-
-
Comment
-
WEEK EIGHT
.... 
#8 TEXAS LONGHORNS (6-0, 4-0)
VS.
#25 OKLAHOMA SOONERS (3-3, 2-2)
To begin the 2013 Red River Rivalry, the Sooners received the ball, but were forced to punt after just a handful offensive plays. With just over ten minutes left to play in the first quarter, the Longhorns took over for the first time, and set the tone on their first offensive play of the game when Joe Bergeron (pictured above) broke free for an 81-yard touchdown run. It was a sign of things to come, as Texas went on to rack up 516 total offensive yards (371 of them on the ground) in a one-sided 33-14 victory to give Oklahoma their third straight loss of the season.
David Ash didn't set a new standard for QB play in his first start this season, but he performed at least as well as McCoy through the first five games of 2013, completing 12 of 25 passes for 145 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. His go-to man was senior Mike Davis, who had three catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns. The team's success through the air can be directly attributed to a ground game that look untouchable all day long, as Malcolm Brown led the effort with 187 yards off 28 carries, and backup Joe Bergeron added 142 yards and a score off just 12 carries. Defensively, the Longhorns were simply stunning, recording six sacks and two turnovers in addition to limiting the Sooners to 278 yards of total offense and just 14 points. Texas' defense now leads the nation with 26 sacks on the year (an average of nearly four sacks per game), and have allowed just 82 points, or 11.7 points per game, the lowest total for any team to play at least seven games this season. The Longhorns also only allow a score 53% of the time in redzone situations, the lowest percentage in college football, and rank 3rd with just thirteen redzone trips allowed for opposing offenses all year long.
As for the Sooners, it was another painful loss for a team that has been defeated in four of their last five games, and are now unranked and below .500 after debuting at #4 in the preseason polls. Senior quarterback Drew Allen, the team's undisputed offensive leader, completed just 12 of 28 passes for 172 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. And in keeping with their year-long tradition, Oklahoma was decidedly ineffective when running the ball, gaining just 106 yards and a touchdown off a combined 33 carries for an average of 3.2 yards per touch. This came in stark contrast to Texas' 6.5 yards per carry on the ground. Oklahoma's defense recorded two sacks, and senior Aaron Colvin (CB) had five tackles and two interceptions, but they also allowed 517 yards of total offense in the loss. Fortunately for the Sooners, their schedule gets a great deal easier from here on out, with games against Kansas, Texas State, and Baylor on the slate in the next month as they look to salvage what has so far been a disaster of a season.
Dreams of a national title berth are alive and well in Austin, but the Longhorns would be wise not to overlook their next opponent, who surprised them with a 26-21 victory last season. Fortunately, this one will take place in the friendly confines of DKR Stadium as Texas plays host to #25 Texas Tech (4-3, 2-3), who upended TCU 33-30 in triple overtime last week to snap a three-game losing skid against ranked conference opponents. As always, the Red Raiders have relied on their high-flying passing attack this season, but an injury to third-year sophomore QB Michael Brewer has put senior backup Brant Costilla in the driver's seat, and the team has seen a noticeable decline in their biggest offensive asset. Brewer suffered a season-ending broken wrist in a 24-22 win over New Mexico, and the team has since gone 1-3 without him after starting the year 3-0. Also worth nothing is that fact that Texas Tech ranks 114th when guarding against the run, a stat that smells like disaster with one of college football's most fearsome runningback duos set to take the field.
#8 Texas Longhorns at #25 Oklahoma Sooners Oct 12, 2013 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH SCORE #8 Texas Longhorns (7-0, 5-0) 14 3 0 16 33 #25 Oklahoma Sooners (3-4, 2-3) 0 7 0 7 14 Team Stats Comparison TEX OKLA Total Offense 516 278 Rushing Yards 371 106 Passing Yards 145 172 First Downs 25 14 Punt Return Yards 14 21 Kick Return Yards 96 134 Total Yards 626 433 Turnovers 2 2 3rd Down Converstion 4-12 (33%) 4-15 (26%) 4th Down Conversion 0-0 (0%) 0-1 (0%) 2-Point Conversion 0-1 (0%) 0-0 (0%) Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals 3-1-2 (100%) 2-1-0 (50%) Penalties 9-80 5-25 Posession Time 34:41 25:19 Comment
-
AROUND THE LEAGUE
-WEEK EIGHT-
Comment
-
How do you split carries like that when simming? Also do you adjust your run/pass slider depending on opponent? Basically could you just give me a rough idea of how you do things coach wise. Enjoying the read and would like to implement some ideas into my own dynasty. Also do you allow transfers/early entry players to just leave or do you attempt to bring them back with promises?Comment
-
I actually don't control those split carries, that's just how it works out...I've never figured out how to influence that. My run/pass sliders I rarely every change, but I do re-evaluate them at the beginning of the year to suit my team. As far as transfers, I accept all of them, but I do not convince any players who attempt to transfer or graduate early to stay.Comment
-
QB ASH NAMED STARTER VS. TEXAS TECH AND BEYOND
Case McCoy has been given a clean bill of health by team doctors after suffering a concussion against Kansas State, but he won't be returning to the starting spot for the foreseeable future. After passing for 343 yards and six touchdowns over the last two games, junior QB David Ash has been named the team's starter going forward. Coaches have said that quarterback will be a weekly evaluation for the team, but it's hard to imagine the offense falling back into the hands of McCoy after his average outing to begin the season.
