Texas 41, OSU 14: Thoughts and Observations
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@opubco.com
–What is there to say? Texas is talented, confident and full of playmakers.
–The OSU turnover bug returned against the Longhorns. You can’t turn the ball over five times and expect to win.
–It seemed like Texas speed on defense, especially in the secondary surprised Zac Robinson a little bit. The throwing windows closed quicker than he expected and the Longhorn secondary made play after play against OSU.
–Cowboys probably should have stick with the run a little more, especially early. They were having some success.
–Colt McCoy showed why he is considered among the nation’s best on the Longhorns final drive of the first half. He led his team on a 10-play, 80-yard drive in 2:09 seconds to boost Texas’ lead to 24-7. UT had three plays of 16 or more yards including a key 19-yard run on third down. They capped off the drive with a superb catch by Malcolm Williams for a 11-yard score.
–While I think OSU’s mental toughness is one of its strengths, they allowed the non-fumble call on Andre Sexton’s great play to affect them on that drive. The Longhorns converted two third downs and OSU had an unsportsmanlike penalty on that drive which ended in Williams’ TD.
–OSU’s defense didn’t play that badly. They allowed 275 yards including 99 rushing yards, held Shipley to 6 catches for 64 yards and held McCoy to 171 passing yards. True enough, Texas had two INT returns for scores which helped contribute to those numbers but it was still a decent effort.
–Neither team had much success running. Both squads averaged 3.1 yards per carry.
–Shocking stat: OSU averaged 3.9 yards per play. That’s not the explosive offense Cowboys fans have come to expect.
–Shocking stat Part II: Defensive backs led both teams in all-purpose yardage. Texas’ Curtis Brown had 77 on his INT for TD to lead Texas and OSU’s Perrish Cox had 118 kick and punt return yards.
–Texas had four interceptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
–UT was held sackless by OSU and the Pokes had two sacks (Jermiah Price, Lucien Antoine) and six tackles for loss.
–In the first half, the Cowboys had three possessions which lasted three minutes combined. Those possessions ended in a punt, turnover on downs and fumble.
–Missed opportunities was the name of the game in the first half. Hubert Anyiam’s drop, Dameron Fooks’ drop, two defensive penalties that proved to be key.
–It seemed like once OSU lost the momentum, things just got out of hand.
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