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I didn't notice that, but I'll take another look. We seemed to have those all day long, trying to hurry to get aligned with their tempo. I'm thankful it was so hot they were having to break tempo to sub some of their guys as well. If this was a cool day, I can only imagine how fast they would be going.

🤘🤘🤘🤘

It also looked like the defense had pre-snap alignment issues on that play.

It seemed like the D-line got gassed. Texas State did a good job of using tempo to its advantage. And that style of offense naturally opens up the middle of the field, which makes it conducive to hitting big run plays between the tackles. If Texas had game-planned more than it otherwise did, it might've been a different story. Regardless, I'd expect Texas to play the run much differently against Ohio State.

One of the few times Texas attacked the line of scrimmage with multiple defenders against Texas State was one of the plays made in the 59-7 win over the Bobcats that needs to carry over to the Longhorns’ blockbuster non-conference battle with No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday (6:30 p.m., ABC). After Texas State converted a third-and-4 on its opening drive, it tried to crank up the tempo. While trying to catch Will Muschamp’s defense flat-footed on second-and-6 from the Bobcats’ 40-yard line, Rasheem Biles and Justin Cryer busted loose into the backfield. Torrance Burgess Jr. slipped away from the Texas linebackers, but Jelani McDonald was right there to clean up the play, resulting in the defense’s first tackle for loss of 2026. Texas State’s average to-go distance on third down was 4.3 yards. The Bobcats faced third-and-4 or less on nine (5-for-9) of the 14 times (8-for-14) they lined up to try and move the sticks on third down. Expect Muschamp to be more aggressive on early downs to try and get the Buckeyes behind the chains. Ohio State was 5-for-11 on third down in its 56-3 season-opening win over Ball State, with an average to-go distance of 8.1 yards, which is how the Longhorns would prefer the Buckeyes to operate on critical downs. *** Texas has held Ohio State to a 6-for-22 mark on third down in the last two meetings. Still, the Buckeyes’ combined 2-for-3 mark on fourth down in their two wins over the Longhorns went a long way toward deciding the outcome; one of the conversions was Will Howard’s 18-yard run on fourth-and-2 in the Cotton Bowl en route to the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, while the other was CJ Donaldson’s 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal in Columbus last season. Texas held Texas State to a 1-for-3 mark on fourth down, with the first stop coming long before the outcome was decided. After Biles made a tremendous play in space to stop Brad Jackson for a 2-yard loss on third-and-2 from the Longhorns’ 40-yard line, Alex January got the defense off the field by sticking his paw up and knocking Jackson’s fourth-and-4 pass attempt to the ground. The Bobcats called a good fourth-down play, with Chris Dawn Jr. and Blake Smith crossing up Cryer and Graceson Littleton in coverage. Thankfully, January made the kind of play the Longhorns must get to flip the script in the Ohio State series. *** Steve Sarkisian needs to be at his best as a play-caller if Texas is going to get the scarlet-and-gray monkey off its back. That will require setting up big plays the way he did on the offense’s second possession. A swing pass to Raleek Brown helped set up Arch Manning’s 21-yard completion to Ryan Wingo on fourth-and-2 from the Texas State 40-yard line in the second quarter. On both plays, Sarkisian sent Nick Townsend in motion from the short side of the field to the wide side, forming a trey set (a tight end and two receivers on one side of the field in a three-by-one formation). On the pass to Brown, Townsend motioned toward the field as a lead blocker, leading the way for Brown’s 11-yard gain. The Longhorns ran the same action on fourth-and-2 and, with Townsend and Brown selling the swing pass, Manning’s slight pump fake sold the short pass long enough to hold the Bobcat defenders and allow Wingo to get open down the sideline. *** The game has slowed down significantly for Manning since he walked into the Horseshoe for last season’s opener for his third carrier start. More in tune with the offense and playing off his instincts, Manning selling the swing pass to Brown before hitting Wingo for a chunk-yardage play on fourth down was one of several plays he made that can’t be appreciated if you’re only looking at the box score. On the Texas offense’s third scoring drive, Manning made a savvy play after getting the Bobcats to jump into the neutral zone on third-and-9 from the Texas State 46. Instead of taking a deep shot or taking a risk he otherwise wouldn’t, knowing he had an upcoming third-and-4 in his back pocket, Manning carried out the play, slinging the ball to Hollywood Smothers for an 11-yard gain and a first down at the Bobcats’ 35-yard line. Six plays later, Raleek Brown scored from 13-yard out behind Townsend and Trevor Goosby to make it a three-score game, 21-0. What Manning did leading up to the touchdown, including a 16-yard pickup on a pass to Wingo out of a scramble situation and a quick pass to Townsend for nine yards on first down from the Texas State 21, are tangible signs that the Buckeyes aren’t facing the same quarterback they saw last season. View full news story

Siani was great. Though, he was responsible for the one pressure from the starting offensive line. That's my one knock.

I’m going to go with Siani. This may be our best pickup. Running on the right side with him and TE is money! He may push Goosby for first Longhorn OT picked. Having him at RT and sliding Baker inside is huge

I say we get Kevin Marr to officiate

Yep we’ve never complained of the sec officials

Townsend is him! Dude loves to punish.

Which conference officiated the 2024 game? It be in the contract.

Over a calendar year away lol

Guessing the Monster Energy Big 12 would be very happy to lend us a crew of their ace refs ...

No doubt. Every time he touched the rock in space it was exciting

Cryer in pass coverage will be barbecue chicken all year long. I promise OSU will scheme him up on a back numerous times Saturday night.

Yeah, as much as I hate OU, Michigan looked beyond awful.

The two things I loved seeing was how calm and confident Arch was hitting on all levels of the field and also Wingo's hands.

We need to make sure the B1G is not in charge of officiating when Michigan comes to Austin next year.

Just beat Ohio State

We don't need that now.

Texas and Ohio State flip spots after Week 1. Texas to 1, Ohio State to 2. https://www.espn.com/college-football/fpi/_/view/resume

Hell it could be like the 2024 Bama-OU game but in reverse.

Michigan had 9 penalties for 80 yards and 3 turnovers. I think Kyle is a good coach and will do what he can to help them fix things. Their QB had a terrible game. If they can't establish the run, I'm not sure they do better than 7-5 or 6-6 this year. You make a good point about the injuries. Michigan has a good defense, but so does OU. I could see more turnovers for UM against OU being the deciding factor, and think both teams will struggle to run the ball against each other (with the OU OL injuries you mention). I still think it's double-digit win for OU.

Easton Royal was not thrilled to be at LSU: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc7tHxfiql6/?stkn=dzhhMnhsdnhqMm8z. Actually, this should not go in this thread because I'm not overreacting at all. 😅