By the Numbers: Texas in the Middle 8 and the 3rd Quarter

[PaytonOTF]

Hey guys it’s Payton again with another By the Numbers graphic. Against its five Power 4 opponents, Texas has outscored teams in the 1st, 2nd and 4th quarters. From 4:00 left in the 2nd quarter through the end of the 3rd, opponents have outscored Texas 51 to 6. That's 3 to 31 in the middle 8 and 3 to 34 across the full 3rd quarter. Most recently, against Ole Miss, a 24 to 3 lead was 24 to 17 by the end of the 3rd. 

Is this a halftime adjustment problem or a play calling problem coming out of the break? And what does the 4th quarter edge say about this team, that it can close games or that it only plays its best when there’s a real sense of urgency?

[watty7796]

You would think winning 3 of 4 quarters would get the job done.  Problem is Texas 1 and 2 quarters is better but the 3rd they are getting outplayed by a lot not a little bit.  The 4th we are marginally better.  With that being said I dont know if its so much adjustments as it is the Longhorns not establishing the LOS or the run or pass game.  It almost looks like sleep walking and we will worry about it in 15 min when its close again.  4 quaters of play has been an issie for Texas for awhile.  Last 5 years Texas has led wire to wire against P4 programs 7 times.  That includes the B12 years.  60 games.  I love my Longhorns but they lack the killer instinct that other dominant programs have.  Would love to see this change.

[Bobby Burton]

51-6 hurts.

[CJ Vogel]

Good stuff Payton:

Texas has had six opportunities to score the football before the end of the half this season. They are 2-6 with just two field goals.

• vs. Texas State: Drive at 3:53 ... 13 plays, 79 yards and an interception
• vs. Ohio State: Drive at 1:41 ... 7 plays, 24 yards and a turnover on downs turns into an Ohio State TD
• vs. UTSA: Drive at 1:24 ... 8 plays, 36 yards and a field goal ... clock mismanagement in here as well
• vs. Tennessee: Drive 1:48 ... 3 plays, 3 yards and a punt
• vs. Oklahoma: Drive 3:43 ...10 plays, 60 yards and a field goal ... well done!
• vs. Florida: Drive at 6:11 ... got stopped at midfield on 4th down, turns into a Florida TD
• vs. Ole Miss: No drive in final 5:30 of the game. But, defense gets a pick on their own goal line.

[CJ Vogel]

The end of 1H issues bleed right into the 3rd quarters.

Texas basically plays 20 minutes a game with zero offense, which is highly unsustainable. 

3.9 points per 3Q is 110th in the country. Not to mention 21 of those points came vs. Texas State on week one. Been quite a season offensively.

[Jordan Scruggs]

Oof. Great stuff Payton!

[Alex Butler]

5 hours ago, PaytonOTF said:

Hey guys it’s Payton again with another By the Numbers graphic. Against its five Power 4 opponents, Texas has outscored teams in the 1st, 2nd and 4th quarters. From 4:00 left in the 2nd quarter through the end of the 3rd, opponents have outscored Texas 51 to 6. That's 3 to 31 in the middle 8 and 3 to 34 across the full 3rd quarter. Most recently, against Ole Miss, a 24 to 3 lead was 24 to 17 by the end of the 3rd. 

Is this a halftime adjustment problem or a play calling problem coming out of the break? And what does the 4th quarter edge say about this team, that it can close games or that it only plays its best when there’s a real sense of urgency?

Great stuff @PaytonOTF this team plays best when there’s a sense of urgency and this shows their lack of maturity and understanding of the game. These are the critical period where games are given away or blowouts can happen. It shows that we get up early and cruise thinking this is like high school or a lesser conference and fail to respond immediately when other teams punch back or make adjustments.