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

Jeff Howe: Texas alive for Big 12 title after blasting Iowa State, 24-10

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AUSTIN, Texas — An injury to Sam Ehlinger didn’t phase Texas on a night when the defense delivered a tremendous performance. The Longhorns stymied Iowa State and the offense did their part as No. 15 Texas scored a convincing 24-10 win over No. 16 Iowa State on Saturday night at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The win means all Texas (8-3 overall, 6-2 in the Big 12) has to do is beat Kansas next Friday to earn a trip to the Dr. Pepper Big 12 Football Championship on Dec. 1 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The victory also assures the Longhorns of the program’s first eight-win regular season since 2013 with a chance to win nine regular-season games for the first time since 2009 next week.

A 17-3 halftime lead didn’t seem like a tremendous advantage considering Shane Buechele was starting in Ehlinger’s place (shoulder injury) in the second half and Iowa State was due to get running back David Montgomery back from a Big 12-mandated first-half suspension for fighting. Montgomery ran six times for 19 yards on the first drive of the second half for the Cyclones following a Texas punt, but a couple of impressive plays by Caden Sterns and B.J. Foster and a false start penalty when Iowa State lined up to go for it on fourth-and-4 at the Texas 25 forced the Cyclones to settle for a field goal.

It wound up being a huge stop for the defense as Connor Assalley missed his 48-yard try. The Longhorns took the ball and after a stretch in the second quarter where the two squads seemed to trade missed opportunities and momentum swings, the Longhorns effectively slammed the door shut as Buechele engineered an 8-play, 69-yard touchdown. The touchdown, a 27-yard connection between Buechele and Lil'Jordan Humphrey, gave the Longhorns a 24-3 lead they would take into the fourth quarter.

The defense played the biggest role in helping Texas jump out to a halftime lead, 17-3. Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando went back to his roots of showing multiple looks, disguising things to make like difficult for Purdy, dialing up the pressure when he had to and calling signals for a defense displaying fanatical effort in getting to the football. When the Longhorns went into the locker room at intermission with the Cyclones recording only 116 yards of total offense (3.6 yards per play). Texas sacked Purdy three times over the first 30 minutes of action, hurried him three times and forced the first Iowa State turnover in a stretch of 12 quarters when safety Chris Brown intercepted Purdy early in the second quarter.

With Sam Ehlinger (12-for-15, 137 passing yards, 32 rushing yards, two touchdowns accounted for in the first half) at the controls, the offense wasted little time grabbing an early lead. The Longhorns turned the field position from an Iowa State punt into a 9-play, 80-yard touchdown drive (a series highlighted by two monster catches from Collin Johnson that totaled 48 yards) ending when Ehlinger called his own number and reached the end zone on a 7-yard touchdown.

Leading, 7-3, the offense began the second quarter backed up at their own 6-yard line when Ehlinger and Co. put together what might go down as the best drive of the Herman era to date. The offensive line set a physical, nasty tone on a 10-play, 94-yard march that included a pair of conversions on third down that summed up a night when the Longhorns played with as much energy and life as they have all season.

Elijah Rodriguez, Patrick Vahe and Calvin Anderson helped push the pile on a 20-yard catch and run by Humphrey that moved the sticks on third-and-6. The second third-down conversion came after Ehlinger, showing patience in the pocket, checked the ball down to a wide-open Keaontay Ingram in the flat as a block down the field from John Burt helped spring him for a 19-yard touchdown.

Even though the Longhorns scored only a total of three points on two ensuing possessions that ended in the red zone, a 14-point halftime lead was enough of a cushion to allow for the job to be finished. Texas will close out the regular season next Friday in Lawrence, Kan. against the Jayhawks (11 a.m., FS1).

Wescott Eberts: Texas stifles Iowa State for 24-10 victory on Senior Night

 

 

 

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(Bobby Burton) Snap Judgments: SOLID

What was the biggest difference in the game? For me, it was the start that the Horns got off to on both sides of the ball. A large part of that was play-calling on offense and simply the overall strategy on defense. Credit to the coaches. Texas’ second touchdown that pushed the Horns lead to 14-3 was a thing of beauty. On a third and medium, the Horns threw to the running back short of the sticks but he Tre Watson was so wide open he virtually walked in. On defense, Todd Orlando dialed up blitz after blitz, and tried to pressure freshman QB Brock Purdy. It worked. The Horns put real pressure on ISU all game long.

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Lil’Jordan Humphrey continues to play like a man possessed. He went beast mode on another third-down TD catch that gave the Horns a huge 21-point lead. Until Texas scored late in the third quarter, Iowa State truly held out some hope. But the importance of that drive was that it made ISU go away from David Montgomery in the run game.

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Part of the brilliance of Orlando’s defensive strategy in the first half was blitzing BJ Foster specifically at the back-up RB who was in for Montgomery. He was no match for Foster.

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The injury to Sam Ehlinger will be discussed all next week leading up to Kansas. You can’t fault Ehlinger there. It’s the type of player he is. In retrospect, he should have slid. But that was a bang, bang play close to the first down in the red zone.

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With the defense having so many graduating seniors, it was great to see a game where they truly dominated. Charles Omenihu and Gary Johnson had tremendous games. But every senior starter on defense contributed. One more guy who I thought played well against the run was Chris Nelson.

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Kris Boyd had a solid game even though he got beat once for a big play. Boyd had a couple of nice passes defended, including one that would have set up ISU in the red zone in the first half.

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The Texas run game wasn’t overwhelming tonight, but it was highly effective. Watson had just one big run up the gut. However, he and Keaontay Ingram churned out yards and helped make first downs.

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Anybody doubting the value of Watson to this team as a grad transfer needs to throw in the towel on that argument. Since his fumble against Maryland, Watson has not turned the ball over. Ball security isn’t always that easy. Just ask Daniel Young.

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Collin Johnson’s high-point catch helped Texas get started.

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I liked both Joseph Ossai and Ta’Quon Graham tonight. They both showed some things for the future.

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Texas tackled very well. In particular, Caden Sterns and BJ Foster really filled the outside running lanes well. So did Davante Davis a couple of times. The Texas secondary played well overall.

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Hats off to Shane Buechele. His TD throw to Humphrey gave Texas a second-half score that they desperately needed. Beuchele isn’t going to win many foot races, as witnessed by him coming up short on a third-down scramble, but he threw the ball really well. He only took one really bad sack. Ehlinger also took a bad sack.

**

It was a complete victory for the Horns. Now, Texas needs to hope Sam Ehlinger gets healthy on the short week. And the Horns need to come out truly focused against a Kansas team that is scoring points. Because of the what the Horns did tonight against the Cyclones, the game against Kansas is for a chance at the Big 12 championship. That’s a big change from just one year ago.

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Great piece on Jerrod Heard and his time at Texas.

Mike Blackwell: Here he comes…there he goes

Our seats were on the north end of DKR, about midway up, diagonal to the back northwest corner of the end zone. It was September of 2015, a night game, and my son Miles and I were thrilled with the view. He had just turned 12. Before this game against California, we had only been to blowouts, so he had never truly heard an electric DKR before. But this night was different; this was the night Jerrod Heard’s grandkids will hear about someday. Oh, and it will be quite a story.

Heard was the Texas quarterback, a freshman state champion from Denton with a big smile, a joyful countenance and jet packs in his shoes. He was a winner, a leader; he was Vince Young Lite. He threw or ran for 527 total yards that night, surpassing a record set by VY in the national championship game against another team from California. His coach, Charlie Strong, went to sleep with visions of championships later that night. He slept good, a good rest that comes to a coach who knows who is quarterback is going to be for the next four years. Funny how time alters dreams.

But, please, let’s return to those two seats in the northwest corner of the end zone. Please? The Longhorns trailed with less than two minutes remaining, no time outs, needing a touchdown and an extra point to tie the score. My son had never heard the din of 100,000 screaming football fans before; we stood and added to the scene as much as a father and son could. You know when someone says they wouldn’t want to be any place other than right here, right now? Well, that was us.

Later, I wrote about the experience in an Inside Texas column: “When we score a touchdown here,” I shouted, knowing full well we were going to score, “we’ve got to go for two! Let’s win it right now!” Miles leaned back. “Yeah! They can’t stop Heard!” Soon, we both saw a hole part in the line of scrimmage, through which Heard ran toward us. Right toward us. “Here he comes!” Miles shouted, and sure enough, here he came. I see him still today, in full-throttled sprint. Here he comes, Milesy. Here he comes.

He crossed the goal line and froze briefly, striking the defiant and victorious pose of someone who had just vanquished all of the enemy in the valley below. Swear to God, he looked right at us before his trailing teammates engulfed him in the glorious delirium of victory. Miles and I screamed and hugged all the way until the extra point fluttered just east of the right upright. And that was that.

Like Strong’s dreams, Heard’s career took a different path after that night. He struggled at quarterback and ultimately became a receiver. Recruited by Mack Brown, given the starting quarterback job by Strong, Heard will finish his career as a backup receiver for Tom Herman. Dreams change. Certainly Heard had different dreams when he checked into the dorm way back when. Some undoubtedly believe he didn’t live up to the hype. Some probably believe he underachieved.

Heard is not one of those. Instead of moping, or complaining, or tweeting, or getting lost in a sea of self-pity, Heard worked hard after it became clear that he wouldn’t be a quarterback. He learned a new position. He mentored those who took his place. He made those around him happy. He went to class. He showed up. He played for his brothers. He made his family proud.

On Saturday night, Heard will play for the last time at DKR. He may or may not think about the signature play of his career on Saturday, but my sweet son and I will always remember him frozen triumphantly in the back of the northwest end zone. Always. Here he comes. There he goes. Thanks, Jerrod.

