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Media/$9.95-er postgame analysis articles (Week 3)


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Collecting all the post-game analysis articles, including those behind paywalls, regarding the USC game here:

(Anthony Rizzo) Texas cruises past No. 22 USC, 37-14: Post-game celebration thread

(Bobby Burton) Snap Judgments: Stepping forward

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It wasn't always the prettiest ball game, but Texas prevailed behind a strong running attack, a deliberate passing attack and a defense that blanked USC for three quarters. Frankly, it's the type of game that Texas has previously let get away from them in the Tom Herman era. But this game felt more like the Mizzou bowl game than the Texas Tech contest of a year ago. That’s a major step forward.

**

While Sam Ehlinger did not complete even 50-percent of his passes (16 of 34 for 234 yards and two TDs), he commanded the offense well enough, and was particularly smart on several third down plays. The drive to start the second half was perhaps the turning point of the game. It's when Texas took its first two-score lead of the game and showed that it would be a force to reckon with the rest of the night.

To start the second half, Ehlinger made two excellent third-down plays to get the drive going. First, he connected with Lil'Jordan Humphrey on a 3rd-and-8 and then Devin Duvernay made a terrific contested catch on 3rd-and-7. That drive was capped off by a nice touchdown catch by Josh Moore on a near-perfect throw. For the first time this season, I got the feeling that Ehlinger was starting to see more of the field and anticipate the game better.

**

Ehlinger was also a much more willing runner against USC than either Maryland or Tulsa. His feet played a big role in moving the chains.

**

Going into halftime, my biggest thought actually had nothing to do with the Texas offense or defense. Instead, it was the fact that the Longhorns now have a LEGIT field goal kicker for the first time since Justin Tucker. Not only did Texas play to end the half with a field goal, but Cameron Dicker delivered. That luxury will help Texas win more close games in the future.

**

To start the game, it felt like USC QB JT Daniels was going to be anointed as the next great USC QB. He was on fire. But the Texas pass rush finally started getting to him. The Kris Boyd interception was a key play that gave Texas another scoring opportunity.

**

Ehlinger wasn't without his issues on Saturday night. He made an ill-advised pass near the end of the half that was almost picked off and would have cost Texas three points. Those types of decisions have to change. Ehlinger, however, was very smart on third down for the most part. He even had a drop by Collin Johnson that stopped one drive in USC territory.

**

Speaking of Johnson, he came out on fire himself. Two big catches in the first series of the game. Johnson also sustained a huge block on the Lil'Jordan Humphrey catch-and-run touchdown. Humphrey had a strong game, too. He is becoming Ehlinger's go-to guy on third downs.

**

Add Andrew Beck to the list of players who also had a nice game. Beck not only was a great blocker as an H-back but also converted two third downs on catches over the middle.

**

If you're looking for a negative, it's the turnover in the third quarter by Daniel Young. As well as Young ran earlier in that specific series and then later in the game, it's that turnover that could have cost Texas major momentum and definitely cost Texas points while the game was still in doubt.

**

The Texas defense came out slow. It's almost like the D thought the USC offense wouldn't be prepared for a blitz-heavy package. Well, the Trojans were and they made Texas pay.

**

Brandon Jones did not have a great game in his return from injury. The junior safety gave up two deep balls, including one that should have either been intercepted or easily batted down. What's more, on the Trojans only two TDs of the night, Jones hit both runners but failed to get them to the ground before they scored. It's important to note that Jones did, however, make the fourth-down stop near the goal-line.

**

Texas has found lightning in a bottle with Caden Sterns. Not only has Sterns been surprisingly consistent for a freshman safety so far, but it's the second consecutive game where he's made a big play. Against Tulsa, it was the interception. Against the Trojans, it was the blocked punt that led to a touchdown.

**

Texas has to get its own punt protection down before conference play begins. Texas easily could have had a punt blocked in the end zone. It's inexcusable that Texas can't figure this out, especially since they had problems with it the previous two weekends.

**

The Horns rode the combo-blocking of Derek Kerstetter and Sam Cosmi almost the entire second half. Tre Watson and Young both had strong games overall.

**

I'm probably most encouraged by the Texas offense in this game. Even though it wasn't an overwhelming performance, Ehlinger showed better decision-making overall - except that one throw before half and holding the ball too long on what should have been a safety. He's getting better at making quicker and more accurate throws underneath, and he's playing third down smarter.

**

For Texas, this game was a genuine step in the right direction. But this program can't keep going one or two steps forward and then a step back. Next week, TCU awaits. And that is the start of conference play. Texas will need to play even better against the Horned Frogs than they did Southern Cal if they want to win the conference opener.

Jeff Howe: Texas steamrolls No. 22 USC in stunning fashion, 37-14

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AUSTIN, Texas — There are good wins, there are signature wins and then there are wins that have the potential to turn around a season. For Tom Herman and Texas, that's what could become of a surprising outcome against 22nd-ranked USC on Saturday at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, a 37-14 romp where the Longhorns stomped a mudhole in the Trojans and walked it dry.

The win gives Texas (2-1) the program's first winning record heading into conference play since 2016, helping the Longhorns avoid a 1-2 start entering their Big 12 schedule for what would've been the fifth time in the last six seasons. Dominating the Trojans (1-2) brings Herman's record as a head coach against ranked and bowl opponents to 9-4 with a scoring margin of plus-111 in his favor. The Longhorns scored their first home win over a ranked foe since beating No. 8-ranked Baylor, 35-34, on Oct. 29, 2016, by going on a 34-0 run after falling behind in the first quarter, 14-3.

A school-record crowd of 103,507 fans erupted as the scoring run hit a crescendo in the third quarter when Caden Sterns played a huge role in breaking the game open. USC’s Chase McGrath lined up for a 50-yard field goal, which Sterns blocked by jumping over the left side of the line. Sterns swatted the ball away and while he overran the ball and couldn’t pick it up, Anthony Wheeler was right behind him to make the scoop and rumble 46 yards to the end zone to put the Longhorns ahead, 30-14.

After a goal-line stand, the Texas defense held the USC offense to four three-and-out drives along with the march that ended with the blocked field goal. The third of those three-and-out stanzas ended with a punt that rolled dead at midfield, allowing Ehlinger and the Texas offense to drive the rest of the way in eight plays, ending the series when Ehlinger swooped into the end zone over the right side of the line from four yards out.

