View from the Cheap Seats-Vandy

[echeese]

View from the Cheap Seats-Vandy

Winning Ugly far better than Losing Pretty​

So who had TEXAS/Vandy as a Top 25 match up in the pre-season? Would have been an amazing prop bet in Vegas but we certainly did not see this as such a tilt nor did we see this as a “bounce back” game for the Horns.

Instead what we saw was another “tale of 2 halves” game with TEXAS looking very strong in the 1st half then very sloppy in the 2nd half We also see a very uncomfortable pattern re-emerge from early in Sark’s tenure. That is losing the 2nd half of games and turning solid wins into nail biters (or previously into losses). Unlike the problems vs Georgia, where TEXAS was outplayed and out schemed, this was far more a problem of execution. Our team does not have the “killer instinct” to take over games late and put weaker teams away. The penalties are back in force, 8 v Georgia, 10 this weekend and seemed to happen at the worst of times. TEXAS had 2 turnovers, in both cases INTs coming off tipped passes giving Vandy short fields to work with. Vandy would convert both those turnovers into 14 points. We’ve not seen a “pressure” stat yet but Quinn played an AMAZING 1st half and overall a decent game, playing under far too much pressure. Disappointing as TEXAS came into the season the favorite for the Joe Moore/Best offensive line award and our offensive line is not the strength we once thought is was.

TEXAS could only muster 6 points in the 2nd half between shooting itself in the foot while Vancy continuing to scratch and claw their way back into the game. The most painful of 2nd half miscues was Jayden Blue taking a 20+ yard run down to the 5 before TEXAS had to settle for a FG after 2 straight rushes were stuffed and an incomplete pass. coring TDs in the Red Zone was a problem last year and seems to be a rising issue again. Meanwhile Vandy would go on 2 long (8 play) drives ending in touchdowns to make the game close in the 2nd.

Most were looking for a “statement game” from the Horns, sorry fans, TEXAS did not deliver. TEXAS should never have needed to recover an onside kick as time was almost over to secure a win. Not sure what TEXAS needs to do to focus and execute. Hard to point the finger at Sark as schematically, he did very well. And Coach PK’s guys generally balled out again. But with a chance to put a fork in Vandy, the Horns came up short on both sides of the ball.

This team is leaning hard on it’s defense to win and the D played well but gave up two 8 play drives in the 2nd half resulting in touchdowns. Penalties would play a MEGA part of each drive. One was a really weak defensive pass interference call which likely would have been an INT if the Vandy WR was not clearly holding our CB. The other drive kept alive when a pick 6 was reversed thanks to a bone headed helmet-to-helmet targeting penalty on their QB. Typical of the unforced errors we saw throughout the game.

Welcome to the SEC, there do not seem to be any easy games and it is better to win ugly than lose pretty. But do we know anymore about this team today than we did after the Georgia game? Today we can only say, not really.

As for our “awards watch”, well after this week, the Joe Moore Award has been lost and Ewers Heisman bid went away with his injury time off and his uneven play.

Offensive Player of the Game

Quinn Ewers-showed why he is QB 1 with a brilliant 1st half (19-21 for 211 yards and 3 TDs). At one point, he completed 17 passes in a row. followed by a pedestrian 2nd half (8-16, 77 yards) an INT in each half, both off tipped passes. He spread the ball well to 8 different pass catchers. Several big pass plays called back due to penalties.

Honorable Mention Tre Wisner 17 for 79 yards and a 4.6 ypc average. Would be better but he had a long run called back due to penalty.


Defensive Player of the Game

Jelani McDonald 5 solo tackles 2 assists and a tackle for loss

Special teams player of the Game

Silas Bolton-3 punt returns for 42 yards


Stats that Matter

• 1-4 TEXAS records their first win at Vandy
• 4-8-1 TEXAS improves it’s record vs Vandy as we resume a series we have not played since the 1920s.
• 3 TEXAS gave Vandy three 1st downs by penalty
• 10-107 TEXAS penalties on the night, not quality football, 2 of them key to 14 points
• 1-3 TEXAS with only 1 touchdown off 3 trips into the Red Zone, not quality football
• 6-14 TEXAS outscored in the 2nd half.

