View from the Cheap Seats-Kansas

[echeese]

View from the Cheap Seats-Kansas​

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How SWEET IT IS!!!!!!​

              An omage to 50's and 60's comedian and star of the Honeymooner's, Jackie Gleason as this was his trademark line.  TEXAS needed only a win on a trip to cellar dweller Kansas to find itself as one half of the 2018 BigXII conference title game.  To say it had been an up and down year for the Horns would be an understatement.   From an opening season loss to Maryland to dominating wins over USC and TCU to shoot outs vs OU, OSU WVU and Texas Tech.  Our defense vacillated between world class and leaky sieve, often in the course of a single game.    The 4th quarter usually being their worst quarter save a nightmare opening stanza coming off a bye vs OSU.   The offense was actually played more consistently all year and the #1 development of the 2018 team was from it's emotional leader, Sam Elhinger.   When it was all said and done, Coach Tom and his crew secured a win on the road for an invite to Dallas.    YUGE simply YUGE

              Fans would cringe once again as TEXAS won the toss and deferred.  They would be rewarded with the D forcing a 3 and out  then the TEXAS O would take the ball 98 yards for an early 7-0 lead.   All seemed to point to the usual Kansas blowout after the D forced it's 2nd 3 and out.  TEXAS started to drive again but Sam started to show signs he was not the accurate gunslinger the fans had become accustom.   Between the wind and his shoulder injury, Sam just did not have his usual touch.    And give the Kansas D some credit too.   They played very well and ran a scheme that if we're TEXAS' opponent next Sat morning, we spend some time watching film.    The early 7-0 lead would be the half time score.   Who knows, maybe it's early games.  TEXAS did not play well vs Maryland or Kansas State in their 2 prior early starts.   Better fix that fast, 11 AM kickoff in Dallas.

              Looking better in the 2nd half, TEXAS' opening kickoff drive would stall before they would find their footing and rack up back to back TD drives.     Up 21-0, victory looked assured but as Lee Corso would say. . . .Not so fast my friends.   After keeping Kansas' jitter bug RB Williams bottled up all day, Williams did his Kyler Murray impression, disappeared into the line before breaking left for a  57 yard on a scamper/TD where he found no Longhorn defenders.   TEXAS starts to drive only to see Sam stare down his WR and record his second interception of the day giving Kansas a short field.    In what would be the signal biggest play for the Horns, Jeffery McCullough makes an athletic play to intercept the ball and return it 65 yards setting up Dicker the Kicker's 34 yard field goal for a 24-7 lead.    The two teams exchange punts before Kansas puts together their best drive of the game going 75 yards in 5 plays for a TD and the game is 24-14.    Jayhawks on side kick and after Collin Johnson illegally bats the kick forward, a 2nd on side attempt is successful.   This leads to a KU FG and the lead has now shrunk to 24-17 with a 1:36 left in the game.    Lil Jordan secures the 3rd on side kick attempt and thanks to KU having to burn their time outs earlier, it's victory formation time.    Biggest complaint of the day, is CTH morally opposed to challenging plays?    He may have cost TEXAS twice today.   Don't get it.

Interesting items of note from the trip to Dorothy Land.  

-Sam's INT streak was broken with an interception each half.   Don't think there is any question his shoulder was not 100%.   Hopefully an extra days rest will help that heal so he's 100% for Dallas.  

- Biggest loss of the game is Brandon Jones (who CTH calls BJ) who went out off a clear helmet to helmet hit.  Dude, freaking fair catch the ball.    This defense does not play the same without him.   His development has been fun to watch but we need him next Sat. (assuming he's cleared).  

-Announcers sucked.   Highlighted by the above play where they tried to argue it was just "good football".  

- In half their games this season, TEXAS D would allow double digit scoring in the 4th quarter.   It's a great D till the 4th.    It was cold, early and windy in Lawerence.   Glad the game in Dallas is indoors.  

- ISU was the closest TEXAS played to a "blow out", TEXAS just didn't put anyone away this year.

-TEXAS' offensive line starters only missed 3 starts this season and clearly played much better as a unit than last year.   May have been the biggest unit improvement of the year.   

-TEXAS' decision to stop rotating so many WRs and RBs paid big dividends for the Horns over the course of the year.   Tre Watson would finish with 14 carries and a 5.6 ypc average on the day. 

-Cameron Dicker would have 2 KOs go out of bounds allowing KU starting field position at the 35 vice 25.   And this would be the 1st game the Horns won this year while losing the turnover battle.

