Five Thoughts: Big 12 Championship

[Harrison Wier 1,053]

Texas came up short today against the Sooners. The Longhorns had plenty of opportunities, but couldn't capitalize. Texas fought hard, but ultimately Kyler Murray and the Oklahoma offense did just enough to get the win in Arlington. Texas will now have to wait and see where it will go bowling later in December. They are destined for either the Alamo Bowl against Utah/Washington State or the Sugar Bowl against Georgia, Florida, or LSU (depending on the results of the SEC Championship. Here are some thoughts about the game.

Lack of run production

It's hardly ever great when your quarterback has the most rushing yards for your offense in the biggest game of the year. Sam Ehlinger had 42 yards rushing, averaging 2.8 YPC. Tre Watson had 39 yards rushing on 13 carries. The Oklahoma defense is statistically one of the worst run defenses in the country, and Texas could not take advantage. The Texas offensive line did not have a great performance today, and it showed by the lack of a rushing attack. This lack of rushing led to predictability in the Texas offense, which helped Oklahoma make several key stops throughout the game. It appears that bringing in David Beaty, who put up 40 points on Oklahoma and had a freshman running back put up crazy numbers, did not help the Texas offense much.

Offense's failure to capitalize costed Texas

Texas had several opportunities throughout the game to build a double digit lead, but never capitalized. At the beginning of the game, Texas had a chance to go up 21-6, and couldn't capitalize. Oklahoma quickly surged back and scored 21-unanswered points to lead 27-14 at one point. Later on, with Texas trailing by three, Gary Johnson forced a huge fumble by Cedee Lamb to give Texas another chance to garner the lead. Two plays later, Tre Brown came untouched on a corner blitz and sacked Sam Ehlinger for a safety. There were several other opportunities for Texas to capitalize, but they just continued to stall in key moments. That can't happen when you're playing the best offense in the country. Todd Orlando's unit did the best they could, and holding Oklahoma to 39 points is usually enough against the Sooners' defense. Not today.

Penalties

There was no doubt some atrocious penalties against Texas in this game. As I've stated before, this is going to be a huge factor that determines whether Texas stays in the Big 12. Instead of focusing on whether horns up or down should be a penalty, maybe Bob Bowlsby should focus on fixing this referee problem. Somehow it's gotten worse since Big 12 Head of Officiating Walt Anderson went to the NFL. Can't believe that's the case. With that being said, Texas had some really boneheaded penalties. Kris Boyd, specifically, did not have a great day penalty-wise. The senior CB got burned on several deep balls and was flagged for DPI. He also had a facemask penalty that negated an interception and a horse collar that was offset by an Oklahoma penalty. Anytime a team has over 100 yards in penalties, that's tough to overcome. The Texas defense had some penalties that extended Oklahoma drives and resulted in points. The Texas offense had some key penalties that killed drives, which just can't happen against the No. 1 offense in the country. This has been an issue for Texas all season, and is certainly something that Tom Herman is disappointed about following the loss.

Kyler Murray can ball

Love him or hate him, Kyler Murray is absolutely electric. Texas did a pretty solid job of playing contain the entire game. Even then, Murray was able to create plays out of nothing frequently. I don't know if I've seen a quarterback that's more elusive or fast as Murray since Michael Vick played at Virginia Tech. Granted, Murray had pretty much all day to throw due to Todd Orlando attempting to drop 8 and rush 3; regardless of pass rush, he's an elite playmaker. For a quarterback that's only 5'9, he has an elite feel for the pocket and is dangerously accurate. The Texas defense did about all they could today to give the offense a chance. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough. The only thing the defense could have done better on was something they've struggled with all year — get off the field on third down. Oklahoma had a great conversion rate today, and it's something that ultimately led to Texas' demise. Todd Orlando will have to clean that up in the offseason, as it costed Texas some games earlier in the season.

