Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With the additions of Quinn Ewers and Maalik Murphy, Texas’ quarterback room looks much stronger ahead of the 2022 season.
The good news for Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is that his quarterback room has much more depth this season. Continue reading “A look at Texas’ quarterback depth ahead of the 2022 season”
All eyes will be on these positions during spring ball.
To say that Steve Sarkisian’s first season as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns was a disappointment would be an major understatement.
The team was plagued with inconsistencies at seemingly every position, wrong personnel was being used at times, and there was a lack of adjustments made the whole season. All of these issues contributed to the team going 5-7, and are likely motivation for the staff and team to take this spring ball time as serious as ever.
Spring ball gives players a chance to cement themselves as starters, and allows for early enrollees to set themselves apart from some of the players that will be joining the team in the fall.
Texas has many needs to address, and realistically there are only three or four players on the whole team that have their spot solidified, every other position on the team should be up for grabs.
Sarkisian and his staff will have a lot of tough decisions to make in terms of who will start and who will not. Here are a few of the most important position battles to watch during spring camp. Positions like the defensive line and offensive line will be major battles to watch eventually, but a majority of the players that have a chance to compete for a starting spot will not be on campus until fall.
Hudson Card and DeMarvion Overshown will not be available for the season finale.
Texas provided an injury update for two key players hours ahead of the regular-season finale vs. Kansas State. Continue reading “Texas’ Hudson Card, DeMarvion Overshown ruled out vs. Kansas State”
Who do the experts think will come away with the win?
Texas (4-7) and Kansas State (7-4) are entering this regular-season finale on two very different trajectories.
The Longhorns have lost six straight games, their worst losing streak since 1956. The Wildcats are on a bit of a hot stretch, winners of four out of their last five.
While a bowl game is most likely off of the table for Texas, a win this week would get rid of the sour taste of a six-game losing streak entering the offseason.
Tipico Sportsbook has Texas as a 2.5-point favorite despite not having won a game since early Oct. A possible reason for this is Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson is questionable to play after suffering an injury last week against Baylor.
The Texas quarterback situation is also in question. Both Casey Thompson and Hudson Card left the West Virginia game nursing injuries. Steve Sarkisian believes Thompson should be ready to play but likely will not be 100%.
Who are the experts picking to win in this Big 12 matchup?
One last chance to end the losing skid.
The Longhorns have one last chance to get back into the win column and end the season on a high note. Continue reading “Texas Football: A few minor changes to depth chart for Kansas State”
Steve Sarkisian had A LOT to say today.
Monday was likely the most interesting Steve Sarkisian interview dating back to when he spoke at Big 12 media day.
The Texas football program has been in a free fall ever since, as they are in the middle of a historic losing streak and have no chance at making a bowl game. The poor performance from the team has many questioning what Sarkisian will do to fix it, or if he is even the right man for the job at this point.
Sarkisian addressed the media on Monday, just a couple days after the sixth consecutive loss by the hands of West Virginia, and ahead of their final game of the season against Kansas State. He provided updates on the quarterback situation and discussed the future of the program.
After coming into the season with expectations to contend for the Big 12 title, the only thing Texas has done successfully is become a meme every single week. Sarkisian still seems very confident that he is the right man for the job, and that the program will look completely different next season.
Let’s take a look at some of his best quotes from Monday’s media availability.
Take a look at which Longhorns graded well, and which ones were on the wrong end of the curve.
Texas fell to West Virginia 31-23 on Saturday and are now eliminated from reaching a bowl game. Continue reading “Texas Report Card: PFF grades from the West Virginia loss”
Studs and duds from Texas’ sixth straight loss.
The Longhorns will not be going bowling this season after suffering their seventh loss on the season to West Virginia. The loss extends Texas’ losing streak to six consecutive games.
Texas was unable to come back from an early West Virginia 14-0 lead.
After Steve Sarkisian chose to bench quarterback Casey Thompson, Hudson Card gave the Texas offense some life in the second half. His 52-yard bomb to Xavier Worthy made it a 21-17 game.
Unfortunately, the Texas defense was incapable of getting off of the field on third down. The Mountainers converted on third downs of both 18 yards and 15 yards on scoring drives in the second half.
Texas had an opportunity to tie the game down eight points late in the fourth quarter, but Thompson threw a costly interception the play after Card suffered a foot injury.
The difference in the game was third down. The Texas offense was 2-10 on third down while West Virginia was 12-20.
Here are the studs and duds from Texas’ loss to West Virginia:
Pretty throw and great catch.
It finally happened.
A Texas quarterback connected on a deep ball.
After Casey Thompson was yanked for a poor showing in the first half, again, Steve Sarkisian went against his word and put in backup quarterback Hudson Card to start the second half. Thompson ended the first half completing just 4-of-12 passes for 29-yards, while averaging 2.4 yards per pass.
The blame shouldn’t fall solely onto Thompson as there were dropped passes, but Thompson clearly was not feeling it today and the offense needed a change.
Card came into the game with Texas trailing 21-10, and the Longhorns badly needed some sort of spark, as this game was starting to look like it was going to end in a sixth consecutive loss.
The redshirt freshman connected with star receiver Xavier Worthy on a 52-yard touchdown pass on a perfectly thrown ball.
Hudson Card finds Xavier Worthy for six!
The deep pass connects finally. Great throw and catch. pic.twitter.com/nPx9UMf8m8
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_TFB) November 20, 2021
The touchdown gave Worthy 12 touchdown catches on the year, and more importantly it cut the West Virginia lead to single digits.
From the pocket presence, to the throw, to the catch. Beautiful.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is once again playing musical chairs with quarterbacks Casey Thompson and Hudson Card.
Although Thompson started the game against Kansas, Card entered the game in the second quarter and had the highlight of the game up to this point. The redshirt freshman found wide receiver Xavier Worthy for a 33-yard touchdown to tie the game 14-14.
It may have been the best pocket presence displayed by a Texas quarterback all season. Card stepped up in the pocket to evade pressure, and delivered an accurate downfield pass to a streaking Worthy.
CARD TO WORTHY. TD, Texas. pic.twitter.com/VPJGLL1A4Z
— Justin Wells (@justinwells2424) November 14, 2021
It’s unclear how Sarkisian will continue to use the two quarterbacks throughout the rest of the game. With one minute left to go in the first half, the Longhorns trail the Jayhawks 21-14.
The offensive line unit continues to be the biggest issue for Texas this season.
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