Instanalysis – Game 9

FINAL SCORE: Texas 34 – Texas Tech 13

First half: Texas 17 – Texas Tech 13

Second half: Texas 17 – Texas Tech 0

First half observations:‘”

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[*]Great adjustment by John Harris to gain 36 yards on 3^rd and 12 to keep the first drive alive. That setup a 46 yard field goal from Nick Rose. That’s the kind of success the Horns needed to start the night.

 

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[*]The Horns nearly get a sack, but Tech managed a first down on their 2^nd drive. Texas is doing a good job of giving up underneath throws and gang tackling early-on.

 

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[*]Texas gets solid yardage from Malcolm Brown on first down (2^nd drive) but then only gains about a yard on consecutive running plays. 3 & out, but a good punt and nice coverage pushes Tech back to the 35.

 

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[*]CB blitz from Bryson Echols didn’t get a sack, but the pressure forced an incompletion. That’s a good call with Texas not getting much pressure from their front.

 

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[*]Tyrone Swoopes fumbles at the Texas 5 and Tech scoops it up for a score. We’ve already seen Swoopes have 2 negative plays in the opening quarter while trying to make a play downfield. The first one only cost the team a few yards, the 2^nd one costs 6 points.

 

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[*]Johnathan Gray tries to stretch a run to the left and ends up losing yards. There’s no hole to hit but stretching it horizontally only loses yards. It’s a no-win situation.

 

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[*]Poor tackling and a personal foul penalty put the Tech offense in business, but a chop block pushes them back to the 34. Another personal foul (facemask) by Edmonds gives the Red Raiders first and goal. Jason Hall flirted with another personal foul taunting penalty, but it’s not called and the defense responds with a sack.

 

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[*]A missed Texas Tech field goal is 4 points the Red Raiders have left on the field. They’re being gracious hosts.

 

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[*]The Horns double their offensive output on the first drive of the 2^nd quarter, and featured some nice rushing, but Rose misses a 37 yarder. It’s still 6-3.

 

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[*]WR drops are hurting, but most of the drops are off the mark by Swoopes. I’m not sure who to blame more.

 

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[*]The hit by Diggs on Mahomes will be a YouTube favorite for Texas fans. My goodness.

 

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[*]Malcolm Brown capitalizes on the turnover when he punches in the TD. He was almost the entire offense on that 9-play drive (20 of 25 yards). He’s running really well.

 

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[*]As soon as Texas takes a 10-6 lead, the defense forgets how to tackle. With Tech’s 3^rd string QB in the game, this is terrible fundamentals by the defense. On the same drive, 3 Texas DB’s go with the wideout on a flag route and leave the flat uncovered. 3 more missed tackles allow Tech to convert 3^rd and 13, then the Red Raiders punch it in to take a lead. Bedford has to be tearing his hair out.

 

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[*]I know he’s just a freshman, but Armanti Foreman’s kick return late in the 2^nd quarter was ridiculously poor. He could have gone to the sideline or inside and instead ran straight into his blockers.

 

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[*]2 plays, 85 yards and Texas is back in front. The OL did a great job of providing Swoopes with enough time to hit Harris after a pump fake.

 

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[*]With time expiring in the half, Texas goes for a 4^th down conversion and runs a play for Jacorey Warrick? Say what? Top it off with porous pass pro and Swoopes going down hard and that was not a good play.

 

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Second half observations:‘”

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[*]The Horns convert 1 of 2 3^rd downs on their opening drive of the half and tacked on a field goal to extend their lead to 7 points. Converting 50% of third downs on that drive raised their conversion rate for the game to 30%.

 

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[*]Testaverde fails to convert on 4^th down on a tough play call for a 3^rd stringer. That gives the ball back to the Horns at their own 37. This is a chance to get some separation – but the most un-Shipley like thing possible (fumble) keeps Tech in it.

 

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[*]The referees are reviewing everything…ex cept for the drop by Marcus Johnson. That was clearly an incomplete pass in slow motion – I’m shocked they didn’t use replay for the real time call based on history.

 

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[*]The third quarter was fairly forgettable for both teams. Not a lot of offense on either side. Texas feels closer to success than Tech, but ‘closer’ doesn’t count.

 

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[*]Testaverde is a 3^rd string walk-on. The Texas defensive backs are playing well. Again, I’m unsure who to give credit to?

 

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[*]The pass interference on Nigel Bethel was so bad that 3 different referees threw flags. (Side note – Swoopes threw it 60 yards in the air. Impressive.)

 

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[*]Really nice job by Swoopes to extend the 4^th quarter TD play with his legs. Shipley came all the way across, eventually getting open, and the only reason Swoopes had time to find him is because of his scramble.

 

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[*]The touchdown drive at the end of the 3^rd/beginning of the 4^th quarter was 9 plays, 89 yards and almost 4 minutes long. That’s the kind of drive that should put a home team to bed.

 

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[*]Daje Johnson’s 4^th quarter carry reminded everyone what a difference-maker he can be.

 

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[*]Another rushing TD for Malcolm Brown and the Horns are off to the races. This offense is good when in rhythm. This game is also the first opportunity they’ve had to call a punishing running game for three quarters and then enjoy the dividends in the 4^th quarter.

 

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[*]Mykkele Thompson’s 4^th quarter interception punctuated a night where the DB’s had plenty of chances for more picks.

 

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Two takeaways

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[*]John Harris, Quandre Diggs, Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray all played angry tonight.

 

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[*]That was a patient win. Most of the players in post-game talked about the week the team had in practice. Their confidence showed tonight. While message boards and Twitter were exploding, the team stayed the course.

 

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Notable Stat’s

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[*]In the first half, Malcolm Brown rushed for 73 yards and John Harris had 123 receiving yards. That’s 85% of the team’s total yardage.

 

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[*]Texas had 231 yards and 17 points in the 1^st half. Texas had 238 yards and 17 points in the second half.

 

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[*]Only 5 penalties…but they were 50 costly yards.

 

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[*]Texas finished the game 5 of 16 on 3^rd downs.

 

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[*]5 Texas trips to the red zone and 4 touchdowns. That works.

 

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[*]9 solo tackles (13 total) for Steve Edmond.

 

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[*]10 PBU’s for the defense, including 4 by Duke Thomas.

 

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