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C-BOG: THE IDES OF LUBBOCK

Sorry there was no C-BOG last week. This A.P. Statistics class I’m teaching is kicking my Gary Patterson. Plus, it’s hard for me to write about Lubbock. I spent over twenty years there, living with the cold and the flat and the bleak and the excruciating narrow-mindedness as if it was all perfectly normal. I don’t regret my time in Lubbock practicing law. I worked hard. I made some money. I helped a lot of people. I taught a lot of Bible classes. I was in a band with some great musicians and friends. I met my wife, for crying out loud.

But looking back on it now, from the perspective of a math teacher living in the Hill Country, it seems like I walked around for two decades in a set of clothes that didn’t fit. I spent all my time looking into those curvy, weird, distorted funhouse mirrors that made it impossible to see an accurate reflection of myself. At any rate, the Horns managed to gut out a tough win on the South Plains. Unlike many clichés, this one is absolutely true: any win in Lubbock is a good win. That place has more weird, freaky mojo than a Voodoo priest singing a Muddy Waters song (“I got a black cat bone/ I got a mojo, too/ I got a John the Conqueror/ I’m gonna mess with you. … ‘Cos I’m the Hoochie Coochie man/ Everybody knows I’m here”). 

Many Longhorn dreams have been swallowed upover the years by preternaturally dark Saturday nights and the cheap carpet they call artificial turf in Clifford and Audrey B. Jones SBC/AT&T (or whomever their corporate whore de jour is) Stadium. My barber for twenty years, Maurice, is still pissed about Tech moving their annual conference game against Baylor to Jerryworld, the home of a $20 beer and a $50 parking spot. 

Maybe Lubbockites feel all highfalutin (a word actually in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, by the way) about driving to the massive tourist destination of Irving, Texas for the privilege of being laughably overcharged for concessions by the worst General Manager in the history of the NFL (“Just like them big-city peoples!”).  Maybe it’s the idea of having Tech grads in the DFW zip codes being able to watch the Red Raider football players from close enough range that they could actually catch a venereal disease.

Maybe this whole enterprise sounded better in theory when Baylor was ranked, you know, before they won exactly one game in an entire season and had football players running a train on drunk volleyball players. Not Maurice the Barber. He understood two things the Tech Athletic Department will never comprehend: 1) if you have arguably the best homefield advantage in the conference, you don’t give that up without major concessions in return, and 2) most Tech fans are older, grouchier, and more sedentary than you believe them to be. 

There are young Texas Tech fans, it’s true, but once you peel away their outside like a banana, they’re actually bitchy, crotchety senior citizens encased in young people skin, like a reverse Tom Cruise wearing a rubber mask in the Mission: Impossible films. Tech people don’t want to travel, and they especially don't want to drive all the way to freaking Irving, the Muleshoe of the Metroplex, to watch a game that used to be less than 20 minutes from their house, even if they live on the South Loop.

Ever the principled activist, Maurice actually gave up the season tickets he had owned since before Spike Dykes was Tech’s head coach, all to protest Texas Tech moving the Baylor game to a neutral site and having the unmitigated gall to do it without asking his permission first. I miss you, Maurice, you crazy bastard.

Anyway, the Horns won in Lubbock, despite giving up over 400 passing yards to Jett Duffy, the Tech quarterback with the bad porn star name who wasn’t supposed to be a good passer.  You have all the analysis: Ehlinger played like a champ. His pass accuracy has blossomed this season, almost to Colt McCoy, Jr. levels. When we don’t turn the ball over, we can move the ball efficiently even with a few of our best offensive people injured. And we don’t turn the ball over.

The defense, unfortunately, is another matter. Here’s a tip, Coach Orlando: If your scheme needs Poona and Malik to work, then your defense doesn’t work. I can’t add a lot to the existing analysis of Iowa State, except to note the Cyclones have the lowest asshole/fan ratio in the entire conference. And it’s not even close. Iowa Stateians are jarringly nice, pleasant people, and will no doubt remain so even after acquiring a real coach in winner Matt Campbell, national ranking, and genuine threat to the rest of the conference. The drunk, cursing Cyclone fan embarrassing his friends by completely misconstruing the rules of defensive pass interference is as rare as a PhD in Idalou.

Which is exactly as rare as our conference championship chances will be if we don’t take care of business tonight on Senior Night. Buckle up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, football fans of all ages. It’s gonna be a nailbiter. Hook ‘em.

A 1986 graduate of the University of Texas, Jeff Conner has held many jobs in his life: husband, brother, uncle, son, oil field roustabout, short-order cook, sandblaster, irrigation pipe mover, musician, retail assistant manager, attorney-at-law, public school teacher, preacher, cartoonist, and writer. While he does have a hot, young wife, Conner is neither as clever nor as good-looking as he believes himself to be. Jeff is currently teaching Algebra 2 and A.P. Statistics at Legacy Early College High School in Taylor, Texas.Conner’s regularly submitted commentary appears in InsideTexas.com and Inside Texas Magazine. The opinions presented do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inside Texas editorial staff.

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(Ian Boyd) 5 Quick thoughts: Semifinal win on senior night

Things almost got interesting there at the end...again, but then Joseph Ossai won to the QB on a stunt and knocked the ball out for his senior teammate Charles Omenihu to recover and that was that. No more late game shenanigans and hiccups this week as the Longhorns finally put their opponent down and held them there until the clock ran 00:00. Obviously Oklahoma State beat West Virginia earlier today, making this game truly a semifinal for the Big 12 title...assuming Texas gets by Kansas next week whom Oklahoma made to look somewhat dangerous tonight. All that remains is for the remaining chips to fall into place for the B12 title game, with the Oklahoma-West Virginia serving as the other de-facto semifinal. Exciting day for the Longhorns but with a few final steps remaining.

Quick thought no. 1: Huge win for the program

A good indicator that "Texas is back" is when an opposing team that has showed well in the Big 12 comes to Austin for a big game with league title implications and the Longhorns just gore them to the delight of the home crowd. That game was everything you wanted for the program. The atmosphere was excellent, the Longhorns looked much bigger and faster than their opponent (unless Hakeem Butler was involved) with skill players breaking tackles and Texas owning the trenches, and the Cyclones looked overwhelmed early and often.

Texas out-gained the Cyclones 405 yards to 210 despite spending most of the second half running clock and avoiding mistakes. They out rushed Iowa State 179-62 and withstood the "surge" of David Montgomery's arrival to the field, holding the RB to 33 yards on 10 carries. The dangerous runner was last seen buried under burnt orange jerseys when Matt Campbell called a shovel pass they'd already shown on a third and long and Charles Omenihu hit him immediately after the catch.

Amongst numerous other issues, it was obvious that the atmosphere got to Brock "pump fake" Purdy who unraveled under the pressures much like J.T. Daniels and Shawn Robinson did in big Longhorn home victories from earlier in the season. Iowa State's "we're going to run the ball to set up the run" strategy played right into Todd Orlando's comfort zone and he had his charged ready to dominate with a great gameplan.

The offensive gameplan was also terrific. Texas had a few good QB runs called for Sam Ehlinger that torched Iowa State on the initial drive, including the QB GT counter play I predicted would yield returns in this game earlier in the week. They also had a strategy for clearing up the Iowa State defensive looks, regularly flexing Andrew Beck out wide before the snap and then adjusting as needed if the Cyclones showed a pass-stopping look that Texas didn't like. Between that and a day when the OL obviously brought their lunch pails and were driving Iowa State off the ball, Texas was working up and down the field in the first half. They knew the Cyclones were going to make them work their way down the field and the first half drives went:

9 plays, 45 yards, touchdown
5 plays, 8 yards, punt
10 plays, 94 yards, touchdown
7 plays, 26 yards, missed FG
11 plays, 75 yards, touchdown

The game felt so in hand to Herman that he was seen on camera denying Ehlinger a chance to get back into the game in the third quarter. Statement victory.

Quick thought no. 2: Big showing by the freshmen on senior night

Brandon Jones wasn't able to go and so Texas rolled with true freshmen Caden Sterns and B.J. Foster at the safety spots. They slid Foster in at free safety and bumped Sterns over to strong safety, where they used him regularly in the "combover" defenses that drop the strong safety down near the box to help in the run game. They also brought Foster some on the boundary blitzes that regularly sent DeShon Elliott firing off the edge back in 2017.

The two combined for 10 tackles, two sacks, and three TFL on the day while wreaking havoc on Iowa State's intention to own the middle of the field with size and physicality. That was a huge performance and win from a tandem that had the tall order of controlling the middle of the chessboard against a really hot offense as true freshmen. We mentioned earlier that Joe Ossai sealed the game with a good rush and strip of Kyle Kempt after Brock Purdy was pulled. Keaontay Ingram also had a strong game, regularly getting targeted on check downs against Iowa State's drop eight coverages and producing five catches for 40 yards and a score when the Cyclones lost him on the flat.

The future is bright for these guys, Texas really landed some impact players in that class.

Quick thought no. 3: Hat tip to the seniors

Texas' plan for covering Hakeem Butler was often to attack Brock Purdy with pressures. They shaded help his way at times but they also trusted the senior tandem of Kris Boyd and Davante Davis to play a lot of man coverage on Butler and the other Cyclone wideouts. Each had a pass break-up and each also nearly had a pick, including a near pick-6 for Davis that I bet he wishes he had back, and Butler managed a relatively quiet 99 yards on six catches for the day. It was plain that Butler was a problem but most of the time Iowa State couldn't make anything of it because Purdy was running for his life.

