The unit responded with averaging 50 yards on punts, going 2-2 in field goal kicking (including the game winner), and had a very important 26-yard kickoff return by R. Bernard to the Texas 28 with :22 seconds left (which led to Strong allowing Swoopes to have a shot at moving the ball into scoring range to win the game). The special teams had the best game of the season and were a big reason why the Horns won.

Grade: A

 

[Jedi Day]

One of the funniest and exciting games to watch in recent memory. It was awesome to experience as a fan.

 

[Matt Cotcher]

You mention the blitzing in Swoopes grade & how porous the ISU defense had been in the RB's grade, but turn around and give the OL an "A"? I disagree with that grade - compared to previous games, they were improved, but if that's an A, then this team's ceiling isn't as high as I think it is.

 

[pringlelake]

Have to agree with Matt. We can't say "should have been able to run at will" (I agree)...........but still give our OL an "A". Our ability to run at will is MUCH more affected by play of the OL than the ability of our RBs. 

But enjoyed your post Lukus.  Thanks.

 

[HornEsch]

Yeah have to agree with Matt on the OL grade. I know they are getting better, but we shouldn't grade them on a curve, at this point. I saw a C+ (at best) on the OL with plenty of room to grow.

 

[Marian Hinton]

Nice job Lukus. 

My only disagreement is also the OL. They're no doubt improving though, which is very encouraging, especially considering the time in which they've made that progress. 

 

[North Texas Golfer]

C-, C, and C- for a defense that gave up 30 first downs, 5 scoring drives over 70 yards each, 524 total yards, and 38 points to Iowa State!

I think it was John McEnroe who said something along the lines of "YOU CAN'T SERIOUS?"

 

[doc longhorn]

My biggest disappointment was our DL.  We simply could not pressure ISU's QB very much - even with blitz's.  This left our DB's extremely vulnerable as they can't cover forever.   Reed was non-existent.

This goes back to my original observation from the beginning of last year.  Our LB's are mediocre, at best.  None of them, including Hicks, would start for most elite teams.

 

[Lukus Alderman]

Good points by all, but I'm not changing my grade. As I mentioned previously, I grade based on my expectations prior to the game. Considering the complete lack of depth and the fact that Hughes pretty much played all game for James, these guys did extremely well.

And concerning the questions as to why I would grade the RBs low and not the OL, the fact remains that we still rushed for 200 yards, but half of that was by the QB while Brown and Gray still had difficulty breaking tackles and hitting a second level of speed, which we haven't seen all year.

These guys blocked for an offense that produced over 500 yards and 41 points while giving only up one sack with very few mental errors, especially compared to previous games.

That's an A in my book.

 

[pringlelake]

If we base our grade on "expectations", I'm more inclined to agree with you. The OL did perform a bit better than I expected...but I still couldn't give them an A.   

 

[PeteA422]

 

[Juan]

Here was Dave Cokin "professional handicapper" taking ISU and the 12.5 points before this game

Sporting the indoor shades

 

[Juan]

Here is the full Texas-ISU game

If you missed it/dont have LHN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udjJcq6cbaA&feature=youtu.be