Instanalysis – Game 1

FINAL SCORE: 38-7

Texas is 1-0 and got their first win under Head Coach Charlie Strong.

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[*]The Longhorn defense dominated every aspect of the game.

 

[*]Special Teams was average (high and low lights).

 

[*]The Texas offense was inconsistent, but had bright spots.

 

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On the very first drive for UNT, Texas brought pressure on 3rd & 10. It was foreshadowing as the Texas D brought pressure throughout the first half once they realized North Texas had no answer.

Among the many superlative defensive stats, I like these: UNT’s first three drives = 0 yards, three 3 & outs and 1 INT.

The offense was surprisingly balanced tonight – 33 rushes & 34 passes.

The defensive line was nothing short of dominant. Even when the DL wasn’t making a tackle, they had the North Texas OL in the offensive backfield and the Longhorn linebackers and safeties filled gaps and made tackles.

Peter Jinkens is a terror on special teams coverage units. Dalton Santos had great energy on ST, but no one matched Jinkens level of destruction.

The offensive line had moments where they were very solid. Ash had a good pocket for most of the first half. When Espinosa went out and as the 2nd string rotated in, the OL as a whole suffered mightily.

Even though it was a lackluster half for the offense, when it was 21-0 at half with 3 turnovers gained, Texas is definitely meeting expectations.

Lots of motion pre-snap as well as quite a bit of wide receiver/tight end substitution.

The offense snapped the ball quickly after breaking huddle. This wasn’t a hurry-up offense by any means, but they did not leave the North Texas defense any time to shift.

John Harris was dominant after early drops. Charlie Strong went out onto the field as Harris came in (after his second drop) and offered Harris encouragement and asked him to relax. It was lights out after that point.

After pounding the UNT defense with straight ahead running between the tackles in the first half, Texas used stretch plays very effectively in the third quarter.

Johnathan Gray reminded everyone of what he adds to the running game.

Charlie Strong was constantly teaching guys when they came off the field. He spent a considerable amount of time talking to Steve Edmond after a defensive series.

Hassan Ridgeway, Paul Boyette and Bryce Cottrell all subbed in on the DL and the unit continued to dominate.

Shawn Watson called a shot deep downfield from the Texas 1 yard line, but it was to Geoff Swaim. Great idea, strange execution.

Notable Stat’s‘”

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[*]Hassan Ridgeway had 5 tackles and 2 sacks.

 

[*]Josh Greer had more completions to Texas defenders than he did to his own team.

 

[*]Will Russ averaged 38.2 yards/punt.

 

[*]Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray averaged 5.0 and 5.1 ypc, respectively.

 

[*]Armanti Foreman had one kickoff return for 18 yards.

 

[*]David Ash completed 56% of his passes.

 

[*]UNT was 3 of 15 on third down.

 

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Choice Quotes

Quandre Diggs: “We stressed during the week that we wanted to come out and wanted to dominate these guys. That’s what Texas should do to North Texas.”

Johnathan Gray: “It wasn’t so much that we didn’t care [last year], it was just that guys got complacent. Coach Strong came in and changed all that.”

Dan McCarney: “Obviously I’m really impressed with the Texas team tonight, the team did really nothing that surprised me, they are very well coached, they are talented, they are tough, they are physical.”

Charlie Strong: “We’re not a team that just walks out there like there’s something stored away. There’s nothing stored away. You saw what we’re going to do.”