It's obvious that the Texas coaches drilled carefully into the players the importance of not falling for the pump fakes from Purdy and they took away his favorite improv weapon throughout the night while landing big hit after big hit. Anthony Wheeler clearly knew where the ball was going early in the game and was playing without hesitation while Gary Johnson was all over the field and hounding Purdy.

One of the biggest themes to the game was that Iowa State's young OL and QB were not ready to handle the Texas DL or pressure packages and the senior trio of Charles Omenihu, Breckyn Hager, and Chris Nelson (as well as their substitutes) feasted all night long. That was pretty much it for the game, Iowa State couldn't get much going and regularly played double TE sets with a WR motioning in to serve as an extra blocker while trying to cover up the Texas DL well enough to find running room.

Grad transfer senior Tre Watson had a nice showing as well in his final home game as a Longhorn. He turned 14 carries into 93 yards and had one of the longer runs of the year with a 39 yard scamper down main street. They should have rewarded him with the end of game carries instead of turning to Danny Young, as it turned out, he might have had a 100 yard day as a result. Collin Johnson had a great start to the day but ultimately Lil'Jordan Humphrey continued his run as the most dominant player on the team, seven catches for 86 yards and a score with a considerable amount of those 86 yards accumulated after the catch when he was running through Iowa State's defenders.

Finally a hat tip to Shane Buechele, who might be graduating and may have just played his last game at DKR. Buechele managed a good drive early in the third quarter that culminated in the Humphrey score. Texas had a double TE set out there for the third and two play and ran play-action with Cade Brewer releasing up the seam as Buechele's first read and then Humphrey running a comeback outside as the second read. Buechele regularly got the ball out on time, ran the ball a few times to great effect, and protected the precious lead. 10 for 10 passing from Shane with a TD pass, a few game efforts helping to push the pile, and also falling on a fumble that could have changed the game. Slow clap for Shane.

Quick thought no. 4: Texas has the "most physical team in the B12" title belt

There's only so many teams in this league that even try to define themselves by running the ball, playing great and physical defense, and just pounding their opponents over the course of the game. Of those teams, Texas is the undisputed champ now that they have just dispatched the Cyclones with ease. It's not just that Texas looks to build off the tight zone run game and play defense either. They were beating up Iowa State with their perimeter blocking, their destruction of perimeter blocks, their yards after contact, and in every other phase of the game. Iowa State couldn't match up.

Brock Purdy was really worked up on the sideline after he limped out of the game and Matt Campbell took a moment to talk to him and calm him down. When the pump fake wasn't yielding grass for him to exploit and the angles he's used to finding were being erased by the speed of Gary Johnson or B.J. Foster, he started to panic. You could see him looking down at the pass rush and then missing throws down the field. His final line of 10-23 passing for 130 yards and an INT barely speaks to the extent that Texas flustered him and the Iowa State offense in the trenches.

From here, any remaining league games will take place against teams that are not in good shape to try and tackle Lil'Jordan Humphrey short of the marker, to withstand Texas' forward push from Sam Cosmi and Andrew Beck on the edge, or to pick up blitzes in big moments.

Quick thought no. 5: Ehlinger and final steps to a B12 title

First of all, Texas is in the B12 title if...

A) they win next week against Kansas or 
B) They lose but Oklahoma and Iowa State both win, which would create a three-way tie for second place in which Texas would emerge victorious.

Obviously all that matters is beating Kansas, Texas shouldn't worry about anything else. I think the best outcome for Texas would be a rematch with West Virginia. Oklahoma's defense is on the verge of complete and total collapse but their offense is more potent than the West Virginia unit and Texas already took a big, targeted shot from the Mountaineers and I'm not sure how many more bullets Dana Holgorsen will have in the gun.

None of this particularly matters if Texas doesn't have pre-helmet to the right side Sam Ehlinger ready to go. Sam was maintaining his earlier, torrid pace at 12-15 passing for 137 yards at 9.1 ypa with a passing TD and then also six carries for 50 yards and a TD rushing. It's not unlikely that he might have had another 200-100 day had he been able to finish the game. The latest word is that Ehlinger bruised the previously injured shoulder, that doesn't sound too bad and he might get as many as two weeks off to heal but that'll be the main story from here on out. If they have the Ehlinger that was playing before that hit, you have to like the chances of Breckyn Hager getting a haircut in 2018.

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(Chip Brown) Good, Bad, Ugly from Longhorns 24-10 win vs. No. 16 Iowa State

AUSTIN, Texas — In the biggest game in Longhorn Network history, Todd Orlando brought the heat (finally!). And so did sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger, and ultimately his backup, Shane Buechele. After Saturday night's 24-10 win over Iowa State, the “big picture” Tom Herman vowed never to talk about again is back!! If the Longhorns (8-3, 6-2 Big 12) win at Kansas next week, they’re in the Big 12 title game at Jerryworld at 11 am CT on Dec. 1 against the winner of next week’s Oklahoma-West Virginia game in Morgantown.

The Sooners won a shootout with KU in Norman 55-40 after giving up 252 yards rushing to Jayhawks’ running back Pooka Williams. The Longhorns watched Oklahoma State finish off a 45-41 upset of No. 9 West Virginia on UT’s video board at the end of warming up for Iowa State. Armed with the knowledge they once again controlled their own destiny to reach the Big 12 title game, the Longhorns trotted out 26 seniors on senior night and then trotted all over Iowa State in a 24-10 victory.

Ehlinger, who was 12-of-15 passing for 137 yards and a touchdown with eight carries for 32 yards and a 4-yard TD run, was listed as “questionable” to return in the second half after taking hard hit on his previously injured throwing shoulder right before halftime. No problem. Buechele was 10-of-10 passing for 89 yards in relief of Ehlinger, including a 27-yard TD pass to Lil'Jordan Humphrey that put Texas up 24-3 and put Humphrey over 1,000 yards receiving for the season.

Most importantly, Orlando got back to bringing the heat and attacking with all kinds of blitzes and pressures instead of rushing three and dropping eight. The Longhorns had three sacks in the first half (by Anthony Wheeler, Gary Johnson and Breckyn Hager) as well as a layout interception by Chris Brown of previously unbeaten Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy. As always, here’s the GOOD, BAD and UGLY from Texas’ 24-10 win over Iowa State Saturday night …

THE GOOD

Give a game ball to Orlando and his defense. By attacking the Iowa State offense with pressure from the beginning of the game, the Longhorns’ D got into the attack mindset it showed all of last season. Despite playing without starting safety Brandon Jones (ankle), Texas held ISU to 210 total yards, including 62 yards rushing (2.1 yards per carry), and 5 of 15 on third down (33 percent) — numbers reminiscent of last season.

The Horns posted six sacks — by Gary Johnson, B.J. Foster, Caden Sterns, Anthony Wheeler and Breckyn Hager — with the final sack coming from Joseph Ossai with 1:09 left that caused ISU QB Kyle Kempt to fumble, recovered by Charles Omenihu. Welcome back Orlando! And the Texas defense! Lil'Jordan Humphrey had six catches for 79 yards, including a 27-yard, catch-and-run touchdown in the third quarter that put him over 1,000 yards receiving for the season. Humphrey now has 69 catches for 1,026 yards for the year.

TEXAS GOES UP 24-3 AND LJ GOES OVER 1,000 YARDS: Shane Buechele led an eight-play, 69-yard drive that took 3:49 off the clock and never faced third down until third-and-2 from the ISU 27. That’s when Buechele found Humphrey on a pass at the 10, and Humphrey broke a tackle and dove into the end zone. The touchdown put Texas up 24-3 with :36 left in the third quarter and also put Humphrey over 1,000 yards receiving for the season (1,026). Iowa State had first down at the UT 31 on ISU’s first drive of the third quarter, but Caden Sterns stuffed David Montgomery for no gain, followed by B.J. Foster stuffing Johnnie Lang for a gain of 1, followed by Malcolm Roach holding Montgomery to a 5-yard gain on swing pass on third-and-9.

The Cyclones lined up to go for it on fourth-and-4 but were called for a false start as Texas showed blitz. On fourth-and-9 from the Texas 30, ISU’s normally reliable kicker Connor Assalley missed from 48 yards, doinking it off the left upright with 4:25 left in the third quarter. After UT’s opening drive of the second half stalled, Ryan Bujcevski looked like Michael Dickson on a 44-yard punt that bounced and backed up, allowing P.J. Locke to down the ball at the ISU 7.

TEXAS GOES UP 17-3 BEFORE HALFTIME: Cameron Dicker hit a 22-yard field goal with :02 left in the half, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took 3:13 off the clock and included a 39-yard run by Tre Watson. The drive stalled after Patrick Vahe whiffed on a block of ISU’s Lawrence White, who sacked Ehlinger for an 11-yard loss on first down from the ISU 14. Ehlinger ran for 13 yards on third-and-14 and took huge hit on his previously injured right shoulder, causing a fumble that was recovered by Chris Brown, who also had a first-half interception.

Ehlinger had all day to throw it on third-and-5 from the ISU 22 with :45 left in the half. But instead of getting greedy, and forcing a pass into the end zone, he spotted Devin Duvernay coming back to him for an 8-yard completion to the ISU 14. Tre Watson ran for 5 yards on third-and-1 from the UT 29 and followed that up with a 39-yard run to the ISU 27 with 1:37 left in the half. Breckyn Hager posted Texas’ third sack of Purdy in the game - for an 8-yard loss - with just less than four minutes left in the second quarter. That brought up third-and-18, and a jail-break blitz from Texas that led to an incomplete pass from Purdy (and an ISU holding penalty that was declined), forcing a punt with 3:15 left in the half.

