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Jonathon Brooks surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the year in Texas’ 33-30 win over Kansas State.
Texas running back Jonathon Brooks surpassed 1,000 yards for the year in the 33-30 overtime victory over Kansas State last week. Continue reading “Jonathon Brooks eclipses 1,000 yards on the year in Texas’ third straight win”
“I don’t know what pass interference is either so don’t ask me.”
No. 7 Texas escaped with a 33-30 overtime win over No. 23 Kansas State in Week 10. Continue reading “Everything Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said after the Kansas State win”
Texas’ Big 12 title goals and College Football Playoff hopes are still alive.
No. 7 Texas suffered a scare in Week 10 against No. 23 Kansas State, but ultimately good teams find ways to win when they’re not at their best. Continue reading “LOOK: Best photos from Texas’ thrilling overtime win over Kansas State”
Here are the final numbers in Texas’ win over Kansas State.
In an overtime thriller, the No. 7 Texas Longhorns escaped the No. 23 Kansas State Wildcats, 33-30. Continue reading “By the numbers: No. 7 Texas outlasts No. 23 Kansas State”
Texas found a way to win on Saturday.
The Texas Longhorns improved to an 8-1 overall record and 5-1 conference record on Saturday. That’s all that matters, but how they got there was more than cause for concern.
The Longhorns held a 27-7 lead until the final seconds of the third quarter. Then the defense imploded.
At 27-7, defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski decided it was time to let off the gas. Kwiatkowski went from aggressive press coverage to his signature ten yards off, soft coverage. In a matter of minutes the game went from 27-7 to a 27-27 tie.
The offense did its part to get there too. While leading 27-14, Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy threw an interception on a screen pass to set up the Wildcats deep inside Longhorns territory. Murphy threw at least four or five interceptions on the day, but only two were intercepted.
On the following offensive drive, Texas running back Jonathon Brooks coughed up the football and helped Kansas State to a 27-27 tie.
Despite it all, the Longhorns found a way to win in overtime. Sarkisian deserves credit for building a lead with a clearly incapable backup quarterback and a banged up squad.
Here’s how social media took in the game.
Texas thoroughly out-coached Kansas State in the first half.
The Texas Longhorns set off fireworks in the first half. It was the best first half of the season.
The Longhorns coaching staff facilitated the first half beatdown. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski so outmatched Kansas State’s coaching staff that the Wildcats looked like they didn’t belong on the same field.
Sarkisian did what we thought he might do offensively utilizing his quarterback Maalik Murphy’s plus deep passing ability to his advantage. Murphy landed a couple of deep shots punishing the Kansas State secondary.
In the offseason, we wrote that the K-State secondary would be easy to beat this season. We weren’t expecting even the Texas backup to feast like he has today.
The Longhorns defense played much more aggressive defense like we wrote they could succeed with this week. The team utilized far more press coverage and was seen sending defensive backs into the backfield to pressure. Those pressures yielded positive results.
On particular blitz sent safety Jerrin Thompson directly into the running back. Kwiatkowski’s calls shut down the Wildcat running game and forced the team to beat them through the air. Through one half, K-State has for the most part not been able to capitalize.
The Longhorns lead 17-7 entering halftime. Here are the highlights from the first half.
A crucial Big 12 battle will take place in Austin today.
No. 7 Texas will host No. 23 Kansas State in Week 10. Continue reading “Pregame social media buzz ahead of No. 7 Texas vs No. 23 KSU”
Texas was built to overcome injuries.
According to a couple of reports, Texas has been bit by the injury bug. A handful of Longhorns could unexpectedly be out for Saturday’s game. Despite the news, the team is built to overcome the losses.
Heading into the season, we discussed the team’s championship depth. Talented players are being developed by the current staff despite our issues with play calling philosophy and decision making. The team can find a way to win.
The downside of frequent substitution is that lesser players take valuable playing time from starters. Fortunately for Texas, the Longhorns’ pattern of giving playing time to backups will mean that those backups are more ready to play in the place of injured starters. Now, its time for those players to step up in the absence of starters.
Make no mistake: Texas will have several key players suit up and play a huge role on Saturday. The unforeseen losses do not leave the cupboard bare. Moreover, several of the backups are capable players, too. The Texas coaching staff will look to feature their strengths against Kansas State on Saturday.
Kansas State likes to win with physicality. Texas can play that game, too.
Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski was brought to Texas to build a championship defense. He will have an opportunity to show if his year three defense has reached that level on Saturday.
It’s Kwiatkowski’s time to shine. Quite frankly, Texas needs the impressive defensive effort his unit brought in both the Alabama matchups during his tenure. The standard for the Texas defense is what Kwiatkowski has proven capable of thus far, and his team needs a shut down effort now more than ever.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has mentioned complimentary football several times in his three seasons in Austin. He will likely need it on Saturday.
The Longhorns will need to take the points on fourth and short in the red zone. On the rare occasions that Sarkisian and company convert a fourth down within field goal range, the team often finds itself back in another fourth down scenario.
Every point will matter Saturday. Take the field goal and three points.
There’s enough on film for Kwiatkowski to find ways to slow the Kansas State offense. And there’s enough track record, though inconsistent, for Sarkisian to trust his defensive coordinator to put the team in position to win if the offense occasionally only puts up three points.
We are not suggesting that Texas should call plays conservatively outside of fourth downs. The Longhorns should attack downfield in the passing game, but they need to value every point when faced with money downs.
If Texas gets through Saturday unscathed it should be playing for a Big 12 title in Arlington. Complimentary football could be what gets the team over the top in the game.
Texas will need its fans to bring the energy on Saturday against Kansas State.
No. 7 Texas is preparing for a massive Big 12 showdown against No. 23 Kansas State on Saturday. Continue reading “WATCH: Texas releases hype video ahead of Kansas State matchup”
