Follow along as our Devon Messinger jots down notes from tonight’s game between the Florida Gators and the Texas Longhorns.
First Quarter:
First drives continue to be a problem offensively for the Longhorns. After a promising start, a backwards run by Quintrevion Wisner and a sack against Quinn Ewers pushed the team back. As a result, Bert Auburn was forced to trot on the field for a long field goal attempt which missed.
On Texas’ second drive, Steve Sarkisian reached into his bag of tricks on back-to-back plays. First, Sarkisian called a double end-around play which resulted in a large run by Isaiah Bond. Afterwards, the signal caller called for a fake screen pass which resulted in a wide open touchdown pass from Quinn Ewers to Matthew Golden.
Defense wins championships and the Longhorns defense is pretty darn good. After Anthony Hill Jr forced a Florida fumble, the Texas offense quickly capitalized with a quick 22-yard touchdown pass from Quinn Ewers to Gunnar Helm. Lately, it has been the Longhorn offense which has poorly setup the Texas defense with bad field position. If the offense can continue to look like they have so far against Florida, the team’s overall performance will immensely improve.
While it has not been a major point in this game, the Longhorns need to get better at punting the football. Entering Saturday’s game against Florida, the Longhorns were ranked 110th in the country in net punting yards with 36.54 yards per punt. Steve Sarkisian preaches the need for complementary football and his team’s punting game has almost quietly helped to erode that quality over these last couple of weeks. Of course, the Texas offense also has to do a better job of moving the football more consistently as well.
Second Quarter:
With over five minutes left in the first half, Quinn Ewers has been having himself a game so far with three touchdown passes. The Longhorn quarterback has been giving his receivers a chance to make plays with the ball and it has paid off so far. With an inconsistent running game, Steve Sarkisian has had to rely on Ewers to lead the Texas offense.
What an end to the half for the Longhorns. With 1:19 left, Quinn Ewers found Matthew Golden in the end zone on a 32-yard touchdown pass. Those scoring drives are the ones that win teams games, giving the extra needed padding before heading to the locker room. Afterwards, Longhorn linebacker Ty’Anthony Smith set the team up in a great position again with an interception. Jaydon Blue would ultimately capitalize on the opportunity with a 5-yard rushing touchdown with 23 seconds left in the half.
Third Quarter:
The Longhorns started the second half just as well as they ended the first half. Returning to action this week for the Longhorns was defensive back Andrew Mukuba, who started off the second half of action with an interception. Once again, the Longhorns were able to take advantage of a turnover and answer with a touchdown, this time on a 34-yard pass from Quinn Ewers to Isaiah Bond.
With 7:03 left in the third quarter, Arch Manning checks in for Quinn Ewers. Through two and a half quarters, Ewers exits the contest with five passing touchdowns.
Fourth Quarter:
The fourth quarter is a time for Steve Sarkisian to sub in Longhorns who are in need of playing time, and experience. Up by over 35 points, Sarkisian was able to lean on players such as freshman running back Jerrick Gibson, as well as Oregon State transfer Silas Bolden.