TURNOVER - CHRIS BROWN INTERCEPTS PURDY: Facing third-and-16 from the Iowa State 11 yard line, Purdy’s pass glanced off the hands of Matthew Eaton, and Chris Brown laid out for the deflection, intercepting the ball at the Iowa State 35 yard line with 9:01 left in the second quarter and the Horns holding a 14-3 lead. Purdy had 13 TDs, 2 INTs in his 5 starts for ISU (all wins) coming into the Texas game.

TEXAS GOES UP 14-3 AFTER 94-YARD DRIVE: Ehlinger missed a wide-open Devin Duvernay on a deep post on first down from the UT 6 but converted third-and-6 with a perfect, 20-yard strike to Humphrey. Ehlinger then ran for 9 yards, followed by three carries from Keaontay Ingram for 36 yards, including a 20-yarder. On third-and-4 from the ISU 19, Ehlinger looked off the defense before floating the ball to a wide-open Ingram in the flat for a 19-yard, catch-and-run touchdown with 9:53 left in the second quarter, putting UT up 14-3 - capping a 10-play, 94-yard drive that took 5:07 off the clock.

Kris Boyd broke up a beautifully thrown deep ball from Purdy to Matthew Eaton at the Texas 3 in the final minute of the first quarter on second-and-10 from the UT 41. On third-and-10, Gary Johnson pressured Purdy into a poor throw/incompletion, forcing a punt on the final play of the first quarter. A 28-yard pass from Purdy to Hakeem Butler against Kris Boyd’s coverage with 1:28 left in the first quarter was initially ruled a catch. But upon further review, the call was reversed because Butler’s left toe landed out of bounds. Caden Sterns knifed through the line and sacked Purdy for a 3-yard loss on first down from the UT 23 midway through the first quarter, which ultimately led to a 40-yard field goal attempt (good) with 4:47 left in the first quarter.

TEXAS GOES UP 7-0 AFTER 9-PLAY, 80-YARD, OPENING DRIVE: Ehlinger showed everyone the QB run game is how you beat ISU’s 3-8 “cloud” defense, when he made the unblocked defender miss, and raced into the end zone from 7 yards out with 8:50 left in the first quarter. Ehlinger converted one third down on the drive - with a 13-yard completion to Collin Johnson on a crossing route on third-and-6 to the ISU 19.

Tre Watson’s first carry of the game went for 9 yards, and UT’s second offensive play was a 35-yard completion from Ehlinger to Collin Johnson to the ISU 36. Anthony Wheeler chased down a scrambling Purdy on third-and-9 for a 2-yard sack on Iowa State’s first possession, forcing a punt.

THE BAD

Daniel Young fumbled with 1:26 left, and it was recovered by Iowa State at the ISU 48. Cameron Dicker missed a 28-yard field goal attempt wide right from the right hash (he couldn't bend it back inside the right upright quickly enough). David Montgomery, fresh from his first-half suspension (for throwing a punch in last week’s game against Baylor), ran for 5 yards on third-and-1 on ISU’s first drive of the second half. That play was followed by a 37-yard completion down the right sideline from Purdy to Butler against decent coverage from Kris Boyd. (The drive ended in a missed 48-yard FG.)

Texas opened the second half with five straight running plays to Keaontay Ingram and converted second-and-12 with a 14-yard pass from Buechele to Humphrey. But the drive stalled after a 10-yard sack of Buechele. After going 12-of-15 passing with a touchdown and running eight times for 32 yards and another score, Ehlinger didn’t start the second half. Ehlinger was listed as “questionable” to return by UT after taking a hard shot on his previously injured throwing shoulder at the end of a 13-yard run just before Cameron Dicker’s 22-yard field goal with :02 left in the half.

The Longhorns failed to cash in on Chris Brown's interception of Purdy at the ISU 35 as K Cameron Dicker missed wide right (barely) on a 28-yard attempt from right hash with 5:53 left in the second quarter. After Hakeem Butler had a 28-yard completion reversed upon review, Butler beat Davante Davis for a 25-yard completion to the ISU 48, converting third-and-10. Facing third-and-6 from the Texas 45, Ehlinger suffered a 7-yard sack on a blitz by ISU with less than two minutes left in the first quarter, forcing a 47-yard punt by Ryan Bujcevski.

After Texas forced a punt on ISU’s first possession, the Horns allowed a 32-yard kick return and then allowed a pass completion of 13 yards and a Johnnie Lang run of 14 yards to help get the Cyclones get in field-goal range for Connor Assalley, who booted a 40-yarder to cut Texas’ lead to 7-3 with 4:47 left in the first quarter. Kene Nwangwu muffed a kickoff at the ISU 1 after UT’s first touchdown, picked it up and still ran it back for 32 yards to the Iowa State converted its first third down (third-and-5) on a pass from Purdy to Hakeem Butler for 8 yards vs Davante Davis’ coverage.

THE UGLY

The hit Ehlinger took on his previously injured throwing shoulder right before halftime. … Daniel Young fumbling with 1:26 left in the game, recovered by ISU.

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(Scipio Tex) Texas-Iowa State Post-Mortem: Defense

What a difference a week makes. The best defensive performance of the year couldn't have come at a better time.

A Longhorn defense victimized for 500+ yards, over 38 points per game, and a ridiculous opponent 3rd down 60% opponent conversion rate for three straight weeks saw Todd Orlando scrap his trademark 3-2-6 defense for a base 4-2-5 look on normal downs that played 6-7 defenders in the box, blitzed an interior LB at least half of the time, and instructed the four man Texas DL to whip the ISU OL at the point of attack rather than play 3 man outnumbered slant games. Texas got more muscle up front, a lot more pass rush and a lot more certainty about run fits. A mix of McCulloch (who logged 90% of his snaps at the LOS), Nelson, Roach, Graham, Omenihu and Hager drew the lion's share of snaps and they abused a vulnerable Cyclone OL for four quarters. Behind them, with one LB usually blitzing a gap, it's pretty clear that the other LB was tasked with clean-up between the tackles while the safeties handled the exterior. Which meant - what's in front of them. No run fits from a freshman safety 12 yards off of the ball on the other side of formation to be found. 

In this case, simple meant stout. And fundamentals cleaned up nicely with certainty. 

In the secondary, Texas played heavy doses of man coverage underneath with a safety deep tasked with preventing Hakeem Butler from running anything down the deep middle. On 3rd down, Texas brought immediate pressure with Gary Johnson as a closing speed spy to clean up the deteriorating pocket. 

The simplest, most effective game plan of the year matched ISU personnel and every game situation beautifully. Was some of it match-up and a lack of versatility in the ISU passing game? Maybe. But the end result was a confident Texas defense that played fast, hard and physically dominated the Cyclones for four quarters. 
Cyclones passers (Locke knocked Purdy out late) were a combined 13 of 29 for 148 yards and an interception
No Cyclone runner exceeded 33 yards and ISU finished with 62 yards rushing
ISU totaled 210 yards
Texas totaled six sacks - by six different defenders
Texas forced two fumbles (one recovered by ISU) and an interception
An ISU offense averaging over 34 points per game under Purdy was held to 10 points. Including a late game garbage touchdown after a long punt return and a penalty

DL

Omenihu was getting off the ball like a track star on clear passing downs and he was extremely disruptive against the running game. ISU just couldn't handle him, whether lined up at 4, 5 or 9. I counted 4 clear holds on him that didn't get called, but Omenihu kept after it. A healthy Malcolm Roach playing at his proper position has been a tremendous boon. Good run stopper, can play multiple positions on the DL and can even log good snaps at NT when needed. Nelson was solid in the middle and we're now aggressively situationally subbing for him on passing downs. Hager was on a limited snap count but had a DL's dream - the unblocked sack.

These guys won't really show up in the box score in a way of reflective of their game impact, but they won the game up front. I though they benefitted tremendously from numbers and not running as many slants, which allowed them to win at the point of attack and rally to the ball rather than run themselves out of plays. ISU abandoned a fair amount of their RPO and QB run game playbook simply because Campbell saw pretty early that these were going to be negative plays. 

LB

That's the Gary Johnson I remember from the second half of last year. We blitzed him or Wheeler quite a bit on run downs to create disruption (and guarantee a filled gap) and then used #33 as a spy on Purdy with instructions to close late when the pocket broke. He had three QB hits, a sack and was generally a terror all over the field. Tremendous energy night from the senior. Wheeler had a tough moment or two (ISU targeted him on a 23 yard run on 3rd and 1 in the 1st half when he filled the wrong gap on an interior run) but he really benefitted from a narrower menu of options and job requirements. We either blitzed him or gave him some defined space that he was responsible for, which beats giving him open-ended decisions and varying responsibilities from the guard's outside shoulder to the sideline. 

Good physicality from McCulloch and he had a nice tipped ball to break up a RPO. Flash play from young Joe Ossai late with the strip sack. 

DB 

The nickel on regular downs seemed to benefit assignment clarity. Parking a safety deep and telling him "no one runs past you", then manning up across the board while the other safety creates mischief elsewhere on 80% of other downs meant simplicity and that seemed to help play speed. The lack of complexity in ISUs base passing game with a freshman at the helm in front of a massive hostile crowd certainly helped, but this unit was dialed in.

Kris Boyd played a very good game. Davante Davis was very solid and silenced ISU's secondary receivers. PJ Locke played one of his better games in recent memory. Big hits, solid in coverage. Chris Brown made the play on the gift INT and Caden Sterns lost his freshman run-fill paralysis, filling the alley with abandon for several TFLs on some ISU plays that bounced wide late. 

BJ Foster's closing speed and effort level on his sack made me laugh out loud. He goes from taking on an ISU OT to chasing down a sprinting Purdy and accelerating into cutting off his escape lane from a breakdown position like he was shot from a cannon. Ridiculous.

