5 Quick Thoughts: Texas vs. Missouri

[Harrison Wier]

In typical Texas fashion, the Longhorns were able to hold on in dramatic fashion and defeat Missouri 33-16 to claim the Texas Bowl trophy. With that being said, we still have some thoughts on the game and what 2018 holds.

1. Thank you, Dickson

Texas fans need to take in this moment, because it is the last time they will ever see one of the greatest punters in college football history wearing burnt orange. Dickson was easily the best part of the Texas offense in 2017, and is a large reason they were able to pull out the victory tonight. Dickson is going to be a fantastic player for a long time in the NFL. We can’t wait to see what team he goes to. Thanks for the memories, Michael. We will always cherish them. Please transfer some of your skills over to your cousin. We would deeply appreciate it.

2. The Texas defense will be fine

The Longhorns defense lacked Malik Jefferson, Holton Hill and DeShon Elliot, and still held the most explosive offense in the SEC to 16 points. Todd Orlando is a wizard that deserves a huge raise. With arguably the greatest DB haul in the history of any recruiting class coming in 2018 along with some other fantastic defensive weapons, Orlando has plenty to work with next year. The loss of Hill, Elliot, and potentially Jefferson can be mended – as we saw tonight. If Tom Herman can figure out a way to create an offensive identity, this team could be scary in a few years.

3. Herman has some decisions to make 

Some of Tom Herman’s assistants did not have a great year. The most obvious choice here is offensive coordinator Tim Beck. The offense never developed a clear identity, and when it looked like they had, Beck seemed to always turn away from it immediately. Beck’s play-calling was simply mind boggling at times this season. Tom Herman has a tough choice to make here. If he fires Beck after one season, that won’t look good. He will be criticized for it. However, he must do what is best for his program, and keeping Beck could possibly hold this program back. Another coach under the microscope could be Derek Warehime. Warehime’s position group had an atrocious year. Although the offensive line was plagued by injuries, seasoned veterans up front seemed to regress as the year went on. On top of that, Warehime has had some key misses on the recruiting trail. Many have complained about his inability to develop relationships with recruits. Warehime seems to have fixed this as of late, but it is something to keep an eye on. Herman will likely stick with Warehime for another year, but the OL has to do better next year. Without a better OL, this Texas team will not move up much in the win column.

4. The absence of Josh Huepel was felt by Mizzou

The most explosive offense in the SEC seemed to be anything but until the 3rd quarter of tonight’s game. It didn’t seem to make much sense that Texas lacked two major players in its defensive secondary, yet the Tigers refused to test them vertically. Finally, something clicked and Missouri tested the Longhorns in the second half. On the first play of the 3rd quarter, Drew Lock connected on an 89-yard bomb that would end up being Missouri’s biggest play of the game. Unfortunately, it was too little too late for Missouri. You have to tip your hat to Todd Orlando for the way he planned this game. He gave Missour fits throughout the first half and much of the 4th quarter, but the Tigers handed the Longhorns some gifts. Simply put, the Missouri did not look ready to play, and it showed. It’s hard to come back from as horrible of a start as Missouri had. The Tigers learned that the hard way.

5. The outlook for 2018 is…

A positive one. Texas will bring in a top 5 recruiting class to build off what is a primarily young team. The defense will be solid once again under Todd Orlando’s control. The offense is a gigantic question mark. Tom Herman is considered to be one of the best offensive minds in the game. He is going to have to prove that this offseason by attempting to fix Texas’ offensive issues. If he can do so, the Longhorns can become a contender once again in the Big 12. No matter how you slice it, this was not a pretty season for Texas. However, it was progressive. Going from 5-7 to 7-6 is positive progress – no matter how you look at it. Herman has likely learned many things from his first season at Texas that he will take with him into the offseason. Most importantly, Texas earned its first winning season since 2013. The Longhorns are one step closer to returning to their rightful place among college football’s elite programs.

[Daniel Seahorn]

Good stuff, Harrison. 

I didn’t think Texas would come out on top tonight, but I am always glad to be wrong. 

Need a full re-watch since I was in and out most of the game, but this team showed up prepared and ready to tangle with the Tigers of Columbia. 

[Sirhornsalot]

Great write up, Harrison.

My thoughts . . . 

1. OL played okay tonight. Kerstetter had some issues at times. Pass protection was hit and miss. But run blocking was surprisingly good at times.

2. Don't be embarrassed to say our punter was our most effective offensive weapon. He was money from start to finish, probably a big reason why we won.

3. After watching Johnson and Wheeler tonight, I'm not so worried about next year's LB play.

4. Locke played well, whole secondary played pretty well.

5. Colin Johnson and John Burt, Reggie Hemphill-Mapps could be a lethal combination. Maybe the OL will allow that next year.

6. Buechele gets hurt again. Not encouraging. He played pretty well to that point though.

7. Poona Ford, I love ya man. 

8. Runningbacks looked good. Even 21.

9. I didn't care for Herman's retaliatory gesture, mocking Mizzou's QB. I thought it was classless when Lock did it. It was classless when Herman did it. He's a 40-yr old man . . or something.

10. This win was critical and Herman knew it. This team was ready. The momentum carried forward will be a big difference maker. Screw the excuse about Heupel not being there – we had two AA's not playing.

10. Aaron Carrara deserves a steak dinner for predicting the win. No guts, no glory fellas.

[83Dee]

Good stuff, both of you!  Sirhorsalot, I disagree about #9.... I loved it!  I have endured bad efforts by Texas football for decades, which were made tougher to swallow because the other team humiliated us with the horns down, throat slash, etc....  Well, teams seem to take on the personality of the coach, and finally we have one who doesn’t want to take that garbage lying down!  I think I saw Herman run to Orlando and another assistant, and let them know we were turning up the heat after his QB mock dance.  I also liked the reverse with a couple minutes left and a ten point lead.  

