View from the Cheap Seats-Roll Tide

[echeese]

View from the Cheap Seats-Roll Tide like they’re toilet paper

 

Signature win of the Sark Era HOW SWEET IT IS

 

 

Great Googly Moogly.    Sark records the landmark win of his short time so far at TEXAS.   Frankly, it might be his landmark win as a Head Coach.  Payback for last year.   This is not the same TEXAS team as last year either.    Only sorry Bill Little could not hang on a few more weeks to see it.

 

And let’s start with the biggest coaching job of the night.   As good as Sark and the offense was, credit Coach Pete Kwiatkawski and his charges with their biggest effort which included 2 big Interceptions, each leading to points to go with 5 sacks.   More importantly, they largely shut down the Bama rushing attack and forced Milroe to beat us with his arm.    While he did hit some huge passes, he was not consistent enough with said passes and the Horns largely kept his rushing contained.   Last year the offense could not sustain 2^nd half drives nor could the D stop opponents.    In their biggest test of the year, both sides of the ball acquitted themselves well. 

 

There was no panic from the Horns, unlike their opponents who recorded 10 penalties, many unforced errors.  From early in the game, Bama seemed to be pressing and TEXAS played like they were the higher ranked team.   Even when Bama took a small lead in the 4^th, the Horns took care of business, marched downfield and countered with a touchdown.  In fact in the 4^th quarter, TEXAS would score 21 points to put the game out of reach.   And as we will mention below, TEXAS left an easy 11 points on the field.    Just the kind of nagging concern that would sap TEXAS’ will power in years prior.    Not this year.   Even when Bama took a late lead, TEXAS just kept coming.    This team believes in themselves and in their coaches.

 

We at the Cheap Seats love Sark but we are also one of his loudest critics when it comes to 2^nd half schemes, adjustments and play calling.   What was so impressive in the heart of the deep south is how Sark called an All Gas No Brakes offense for 4 quarters.    He outcoached his mentor while he and his staff did an outstanding job.    One thing we found odd, Rice gave the TEXAS OL fits with their stunts last week.    Bama lined up and never seemed to stunt.    Fine with us, the only grass stains Quinn recorded were when he slid on runs.   He was not sacked and rarely pressured.   TEXAS went into Tuscaloosa with question marks.   They would leave as clearly the superior team on both sides of the ball.  TEXAS was superior over the course of 4 quarters, again on both sides of the ball.  TEXAS did have a couple coverage busts where Bama/Milroe beat them over the top with passes but all in, a great scheme and game plan on both sides of the ball. 

 

 

Offensive Player of the Week

 

Quinn Ewers is the easy call, finishing with 349 yards on 24 of 38 passing and 3 TDs.   Should have been 5 TDs but he had 2 easy TD passes dropped.   Again, he was never phased, keep his cool and just kept making plays.  The ice water in Ewers veins play came half way through the 3^rd when a Bama punt pinned TEXAS at their 6.   Ewers hits Adonia Mitchell with a 32 yard pass down the sideline to get the Horns our of a deep hole.  One of three deep shots he completed on the night.   Oh and can we STFU on the kid not completing the deep balls?  

 

Ja’Tavion Sanders needs some love here.    Finished as Ewers top pass catcher on the night while flashing his athletic ability.   His highlight play was turning a short pass into a 50 yard run down to the Bama 7 leading to a TEXAS TD on the next play. This TD came on the heels of Bama taking a 3 point lead in the game.   Bama would never retake the lead.

 

Defensive Player of the Week

 

Anthony Hill.   The true freshman showed why he has received so much attention and hype this offseason.   He is FAST and relentless.   He would record 2 of the sacks on Jalen MIlroe, who is not an easy QB to sack as he flew around the field.

 

 

Stats that Matter

 

·       21    Bama’s home game win streak.   BUSTED

·       1^st     Saban’s 1^st loss by double digits at home

·       5-0    TEXAS recorded 5 sacks to none against

·       2-0    TEXAS recorded 2 INTs to Zero turnovers for Bama

·       7-18    TEXAS on 3^rd down.  

·       2-11     In 11 drives, TEXAS would only punt twice, impressive

·       2-4       TEXAS Red zone TDs vs chances.    4-4, 2 FGs overall

·       11         Points TEXAS left on the field with 2 dropped TD passes and 1 missed FG from the 24.