The Longhorns took the ball to begin the third quarter and, thanks to a pair of third-down pass completions by Ehlinger, eventually had a fresh set of downs at the USC 27. That’s when Ehlinger went deep and found Joshua Moore on a post route where the true freshman beat single coverage and made a great diving catch to give the Longhorns a nine-point lead, 23-14.

Both teams came out of the blocks hot. USC took the ball following the opening kickoff and drive 75 yards in nine plays, ending the march when Stephen Carr gashed the Texas defense up the gut on a 23-yard touchdown run.

The Longhorns put together a fine march of their own to begin the game. Sam Ehinger and Co. responded with a 12-play, 72-yard drive that ended with a Cameron Dicker field goal. Texas hung in the game and fought off a hellacious first-quarter surge by the Trojans. A Vavae Malepeai 3-yard touchdown near the end of the quarter capped off an opening period where the Trojans had 153 yards of total offense, averaged 6.7 yards per play and went 5-for-6 with a 7.7-yard per play average on third down.

Texas got going in the second quarter when Ehlinger ended a 6-play, 75-yard drive with a 47-yard strike to Lil'Jordan Humphrey where the junior made the grab and the burned off on the USC defense to complete the play. The Longhorns were able to dodge a bullet later in the quarter where Ehlinger appeared to be sacked in the end zone for a safety, but the officiating crew upheld the call on the field that Ehlinger got the ball out across the goal line upon review. Thanks to a defense that buckled down on third down (1-for-3), had a goal-line stand, forced a turnover (a Kris Boyd interception of JT Daniels), along with some shoddy special teams work by the Trojans, the Longhorns were able to take the lead heading into intermission.

A pair of drives that spanned a combined 44 yards in length were enough for Cameron Dicker to nail a pair of 46-yard field goals, the second of the two being right at the gun as the Longhorns went into the locker room with a 16-14 lead.

Chip Brown: Good, bad and ugly from Texas' 37-14 win over USC

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AUSTIN, Texas — Who knows how USC’s football season will end after the Longhorns’ 37-14 victory in which Texas scored 34 unanswered points? But for one, very important September night, Texas fans were allowed to remember what it’s like to beat USC again. The stakes in this triumph over the Trojans were nowhere close to January 2006, but they were significant for the Longhorns and second-year coach Tom Herman, who were both desperate for some positive mojo, especially with a home game against TCU looming next week.


Texas fans were pretty much allowed to rejoice, non-stop, from late in the second quarter into the fourth quarter as Texas appeared to get a break on a non-safety call; clamped down on defense; and took advantage of a special teams implosion by the Trojans. The biggest negatives for Texas were injuries to outside linebacker Malcolm Roach (foot) and cornerback Davante Davis (who limped off with 9:32 left) as well as safety B.J. Foster being forced to miss the first half of next week’s TCU game after being ejected for targeting USC receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown with 9:56 left. As always, here’s the GOOD, BAD and UGLY from Saturday night’s victory over the Trojans …

GOOD

Texas has a kicker! Freshman Cameron Dicker (The Kicker) was HUGE in the first half, hitting all three of his attempts from 20, 46 and 46 yards as Texas came back from a 14-3 deficit to take a 16-14 halftime lead.

Sam Ehlinger’s 15-of-33 passing numbers for 233 yards and two touchdowns won’t make national headlines. But Ehlinger overcame a 7-of-17 start in the first half and completed 5-of-6 passes for 47 yards, including throws to convert third-and-8 and third-and-7 before connecting with Josh Moore on a 27-yard post route for a touchdown that put Texas up, 23-14, with 10:45 left in the third quarter. Texas never looked back.

Tre Watson, who grew up in southern California as a USC fan before going to Cal, said this game was personal, and Watson finished as UT’s leading rusher with 18 carries for 72 yards (4 ypc).

Collin Johnson, another California kid, led Texas with six catches for 79 yards. Lil'Jordan Humphrey finished with four catches for 84 yards and a momentum-turning, 47-yard touchdown pass from Ehlinger that cut an early, 14-3 lead by USC to 14-10 early in the second quarter.

Brandon Jones returned from an ankle sprain that sidelined him against Tulsa and led Texas with nine tackles (six solo).

Ehlinger had 17 carries for 35 yards and a 4-yard touchdown run with 1:42 left, giving Texas its final margin — 37-14. Daniel Young had 12 carries for 57 yards (4.8 ypc).

After the Longhorns allowed USC and freshman quarterback J.T. Daniels to convert 5-of-6 third downs on the Trojans’ initial possession — a nine-play, 75-yard drive to a 23-yard touchdown run by Stephen Carr - the Texas defense held USC to 1-of-9 on third-down conversions after that. After the third quarter, USC had 14 carries for 13 yards.

Kris Boyd had an interception that led to a Texas field goal.

After posting one sack through two games, Texas posted three sacks against USC (Gary Johnson, Charles Omenihu and Chris Brown).

STERNS BLOCKS FG, WHEELER SCOOPS AND SCORES: Caden Sterns seemed to come through the line unblocked to reject Chase McGrath’s 50-yard field goal attempt. Sterns tried to pick up the loose ball, but missed. So linebacker Anthony Wheeler scooped and scored from 46 yards out, giving the Longhorns 27 unanswered points and putting Texas up, 30-14, with 6:25 left in the third quarter. This is how bad USC’s special teams were Saturday night, Trojans’ defensive lineman Jay Tufele (No. 78) was flagged for a personal foul (for shoving UT’s Gerald Wilbon) on Cameron Dicker’s extra point following Wheeler’s scoop-and-score.

TEXAS EXTENDS RUN TO 20-0 WITH TD PASS TO MOORE: Ehlinger completed 5-of-6 passes for 47 yards, including completions to convert third-and-8 and third-and-7 before connecting with Josh Moore on a 27-yard post route for a touchdown that put Texas up, 23-14, with 10:45 left in the third quarter. Porter Gustin, a USC captain and the Trojans’ best-most-experienced pass rusher, was ejected from the game for targeting after a helmet-to-helmet hit on Ehlinger with 12:05 left in the third quarter.