INJURIES FORCE CHANGES TO OFFENSIVE LINE
Texas' 33-14 win over the Sooners came with a bit of bad news as well as the team lost two starters on the offensive line. At right tackle, Garrett Porter will miss the remainder of the season with a broken collarbone, giving the starting job to second-year freshman Kennedy Estelle. At center, junior Dominic Espinosa will miss at least the next two games with a high ankle sprain, and will be replaced by freshman Curtis Riser until his return.Comment
-
WEEK NINE
-RIVALRY GAME-
#25 TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (4-3, 2-3)
VS.
#5 TEXAS LONGHORNS (7-0, 5-0)
Through the first five games of the season, Case McCoy threw for 631 yards and eight touchdowns. David Ash matched that production in just 2 1/12 games, and has now thrown for 677 yards and eight TDs in 2013 after leading the Longhorns to a 40-24 win over in-state rival Texas Tech.
In his second start of the season, David Ash completed 18 of 36 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, by far the most amount of passing yards by the team all year long (their previous highest total was 213 against Kansas State, also done by Ash). His go-to man was Jaxon Shipley, who had three catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Malcolm Brown was his usual dominant self, rushing for 149 yards and a score off 26 carries for an average of 5.7 yards per touch, and also leading the receiving corps with five catches for 63 yards. Backup Joe Bergeron also contributed, rushing for 75 yards off 12 carries. Credit must also go to sophomore kicker Nick Jordan, who hit all four of his attempted field goals, the longest from 43 yards out. Jordan has quietly been having a fantastic year, hitting 12 of his 14 attempted field goals on the season. Defensively, Texas continued their dominance, recording four sacks and limiting the Red Raiders to just 268 total offense yards, which included a measly 38 rushing yards. The team's biggest contributor was junior Sheroid Evans (SS), who had five tackles, one sack, and returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown with four minutes left to play to seal the deal for the Longhorns. Leading 27-24 heading into the fourth quarter, Texas scored 13 unanswered points to end the game.
On the other side of the ball, senior quarterback Brant Costilla completed 8 of 10 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game near the end of the first quarter with a sprained wrist. With starting QB Michael Brewer already sidelined for the remainder of the season with a broken wrist, the offense fell to second-year freshman Clayton Nicholas, the team's third-string QB, who was woefully unprepared to be thrust into the spotlight of Texas Tech's pass-oriented offense. Nicholas completed 6 of 27 passes for 94 yards and an interception, but did manage to score a touchdown on a quarterback keeper. Speaking of the ground game, it provided little to no relief for a floundering aerial attack, gaining just 38 yards off 18 carries. The only offensive performance worth noting was that of senior Eric Ward, who led the receiving corps with four catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, the Red Raiders allowed nearly 500 yards and 33 offensive points, but they also took advantage of a Texas offensive line featuring two freshman in starting positions after injuries to their starters last week, recording an incredible eight sacks. No one was more active than senior Terrance Bullitt (OLB), who recorded 16 tackles and three sacks in the loss. Struggling to finish the season bowl-eligible at this point, Texas Tech will take next week off before heading into a two-game road stretch against Rutgers and Oklahoma State. They'll finish their season with home games against Oklahoma and Baylor.
Having already matched their win total from last season, the sky is the limit for the Longhorns as they head into week nine's contest, a road game against Oklahoma State (5-2, 2-2). Sitting just outside the top 25, the Cowboys have rebounded nicely since losing back-to-back games earlier in the season to conference foes Florida State and Clemson, and are now on a three-game winning streak after victories over West Virginia, UTEP, and Iowa State. Sophomore starting QB Wes Lunt is questionable for this week's game as he continues to recover from a broken ankle suffered earlier in the season, leaving the offense in the capable hands of senior Clint Chelf, who has completed 54% of his passes for 990 yards, ten touchdowns, and just one interception through four games.