·       3-6       Ewers on “bombs away” deep shots (20 yards+ in the air).  2 TDs, one 32 yard completion and a Pass Interference call.   So 4 plus plays

·       3/2       Mr 1^st Down Jordan Whittington with 3 catches 2 for 1^st downs

·       8-2-1     TEXAS all time record vs Bama

 

 

Where the Horns go from here

 

Sark has faced several coaching challenges since he arrived.   Now he has a new one.    He/TEXAS has largely always been the underdog.   Now he is the leader of the pack with an even bigger target on his back.   1^st time since 2009 TEXAS was picked to win the BigXII and now they have pulled off the biggest win of the new season.    Can Sark keep his young charges from “eating the cheese” at the Tuna would say (reading their press clippings)?   And make no mistake, the playoff talk will only get louder as TEXAS moves from a dark horse playoff team to favorite status.     Basically, 1 loss to give, win the BigXII and TEXAS should secure one of the coveted playoff tickets.    But there are still 10 games to play.  Look for TEXAS to climb into the #6-#8 area of the polls this week as they prep for a home date against Wyoming.

 

Fighting Mack Browns/UTSA

 

Déjà vu all over again.   Just like last year, Mack and the Tarheels needed multiple overtimes to knock off pesky Appalachian State.    Down south, Jeff Traylor and the Roadrunners beat Texas State.

 

Around College Football

 

Now a perfect weekend is TEXAS winning with OU and ACES both losing.   Well we got one.   Aggies went down to South Beach only to get whipped.

 

Colorado remains the darling of the new season as they beat rather soundly their old Big8/BigXII rival Nebraska.    Doesn’t look good for Matt Rhule.

 

Baylor pulled defeat from the jaws of victory as they let ranked Utah come back and beat them behind former TEXAS QB turned RB JQJ.   Utah really misses another former TEXAS QB in Cam Rising still out with a knee injury.

 

Oregon found out that Lubbock is a weird place to play and they struggled to put away Coach High School and the Red Raiders.   

 

In the only other meeting of ranked teams, Ole Miss overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Tulane.

 

It was a quiet week in College football. .  ..well for anyone but fans of Burnt Orange in Tuscaloosa.  

 

 

Game Highlights

 

 

 

 

Jimmy Buffet song of the week

 

 

 

 

 

[Hiwood]

Great Write Up....

 

I actually feel for Matt Rule, Scott Frost left him more than a dumpster fire, Rule is going to have to literally change the roster with transfers and recruits to make the program respectable again

[NEOkHorn]

Big win and Great stuff as always echeese. 

[63_Texas_1]

7 hours ago, echeese said:

Only sorry Bill Little could not hang on a few more weeks to see it.

Agree! 

[PTA]

11 hours ago, Hiwood said:

Great Write Up....

 

I actually feel for Matt Rule, Scott Frost left him more than a dumpster fire, Rule is going to have to literally change the roster with transfers and recruits to make the program respectable again

He is going to have to pull a Deion 

[tejasrulz]

For Stats That Matter, the 7+ min drive by Texas to end the game was huge. Had a 10 point lead and didn't let Bama touch the ball for the rest of the game!

[echeese]

1 hour ago, tejasrulz said:

For Stats That Matter, the 7+ min drive by Texas to end the game was huge. Had a 10 point lead and didn't let Bama touch the ball for the rest of the game!

 

That was so awesome.

 

 

[TXFF]

17 minutes ago, echeese said:

 

That was so awesome.

 

 

Sark has often said that they want to be able to run the ball even when the defense knows they're going to run. Case in point during that drive, and Bama's D was humiliated.

[Soldierhorn]

Good stuff.  

On other rival boards I predicted a strong Texas win and caught a lot of flack.  Last night after the game was fun on the boards.  hahaha  

Talking to a buddy at the beginning of the game, he was amazed at the weight of the Bama OL & DL. The announcers made comments about Bamas OL being bigger than some NFL teams. I told my buddy that the fat boys will tire out quicker if they have to stay in because the game is close; even more so because Saban doesnt like to rotate players as much as Sark does. Before the half some of the Bama players were starting to drag.  After a while, Hill and Burke were simply out hustling Bama's 5-star left tackle.  

wow, RB Brooks looked prepared for this game. He had some critical runs. Not only did he save a turnover (quinn muffed snap on QB sneak) but turned it into a 1st down!  Baxter had some hard runs and didnt look like a true freshman in his 2nd game. He's going to be a goodin'. 