Pass rush solves a lot of secondary issues, but I just didn't see any busts. 

Final

There's nothing like football that better illustrates the idea of virtuous circles. The play of the Texas defense as a case study in it. You do a couple of things better and suddenly the trickle down benefits start to multiply.

I lost some faith in this defense because I thought we were heading down the wrong road matching play calls with the opposing OC, an over-reliance on what worked best with last year's personnel, and "looks" were coming at the expense of soundness, fundamentals, clarity and opponent specific game planning. But this opponent, this game plan, this performance and execution from the Longhorn D is exactly what they needed to build confidence, get player buy-in, and move away from the idea that Texas lacks the personnel (yes, even with injuries) to play good, much less competent, defense. 

When Texas plays with certainty, the Longhorns look like a different unit. A good one. Against the right match-ups, a dominant one. 

8-3. Time to go grab a spot in the Big 12 title game.

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15 minutes ago, satyanash said:

(Chip Brown) Good, Bad, Ugly from Longhorns 24-10 win vs. No. 16 Iowa State

 

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AUSTIN, Texas — In the biggest game in Longhorn Network history, Todd Orlando brought the heat (finally!). And so did sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger, and ultimately his backup, Shane Buechele. After Saturday night's 24-10 win over Iowa State, the “big picture” Tom Herman vowed never to talk about again is back!! If the Longhorns (8-3, 6-2 Big 12) win at Kansas next week, they’re in the Big 12 title game at Jerryworld at 11 am CT on Dec. 1 against the winner of next week’s Oklahoma-West Virginia game in Morgantown.

The Sooners won a shootout with KU in Norman 55-40 after giving up 252 yards rushing to Jayhawks’ running back Pooka Williams. The Longhorns watched Oklahoma State finish off a 45-41 upset of No. 9 West Virginia on UT’s video board at the end of warming up for Iowa State. Armed with the knowledge they once again controlled their own destiny to reach the Big 12 title game, the Longhorns trotted out 26 seniors on senior night and then trotted all over Iowa State in a 24-10 victory.

Ehlinger, who was 12-of-15 passing for 137 yards and a touchdown with eight carries for 32 yards and a 4-yard TD run, was listed as “questionable” to return in the second half after taking hard hit on his previously injured throwing shoulder right before halftime. No problem. Buechele was 10-of-10 passing for 89 yards in relief of Ehlinger, including a 27-yard TD pass to Lil'Jordan Humphrey that put Texas up 24-3 and put Humphrey over 1,000 yards receiving for the season.

Most importantly, Orlando got back to bringing the heat and attacking with all kinds of blitzes and pressures instead of rushing three and dropping eight. The Longhorns had three sacks in the first half (by Anthony Wheeler, Gary Johnson and Breckyn Hager) as well as a layout interception by Chris Brown of previously unbeaten Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy. As always, here’s the GOOD, BAD and UGLY from Texas’ 24-10 win over Iowa State Saturday night …

THE GOOD

Give a game ball to Orlando and his defense. By attacking the Iowa State offense with pressure from the beginning of the game, the Longhorns’ D got into the attack mindset it showed all of last season. Despite playing without starting safety Brandon Jones (ankle), Texas held ISU to 210 total yards, including 62 yards rushing (2.1 yards per carry), and 5 of 15 on third down (33 percent) — numbers reminiscent of last season.

The Horns posted six sacks — by Gary Johnson, B.J. Foster, Caden Sterns, Anthony Wheeler and Breckyn Hager — with the final sack coming from Joseph Ossai with 1:09 left that caused ISU QB Kyle Kempt to fumble, recovered by Charles Omenihu. Welcome back Orlando! And the Texas defense! Lil'Jordan Humphrey had six catches for 79 yards, including a 27-yard, catch-and-run touchdown in the third quarter that put him over 1,000 yards receiving for the season. Humphrey now has 69 catches for 1,026 yards for the year.

TEXAS GOES UP 24-3 AND LJ GOES OVER 1,000 YARDS: Shane Buechele led an eight-play, 69-yard drive that took 3:49 off the clock and never faced third down until third-and-2 from the ISU 27. That’s when Buechele found Humphrey on a pass at the 10, and Humphrey broke a tackle and dove into the end zone. The touchdown put Texas up 24-3 with :36 left in the third quarter and also put Humphrey over 1,000 yards receiving for the season (1,026). Iowa State had first down at the UT 31 on ISU’s first drive of the third quarter, but Caden Sterns stuffed David Montgomery for no gain, followed by B.J. Foster stuffing Johnnie Lang for a gain of 1, followed by Malcolm Roach holding Montgomery to a 5-yard gain on swing pass on third-and-9.

The Cyclones lined up to go for it on fourth-and-4 but were called for a false start as Texas showed blitz. On fourth-and-9 from the Texas 30, ISU’s normally reliable kicker Connor Assalley missed from 48 yards, doinking it off the left upright with 4:25 left in the third quarter. After UT’s opening drive of the second half stalled, Ryan Bujcevski looked like Michael Dickson on a 44-yard punt that bounced and backed up, allowing P.J. Locke to down the ball at the ISU 7.

TEXAS GOES UP 17-3 BEFORE HALFTIME: Cameron Dicker hit a 22-yard field goal with :02 left in the half, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took 3:13 off the clock and included a 39-yard run by Tre Watson. The drive stalled after Patrick Vahe whiffed on a block of ISU’s Lawrence White, who sacked Ehlinger for an 11-yard loss on first down from the ISU 14. Ehlinger ran for 13 yards on third-and-14 and took huge hit on his previously injured right shoulder, causing a fumble that was recovered by Chris Brown, who also had a first-half interception.

Ehlinger had all day to throw it on third-and-5 from the ISU 22 with :45 left in the half. But instead of getting greedy, and forcing a pass into the end zone, he spotted Devin Duvernay coming back to him for an 8-yard completion to the ISU 14. Tre Watson ran for 5 yards on third-and-1 from the UT 29 and followed that up with a 39-yard run to the ISU 27 with 1:37 left in the half. Breckyn Hager posted Texas’ third sack of Purdy in the game - for an 8-yard loss - with just less than four minutes left in the second quarter. That brought up third-and-18, and a jail-break blitz from Texas that led to an incomplete pass from Purdy (and an ISU holding penalty that was declined), forcing a punt with 3:15 left in the half.

TURNOVER - CHRIS BROWN INTERCEPTS PURDY: Facing third-and-16 from the Iowa State 11 yard line, Purdy’s pass glanced off the hands of Matthew Eaton, and Chris Brown laid out for the deflection, intercepting the ball at the Iowa State 35 yard line with 9:01 left in the second quarter and the Horns holding a 14-3 lead. Purdy had 13 TDs, 2 INTs in his 5 starts for ISU (all wins) coming into the Texas game.

TEXAS GOES UP 14-3 AFTER 94-YARD DRIVE: Ehlinger missed a wide-open Devin Duvernay on a deep post on first down from the UT 6 but converted third-and-6 with a perfect, 20-yard strike to Humphrey. Ehlinger then ran for 9 yards, followed by three carries from Keaontay Ingram for 36 yards, including a 20-yarder. On third-and-4 from the ISU 19, Ehlinger looked off the defense before floating the ball to a wide-open Ingram in the flat for a 19-yard, catch-and-run touchdown with 9:53 left in the second quarter, putting UT up 14-3 - capping a 10-play, 94-yard drive that took 5:07 off the clock.

Kris Boyd broke up a beautifully thrown deep ball from Purdy to Matthew Eaton at the Texas 3 in the final minute of the first quarter on second-and-10 from the UT 41. On third-and-10, Gary Johnson pressured Purdy into a poor throw/incompletion, forcing a punt on the final play of the first quarter. A 28-yard pass from Purdy to Hakeem Butler against Kris Boyd’s coverage with 1:28 left in the first quarter was initially ruled a catch. But upon further review, the call was reversed because Butler’s left toe landed out of bounds. Caden Sterns knifed through the line and sacked Purdy for a 3-yard loss on first down from the UT 23 midway through the first quarter, which ultimately led to a 40-yard field goal attempt (good) with 4:47 left in the first quarter.

TEXAS GOES UP 7-0 AFTER 9-PLAY, 80-YARD, OPENING DRIVE: Ehlinger showed everyone the QB run game is how you beat ISU’s 3-8 “cloud” defense, when he made the unblocked defender miss, and raced into the end zone from 7 yards out with 8:50 left in the first quarter. Ehlinger converted one third down on the drive - with a 13-yard completion to Collin Johnson on a crossing route on third-and-6 to the ISU 19.

Tre Watson’s first carry of the game went for 9 yards, and UT’s second offensive play was a 35-yard completion from Ehlinger to Collin Johnson to the ISU 36. Anthony Wheeler chased down a scrambling Purdy on third-and-9 for a 2-yard sack on Iowa State’s first possession, forcing a punt.

THE BAD

Daniel Young fumbled with 1:26 left, and it was recovered by Iowa State at the ISU 48. Cameron Dicker missed a 28-yard field goal attempt wide right from the right hash (he couldn't bend it back inside the right upright quickly enough). David Montgomery, fresh from his first-half suspension (for throwing a punch in last week’s game against Baylor), ran for 5 yards on third-and-1 on ISU’s first drive of the second half. That play was followed by a 37-yard completion down the right sideline from Purdy to Butler against decent coverage from Kris Boyd. (The drive ended in a missed 48-yard FG.)

