In one of the most exciting games at DKR in a long time, Texas routed USC 37-14 behind 34 unanswered points after the Longhorns fell behind 14-3. There was a lot of good and not a lot of bad. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest storylines from a win that puts Texas at 2-1 heading into conference play.
The Good
Dicker the Kicker
It had to be an uneasy feeling for Tom Herman heading into the 3rd game of the season knowing his freshman kicker had yet to attempt a field goal. Cameron Dicker responded by nailing all three of his field goal attempts against the Trojans, including a pair of 46 yarders. His kicks had good height — something that had been a problem for Texas kickers the previous two seasons. Confidence for a kicker is everything, and Dicker should have plenty heading into Big 12 play.
Freshman Contributors
Texas received several big plays from members of the 2018 signing class. Caden Sterns played another strong game at the safety position, but his biggest moment came when he bursted through the line to block a Chase McGrath field goal in the 3rd quarter, resulting in a scoop and score for Anthony Wheeler. BJ Foster continued to see a lot of action in the dime package and flew around the field. Unfortunately, he was ejected for targeting in the 4th quarter on a huge hit and will miss the first half against TCU.
Josh Moore took advantage of the snaps he received and delivered a huge 27-yard touchdown reception in the back of the end zone to stretch the Texas lead to 23-14 on the first drive of the second half.
Anthony Cook saw some snaps after Davante Davis exited with an injury and looked good.
Mistake-free Ehlinger
Tom Herman made it a point during his postgame availability to point out that the offensive game plan called for Sam Ehlinger to take shots down the field. Herman said they knew going in that the completion percentage probably wouldn’t be high, but they were committed to stretching the USC defense. The game plan worked. Ehlinger finished the night 15 for 33 for 223 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He took care of the football and checked the offense into some good plays. The Longhorns will need Ehlinger to play turnover-free games like Saturday if they hope to be a legitimate Big 12 title contender.
Balanced Rushing Attack
The offensive coaching staff did a good job of finding different ways to effectively run the football. The quarterback sweep that was popular last season was brought up and was the go-to short yardage play. With Keaontay Ingram out with a knee injury, Tre Watson and Daniel Young carried the load at RB. Watson received the majority of the carries early in the game and finished with 18 carries for 72 yards. Young pounded the ball between the tackles and powered his way for 57 yards on 12 carries. The longest run of the night was only 12 yards, but Texas thoroughly controlled the line of scrimmage and the running game benefited.
The Bad
Leaving Turnovers on the Field
Kris Boyd’s interception served as the lone turnover forced by Texas, but the Longhorns defense failed to take advantage of several more opportunities to force takeaways. On the first drive of the game, Josh Thompson had a golden opportunity for an interception and wasn’t able to deliver. Later in the half, Brandon Jones mistimed his leap going for an interception, resulting in a long pass completion. Boyd also had an opportunity for another pick later in the game go off his hands. These are little things, but the Longhorns need to capitalize on every chance they get.
The Ugly
Punting
The Longhorns were extremely lucky to escape Saturday night without having a punt blocked. Ryan Bujcevski needs to show a little more urgency when getting his punts off, and the protection unit can not allow guys to run through the line untouched. It has been an issue since week 1 and it still has not been corrected. Gary Patterson would be more than happy to take advantage of it this week if it is not fixed.