-Of note was the play by several freshmen on defense particularly Joseph Ossai who recorded 5 tackles along with Andrew Cook and Ta'quon Graham.   Cook appears slated for one CB spot next year.   This to go with Caden Sterns who had a very good game and BJ Foster.   Sterns Foster and Senior Brandon Jones will man the 3 Safety spots in 2019.

              Make no mistake, this was a Kansas team that was playing hard, never quit and had done some good things at the end of the year.   Winning is always much better than losing.   Now it's time for the Red River War part Duex.    If TEXAS' D can play 4 quarters like it did vs ISU and 3 quarters of Kansas, TEXAS and CTH will be lifting the BigXII title trophy.   

Offensive Player of the Game

Tre Watson.    He averaged 5.6 per carry for 80 yards on 14 carries with 5 of those rushes resulting in 1st downs.   He also broke off a 31 yard rush which lead to a Sam-to-Beck TD pass.  

Devin Duvernay was close behind and lead the WRs in yardage largely due to Sam's mis fires (Sam missed some open WRs), not a good day for Sam or the pass catchers overall.   DD would record a 1st down on each of his catches as well though oddly, all on TEXAS' 1st drive of the day.​

Defensive Player of the Game

Jeffery McCullough.   His very athletic interception and 65 yard return would lead to a 4th quarter FG but more importantly would shut down a short field Kansas drive that had it been converted, might be a different game.  Right behind him was Caden Sterns who played very well.   And Brandon Jones made his value noted by his absence.  His loss due to a clear targeting penalty (good lord the announcers SUCKED) really showed his value to the D.

5 plays that secured the win

31 yard run by Tre Watson in the 3rd quarter sparked a TD drive when Sam hit his roommate Andrew Beck for the TD.

3 yard TD run by Sam.   3rd and goal, Sam appears tackled only to break out and lunge into the end zone to make the score 21-0

15 yard pass to Devin Duvernay, 2nd and 9 from the TEXAS 3.   Huge play to get TEXAS out of a hole on their way to a 98 yard TD drive to take a 7-0 lead.

29 yard TD to Collin Johnson, same drive as above, might be Sam's best throw of the day.  

Jeffery McCullough's 65 yard interception return.   Biggest play of the day.   TEXAS would only get a FG off the short field but a short field drive of the Jayhawks blunted by an athletic "rebound" of a pass JM had batted in the air.

              You have to go back to 2013 and the Baylor game to find a time where TEXAS could even sniff the air of a Conference Title.   And before that, back to 2009 so it's been a long time since TEXAS has been relevant.   And if they play their game on both sides, TEXAS should win setting up a trip to the Sugar Bowl.   Barring a TCU upset of Okie Lite, the BigXII will only send 6 teams to bowls which will free up at least one and maybe 2 tie ins for other conferneces.    Win and TEXAS goes to the Sugar Bowl to face either Georgia or LSU most likely.   A loss and the odds are it is the Alamo bowl against a UDub or Utah though there is a small chance at one of the New Year's Day 6.   Key to victory for the Horns will be a 100% Sam and a return to play of Brandon Jones.    Other than that, simply play our game.

Ranking the BigXII

#1 TEXAS  my poll my rules but we did beat #2.    It's Sugar or Alamo bowling most likely for the Horns.

#2   Land Thieves.    Come on Baby, we play real defense

#3   WVU    Tempted to rank them lower simply because they choked so badly.  

#4  ISU    Matt Campbell is a really good coach, Cyclones earned a nice bowl trip

#5 Coach Mullet with an impressive end to the year 2-1 vs the conference big dawgs and a bad pass on a 2pt conversion from being 3-0.    Liberty or Cheez-it bowl for the Cowboys

The next 4 teams listed all must win their final game to go bowling.   You can also list these teams in about any order.

#6  TCU   Faces Okie Lite, betting they don't make it

#7  Baylor   Faces Texas Tech in a battle to secure a bowl spot

#8  Texas Tech   Faces Baylor to assure the BigXII a 6th bowl team

#9   Kansas State  Faces Iowa State, does Coach Campbell let 1 loss become 2?   Can the Wildcats send Coach Snyder out with a bowl trip?

#10   Kansas    They are improved, they are about to welcome Les Miles and they made TEXAS work harder than they should in their last game of the season.

 

[dillohorn]

Thanks.