Texas opened the second half with five straight running plays to Keaontay Ingram and converted second-and-12 with a 14-yard pass from Buechele to Humphrey. But the drive stalled after a 10-yard sack of Buechele. After going 12-of-15 passing with a touchdown and running eight times for 32 yards and another score, Ehlinger didn’t start the second half. Ehlinger was listed as “questionable” to return by UT after taking a hard shot on his previously injured throwing shoulder at the end of a 13-yard run just before Cameron Dicker’s 22-yard field goal with :02 left in the half.

The Longhorns failed to cash in on Chris Brown's interception of Purdy at the ISU 35 as K Cameron Dicker missed wide right (barely) on a 28-yard attempt from right hash with 5:53 left in the second quarter. After Hakeem Butler had a 28-yard completion reversed upon review, Butler beat Davante Davis for a 25-yard completion to the ISU 48, converting third-and-10. Facing third-and-6 from the Texas 45, Ehlinger suffered a 7-yard sack on a blitz by ISU with less than two minutes left in the first quarter, forcing a 47-yard punt by Ryan Bujcevski.

After Texas forced a punt on ISU’s first possession, the Horns allowed a 32-yard kick return and then allowed a pass completion of 13 yards and a Johnnie Lang run of 14 yards to help get the Cyclones get in field-goal range for Connor Assalley, who booted a 40-yarder to cut Texas’ lead to 7-3 with 4:47 left in the first quarter. Kene Nwangwu muffed a kickoff at the ISU 1 after UT’s first touchdown, picked it up and still ran it back for 32 yards to the Iowa State converted its first third down (third-and-5) on a pass from Purdy to Hakeem Butler for 8 yards vs Davante Davis’ coverage.

THE UGLY

The hit Ehlinger took on his previously injured throwing shoulder right before halftime. … Daniel Young fumbling with 1:26 left in the game, recovered by ISU.

 

Fuck this guy.

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1 hour ago, KeysPhoneWallet said:

See isu articles might be good

Only Iowa State football website really worth following is Wide Right Natty Lite.

Quote

"The most disappointing letdown in Cyclone history, which is impressive for a program that’s routinely let fans down for decades."

 

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Bobby Burton: Sunday

As I went to bed last night and woke up this morning, I thought most about the bottom line for the Texas program. The bottom line is that Texas is 8-3 and now goes into the final week of the regular season in the driver’s seat to play in the Big 12 championship. Texas controls its own destiny. Think about that for a second. Look, I know Texas is supposed to be a great program. After all, the legacy of the program is storied, with Heisman winners, national championships and being “the” state university in the state that most loves football. I don’t mean to overdramatize the situation but after what’s felt like forever, Texas football finally “feels” like it’s on the right footing. What’s more, the results on the field are in line with those thoughts. I don’t know if Texas will beat Kansas or if the Horns will beat West Virginia or Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game. But I know the Texas program is on the right track. Finally.

**

Cameron Dicker clearly has a chance to be a great kicker before he leaves Texas. But the miss last night was unacceptable. It seems that every time Dicker starts going in the right direction, like after last week hitting two long field goals against Texas Tech, he reverts and misses a gimme. He did the same the week after the Oklahoma game winner. The freshman absolutely needs better consistency moving forward.

**

In this recruiting class, Texas needs another RB to match with Keaontay Ingram next year. After watching Watson the past couple of weeks and seeing Daniel Young in multiple situations this year, I’m convinced more than ever that Texas will go backwards at the position unless they sign a big time back. Even though Ingram will likely improve next year, I think there’s a bigger gap between Watson and Young than most can appreciate.

**

In just a handful of plays, Joseph Ossai looked like a pass rusher. That is outstanding news for a program that is losing Breckyn Hager, Charles Omenihu and Gary Johnson after this year.

**

One last note: I mentioned it in my post-game column, but it bears repeating. I thought the Texas staff had an excellent gameplan on both sides of the ball for Iowa State. Nice work Tom Herman, Todd Orlando and staff.

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Inside Texas: Offensive Report Card---Iowa State

Right up front I just want to acknowledge that these guys have some kind of blurs aligning as edge foundations. I wouldn't be surprised if they anchored the sprint relay back in their high school days. That was the bad news although that alley runner (12) was as good as advertised. The good news is we handled their action with our secret weapon (for the most part)---a real offensive line playing to gut the opponent. 

We played really well as a whole. Guys did things above their normal---my best guess is it was because the collective group was all trying to, right down to the guys you are least likely to find delivering a gut check. Here are the grades:

7---Shane---B+

11---Sam---B+

5---Watson---A-

26---Ingram---A-

32---Young---B-

1---Burt---A-

6---Duvernay---A-

9---Johnson---A-

13---Heard---B+

84---Humphrey---A-

47---Beck---B

80---Brewer---B+

52---Cosmi---A-

56---Shack---B+

66---Anderson---A-

72---Rodriguez---B+

77---Vahe---B


Some good things you might have missed the first go-round: 

Burt (1) with a very good kickoff tackle.

Johnson (28) with a dandy kickoff tackle. 

Johnson (9) with the last block on 26's td catch---Collin came from being split on the other side of the formation.

We broke so many tackles that Iowa State will take our place as last in tackling this week. 

Heard (13) made LJH smile when he broke into LJH's territory on a screen. 

Shack (56) had his best game as a Horn. He had a real load at nose and he not only solidified him but turned him several times---that ain't exactly easy. 

Cosmi (52) and Anderson (66) played really well considering the speed from the edge they had to deal with. Sam gave up a sack but he did drive the rusher deeper than the QB (usually a good thing) but the guy circled back and got Sam. 

Finally, a few things that need cleaning up before Kansas Friday:

Vahe (77) is strong when he is covered---not so much when he has a LB to chase. He also is hit and miss on pulls---he did not have a good pull block on bootlegs nor counters. 

Rodriguez (72) needs to clean up his combo blocks and find someone to help (OL) when he has no threat rushing him.

Danny Young (32) ran very hard and blocked well but he had another fumble late in the game. It's hard to reward a hard worker when he turns the ball over---we might see him at LB this spring if fumbles remain a problem. I remember he was a LB until his senior year---I also remember the tackle he made on an interception as a senior. 

Kansas for all the marbles chance in the title game next Friday.

My grading system is based on total points earned against number of plays played. The points are awarded individually on each and every separate play. There are five different possible grades for each play. Players may earn a plus three (3) for a five star type play—-plus two (2) for above average execution—-plus one (1) for doing their job successfully—-zero (0) for getting beat but knowing and attempting their assignment—-and minus 3 (-3) for a missed assignment.

Each player has a total number of points and a total number of his own individual plays. You divide the total number of plays into the total number of points which gives you scale. The grading scale is as follows:

Any player averaging one point per play (1.0) grades out a B which is winning football. If a player plays 60 plays with 60 total points he would earn a passing grade—each point he goes over the total number of plays raises his grade accordingly. The system is built around rewarding any player that doesn’t beat himself or his team with mental mistakes.

The system also punishes any player that knows what to do but loses too many individual battles. If a player plays 60 plays but loses 10 of those with zero special plays (60 plays—50 points) he falls below the 1.0 needed for a passing grade of B.

I use the plus/minus (A-, B+, etc,) when the numbers indicate a partial add or subtract from the grade. This system was used by my first coaching staff and I kinda carried it with me for thirty years—it’s not perfect but it gives the position coach a measuring stick for his individual players.

The only way to earn the highest grade of A is to play a perfect game. I’ve had exactly zero up to right now so great games still can be better so A- is a very popular second best. This system and my grades will always be subjective filled with agree and disagree opinions. It’s entirely fair for disagreement (without it we might not have horse races) but it’s important to remember that each play only counts once instead of allowing a big mistake to have major influence on an individual’s final grade.
 


 

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Inside Texas: Defensive Report Card---Iowa State

There comes a time when you realize it's put up or shut up time and our defensive players decided to stand up and be counted. They have been ridiculed for several weeks---fans, students, and even the talking heads on tv have taken shots at our guys to the point of we were the butt of too many jokes. It was time to do something about it.

We went back to full scale drills last week in practice. We went back to a familiar scheme that had us attacking their manhood instead of stunting our way out of making a play. The only tricking we did was go back to letting the players play. We sold out over and over again. Damn, it was fun to watch again.

We still brought blitzes but they were better timed with much better fits and disguises. Charles Omenihu and Malcolm Roach are warriors that did so much from a variety of alignments. You will not find a better pair of freshmen safeties than Caleb Sterns and BJ Foster. BJ Locke and Gary Johnson had their best games in a fortnight or so.

Chris Brown had a big interception. Chris Nelson is a brick wall against the run. Anthony Wheeler, TQ Graham, and Joe Ossai had several big time plays between them. Davante Davis is an under-rated player period. Kris Boyd is one of a few that can actually play well overall and yet piss you off big time. Hager couldn't go many but he left his mark on a drive killing sack.

Here are the grades:

90---Omenihu---A-

32---Roach---A-

49---Graham---B+

44---Hager---A-

97---Nelson---A-

94---Wilbon---B+

23---McCulloch---B

33---Johnson---A-

45---Wheeler---B

46---Ossai---A-

2---Boyd---B+

7---Sterns---B+

11---Locke---A-

15---Brown---A-

18---Davis0---B+

25---Foster---B+


We played with more confidence this week. We played like we knew what to do. Maybe it was the offensive formation/schemes (they mirror ours). Maybe it was the change in schemes we called. Doesn't matter now but I'm glad we found our way home. Hope it's permanent.

A few tidbits to chew on:

Omenihu (90) had several hurries and tfl's. He may not make all conference but he should.

Nelson (97) getting rest on passing downs was a terrific adjustment---Roach is just so much quicker.