I don’t think Herman appreciated Mizzu posing for photos with horns down at the  Bowl luncheon (apparently some players didn’t either).

i don’t think Herman liked the pregame horns down by 2 Mizzu players.

I don’t think Herman appreciated the goofiest touchdown celebration I have ever seen by the Mizzu QB.  

And I appreciate a Texas coach not taking the passive path in this case. 

[longhorndon]

The mocking of the Mizzou QB reminded me of the Arizona State QB Rudy Carpenter, who talked crap before the 2007 Holiday Bowl. Towards the end of the game, it sounded like the whole Texas sideline was chanting "Ruuuuudy"

 

 

[The Tinman]

Thank you for the writeup..I have to agree that the team takes the attitude of the coach. It pisses me off when teams mock Texas with the horns down or when players do arrogant displays of celebration after making a play ...just give the ball back to the ref and SDSTFU..Thank you Texas players and coaches for kicking that tiger ass..woohoo!! Hook"em

[drgilbert]

 

[Coal Harbour]

I really liked the energy the team played with last night.  I always remember Mack Brown talking about how important having Bowl practices were; therefore, I hope this gives the team a little momentum heading into the off-season.

[drgilbert]

 

[drgilbert]

 

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[Adferrum]

This was an important victory. There was a lot of negative buzz in the last couple of weeks that wasn't really justified. I am glad that we could win and are able to close out the season on a high note. We have now won 3 of the last 4 (and without dropping the ugly defeat against Tech that seemed to suck the air out of the fan base we would've won 5 out of the last 6). I think the team is trending the right direction, and the additional bowl practices will prove very useful for our young guys.

I think this W will give us some more momentum for recruiting, showing how hard we played and how well the team seemed to stick together. I really liked the energy level of our guys, especially considering how many guys were out because of the draft / injuries / suspensions. 

I am very much looking forward to the rest of TH's signing class and the 2018 season. The defense looked good for most of the night (except that first play in the 3rd quarter) and the offense looked good early on before falling into a little slump but the guys were able to grind it out down the stretch. I call that progress. Our current guys will only get better, we got a great freshman class coming in, and with another couple of bodies in the trenches (both HS and JuCo) we will have enough depth to even sustain the amount of injuries we had this year, especially on OL.

So my preliminary bottom line of the season is that we still have a lot of room to grow, but we are trending up and sky can be the limit for this group.

[Harrison Wier]

7 hours ago, Sirhornsalot said:

Great write up, Harrison.

My thoughts . . . 

1. OL played okay tonight. Kerstetter had some issues at times. Pass protection was hit and miss. But run blocking was surprisingly good at times.

2. Don't be embarrassed to say our punter was our most effective offensive weapon. He was money from start to finish, probably a big reason why we won.

3. After watching Johnson and Wheeler tonight, I'm not so worried about next year's LB play.

4. Locke played well, whole secondary played pretty well.

5. Colin Johnson and John Burt, Reggie Hemphill-Mapps could be a lethal combination. Maybe the OL will allow that next year.

6. Buechele gets hurt again. Not encouraging. He played pretty well to that point though.

7. Poona Ford, I love ya man. 

8. Runningbacks looked good. Even 21.

9. I didn't care for Herman's retaliatory gesture, mocking Mizzou's QB. I thought it was classless when Lock did it. It was classless when Herman did it. He's a 40-yr old man . . or something.

10. This win was critical and Herman knew it. This team was ready. The momentum carried forward will be a big difference maker. Screw the excuse about Heupel not being there – we had two AA's not playing.

10. Aaron Carrara deserves a steak dinner for predicting the win. No guts, no glory fellas.

My only complaint is that Elijah Rodriguez did not play well. They still need to find a LT. 

[mctmatt]

I have to stand up and fully admit that I did not see us winning this game with so many key players missing .  I like my crow fried with some gravy please !   With that said never been so glad to be so wrong.  Congratulations this was a huge win for the Coaches, players and the program . ....

[J.B. TexasEx]

7 hours ago, Sirhornsalot said:

9. I didn't care for Herman's retaliatory gesture, mocking Mizzou's QB. I thought it was classless when Lock did it. It was classless when Herman did it. He's a 40-yr old man . . or something.

1

I didn't care for it either, but the kids seemed to enjoy it. Sounds like Mizzery had it coming, too, after their behavior this week. No big deal.

Muck Fizzou

[Jameson McCausland]

Didn’t realize until after the game that Texas was without Kendall Moore for most of the second half. Say all you want about the offensive coaching, but they did what they had to do to be prepared for every situation in this game. They were forced to go with more 10 and 20 personnel, and they had variety in formations. While the production wasn’t there on most plays, getting guys like RHM and Heard in the backfield makes a defense think twice before a play starts.

[North Texas Golfer]

47 minutes ago, Harrison Wier said:

My only complaint is that Elijah Rodriguez did not play well. They still need to find a LT. 

I'll cut him a little slack since it was his first game all year. 

And I'll never understand how we can watch someone play one game and know that he can or can't cut it. Believe it or not, players do improve.

[drgilbert]

 

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[tejasrulz]

The biggest drive of the night may have been the one in the 4th quarter that ended up with no points. However it consumed over 7 mins of the 4th quarter with Texas holding on to a 10 pt lead. Poerter, everyone's fav RB, played a big part in it.