OTF Premium Thoughts on what happened to No. 1 Texas in a 14-7, season-opening loss to No. 3 Ohio State

[HookemChappy]

11 hours ago, Judd_Irby said:

How can two different players put their hands into an opposing player’s face mask?  Don’t they know it will cost 15 yards?  The first changed a sure OSU punt into a touchdown drive.  The second wiped out a safety.  Eight points from mental errors on the defense that otherwise played well.  We’ve simply become accustomed to false starts by the offensive line, but they keep happening.  Maybe start thinking a little out there.  Sorry for ragging these guys out.  I think we have a promising season ahead.  Our expectations were oversized in part due to our listening to hometown media pundits. 

To some degree those are Sarks fault. We continue to have OL penalties that kill us. Wingos penalty killed us. Overall we played better than OSU in many categories but lost in penalties and turnovers. We lost the games. No play calling solves this. RZ issues. I wouldn’t have trusted Arch to throw anything. Patricia knew that Sark had to run the ball. Really made being a DC easy when the offense was one dimensional.

[HTXHorn]

There’s a lot of comments. And I haven’t read any of them. Just here to share a few of my thoughts to vent to my OTF family after a tough day of digesting. Sorry in advance for the long post. 

This does not feel like the end of the world by no measure. If you look at the stat line, penalties might have been the deciding factor, despite how terrible some of Arch’s throws were.

On that note, when have we seen an inaccurate ball from Arch prior to this game? As cool as he is, I think he felt the true pressure of being a starting QB in a competitive college setting. He will settle down and start delivering balls on time/schedule like we’re used to seeing. We cannot rely on his wheels to win games. 

CJ Baxter’s return was a breath of fresh air. That dude is a stud. But Tre lead the stat line. He was elusive and just doesn’t quit on his runs. We have a true tandem set this year of quality backs. 

Oline looks good. This was a good pash rush defense. Arch did avoid some pockets that collapsed - last year we might have seen a few more QE sacks or balls thrown out of bounds just because of Arch’s athleticism.

We miss the soft touch of QE. Arch needs to back off on the heat for his intermediate throws. Honestly, Quinn wins this game easily for Texas. That’s a hard pill to swallow, because Arch is currently and will be the future of this program. It’s just the difference between both players at this moment in time. 

No mention of Taafe, Simmons, or Hill this game.  That’s not gonna happen again  Seeing Littleton ball out was super fun to watch.

Taking these massive OOC games always feels like a risk.  It’s good for the sport, and it’s good for TV, but I’m always on the fence whether or not it’s good for the team.  Let these guys get some reps in before playing the best teams in the league.  I don’t think this game was of no consequence.  Now we HAVE to beat A&M, OU, and one of UGA/UF for good seeding in the CFP  we can even be tripped up and miss a CFP spot all together.  It only seems unfair because other teams don’t take on the same challenge.

 

[Casey67]

My thoughts:

DBs - Until we play a seasoned QB, we don't really know if our DBs have gelled and their communication is comparable to last year.  OSU was protecting Sayin.  He wasn't asked to scan the middle of the field and make a decision.

LBs - Seemed assignment sound to me.  I think we have a good group that's only going to get better.

DLs - Very good overall against the runs.  Didn't step up on goal line a short yardage situations but perhaps we've been a little spoiled from last year.  I like our DTs and I think they are only going to get better as the coaching staff figures out the right combinations.  

EDGEs- I'm not sure.  Sayin did very little dropping back and scanning the field.  I'm going to assume we have a very good pass rush though.  OSU pretty much conceded that to us via their scheme.

Offensive Line - I am thrilled with our run game in general but as usual, once we are in obvious short yardage situations, something happens and I am baffled.  Sark needs a short yardage consultant.

RBs -  Very impressive.  Other teams aren't going to have the same defensive back field OSU had and are going to be forced to cheat their way up to the line of scrimmage.  That will play into Arch's strengths.

WRs  TEs -  I was surprised how little they got opened, but again, OSU's defensive backs are the strength of the team.  So I'm not sure how I feel yet.  I'm excited about Livingston though.  Wingo needs to grow a little.

QB - Ugh.  IMO, Quinn Ewers had one strength and only one strength - hitting receivers in stride with short passes.  Arch is inaccurate and puts way too much mustard on his short throws.  He needs to calm the eff down and watch some film on Ewers.  I'm not saying Ewers was a great QB (he had zero pocket presence, zero ability to improvise and couldn't throw a deep ball) but Arch HAS to improve on those short passes Sark designs to scheme WRs open.  If he doesn't do that, we are going to get behind the chains way to often.  I simply don't know what to think of Arch yet.  I'm anywhere from "He'll learn from this and become a good QB" to "I hope KJ Lacy matures fast."  I'm just shocked.

 

[Texazz]

18 hours ago, syracusehorn said:

The defense has outperformed the offense throughout Sark's tenure (except for year 1). It is very difficult, and rare, for a HC to be an elite OC at the same time. I don't think Sark can do it. He needs to find someone to call plays. It's no knock on him; it's almost universal that teams have separate playcallers. There's just too much going on simultaneously to not delegate that job.

I trust sark…… but if he wants to take that next step - we better start scoring points and START kicking FGs, instead of getting stuffed in the RZ…..time and time again.

This is also why we should NEVER schedule a top5 team as opener. If this was the second game , hopefully less penalties …..

[TheContractor12]

19 hours ago, nycHorn said:

Texas needs a playcaller. 

I agree its hard to be a HC and a playcaller but at the same time the #1 single thing Sark has done best in his coaching life is playcall. He does need to make some type of change or check and balance system or someone to make some situational suggestions. 

[LonghornFan4Ever]

15 minutes ago, TheContractor12 said:

I agree its hard to be a HC and a playcaller but at the same time the #1 single thing Sark has done best in his coaching life is playcall. He does need to make some type of change or check and balance system or someone to make some situational suggestions. 

Neal Brown is right there too

[Austalgia]

12 hours ago, CHorn427 said:

The stats show one passing TD awarded by Jaylen Guilbeau

Watch the play. He had good coverage, knocked the ball out.  The future NFL receiver made a rematch and a good play.  They weren’t playing an FCS schiil.   Guilbeau had inside leverage.  All the defense played well, including Guilbeau.  You’re wrong.  The result doesn’t always equal what happened. 

Edited just now by Austalgia