On Deck

Bye week before Florida pays the Horns a visit at DKR. The dreaded 11 AM start which will be the same for the Pigs game the following week. Every team TEXAS will face from here out will be in “beat the Horns, salvage the season” mode. Florida will be no different. At 4-3 they will need to win 2 to go bowling but their next 4 are Georgia, @texas, LSU and Ole Miss before they play Florida State. They will need to pull at least one upset of that brutal gauntlet to play in the postseason. TEXAS needs to win out to be assured of a playoff bid though an additional loss will not eliminate the Horns.

Coach Flood needs to use the bye week to refocus on his once dominate offensive line. Sark needs to get the entire team to execute better or TEXAS’ goal of a playoff berth will “vanish like a fart in the wind” (bonus points if you can name the movie that line is from) For the 2nd time this year, TEXAS will face a freshman QB after a more experienced starter was lost for the season due to injuries. As a point of comparison, Florida’s scoring offense and defense rank very similar to Vandy’s. We cut out the mistakes, our prediction is:
35-12

We keep playing sloppy, then this is another Vandy style dog fight.

All we know is TEXAS has got to start executing better, especially in the 2nd half. And that trip to Fayette-nam starting to look a bit daunting.

Oh and don’t look now but the “Fighting Texas Agroids” are unbeaten in conference and leading the SEC. They feature a very good defensive line and a mobile QB. Our game at the end of November will be no cake walk. It’s the bye week and we’re fans, we get to look ahead.

Fighting Mack Brown’s

Highlighted by an 84 yard pick 6, the Fighting Mack Browns torched UVa to keep their slim bowl hopes alive. Need to win 2 of the last 4 to play in the post season. Outside of FSU, not many sure wins.


If we had a playoff vote

1. Oregon-put a beat down on a good Illinois team,
2. Georgia-Tenn their last big SEC test, win out they face LSU or TEXAS
3. Miami-Match up with Clemon coming in the ACC title but don’t sleep on Pitt. 3 ACC teams in the playoffs?
4. BYU-likely facing ISU in the title game, both should be playoff teams.

Our 5-12 Today

#5 tOSU-Dodged an upset bid by Nebraska to stay on track for the B1G title game. Vs #12 Boise State though our hearts are still pulling for Army now that Navy is out

#6 Norte Dame-they get in cuz they are the Domers with 1 loss Vs #11 Indiana, they have a great shot at finishing with 1 loss

#7 TEXAS-need to “find” themselves or an upset might be looming vs #10 Pedo State

#8 Clemson-They play Pitt to see who plays Miami in the ACC title game vs #9 Aggie, TEXAS bursts their dream bubble of playing in the SEC title game


Still in the hunt: Tennessee, LSU Ole Miss, ISU, Pitt, and Bama



Game highlights.

 

[Rotty22]

Good write up on the game. Our D definitely gave up too much in the 2nd half. One stat I'd like to see (will look up) is time of possession.

If our O plays like that in the ark / a&m game, we won't win. The ags looked really good last night at home. 3 INTs in the 2nd half, if I recall correctly. Their D-line put pressure on Nussmeier that whole 2nd half. That was a really good win for them.

 

[echeese]

Good write up on the game. Our D definitely gave up too much in the 2nd half. One stat I'd like to see (will look up) is time of possession.

If our O plays like that in the ark / a&m game, we won't win. The ags looked really good last night at home. 3 INTs in the 2nd half, if I recall correctly. Their D-line put pressure on Nussmeier that whole 2nd half. That was a really good win for them.

We won TOP by about 3 minutes.

 

[Rotty22]

We won TOP by about 3 minutes.