NT Sweat split two big fatty Bama OL on a double team and applied pressure, I said, "whoa."  Him demanding a double team and STILL applying pressure has a ripple effect along the DL that doesnt show up in the stats

Very satisfying win. 

edited to add: I couldnt make it out very well on the tv but as Bama fans started leaving the stadium were the Texas fans chanting "SEC SEC SEC!" in a mocking sort of way?

[Hiwood]

another player that really emerged and showed me and any DC watching was Adonai Mitchell, on his over the shoulder TD catch he had the DB beat by 5-7 yards, he is going to make teams use single cove on XW if they are both in the game at the same time

on another note I think Jonathan Brooks is every bit as good a pass blocker as Bijan was, every play I saw he picked up the LB straight on in the gap. I think he reads the blocks better than better than Baxter but that night be due to experience in the offense, but I guess there is a difference in practice why CJ is starting

Kinda disappointed in the game Jaylin Ford had, on replay it looks like othersbeat him to the tackle, He just isn't the prototypical Texas linebacker, he got beat on his drop on the TD pass that he tipped but was caught by the Bama receiver but got bailed out by the ineligible receiver downfield. I think in the NFL  he will go as an edge rusher but in Coach PK scheme he is an ILB

Our zone pass defense showed some big gaps but when the played man-man with someone over the top they got the picks

But overall Texas played well, very well, very few penalties, obviously not Big 12 refs, Sark opened up the playbook and showed a lot of plays we haven't seen before, but the thing I was most impressed with is TEXAS had the stones when it counted they showed that when Bama went ahead and the Horns went right back down the field and took it back, they didnt have that last year...Maybe QE isn't the only one that grew up

[TXFF]

2 hours ago, Hiwood said:

another player that really emerged and showed me and any DC watching was Adonai Mitchell, on his over the shoulder TD catch he had the DB beat by 5-7 yards, he is going to make teams use single cove on XW if they are both in the game at the same time

on another note I think Jonathan Brooks is every bit as good a pass blocker as Bijan was, every play I saw he picked up the LB straight on in the gap. I think he reads the blocks better than better than Baxter but that night be due to experience in the offense, but I guess there is a difference in practice why CJ is starting

Kinda disappointed in the game Jaylin Ford had, on replay it looks like othersbeat him to the tackle, He just isn't the prototypical Texas linebacker, he got beat on his drop on the TD pass that he tipped but was caught by the Bama receiver but got bailed out by the ineligible receiver downfield. I think in the NFL  he will go as an edge rusher but in Coach PK scheme he is an ILB

Our zone pass defense showed some big gaps but when the played man-man with someone over the top they got the picks

But overall Texas played well, very well, very few penalties, obviously not Big 12 refs, Sark opened up the playbook and showed a lot of plays we haven't seen before, but the thing I was most impressed with is TEXAS had the stones when it counted they showed that when Bama went ahead and the Horns went right back down the field and took it back, they didnt have that last year...Maybe QE isn't the only one that grew up

Not only do XW and AM give DCs heartburn trying to cover both, but every receiver we have is excellent. With a QB as good as QE, a solid OL, and a strong RB corps, opposing Ds are in trouble. Hopefully they can all stay healthy, make a strong run and have a special season.

[tejasrulz]

13 hours ago, Hiwood said:

another player that really emerged and showed me and any DC watching was Adonai Mitchell, on his over the shoulder TD catch he had the DB beat by 5-7 yards, he is going to make teams use single cove on XW if they are both in the game at the same time

Agree he is a good target and a threat for the DBs. Be that said, he missed yet another block that may have resulted in a TD. He really needs to work on his blocking.

[605Longhorn]

Great write up as always echeese!!!!  You may want to change the title to Rolled Tide

[echeese]

10 hours ago, 605Longhorn said:

Great write up as always echeese!!!!  You may want to change the title to Rolled Tide

 

Like that better.

 

Young players who really stepped up.

 

Ethan Burke   Think we have our pass rusher of the future

Ant HIll

DJ Campbell (think he had the highest PFF grade)

New to us, Adonia Mitchell

 

 

 

 

[Dillohorn1]

All good.