Bowl game looms large

It will be interesting to see how this team responds to this loss. Will they come out flat in the bowl game, or will they get up and ring in a solid performance? Time will tell, and it will show how much Tom Herman's culture has been engrained in the Texas program. Texas will either be placed in the Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA) or Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX). Obviously, many fans would prefer to see Texas in the Sugar Bowl. If the Longhorns travel to New Orleans, they will likely play Georgia (unless the Bulldogs beat Alabama in today's SEC Championship). That would be a tough matchup for Texas, but also gives Tom Herman a chance to show how well his team can stay with the best of the best. If Oklahoma doesn't get into the CFP and goes to the Sugar Bowl, Texas will face either Washington state or Utah in the Alamo Bowl. That's a much more favorable matchup, but Washington State will be tough to beat. Either way, this Texas team has come a long way from where it was several years ago. Texas fans should be proud of this team's accomplishments and should be excited for the future.

[dillohorn 2,438]

Herman could get out the rule book and show it to this team as I have mentioned before. No excuse for the number of penalties that UT accrues. 

[Harrison Wier 1,053]

21 minutes ago, dillohorn said:

Herman could get out the rule book and show it to this team as I have mentioned before. No excuse for the number of penalties that UT accrues. 

Really can’t have it against the No. 1 offense in the country. 

[NWAHorn 373]

After the past 7-8 years, I'll take this 9- (and hopefully 10-) win season as another move upward. Hopefully this equates to another top 5 recruiting class, but man we need more bulls on that O-Line. The inability to run the football was huge today. We have GOT to get better there. I'm hopeful Jones, Johnson and Humphrey all choose to return. OK, cool. Hook 'em. 

[Monsieur ATX 464]

Kris Boyd and Hager’s facemask penalties resulted in OU scoring 

[Sirhornsalot 14,196]

I think both LJH and CJ return. Brandon Jones may be gone though. Safety is where we have depth though. Good depth.

I don't put this all on the coaching staff. This team was ready and prepared. OU's offense is just phenomenal and our defense isn't what it was last year. We saw our defensive deficiencies today so we need to recruit to correct them.

We have some major pieces in place, but we're not there yet. Playing in this game though tells you we're not far away.

I hope we can draw the Sugar Bowl and get LSU. We need a good game that is also winnable. A Sugar Bowl invite would certainly tell this team its made major progress from last year.

[horninoregon 128]

can't believe Jones would get a very high draft grade...does he just want out or what?

[Baron 1,511]

57 minutes ago, Sirhornsalot said:

I think both LJH and CJ return. Brandon Jones may be gone though. Safety is where we have depth though. Good depth.

I don't put this all on the coaching staff. This team was ready and prepared. OU's offense is just phenomenal and our defense isn't what it was last year. We saw our defensive deficiencies today so we need to recruit to correct them.

We have some major pieces in place, but we're not there yet. Playing in this game though tells you we're not far away.

I hope we can draw the Sugar Bowl and get LSU. We need a good game that is also winnable. A Sugar Bowl invite would certainly tell this team its made major progress from last year.

I would think this team just faced it's toughest challenge in the off season. Holding OU to 39 is like holding other teams to 21.

[okiehorn 1,289]

1 hour ago, Baron said:

I would think this team just faced it's toughest challenge in the off season. Holding OU to 39 is like holding other teams to 21.

Georgia gonna be pretty stout. But agreed defense did awesome besides Boyd. But he was guarding best WR in the nation. Offense needed to capitalize 

[Bear19 3,708]

2 hours ago, Sirhornsalot said:

I think both LJH and CJ return. Brandon Jones may be gone though. Safety is where we have depth though. Good depth.

I don't put this all on the coaching staff. This team was ready and prepared. OU's offense is just phenomenal and our defense isn't what it was last year. We saw our defensive deficiencies today so we need to recruit to correct them.

We have some major pieces in place, but we're not there yet. Playing in this game though tells you we're not far away.

I hope we can draw the Sugar Bowl and get LSU. We need a good game that is also winnable. A Sugar Bowl invite would certainly tell this team its made major progress from last year.