Yeah, we really moved the ball between the red zones; just couldn't push it in. Do we really miss Bond that much? More of a problem with the O-line than the receivers. I hope they get it worked out because ark/a&m are going to be really tough games.

 

[63_Texas_1]

View from the Cheap Seats-Vandy

Winning Ugly far better than Losing Pretty​

So who had TEXAS/Vandy as a Top 25 match up in the pre-season? Would have been an amazing prop bet in Vegas but we certainly did not see this as such a tilt nor did we see this as a “bounce back” game for the Horns.

Instead what we saw was another “tale of 2 halves” game with TEXAS looking very strong in the 1st half then very sloppy in the 2nd half We also see a very uncomfortable pattern re-emerge from early in Sark’s tenure. That is losing the 2nd half of games and turning solid wins into nail biters (or previously into losses). Unlike the problems vs Georgia, where TEXAS was outplayed and out schemed, this was far more a problem of execution. Our team does not have the “killer instinct” to take over games late and put weaker teams away. The penalties are back in force, 8 v Georgia, 10 this weekend and seemed to happen at the worst of times. TEXAS had 2 turnovers, in both cases INTs coming off tipped passes giving Vandy short fields to work with. Vandy would convert both those turnovers into 14 points. We’ve not seen a “pressure” stat yet but Quinn played an AMAZING 1st half and overall a decent game, playing under far too much pressure. Disappointing as TEXAS came into the season the favorite for the Joe Moore/Best offensive line award and our offensive line is not the strength we once thought is was.

TEXAS could only muster 6 points in the 2nd half between shooting itself in the foot while Vancy continuing to scratch and claw their way back into the game. The most painful of 2nd half miscues was Jayden Blue taking a 20+ yard run down to the 5 before TEXAS had to settle for a FG after 2 straight rushes were stuffed and an incomplete pass. coring TDs in the Red Zone was a problem last year and seems to be a rising issue again. Meanwhile Vandy would go on 2 long (8 play) drives ending in touchdowns to make the game close in the 2nd.

Most were looking for a “statement game” from the Horns, sorry fans, TEXAS did not deliver. TEXAS should never have needed to recover an onside kick as time was almost over to secure a win. Not sure what TEXAS needs to do to focus and execute. Hard to point the finger at Sark as schematically, he did very well. And Coach PK’s guys generally balled out again. But with a chance to put a fork in Vandy, the Horns came up short on both sides of the ball.

This team is leaning hard on it’s defense to win and the D played well but gave up two 8 play drives in the 2nd half resulting in touchdowns. Penalties would play a MEGA part of each drive. One was a really weak defensive pass interference call which likely would have been an INT if the Vandy WR was not clearly holding our CB. The other drive kept alive when a pick 6 was reversed thanks to a bone headed helmet-to-helmet targeting penalty on their QB. Typical of the unforced errors we saw throughout the game.

Welcome to the SEC, there do not seem to be any easy games and it is better to win ugly than lose pretty. But do we know anymore about this team today than we did after the Georgia game? Today we can only say, not really.

As for our “awards watch”, well after this week, the Joe Moore Award has been lost and Ewers Heisman bid went away with his injury time off and his uneven play.

Offensive Player of the Game

Quinn Ewers-showed why he is QB 1 with a brilliant 1st half (19-21 for 211 yards and 3 TDs). At one point, he completed 17 passes in a row. followed by a pedestrian 2nd half (8-16, 77 yards) an INT in each half, both off tipped passes. He spread the ball well to 8 different pass catchers. Several big pass plays called back due to penalties.

Honorable Mention Tre Wisner 17 for 79 yards and a 4.6 ypc average. Would be better but he had a long run called back due to penalty.


Defensive Player of the Game

Jelani McDonald 5 solo tackles 2 assists and a tackle for loss

Special teams player of the Game

Silas Bolton-3 punt returns for 42 yards


Stats that Matter

• 1-4 TEXAS records their first win at Vandy
• 4-8-1 TEXAS improves it’s record vs Vandy as we resume a series we have not played since the 1920s.
• 3 TEXAS gave Vandy three 1st downs by penalty
• 10-107 TEXAS penalties on the night, not quality football, 2 of them key to 14 points
• 1-3 TEXAS with only 1 touchdown off 3 trips into the Red Zone, not quality football
• 6-14 TEXAS outscored in the 2nd half.