Johnson (33) ran the field wide open and struck fear in old Purdy---bet he sounds like a freight train zeroing in on a direct hit.

Ossai (46) had a huge rush and strip to seal the last ditch effort. He's going to be a big time player.

Foster (25) had a "sudden" sack but was on the wrong end of a savage block (GL--32's td) eight yards deep in the end zone.

Wheeler (45) had his best game this year.

Locke (11) played extremely well.

Roach (32) is one fine football player.

Brown (15) had a huge turnover plus a few sure tackles.

Davante Davis (18) is about as consistent as you get in this league. He quietly makes tackles that you don't notice until you rewatch the film. We will miss his production and results.

Boyd (2) will either make you start chewing snuff/tobacco or promise to give it up with his play. He does so many things well---he played those PBU's very well and had great position on some of the catches he gave up. Then there is the other Kris that misses a gimme tackle and draws a holding penalty on the return team. Kris is always going to be Kris.

Kansas---you are next.

My grading system is based on total points earned against number of plays played. The points are awarded individually on each and every separate play. There are five different possible grades for each play. Players may earn a plus three (3) for a five star type play—-plus two (2) for above average execution—-plus one (1) for doing their job successfully—-zero (0) for getting beat but knowing and attempting their assignment—-and minus 3 (-3) for a missed assignment.

Each player has a total number of points and a total number of his own individual plays. You divide the total number of plays into the total number of points which gives you scale. The grading scale is as follows:

Any player averaging one point per play (1.0) grades out a B which is winning football. If a player plays 60 plays with 60 total points he would earn a passing grade—each point he goes over the total number of plays raises his grade accordingly. The system is built around rewarding any player that doesn’t beat himself or his team with mental mistakes.

The system also punishes any player that knows what to do but loses too many individual battles. If a player plays 60 plays but loses 10 of those with zero special plays (60 plays—50 points) he falls below the 1.0 needed for a passing grade of B.

I use the plus/minus (A-, B+, etc,) when the numbers indicate a partial add or subtract from the grade. This system was used by my first coaching staff and I kinda carried it with me for thirty years—it’s not perfect but it gives the position coach a measuring stick for his individual players.

The only way to earn the highest grade of A is to play a perfect game. I’ve had exactly zero up to right now so great games still can be better so A- is a very popular second best. This system and my grades will always be subjective filled with agree and disagree opinions. It’s entirely fair for disagreement (without it we might not have horse races) but it’s important to remember that each play only counts once instead of allowing a big mistake to have major influence on an individual’s final grade.
 

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(Bobby Burton) Texas-ISU Grades: Quarterbacks lead the charge for UT offense

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Horns247 publisher Bobby Burton has reviewed the game tape, and delivers his grades for the Texas offense in the 24-10 win over Iowa State.

Quarterbacks

The combined stat line tells the story. Sam Ehlinger and Shane Buechele were a combined 22-of-25 for 226 yards and two scores with no interceptions. That kind of accuracy is how you beat a defense that drops eight men into a so-called cloud coverage. While Ehlinger put Texas out front with two long precision-like drives, he was also injured on a scramble late in the first half. That injury forced Buechele into the game to start the second half. While the Horns didn’t score on Buechele’s initial possession, Texas at least moved the ball with a pair of first downs. That was a mark of things to come. One series later Buechele led the team on a key drive to give Texas a three-score lead.

Grade: A

Running backs

Tre Watson and Keaontay Ingram had 16 and 17 touches, respectively. Watson popped off a big run in the third quarter but really the story was about a consistent effort from both he and Ingram. All night long, the duo maximized yardage and performed well in pass protection. They also caught the ball well out of the backfield. Ingram’s catch and run for a TD was the big one. It gave Texas a two-score lead. This game may not be the biggest or best stat-wise but the Texas RBs more than held up their end of the bargain.

Grade: B+

Wide receivers

On the Horns’ very first posession, Collin Johnson high-points a ball over an Iowa State defender. It was a sign of things to come. The Texas receivers owned ISU much of the night and when the game was in doubt. Lil'Jordan Humphrey’s catch-and-run for a TD was highlight-worthy. He also had a catch over the middle that led to big yards on a third down. In short, he played like a man possessed at times on Saturday night. Devin Duvernay also made a nice third-down reception on a scramble play by Ehlinger to keep a drive alive.

Grade: A

Tight ends

So much of the Texas offense goes through its tight end from a blocking standpoint that it’s hard to assign fair value to the performance of Andrew Beck. Beck is clearly a team leader and what’s more, he leads by example. He continued to make key blocks, and was a reliable outlet for the Texas QBs against ISU. Cade Brewer saw some action later in the contest.

Grade: B

Offensive linemen

Iowa State came into the game hoping its defensive front could manhandle the Longhorns’ OL, particularly in passing situations. Simply put, that didn’t happen. While Texas gave up a few sacks, ISU never got its pass rush going with any sort of consistency. Furthermore, the run lanes were open more often than not. Samuel Cosmi and Zach Shackelford played particularly well. Cosmi beautifully set the edge on a pair of back-to-back runs in the second half.

Grade: B

Offense

Only a fool would look at the scoreboard, see the 24 points Texas scored, and say the Horns’ offense didn’t dominate the Cyclones. Texas had the ball for more than 35 minutes in the contest, which is more than 10 minutes than the Iowa State offense's time of possession. Only two series ended in three-and-outs, and both of those came after Texas had earned a three-score lead. That type of possession time is exactly what the doctor ordered with the Horns’ backup QB in the game for the second half. Texas moved the ball all night, and through the first three quarters, Texas was particularly good on third down, scoring twice on third-down passes. I felt like the Texas gameplan was strong from the outset. And the Horns’ players executed very well.

Grade: B+

(Bobby Burton) Texas vs. Iowa State grades: A+ effort from Longhorns' defense

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Defensive linemen

The Texas defensive front played perhaps its best overall game of the year. The Longhorns got after the passer and they stopped the run for the most part. Charles Omenihu led the way as he caused disruption on a routine basis and literally had his way with the ISU OL. Chris Nelson and Breckyn Hager also played well, as did Ta'Quon Graham. Joseph Ossai’s strip sack was awesome.

Grade: A

Linebackers

Somewhere in the annals of Texas football will be the relatively short two-year career of Gary Johnson as a Longhorn. He’s not the best LB to ever play for Texas but he has darned sure left his mark. Johnson’s speed allowed him to disrupt the quarterback and keep the Cyclone run game under control. Anthony Wheeler and Jeffrey McCulloch had solid performances. In fact, it’s the best McCulloch has looked this season.

Grade: B

Secondary

In the first half, ISU connected on a couple of big passes against man coverage. But after that, the Texas secondary really seemed to come alive and it’s no mistake that it happened as Texas amped up the pressure on the passer. Still, Texas took the starting QB out of the game after allowed completions on just 10 of his 23 attempts. The tackling from the secondary was also much improved, Caden Sterns in particular. Chris Brown’s INT off of the deflection helped build Texas momentum, even if it didn’t lead to an eventual score.

Grade: B

Defense

The Horns got after the passer. Again and again. That was the story of the game. Whether it was the well-timed and fearless blitzes of B.J. Foster, or Omenihu ripping by the right tackle, Texas applied pressure early and often. The Cyclones managed just a little more than 200 yards for the entire game. Outside of allowing one TD after a punt return deep into the Longhorns' territory, Texas shutout ISU after the game’s second drive until deep in the fourth quarter. The Texas defense controlled the game, and that’s not something we’ve said much at all this season.

Grade: A+

Special teams

The miss by Cameron Dicker could have been costly. Ryan Bujcevski punted well. But the troubling problem that seems to be occurring the last couple weeks comes in the team’s kick and punt coverage. The big punt return set up ISU’s only TD. And a couple of long kick returns also gave the Cyclones good field position. Texas simply needs to stop going for the kill in coverage.

Grade: C-

 

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Chip Brown: Welcome back Todd Orlando and the Texas defense

 

AUSTIN, Texas — Welcome back Todd Orlando and the Texas defense! Texas sacking the quarterback six times and holding Iowa State to 210 total yards — just 2.1 yards per carry — in a 24-10 victory that puts the Longhorns back in control of their Big 12 title game destiny had nothing to do with practicing in full pads on Tuesday. It had nothing to do with Tom Herman’s rant about critics questioning if Texas had forgotten how to play defense or if Texas coaches had forgotten how to coach defense against some of the country’s most explosive offenses in recent weeks.

It had absolutely EVERYTHING to do with committing to bringing pressure — all game long. Pressure on first down, second down, third-and-short, third-and-long. There were zone blitzes, corner blitzes, linebacker blitzes, safety blitzes. Sometimes linebacker AND safety blitzes. Orlando got away from relying so heavily on a three-man front and used a lot of four-man and even five-man lines to confuse and frustrate red-hot Iowa State freshman, dual-threat quarterback Brock Purdy. “We definitely blitzed a lot more,” senior safety P.J. Locke said. “We wanted to fluster (Purdy) and make him make quick reads.”

It worked. Just like it worked when Iowa State ramped up its blitz pressure in victories against Oklahoma State and West Virginia, sacking the quarterback seven times in each game. Purdy came into the Texas game completing 67 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions while going undefeated (5-0) since taking over as the starter. Against Texas, Purdy was just 10 of 23 passing (43.5 percent) for 130 yards with one interception.

“They certainly did that a year ago,” said Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell of the Longhorns’ attacking pressure. “We definitely had it in the game plan, that (pressure) was a possibility. In really pressuring Brock and putting some pressure on him and giving him a lot of different looks, they were able to do that. I think it was hard for Brock to get into a rhythm for sure throughout the football game.”