On Texas’ opening drive of the third quarter, Ehlinger converted back-to-back third-and-longs with a 10-yard pass to Lil’Jordan Humphrey on third-and-8 from the UT 28 and with a 9-yard pass to Devin Duvernay on third-and-7 from the UT 41. Cameron Dicker (The Kicker) finished the half 3-of-3 on field goals, including his second from 46 yards as time expired, giving Texas a 16-14 lead at halftime. And, as my man Jeff Howe pointed out, Texas was 8-1 when leading at the half coming into the USC game. (Dicker might also have taken the lead on kickoff tackles for the season.)

USC showed the Trojans also suffer from punting inconsistency as USC as Chris Tilbey shanked a 13-yarder, giving Texas the ball at its 49 with 2:20 left in the second quarter. After Texas dodged catastrophe when Ehlinger barely extended the ball out of the end zone to avoid a safety, USC was called for a personal foul (roughing UT punter Ryan Bujcevski), giving Texas a first down at its own 23 with 5:24 left in the second quarter, trailing 14-13.

Ehlinger looked like he was brought down for a safety with 6:22 left in the second quarter, but a replay review upheld the call on the field, which determined Ehlinger barely extended the ball out of the end zone before his knee touched down.

TEXAS STANDS UP USC AT GOAL LINE: The UT defense made it two years in a row with a goal-line stand against the Trojans. After a 41-yard completion in which Brandon Jones miss-timed his jump to break it up, Jones more than made up for it by outracing Stephen Carr to the sideline and dropping him for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1 with a great sideline stop.

TEXAS TURNS BOYD PICKOFF INTO DICKER FIELD GOAL: The Longhorns went on a 10-run to cut USC’s lead to 14-13 by following up a 47-yard touchdown pass from Sam Ehlinger to Lil’Jordan Humphrey with a SportsCenter highlight interception by Kris Boyd after a fight for the ball with USC receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown at the UT 49 with 13:07 left in the second quarter. Seal blocks by Derek Kerstetter on a 9-yard run by Tre Watson and on a reverse pass from Jerrod Heard back to Ehlinger for an 11-yard gain helped set up Cameron Dicker’s first of two 46-yard field goals, cutting USC’s lead to 14-13 with 10:39 left in the second quarter.

EHLINGER-TO-HUMPHREY ON THIRD DOWN (TWICE) HELPS UT CUT USC LEAD TO 14-10: Facing third-and-10 from the Texas 25, Ehlinger got heavy pressure, rolled to his right and hit Lil'Jordan Humphrey for 23 yards to the UT 48 in what might’ve been his best pass completion of the game. Then, on third-and-5 from USC 47, Ehlinger found Humphrey again, this time on a simple, 15-yard out that Humphrey made one defender miss and took the remaining 32 yards for a 47-yard touchdown, cutting USC’s lead to 14-10 with 13:23 left in the second quarter. Ehlinger went 4-of-6 passing for 54 yards on UT’s first possession - a 12-play, 72-yard drive to a Cameron Dicker field goal.

DICKER THE KICKER CUTS USC LEAD TO 7-3: Back-to-back passes from Sam Ehlinger to Collin Johnson for 15 and 20 yards, followed by conversions of third-and-3 (Ehlinger run for 5 yards) and third-and-10 from the USC 23 (15-yard pass from Ehlinger to TE Andrew Beck), gave the Horns first-and-goal from the USC 8. But 1-yard run by Ehlinger (after a fake to D’Shawn Jamison on a jet sweep that might’ve scored if Jamison got the ball), was followed by a 4-yard pass to Lil’Jordan Humphrey and then a run for no gain by Ehlinger on third-and-goal. On the first attempt of his college career, Dicker nailed the 20-yard field goal from the right hash, cutting USC’s lead to 7-3 with 6:19 left in the first quarter.

Texas opened the game with five straight blitzes, which gave Texas more blitzes in two and a half minutes than the Longhorns had in the previous two games. Todd Orlando blitzed the following personnel on those first five plays: Josh Thompson; Caden Sterns; Gary Johnson and Josh Thompson; and Brandon Jones with Gary Johnson.

BAD

Right cornerback Davante Davis limped off the field with 9:32 left to play as a cart had started onto the field to pick him up. Davis was replaced by freshman cornerback Anthony Cook rather than Kobe Boyce, who struggled last week in place of Davis, who missed the Tulsa game with a neck strain.

B.J. Foster will miss the first half of next week’s TCU game after being ejected for targeting on a helmet-to-helmet hit with USC’s St. Brown with 9:56 left to play. The hit sent St. Brown’s blue mouthguard about 10 feet into the air. Following a fumble by Texas RB Daniel Young, USC immediately went deep with Daniels completing a 53-yard strike to St. Brown, who had six catches (on seven targets) for 141 yards at that point.

With Texas in the USC red zone after taking advantage of a 29-yard USC punt to the Texas 44, Daniel Young fumbled and USC recovered at the Trojans’ 17 with 8:03 left in the third quarter. That ended a run from the 2:40 mark of the second quarter to the 8:03 mark of the third quarter without a BAD post in the GOOD, BAD & UGLY. Looked like Caden Sterns and Davante Davis both had a chance to intercept a deep ball from J.T. Daniels with 2:40 left in the second quarter but knocked the ball out of each others’ hands.

Davante Davis was slow to get up and left the field (but returned the next play) and then Taquon Graham came off the field the next play with 7:21 left in the second quarter. Brandon Jones miss-timed his jump to break up a deep ball from Daniels to Amon-Ra St. Brown, leading to a 41-yard reception to the Texas 9 midway through the second quarter.

At the end of the first quarter, despite a flood of blitzes by Texas, USC 17-year-old freshman quarterback J.T. Daniels was 12 of 18 passing for 129 yards and 5-of-6 on third down with USC leading 14-3.

USC STRIKES DEEP TO SET UP TD AND 14-3 LEAD: On second-and-10 from the Texas 43, J.T. Daniels found receiver Velus Jones behind P.J. Locke on an out-and-up for 40 yards to the Texas 3. Breckyn Hager and Brandon Jones stuffed Stephen Carr for no gain on first-and-goal, and Daniels threw incomplete to Amon-Ra St. Brown on second down. But Vavae Malipea outran Caden Sterns to the left pylon for a 3-yard touchdown and a 14-3 USC lead with 33 seconds left in the first quarter.