#25 Texas Tech Red Raiders at #5 Texas Longhorns Oct 17, 2013 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH SCORE #25 Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-4, 2-4) 14 3 7 0 24 #5 Texas Longhorns (8-0, 6-0) 10 14 3 13 40 Team Stats Comparison TTU TEX Total Offense 268 499 Rushing Yards 38 193 Passing Yards 230 306 First Downs 13 32 Punt Return Yards 47 20 Kick Return Yards 171 44 Total Yards 486 563 Turnovers 1 0 3rd Down Converstion 3-12 (25%) 8-18 (44%) 4th Down Conversion 0-2 (0%) 2-3 (66%) 2-Point Conversion 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%) Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals 3-2-0 (66%) 7-3-3 (85%) Penalties 7-67 10-84 Posession Time 22:28 37:32
Comment
-
Side note: Oklahoma continued their downward spiral in week nine, losing to Kansas (4-3, 4-2) 41-38. The Sooners are now 3-5, 2-4.Comment
-
WEEK TEN
.....
#4 TEXAS LONGHORNS (8-0, 6-0)
VS.
OKLAHOMA ST. COWBOYS (5-2, 2-2)
Every once in a while, a game comes along that truly showcases one team simply dominating the other in every facet on the field. This was one of those games. Oklahoma State managed just 175 yards of total offense and one touchdown, didn't convert a single 3rd down try, never reached the redzone, and allowed seven sacks and five interceptions. Meanwhile, the Longhorns put up 440 total offensive yards and 38 points in a staggering 11 redzone trips to easily win their ninth straight game of the season.
David Ash had an average day under center, completing 13 of 28 passes for 155 yards, but he did score a touchdown on the ground. His go-to guy was Jaxon Shipley, who had five catches for 78 yards. On the ground is where Texas truly excelled, as they racked up 275 yards and five touchdowns. Leading the effort was Malcolm Brown, who had 141 yards and a score off 25 carries. Backup Joe Bergeron carried the ball 16 times for 79 yards and a touchdown, true freshman fullback Luke O'Neal had 17 yards and a score off five carries, and junior wide receiver Miles Onyegbule scored on a wide receiver sweep. But the biggest contribution came from the defense, who simply smothered the Cowboys for sixty minutes. Oklahoma State faced 3rd down nine times on Saturday, and failed to convert one of them. They managed just 175 total offensive yards, including 48 rushing yards off 23 carries. The team also continued to be the most feared front seven in all of football, recording seven sacks and forcing five turnovers. Senior Brandon Moore (DT) led the effort with nine tackles and 3.5 sacks, while senior DeMarco Cobbs (OLB) returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Thanks to this tremendous defensive effort, the Longhorns dominated time of possession, controlling the ball for over 40 minutes.
To say it was a long day on the other side of the ball would be an understatement. Senior QB Clint Chelf completed just 9 of 20 passes for 127 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions, and he was the most productive player on offense. The ground game added just 48 offensive yards, and the team's only score came when Chelf found junior Brandon Sheperd for a 29-yard TD pass in the second quarter when the Cowboys already trailed 17-0. Oklahoma State's defense managed just one sack and recovered a fumble in addition to allowing 440 total offensive yards. Texas reached the redzone an unbelievable eleven times, but only scored six of those times, a true testament to the heart and willpower of Oklahoma State's players. The road doesn't get any easier for the Cowboys next week as they hit the road to face off against #19 TCU (7-2, 5-1).
With just three games left to play, Texas seems to be getting every better with every passing week, and will get another chance to flex their muscle in week eleven when they host Baylor (3-5, 2-3), who have lost two of their last three games, both losses coming to ranked conference opponents. The Bears do have one of the better rush defenses in college football, giving up an average of just 134 rushing yards per game, but they will surely be tested next weekend.
#5 Texas Longhorns at Oklahoma State Cowboys Oct 26, 2013 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH SCORE #5 Texas Longhorns (9-0, 7-0) 7 13 13 14 47 Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-3, 2-3) 0 7 0 0 7 Team Stats Comparison TEX OKST Total Offense 440 175 Rushing Yards 275 48 Passing Yards 165 127 First Downs 27 7 Punt Return Yards 55 9 Kick Return Yards 49 69 Total Yards 544 253 Turnovers 1 5 3rd Down Converstion 8-17 (47%) 0-9 (0%) 4th Down Conversion 2-2 (100%) 0-0 (0%) 2-Point Conversion 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%) Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals 11-5-1 (54%) 0-0-0 (0%) Penalties 10-80 4-37 Posession Time 40:30 19:30
Comment
-
Headed to Arkansas for some R&R with the wife in the woods...see you guys on Thursday.Comment
-
hey man, its been awhile... good to see that you're still at it! hope all is well
Comment
Tweet
Comment