Gary Johnson, who led Texas with seven tackles, including a sack and two quarterback pressures, was spying Purdy for most of the night. But instead of sitting back and waiting to see if Purdy would run — like he did against OU, allowing offensive linemen to reach the second level and block Johnson en route to 222 yards rushing — Johnson was often on the attack, shooting gaps and putting pressure on Iowa State’s blocking scheme.

Purdy came into the Texas game as ISU’s second-leading rusher, averaging 4.8 yards per carry (minus his 68 yards in sacks this season). But he was no threat on the ground against the Longhorns. He had three carries for 13 yards in the first quarter and didn’t have another carry until the fourth quarter, when ISU was down 24-3. Iowa State finished with 62 yards rushing on 30 attempts.

If Texas wants to beat Kansas Friday in Lawrence and go to the Big 12 title game against the winner of Oklahoma at West Virginia — and possibly play in a New Year’s Six bowl — that attacking mindset on defense needs to continue. Why? No. 1, that’s who defensive coordinator Todd Orlando is at his core - not the rush-three, drop-eight defense we’d been seeing in critical situations in losses to Oklahoma State and West Virginia and in a near-loss to Baylor.

No. 2, Orlando’s players have been begging to go on the attack again. That’s when they play their best. And that’s what happened Saturday night in front of an electric crowd at DKR. By attacking, you get players going forward and make it easier for them to chase the ball and swarm to stop the run. And the Longhorns will need to swarm KU’s Pooka Williams, who ran for 252 yards at OU in the Sooners’ 55-40 win over the Jayhawks in Norman.

Did Texas give up some plays in the passing game to Iowa State’s star, 6-foot-6 receiver Hakeem Butler (six catches for 99 yards) in single coverage against Kris Boyd and Davante Davis? Absolutely. But no touchdowns. And UT’s pressure helped lead to an overthrow intercepted by Chris Brown as well as a couple other near-interceptions dropped by UT. The Cyclones had a couple long runs - a 14-yarder by Johnnie Lang in the first quarter and a 24-yarder by Kene Nwangwu in the second quarter.

But ISU didn’t get into the end zone until the Cyclones returned a punt 47 yards (with a facemask personal foul tacked onto it), giving them the ball at the Texas 6 with 2:16 left in the game. Orlando’s defense last year was the epitome of stopping the run on the way to the passer. That’s the approach that has given this defense and its players their confidence and identity.

Against Oklahoma State and West Virginia — and even at times against Oklahoma and Baylor — the Texas defense has looked like it only had seven or eight defenders on the field, because there were so many gaps for the offense to run through. When Orlando’s defense is attacking the line of scrimmage with pressure, it looks like the Longhorns have 12 or 13 defenders on the field. Players swarm to the ball and don’t miss tackles.

When this defense is rushing three and dropping eight, defenders are on their heels, and that’s led to bad angles, more one-on-one situations and ultimately more missed tackles. “We blitzed a lot, and we haven’t been lately,” said senior captain nose tackle Chris Nelson. “We’ve been staying back, because we got some younger guys in the back end of the defense. But he (Orlando) let it loose tonight, and it was good to see guys flying around to the football. It felt great. It felt just like last year.”

Against Iowa State, Orlando often put four men on the line - three down linemen with a stand-up linebacker and sometimes five men (with a second stand-up linebacker or safety). Having more men on the line for Iowa State’s O-line to account for allowed pass-rushers Charles Omenihu and Breckyn Hager to get single-blocked and, thus, be more disruptive. Orlando has moved 280-pound Malcolm Roach from linebacker to the line, including at nose, and Roach got pressure.

“I love when we get after the quarterback and make him uneasy and feeling like, ‘What can I really do?’” said Omenihu, who is third in the Big 12 with 7.5 sacks. Omenihu, who nearly had a scoop and score on a Joseph Ossai strip sack, was clearly frustrated after the Oklahoma State and West Virginia losses, when the defense was rushing three and dropping eight in key situations.

When players were asked if the game plan Saturday night against Iowa State would’ve resulted in victories against Oklahoma State and West Virginia (especially considering how much Iowa State blitzed those teams and won), they didn’t want to speculate. But Nelson said being on the attack is the mindset that best fits this defense. “All the guys are going to be like, ‘Let’s keep going with that,’” Nelson said, “because it worked out good for us.”

Texas’ hopes for a Big 12 title this season could depend on it.

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(Scipio Tex) Texas-Iowa State Post-Mortem: Offense

I think it's important to point out that Iowa State had a kicker named Ass Alley. Which the announcers tried to get me to pronounce "Uh-Sally." Nah. 

The Texas offense got into some ass alley Saturday night against the league's most proven defense. The Longhorns drove for touchdowns of 80 and 94 yards in the first and third possessions of the game and followed that with a pair of chip shot field goal attempts, one missed, one made, the make at the end of a 75 yard drive. 

After Shane Buechele took over for an injured Sam Ehlinger, the Horns capped another long TD drive in the 3rd quarter with a ballsy throw to LJH in single coverage where he victimized ISU CB De'monte Ruth (#10), listed optimistically at 5-10, 174, but looking like Baby Ruth draped on his Dad's leg whenever he had to cover #84. I thought this was a terrific example of the Texas offensive staff attacking specific personnel, a contrast to a more persistent early season nameless faceless opponent "we're gonna run our stuff" approach. The best offenses seem to strike a good balance of honoring their identity and attacking a clear deficiency. Ruth was Iowa State's. 

More interestingly, Texas ran the hell out of the ball. @Ian Boyd and I both thought it was key to involve Ehlinger early in the run game, which we did effectively, but I was really pleased to see the level of success we had on "normal runs." 

Forget the seemingly modest 24 points output. This was one of the cleanest games that the Longhorns played all year and it was pleasure to watch, particularly when you factor in a 4th quarter where Texas was content to run clock and finish the game. I admit that dominant defensive play might have biased my perception of that approach, but why press your luck with the back-up QB in the game and a three TD lead? 

Let's get to it...

QB

The position collectively went 22 of 25 (without Googling, can anyone name a famous Super Bowl performance from a QB where they went 22 for 25? - there's a second level Longhorn connection) for 226 yards and two touchdown passes with another combined 47 yards rushing and another touchdown. Not too bad. Shane Buechele was a perfect 10 of 10 in relief of Ehlinger after Sam got popped trying to maximize a run (please slide, dude) and while the Texas coaches clearly limited Shane's play menu, they had no problem letting it hang out on a 27 yard 3rd and 2 touchdown pass to LJH that effectively sealed the game. 

Sam made a lot of good plays in 2.5 quarters, but one of the most impressive from a QB growth and understanding perspective was Ehlinger hitting Keaontay Ingram in the wide flat for a 19 yard touchdown against the ISU red zone blitz. The touch, recognition and timing of that throw were tremendous and you could see Ehlinger's instant recognition as he made the read. His poise in the pocket is an incredible contrast to his freshman season. Hell, it's a contrast to this early season. 

RB 

Ingram and Watson combined for 150 yard rushing on 26 carries (5.8 per carry average) and while we all wished an extra gear for Tre Watson on his 39 yard run, I'm incredibly thankful the Cal transfer made it here. The grad transfer market has treated us well. 

The Texas coaching staff even threw me a "throw it to the RBs!" bone by throwing to both of them for a combined seven times for 48 yards and a touchdown. Those checkdowns are vital for an offense and they'll actually expand in potential impact as teams begin to fret our WR mismatches more. 

Unfortunately, I do have one bone to pick. Texas has only turned it over eight times this year. Daniel Young is responsible for 25% of those turnovers. On 41 carries. You can't be the finish-the-game back if you fumble. And you can't be the #2 runner next year on that track of development. There's a pretty obvious 10-12 carry per game role available for a talented true freshman. 

WR /TE

LJH dominated Texas Tech last week statistically, but what he did to Iowa State was soul stealing. The now 1,000+ yard receiver pushed the pile at will, broke five tackles and manhandled ISU's DBs on blocking assignments. 7 catches for 86 yards and a touchdown doesn't quite encompass what he did to the poor Cyclones. Collin Johnson was a dominant go-to early, but finished with a quiet 3-55, which included a 35 yard catch and run. Sometimes it'll be his week and it's hard to argue with feeding #84 when the match-ups scream for it. 

Devin Duvernay has gone from 10.2 100 meter deep threat to a plucky sure-handed possession receiver. I'm amused by this development and he's doing a great job. Heard showed some nice effort avoid a tfl, running through an ISU tackler for a positive gain. 

Beck blew a block on Matt Leo that allowed a sack. Solid beyond that.

OL

Damn good performance. Shack had his hands full with Lima inside and he actually wore the big guy down on a couple of long drives. Pass protection was excellent, with one sack on Beck and the other coming on a nicely coordinated ISU blitz on 3rd and long where they just had us dialed in. Other than that, these guys won in the trenches consistently and I was blown away by Anderson and Cosmi's effectiveness in space and on the pull. It's an interesting characteristic of our team that our offensive tackles are both smaller, more mobile, and much more athletic pullers than our guards and there's good reason to keep building on that trait as blocking down and pulling the last man backside is one of the effective ways to complement zone running with some gap stuff. There's also some cool stuff you can build off of that look with play action deep if we're so inclined. 

These guys played really hard and really well. 

Final 

ISU's defense is constructed to handle Big 12 spread teams and they deliver their physicality small on small. Against Texas, their tough smalls encountered tougher bigger. With Texas headsets matching everything ISU's had to offer, what looked to be a brawl turned into a clear 12 round decision of the 118-110 variety, where knocking the opponent out late wasn't worth the risk or bother. 

8-3. Beat Kansas.

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