Samuel Cosmi was called for a false start to open UT’s second possession of the game. UT couldn’t overcome the penalty, and Ryan Bujcevski had only a 31-yard punt to the USC 47. (This was a sequence that has done in Texas each of the first two games: Offense can’t overcome a penalty, poor punt leaves Texas D defending a short field and opposing team scores.)

TROJANS GO UP 7-0 ON FIRST DRIVE: USC had second-and-20, second-and-13 and second-and-10 on its first possession of the game and overcame all of them by converting third-and-3, third-and-9 and completing a 12-yard pass on second-and-10 from the Texas 35, setting up a 23-yard touchdown run by Stephen Carr right through the heart of the UT defense. Brandon Jones had a clean shot at Carr at the line of scrimmage and somehow missed the tackle.

UGLY

USC’s special teams! … Texas turned shanked punts of 13, 29 and 22 yards into 10 points and then turned a blocked field goal into a scoop-and-score followed by a USC personal foul on UT’s extra point) … Temple winning 35-14 at Maryland earlier in the day.

(Ian Boyd) 5 Quick thoughts: Burning the Trojan horse at the gate

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Evidently that was Texas' 900th victory in program history. It was a good one and an important one for a lot of reasons. The Longhorns now have a lot more confidence going into Big 12 play than they would have had if the record read 1-2 and they were dealing with more questions about an inability to win for whatever reason. The recruits that attended the game were treated to a big time, passionate atmosphere and a dominating win.

Perhaps most important was that Texas didn't have to eek out a game and didn't play down to the opponent but wrestled control of the game back from the Trojans before the half before pounding them into the ground like a tent peg in the second half. It's very satisfying to end a game by protecting a sizable margin over a ranked (not for long, but still) opponent by running the ball down their throats and then lining up in the victory formation.

Quick thought no. 1: Domination in the trenches

Texas won this game with their big men up front. The stat line for the Texas run game wasn't amazing, they finished with 160 rushing yards on 48 rushes, at 3.3 ypc. Some of that was the gameplan for USC, which involved packing the line of scrimmage with all the usual suspects while also actively and aggressively involving a safety or two to swallow up any runs that threatened to break through.

The Longhorns were still able to run the ball effectively and mostly avoid negative plays while regularly getting coverage and push on the Trojan front. Now is as good a time as any to mention the QB stretch play, which made a highly effective appearance last week against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane and was wildly successful against the Trojans. Texas could get at least four yards whenever they needed them running that play for Sam Ehlinger, it seems to be Tom Herman's go-to play in place of the QB split zone that was similarly automatic for Ohio State with J.T. Barrett. Future opponents are going to have to craft their plan for third and five or less to make sure they can handle that one.

The domination by the defense in the trenches was clear and in no need of qualification or closer review. The Trojans ran for -5 yards in this game and most of the occasions in which they tried to call runs in order to try and ease pressure from freshman QB J.T. Daniels were unmitigated disasters that only served to put Daniels in even more dire situations.

More careful eyes than mine will have a good account for what occurred but it was easy enough to see that Texas' DL was moving around a lot and generating a ton of confusion and penetration against the Trojan OL. I don't know what Breckyn Hager's stat line was but he was a huge problem for USC, Gary Johnson's stat line was surely excellent and Daniels will likely see him racing after him in his nightmares. The Trojans didn't play a great game in the trenches today but they have a lot of big time players that will have their chances in the NFL and Texas made them to look bad tonight.

Quick thought no. 2: Special teams!

Cameron Dicker left the clear impression with his consecutive kicks of 46-yard field goals that Texas has a legit kicker. If and when Texas gets in a spot where they need those points it'll be immensely valuable that they have a dude who seems to be close to automatic after crossing the 35 or 40 yard line. Texas completely dominated special teams tonight. Ryan Bujcevksi had a mixed game, he's still not a guy that can be counted on to carry the team but he's getting close to being a reliably solid college punter. Obviously the blocked kick was more or less icing on the cake in that game.

Meanwhile USC was having big struggles, beyond the blocked punt they also several terrible punts, some of which bounced backwards for sizable chunks of yardage. USC and their coaching will be facing some tough questions heading back to Los Angeles. For Texas though, it appears that they have the pieces to Dicker and dime their way through the upcoming Big 12 slate.

Quick thought no. 3: Ehlinger on third down

Ehlinger either threw the ball or ran it on 16 third downs and he converted eight of them while picking up another with a fourth down carry. While 15-33 on the day for 223 yards at 6.8 ypa with two TDs and zero INTs won't blow anyone away, he was 6-10 on third down for 122 yards at 12.2 ypa with one TD occurring in that situation.

He ran the ball on six other third downs and picked up two more conversions there plus the other when he picked up nine yards with a draw on third and nine and then picked up the fourth down immediately afterwards (on QB stretch for four yards). USC's gameplan was daring Texas to beat them over the top in the passing game. Ehlinger did so at times, not to the extent that you'd like to see because either his pass or his targets' hands were just a little off, but his ability to keep drives alive on third down was special.

Texas needs to keep finding ways to get Li'Jordan Humphrey some space on third down since he's such a reliable target and I imagine we'll continue to see more of young Josh Moore who reeled in a 27-yard pass for a score when he beat a USC DB on a seam route. The Longhorn offense still needs to play tighter but they're showing a lot of potential and they have a couple of aces up their sleeve for league play. One is the return of Keaontay Ingram, who will make a lot out of the improving blocking of this OL, the other is Ehlinger's ability to keep drives alive with his unique ability on both third and long and third and short.

Quick thought no. 4: Targeting and officiating needs some adjustment

I'm sure the major takeaway from USC fans, egged on by Joel Klatt, will be that they were robbed on the safety. At Colorado they taught Klatt that it's physically impossible for a QB who has a defender landing on him to keep his knees off the turf for however long would have been necessary to get the ball back across the goal line. It looked close but it's understandable that the officials didn't have enough to conclusively say "when the knee was down, the ball wasn't across" so they couldn't overturn. Whoever has been making sacrifices to the football gods so that Texas would finally benefit from a review had a very good night.