Aren’t we more likely to get Georgia if we go to the sugar bowl?

[83Dee 1,380]

3 hours ago, Sirhornsalot said:

I think both LJH and CJ return. Brandon Jones may be gone though. Safety is where we have depth though. Good depth.

Your player predictions surprise me.... mine:

B Jones - Back.  I never considered he might leave. Do you have inside info here?

Johnson - Back.  

Humphrey - bye bye.  

 

We are losing a lot of seniors to graduation.  But without Murray I give us the edge against OU next year.  

[83Dee 1,380]

48 minutes ago, Bear19 said:

Aren’t we more likely to get Georgia if we go to the sugar bowl?

We almost certainly play Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.  Unless the SEC-Centric committee keeps them ahead of ou.  

[83Dee 1,380]

3 hours ago, Sirhornsalot said:

We have some major pieces in place, but we're not there yet. Playing in this game though tells you we're not far away.

This season is a tremendous success in my book.  We lose a bunch of seniors and possibly 1 or 2 juniors.... but I think this thing keeps getting better.  

I love Hager Omenihu and Nelson; but in this defense I think we have to get bigger up front!  Watching Georgia / BAMA drove this point home.  If we play Georgia in the Sugar Bowl they will have a size advantage (both lines) like we haven’t seen in some time.  

[Sirhornsalot 14,196]

34 minutes ago, 83Dee said:

Your player predictions surprise me.... mine:

B Jones - Back.  I never considered he might leave. Do you have inside info here?

Johnson - Back.  

Humphrey - bye bye.  

 

We are losing a lot of seniors to graduation.  But without Murray I give us the edge against OU next year.  

I stand corrected on Jones, he said today he was looking forward to what this team can be next year and wants to be part of it.

Johnson set a Big 12 CCG record with 177 yards. But I still think his mindset is returning.

LJH – I've thought he would go. His CCG performance was good, but probably not what he wanted it to be. If he has a big bowl game, then I think his table is set to leave. If not, I think he comes back.

[HORNfromETX 1,017]

28 minutes ago, Sirhornsalot said:

I stand corrected on Jones, he said today he was looking forward to what this team can be next year and wants to be part of it.

Johnson set a Big 12 CCG record with 177 yards. But I still think his mindset is returning.

LJH – I've thought he would go. His CCG performance was good, but probably not what he wanted it to be. If he has a big bowl game, then I think his table is set to leave. If not, I think he comes back.

Brandon Jones also tweeted out

"Motivation"

I think he is coming back. Lol

[DMAC 3,903]

2 hours ago, 83Dee said:

We are losing a lot of seniors to graduation.  But without Murray I give us the edge against OU next year.  

I remember thinking this exact same thing about Mayfield leaving last year

[Harrison Wier 1,053]

At this point based on what we’ve heard, Jones and Johnson are leaning towards staying. The only major threat is LJH. He’s truly torn at this moment. 

[UTfish 1,051]

Don't we all wish that they would all stay? Can you imagine what a team we would have had this year if last year's juniors had?  Oh, well...

[Eastexhorn 430]

Which WR goes or stays does not matter. If the QB had targeted Devin more would have led to 2 or more TDS.

Severat times he was 10 yds in the clear but ball went else where.

[dillohorn 2,438]

10 hours ago, DMAC said:

I remember thinking this exact same thing about Mayfield leaving last year

Me too.

[DMAC 3,903]

7 hours ago, Eastexhorn said:

Which WR goes or stays does not matter. If the QB had targeted Devin more would have led to 2 or more TDS.

Severat times he was 10 yds in the clear but ball went else where.

Yup.  It was killing me.  Devin was so wide open on a couple plays.

[North Texas Golfer 3,564]

Here's something that I didn't realize.

In the 4th qtr, OU held the ball for 11:09. 

[dillohorn 2,438]

1 hour ago, North Texas Golfer said:

Here's something that I didn't realize.

In the 4th qtr, OU held the ball for 11:09. 

Good God.