On Deck

Bye week before Florida pays the Horns a visit at DKR. The dreaded 11 AM start which will be the same for the Pigs game the following week. Every team TEXAS will face from here out will be in “beat the Horns, salvage the season” mode. Florida will be no different. At 4-3 they will need to win 2 to go bowling but their next 4 are Georgia, @texas, LSU and Ole Miss before they play Florida State. They will need to pull at least one upset of that brutal gauntlet to play in the postseason. TEXAS needs to win out to be assured of a playoff bid though an additional loss will not eliminate the Horns.

Coach Flood needs to use the bye week to refocus on his once dominate offensive line. Sark needs to get the entire team to execute better or TEXAS’ goal of a playoff berth will “vanish like a fart in the wind” (bonus points if you can name the movie that line is from) For the 2nd time this year, TEXAS will face a freshman QB after a more experienced starter was lost for the season due to injuries. As a point of comparison, Florida’s scoring offense and defense rank very similar to Vandy’s. We cut out the mistakes, our prediction is:
35-12

We keep playing sloppy, then this is another Vandy style dog fight.

All we know is TEXAS has got to start executing better, especially in the 2nd half. And that trip to Fayette-nam starting to look a bit daunting.

Oh and don’t look now but the “Fighting Texas Agroids” are unbeaten in conference and leading the SEC. They feature a very good defensive line and a mobile QB. Our game at the end of November will be no cake walk. It’s the bye week and we’re fans, we get to look ahead.

Fighting Mack Brown’s

Highlighted by an 84 yard pick 6, the Fighting Mack Browns torched UVa to keep their slim bowl hopes alive. Need to win 2 of the last 4 to play in the post season. Outside of FSU, not many sure wins.


If we had a playoff vote

1. Oregon-put a beat down on a good Illinois team,
2. Georgia-Tenn their last big SEC test, win out they face LSU or TEXAS
3. Miami-Match up with Clemon coming in the ACC title but don’t sleep on Pitt. 3 ACC teams in the playoffs?
4. BYU-likely facing ISU in the title game, both should be playoff teams.

Our 5-12 Today

#5 tOSU-Dodged an upset bid by Nebraska to stay on track for the B1G title game. Vs #12 Boise State though our hearts are still pulling for Army now that Navy is out

#6 Norte Dame-they get in cuz they are the Domers with 1 loss Vs #11 Indiana, they have a great shot at finishing with 1 loss

#7 TEXAS-need to “find” themselves or an upset might be looming vs #10 Pedo State

#8 Clemson-They play Pitt to see who plays Miami in the ACC title game vs #9 Aggie, TEXAS bursts their dream bubble of playing in the SEC title game


Still in the hunt: Tennessee, LSU Ole Miss, ISU, Pitt, and Bama



Game highlights.

Line from movie: Shawshank Redemption.

 

[63_Texas_1]

I was doing a quick review of games this year. Looking at the"known" competition we played versus projected competition, I think what we saw Saturday is who we are.

 

[NEOkHorn]

This game made me regret lauding Sark for eliminating these games a couple of weeks back. I am NOT a fan of keeping inferior teams around like that. Vandy is improved but it should not have been close. Good write-up.

 

[63_Texas_1]

Echeese,

Great write-up. Thank you.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Coming into this game, Vandy was converting about 60% of their third down conversions. We gave up three out of 13 to them.

Coming into this game, Vandy only had two turnovers. Against Texas, they had three.

It wasn't all bad.

 

[BWilk55]

Coming into this game, Vandy was converting about 60% of their third down conversions. We gave up three out of 13 to them.

Coming into this game, Vandy only had two turnovers. Against Texas, they had three.