This is the second time in two years that Texas didn't have to face Porter Gustin down the stretch of the game (wouldn't have mattered this time) and in this case it was because of a targeting call. It was a blatant foul and an easy flag, but the rule needs to be changed. I'm sure Texas fans are sympathetic after losing B.J. Foster for the first half of the TCU game when a big shot he landed on a player running down the field got him ejected for another clear violation of the rule. The NCAA needs to figure out something akin to the NBA's flagrant system or soccer's red/yellow cards, then they can throw something else in that is largely trivial so it doesn't seem like they are moving away from prioritizing player safety. This game doesn't work properly when defenders trying to make a play in live action can be thrown out of the football game and even future contests.

On a side note, it was interesting to see him put his helmet on Ehlinger's chin without the QB showing any effects whatsoever, he has a fighter's jaw. The reviews were not overly burdensome. The review of Andrew Beck's potential fumble on Texas' opening drive seemed totally needless and allowed the Trojans to catch their breath and regroup on the goal line. Overall I don't think officiating was the difference in this game, Gary Johnson and Todd Orlando were the difference in this game.

Quick thought no. 5: The TO defense is back

Nothing like a pro-style team with a pocket passer to fill a Todd Orlando defense with confidence. Perhaps my favorite moment of the game occurred when B.J. Foster was ejected and Texas brought in Chris Brown to play dime and immediately blitzed him and got a sack on Daniels.

Daniels was lethal early, connecting with HS teammate at Mater Dei Amon-Ra St. Brown and fitting some third down throws into tight windows that Texas was struggling to close. They won a few 50-50 plays early but Daniels also has elite arm talent. But Texas stayed calm, the offense helped them out some, and then the pressures started to really dial in. Before long Daniels couldn't even hit his check downs because he was so hurried and out of sorts running for his life.

The offense still isn't good enough to win shootouts against the best teams in the Big 12 and the punting isn't going to dominate any games, Texas needs to play great defense to have a chance to win the league. That looks plausible after the unit picked up some needed confidence with this dominant win. If you try to handle this team and Gary Johnson's improving timing on the blitz by having the QB drop back 40+ times, God help you. Their ability to cover windows and generate pressures from the dime package could be the most dominant facet of a lot of games this season. Now go celebrate by pestering Eric, Justin, and Joe for recruiting updates.

 

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Bobby Burton: Texas-USC Grades

 

Texas added a much-needed win to its record Saturday night against No. 22 ranked USC. Horns247 publisher Bobby Burton delivers his post game grades for the Texas offense after the Longhorns' 37-14 win.

Quarterback

Sam Ehlinger finished 15 of 33 for 223 yards with two TDs and no INTs. It was not a dominating performance by any stretch. He didn't even complete 50-percent of his passes. But it was a solid performance on the whole. Ehlinger is showing improved decision-making, particularly on third down. Whether it was running for five yards to improve the kicker's chances for a field goal at the end of the first half, or simply throwing the ball away a few times, Ehlinger is starting to understand when to take chances and when to live another day. His accuracy and timeliness is also improving. Six times on Saturday night, Ehlinger moved the chains with third-down passes of eight yards or more. Of course, he also used his legs to good outcomes on multiple occasions. The throw of the night, however, was the post route to Josh Moore for the score. Ehlinger was far from perfect. He held on to the ball way too long in the end zone for what should have been a USC safety and he threw the ball up for grabs once before the end of the first half. But improvement is the key here. Improved decision making. Improvement on third downs. And improvement throwing the deep ball. Work to eliminate the bad decisions and execute the good ones, that's what he's did more of against USC.

Grade: B

Running back

How valuable was the addition of Tre Watson in the off-season? It wasn't much heralded but it was important. Consider this. Without Watson, Texas wouldn't have a reliable back with decent speed and wiggle who could carry a pile for a yard or two and also pass protect reliably. Watson more than held his own in every way. Daniel Young had a tremendous game running the ball downhill. But he also had a major fumble at a time when Texas was on the verge of salting away the victory. Little plays like that can come back to burn you against better teams. Still, the backs ran well, they ran with conviction and blocked more than adequately.

Grade: B

Receivers

There was a drop by Collin Johnson that should have been a first down to keep a drive alive. There was another drop by Lil'Jordan Humphrey. Jerrod Heard failed to make a contested catch and blocked poorly - if at all - on the perimeter all night. But those are the only three negatives I recall. The Texas receiving corps played terrific. The speed of Joshua Moore adds a new dimension to the Texas offense that just hasn't been there the past few years. However, it was a third-down catch on the first drive of the third quarter by Devin Duvernay that may have been my favorite of the night. It was a 50-50 ball at best, yet Duvernay wrestled for the ball and came up a winner. A couple of plays later, Texas found the end zone to go up by two scores. Collin Johnson came out hot in the first quarter only to cool off before making a terrific catch in the fourth quarter. But Humphrey led the team in receiving yards and had the big first-half touchdown on a third-down catch and run. He also made multiple first down catches and is getting better as a run blocker.

Grade: B+

Tight end

The best game of Andrew Beck's career. That's the only way to put it. Not only did Beck block well all night long - I think he literally owned the play-side linebacker the entire second half - but his two catches were both converted into key first downs. Importantly, neither time did he catch the ball beyond the sticks. He had to convert via a run-after-catch, which he did with a combo of power and get-upfield smarts. Cade Brewer played some, as did Reese Leitao late in the fourth. But this was the Beck show.

Grade: A-

Offensive line

A year ago against USC, Sam Ehlinger regularly ran for his life. Not so this season. The Texas OL more than held its own. The play of left tackle Calvin Anderson has been a tremendous in pass protection. It's like a breath of fresh air. And the combination of Samuel Cosmi and Derek Kerstetter on the right side opened up running lanes the entire second half. Those two play football with a mean streak. But it's Cosmi who is the revelation. No Texas lineman plays with more energy or is better at getting to the second level than Cosmi, and I'd venture to say, in only two short games, that he's shown he's the best Texas has had in that regard in more than a decade. He is playing that well. Pat Vahe and Elijah Rodriguez held up reasonably well, even though USC had some success pushing the pocket on bull rushes in the second half. Texas allowed just two sacks all night yet regularly opened running lanes and gave Ehlinger enough time to make good throws, even on third down. It was a terrific performance, the best I've seen against a talented unit in years.

Grade: A

Offense

When the QB starts making better decisions and throwing more accurately, the receivers start making clutch catches, the running backs get downhill and the offensive line plays well, it makes the play-calling look better. Texas did just that on Saturday night. While the play-calling was far from scintillating, it was effective, especially in the second half when Texas simply dominated the game. If we're looking to nitpick, Texas must get better in the red zone and when approaching scoring area, especially earlier in the game. Three times in the first half alone Texas had to resort to field goals instead of putting seven points up on the board. Texas needs a bread and butter play in the red zone. If the Horns can develop that, it'll put even more pressure on opponents.

Grade: A-

*****************************************************************************

Defensive line

The Texas defensive front dominated for three of the four quarters and finally was able to get a consistent pass rush in the second half. Holding the Trojans to less than 20 yards rushing made USC one dimensional. Hats off to Chris Nelson for clogging up the middle most of the night. Charles Omenihu also registered a sack and played the run relatively well. Breckyn Hager did not get a sack but seemed to get decent pressure on a regular basis in the second half. Ta'Quon Graham also saw a ton of action and acquitted himself well.

Grade: B

Linebackers

Gary Johnson and Anthony Wheeler played their roles to a near T. Johnson’s acceleration on roll outs caused USC QB JT Daniels to make throws faster than he wanted to or even contemplated. Wheeler played the run well, but he was particularly adept against the running back screen game two times. Jeffrey McCulloch made an impact in limited duty.

Grade: B+

Secondary

Brandon Jones missed the tackle in run support on both USC touchdowns. He also got beat deep twice. Yet he led the team in tackles with nine. Kris Boyd made a nice pick. P.J. Locke made a key deflection but also got beat deep once. Davante Davis played well until he cramped up and was replaced by freshman Anthony Cook, who appears to have surpassed Kobe Boyce on the depth chart. Chris Brown had a sack after replacing B.J. Foster, who was called for targeting after a ferocious hit on a Trojan receiver. It was an up and down game for the secondary, except for Caden Sterns. He was solid the entire night.

Grade: C+

Defense

USC came out firing, scoring touchdowns on two of its first three possessions. But the defense bowed its back and held USC on a goal-line stand in the second quarter. It would be the last time USC seriously challenged the Texas end zone all night. The Texas D suffocated USC the entire second half.

Grade: B+

Special teams

Cameron Dicker made a true difference in this game. The freshman placekicker hit two 40-yarders and a chip shot to give Texas nine points and the lead in the first half. Ryan Bujcevski still shows a lack of understanding in the punt game and is lucky the punt in the end zone wasn’t blocked. It’s something Texas has to work on or it will bite the Longhorns in the butt in conference play. USC also had a nice kick return. But the play of the night for either team was Sterns’ block of a field goal attempt that was picked up and returned for a TD by Anthony Wheeler. Texas already had the lead and great momentum before that play, but that sequence cemented the outcome.

Grade: B+

Edited by satyanash
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Scipio Tex: Texas-USC Post-Mortem

The Texas offense turned in a grinding win over USC, totaling 394 yards on 82 plays for a 4.8 yards per play average. While the Texas offense lacked explosiveness, it did a good job of creating first downs (25), limiting negative plays in the running game (3 out of 48 "standard" carries went for negative yardage) and converted on 11 of 20 3rd and 4th down opportunities. Pair that all with only one turnover (Daniel Young, big boy finisher back can't fumble) and you have a very Kansas Statey sort of win where the offense excels enough in the margins to compensate for a fairly mundane big picture statistical snapshot and one is left wondering "How the hell did we blow these dudes out?"

In my USC preview, I championed the idea that Trojan DC Clancy Pendergast was going to do what he wanted to do, irrespective of the scout on Ehlinger and our offense. Excuse me while I dislocate my arm patting myself on the back. It would have been interesting to see what Texas might have been able to do to a tired USC defense in the fourth quarter if we had decided not to take the air out of the football. A special thanks to the USC staff for not doing tedious things like watching film on their opponent to get their team prepared. Sam Ehlinger started the game hot - he was 7 of 11 for 132 yards early in the game, but that trailed off into a 8 of 22 for 91 yard performance over the remainder. Ugly. But Ehlinger's stats were characteristic of a larger malaise in the passing offense as much as Sam's inaccuracy. A few comments on some good and bad:

1. USC brought constant pressure and left the middle of the field more inviting than a bouncy Longhorn co-ed on the Godzillatron. What takes some coaching staffs a series to recognize seems to take us a quarter and half. Joel Klatt started having a mild breakdown in the booth at our lack of recognition for the opportunity in the great green grasslands starting a foot past the line of scrimmage. When we got around to it, finally hitting Josh Moore on an easy pitch-and-catch TD, the game was over.

2. Our two minute drill personnel to end the half were Kyle Porter (in to block at RB) and Andrew Beck, flexed out wide at de facto slot receiver against man coverage with a single high or no safeties deep. Either player could be defensible deployed in a certain way (Porter in to block, Beck lined up inside to help a tackle with Gustin or Rector) but in combination, disposed in that way, you're playing into USC's blitz happy, zero safety hands. Nine plays and 22 frustrating yards later with some USC penalty bail outs, we settle for a 46 yard Dicker field goal.

3. Our primary adjustment to USC's jailbreak blitz was a half-assed half roll where we leave the backside DE unblocked. The result is that Sam is running horizontally to the line of scrimmage, simultaneously making for a difficult throw and limiting his run options, cutting the field in half, limiting outlets, and guaranteeing a blind side hit if Sam holds on to the ball too long. I watched the play side receivers on a couple of them and they were not syncing to hot routes at all. The best play result the half dozen times we did this was an incomplete pass. Ehlinger was hit hard on his release or sacked on half of them. Our adjustment became USC's primary outside pressure tool. Not Gustin or Rector beating our guys straight up.

4. Sam is very comfortable in 4 wide reading the defense pre-snap (the more you spread out, the more a blitz-happy team must declare coverage) either running or throwing. It makes his football simple. When we did it - and particularly when we did it at tempo - Ehlinger is pretty effective. Just putting it out there. 

5. The QB power stretch sweep was a specific wrinkle meant to take advantage of USC's hard-charging edge defenders and their tendency to mug LBs inside. It converted a number of 3rd downs and slowed down honest pass rush. Nice job.