It wasn't all bad.

The Defense we are putting out there is elite. Majority of point given up the last two weeks have been due to field position after turnovers or special teams.

If we can clean up those issues, we will continue to win games based on defensive effort.

 

[hookemhorb]

The Defense we are putting out there is elite. Majority of point given up the last two weeks have been due to field position after turnovers or special teams.

If we can clean up those issues, we will continue to win games based on defensive effort.

First, Great write-up.

I agree that our D is good enough to lead us deep into the playoffs. It's the O that I'm concerned about. We have to quit shooting ourselves in the foot with these stupid penalties. We're good enough to beat mediocre teams with these mistakes but toss in the turnovers and that's a recipe for disaster.

 

[echeese]

First, Great write-up.

I agree that our D is good enough to lead us deep into the playoffs. It's the O that I'm concerned about. We have to quit shooting ourselves in the foot with these stupid penalties. We're good enough to beat mediocre teams with these mistakes but toss in the turnovers and that's a recipe for disaster.

Penalties, sacks and QB pressures have been the difference between looking great and causing so much consternation among our fans.

Degree of difficulty ratings of the next 4 opponents, hardest to weakest.

1. Aggie
2. Pigs
3. Vandy would have fit here as a point of reference
4. Gators
5. Lil Stoops' boys

 

[BWilk55]

First, Great write-up.

I agree that our D is good enough to lead us deep into the playoffs. It's the O that I'm concerned about. We have to quit shooting ourselves in the foot with these stupid penalties. We're good enough to beat mediocre teams with these mistakes but toss in the turnovers and that's a recipe for disaster.

Yep, it'll be really interesting to see how we look in terms of penalties, pass protection and turnovers when we play Florida. If we can improve those things on offense, partnered with this defense, I like our chances of going 4-0 to close out the season. If those issues persist, we will risk dropping a game or two.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Penalties, sacks and QB pressures have been the difference between looking great and causing so much consternation among our fans.

Degree of difficulty ratings of the next 4 opponents, hardest to weakest.

1. Aggie
2. Pigs
3. Vandy would have fit here as a point of reference
4. Gators
5. Lil Stoops' boys

aggy and arkie are going to be epic games with very loud crowds. I hope we figure this out and are able to bring it.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Maybe we just need to do what ou does, . . teach them how to hold and not get caught. lol

 

[Grandpa Zorro]

I thought it was a good test for an SEC road game…our first I think. Like it or not, SEC conference games are different that the ones in the Big XII. We are still on a learning curve.

That being said, we need to be more consistent overall. It seems like we are still trying to find ourselves. At times we are great, but too many times we are not. SHA’s comments about turnovers and 3rd down conversions was spot on.

E cheese mentioned statement games…every game from here on out needs to be a statement game. OLine needs to be better but honestly, I still see QE holding on to the ball too long at times. I do think we can be 4-0 to close out the season but we will have to be a much better team to beat Arky and aggy…

Good write up e cheese! Hook ‘Em!

 

[echeese]

Maybe we just need to do what ou does, . . teach them how to hold and not get caught. lol

aggy and arkie are going to be epic games with very loud crowds. I hope we figure this out and are able to bring it.

Going to tape Florida Aggie and Arkie to do some scouting.

I thought it was a good test for an SEC road game…our first I think. Like it or not, SEC conference games are different that the ones in the Big XII. We are still on a learning curve.

That being said, we need to be more consistent overall. It seems like we are still trying to find ourselves. At times we are great, but too many times we are not. SHA’s comments about turnovers and 3rd down conversions was spot on.

E cheese mentioned statement games…every game from here on out needs to be a statement game. OLine needs to be better but honestly, I still see QE holding on to the ball too long at times. I do think we can be 4-0 to close out the season but we will have to be a much better team to beat Arky and aggy…

Good write up e cheese! Hook ‘Em!

Thank you sir.

Yep, hope Sark uses the week off to get back on track.