6. The OL didn't surrender negative yardage plays. While Texas had almost no explosive runs (Watson's longest gain was 9, Ehlinger and Young 12) the consistency of runs was the unheralded key to the offense. Texas was constantly in 2nd and 6 or 3rd and 2. That may not seem a big deal, but the percentages of football greatly favor neutral downs (On 2nd and 6, you can realistically throw or run) while 3rd and 8+ is a world of vastly diminishing returns. Our OL consistently demonstrates the ability to cover up free defenders and while they're not serving pancake breakfasts out there, not screwing up assignments and giving skill guys a chance is half of OL play.

7. While LJH and CJ largely balled out, on review, it was distressing to see how many drops our receivers had or how many times they ran poor route angles (I'm looking at you, Duvernay) that were then attributed to an inaccurate throw by #11. They were also strangely unresponsive to blitz adjustments. Although blocking effort was better, there's a lack of polish to the receiving corps that drives me batty.

8. Delay of game penalties out of a timeout or change of possession remain an amusing staple. Almost as humorous as the obligatory telegraphed D'Shawn Jamison negative yard fly sweep. 

**

QB

Ehlinger avoided turnovers and several judicious throwaways out of bounds were his redo button. That didn't help his completion percentage any, but kept USC from getting cheap points or field position. Ehlinger completed 36% of his last 22 passes and averaged less than 4.1 yards per attempt over those attempts. Not a paragon of efficiency. Fortunately, Sam carried the ball effectively and if you remove his loss yardage from sacks and busts, he averaged 5 yards per carry and was largely responsible for our 55% 3rd and 4th down conversion percentage. Ugly stats, pretty win. That's a blueprint Texas can win nine games with when the defense comes to play.

RB

The game thread demands for Daniel Young became muted after his fumble. Tre Watson doesn't seem to garner much appreciation from the Longhorn fan base for his skill set, but the senior acquitted himself well as a pass blocker against defenders 50+ pounds his superior and he ran hard with vision and determination. I was really pleased to see the coaches go back to Daniel Young after his fumble (the permanent doghouse for any mistake is the most alienating thing you can do to a player) and Young's determination to truck people at the point of contact is becoming a pleasure to watch and anticipate. Porter blocks effectively, but I continue to believe that we're leaving a lot of meat on the bone by not involving the other backs more in the passing game. Particularly against a team in heavy man coverage.

WR/TE

LJH and CJ played like the physical mismatches they are. USC's coverages helped them out and gave them a lot of "just beat your guy" opportunities. I suspect other Big 12 opponents and defensive coordinators with access to game tape will work to deny them that until the offense can show better execution. Josh Moore's TD was a great example of taking what's being offered by the defense and it's exciting to see a young freshman come up big on a national stage. Duvernay's effort level was high, but he needs a route running refresher on how to present himself to the QB. Andrew Beck has played his two best back-to-back games as a Longhorn. His two short catches converting third downs on the move demonstrated some skills not yet seen.

OL

The most improved unit on the team to date. Maybe they're only a 6.5 on a 10 point scale, but that's up from a 2.5. USC refusing to cover up E-Rod at center for most of the game was a gift. I question whether the Trojan defensive staff engaged in even rudimentary scouting. Sam Cosmi and Calvin Anderson are our two best OL by a wide margin right now. Kerstetter is probably the second best athlete on the unit and he continues to show well on the move. We're three games into the season and it's easy to recognize that Herb Hand and Yancy McKnight have done some good work here. Let's not oversell their performance, but this is certainly a competent group.

Final

Our offense drew the harder assignment of both units and acquitted itself well enough to get the opportunistic home win. USC's defense has good personnel (Marshall and Tell in the secondary, both DEs, Cam Smith at LB) but in my opinion, Clancy Pendergast did them no favors in some key moments. Cynics (and Trojan fans) will say we just ran into another coaching staff struggling to advantage its players more than our own. Optimists will reply that the Texas offense has clearly improved on the OL, Ehlinger continues to mature, and that our staff may have stumbled onto a grinding formula for winning football. In less than a week, the Horned Frogs will help provide some clarity either way.

****************************************************************

I thought the Texas defense would play well against USC's straightforward offense because of the Trojan's lack of misdirection, no QB involvement in the running game, Tee Martin's conventional approach, and JT Daniels' youth and inexperience. But I wasn't feeling too good about that assertion one quarter into Saturday night's football game. It didn't start well for Todd Orlando and the Longhorn defense. 

USC scored touchdowns on two of their first three possessions in the 1st quarter behind the arm of freshman JT Daniels and aggressive pass-first play calling that tore up some poorly timed Longhorn blitzes and had some gimme 3rd down conversions by virtue of pre-snaps reads that told Daniels where to go with the ball early or had Breckyn Hager or Anthony Wheeler as the primary tackler near an open slot receiver. Daniels hit the UT secondary for 12 of 18 of 129 yards in the first stanza, Stephen Carr popped a 23 yard TD run, and the Trojans converted 5 of 6 on 3rd down. Read the game thread to get a diagnosis on the dark mood of Longhorn faithful at this 14-3 juncture. 

Texas adjusted and with those adjustments came some very good defensive football. The Longhorns started playing more zone and combo coverages, giving the Texas cornerbacks the opportunity to attack Trojan receivers, disallowing Daniels from making pre-snaps reads and throws to spots off of short drops, and the Texas pass rush began to bother him. A terrific 4th and 1 goal line stand (set up by a ballsy Tom Herman decline of a Trojan penalty to force the issue - I'm not sure I would have done that, so hat tip to Tom) and a clutch Kris Boyd interception (allowed by a safety over the top so #2 could attack the route) were the key plays that turned the tide and seemed to inject the defense with some confidence that USC wasn't going to fool anybody. What they're seeing is really all there is. Just do your job and attack the football. 

The Trojans wouldn't score another point all game as the Texas defense largely dominated. Daniels went 18 of 30 for 194 yards an interception and was sacked three times over the last three quarters. The Trojans also had four three and outs. More telling, they went from a sizzling 83.3% (5 of 6) 3rd down conversion rate in Q1 to a horrendous 9.1% (1 of 11) on 3rd and 4th down over the last three quarters. Orlando dialed it in and the Texas defense exhibited good control over the USC freshman signal caller and his talented WR corps (true freshman WR Amon-Ra St Brown is excellent).

The Trojan running game was particularly hapless. With the Texas DL dominating and Gary Johnson taking gaps on run blitzes like smoke through a keyhole, the Longhorns held the standard Trojan rushing game to these runs in order: 23, 1, 0, 3, 2, 6, 0, -2, -6, 2, -2, -3, -3. You can see what happened after that 6 yard run on Run #6. That's six standard runs for -14 yards. This doesn't include Daniels' three sacks. Whoa! 

In total, thirteen standard runs gained twenty one yards, but more telling is that in terms of run efficiency, the Trojans had only three "effective" runs in 13 attempts and were utterly hapless once the Texas front dialed in and settled down. Five of thirteen Trojan runs yielded negative yardage, ten of thirteen yielded two yards or less. Tee Martin will be criticized in postgame for not running more and putting the game on the arm of a freshman, but more runs down the stretch would have just yielded more 2nd and 12s. USC certainly lacks diversity in its run game, but if you watch the film, the USC OL is straight up getting whipped. 

My pregame key to the game was dominance from the run stoppers in the Texas front and not allowing Daniels single read shots downfield. Texas scored an A+ on the first measure, and a B- on the second. Beats what we saw against Tulsa and Maryland. 

DL

They started to get heat on Daniels when we forced JT to hold on to the ball a bit longer. Daniels lacks of foot speed also helped our cause. Their primary contribution was dominating the Trojan OL in the running game with honest or light numbers - as they did last year in Los Angeles. Big Chris Nelson is a negligible pass rusher who probably doesn't need to see more than 25-30 snaps against several Big 12 opponents, but he was terrific inside against the run. The Truffle Shuffle belly rub celebration is also solid. 

Omenihu really got after it as the USC offense became more predictable, with Omenihu scoring a strip sack. I challenged #90 before the game to play inside the tackles and hold up against the run and he exceeded expectations. That dirty work won't be noticed on the stat sheet, but NFL scouts worth a damn will take note. Hager had some great sprints into the backfield and delivered two hard shots on Daniels as he released the ball, but he doesn't always show instinctive play. Once again, I really liked what I saw from TQ Graham but he was shaken up a bit. Roach went down early and McCulloch played VERY solidly in his stead. I credit this unit with big-time effort. 

LB

Maybe Gary's best game as a Longhorn (4 tackles for loss, several hard hits) where the decisive run stunts and pursuit to the sideline played well to his 4.5 speed. Gary is a different creature when he knows where's he going. When confronted with misdirection, he's a pretty mediocre football player. I'd like to see even more decisiveness on his freelance calls where it's not clear if he's blitzing or covering - he got caught in no-man's land a couple of times. Either commit to rushing the QB or get a drop. Hanging out at the LOS with a non-running QB has zero benefit. 

Wheeler scooped and scored with a mummy sprint on the Caden Sterns superman block and made some solid tackles. He doesn't really get off blocks, but fortunately the DL did a lot of the dirty work in front of him so he could clean up. 

DB

I thought the Texas cornerbacks played an exceptional game against a very talented Trojan receiving corps. Kris Boyd sparkled and his interception was a very good play obscuring a half dozen more instances of lockdown coverage. Davante Davis showed out as well. Both Boyd and Davis are perfect man under/cover me over the top corners. Given our talent and depth at safety, it would make sense to cover them up more and give them a chance to really attack intermediate routes. 

Caden Sterns is a straight baller. Unreal. Some guys are just born to play football. He's one of them. The highest football IQ on our defense belongs to a true freshman. BJ Foster's physicality (the targeting calls on both Gustin and Foster are puzzling to all 1990s and earlier football players who consider those plays just good hits, but I understand you play the game under the rules as they are) is absolutely tremendous for a guy who was really primarily a high school RB. Chris Brown played some good snaps subbing in for Foster, including a sack on his first play. 

Brandon Jones played some balls in the air quite poorly and lost angles deep, but I'll offer that on rewatch the Trojan wide outs can cover some serious ground and Daniels has legit arm talent. Brandon's physical tackle on the USC 4th and 1 run was arguably the play of the game. PJ Locke struggled, but he had a great tipped pass play. Thompson blew a tackle on the Carr TD run and lost his technique a couple of times, but it's clear we're trying to get him repped up and ready for Big 12 play. This unit turned in three quarters of very good play. 

Special Teams

We have a kicker. Cameron Dicker was a cold-blooded 3 for 3, including a pair of 46 yarders. To do it under the lights on national television before 103,000+ bodes well for his future and speaks to his tough mental state. If we can get reliable place kicking, it could be the difference in two games this year. 

Unfortunately, we do not have a punter. Yet. And that could be the difference in two games this year. Buj rushes the punts where he has no pressure and he holds on to punts where the heat is on. In his defense, our punt protection is absolutely awful and it's not clear to me that Wheeler or Beck understand their protector roles or if the guys upfront understand that they're not allowed to let defenders cross their face. If this isn't addressed, I can guarantee a TCU blocked punt or a long TCU punt return (overcompensation on holding blocks too long) next week. USC has a strong kick return game and the coverage teams did their jobs.

Overall

Todd Orlando will give straightforward offenses who "do what they gonna do" a lot of headaches. USC's offense lends itself to certainty and that helps our personnel adjust and Orlando's scheming. But be certain about this: Sonny Cumbie isn't Tee Martin and Gary Patterson ain't Clay Helton. Frankly, I'm not sure what can be taken from this game and translated to next week against TCU. They will game plan specifically to attack our known weaknesses with a powerful dual threat QB with a big arm (and questionable accuracy), a misdirection nightmare of offensive personnel (Reagor, Turpin) and a stout coterie of RBs. TCU is going to game plan us. "Let's just run our stuff" isn't in TCU's DNA. Certainly not against Texas.

Enjoy this win and the confidence that this defensive performance should imbue, but know that, aside from some key miscues, TCU's offense beat Ohio State's ass (500+ yards, 6.8 yards per play) for most of that game. Texas will need every member of another 103,500+ crowd and all of the advantages of home to help this defense. They'll also need to show some growth against an offensive approach that has to date been confounding to our current coaching regime and personnel.

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