ITYT: What are the applicable lessons from Texas' 2022 Alamo Bowl matchup with Washington?
Inside Texas’ Joe Cook and Ian Boyd discuss the X’s and O’s related to the 2024 Sugar Bowl by looking at the 2022 Alamo Bowl, the impact of Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat, and how championship defenses are formed on the latest episode of X’s and O’s on the ITYT channel.
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0:00-11:07: Joe and Ian discuss lessons the Longhorns can take from the 2022 loss to the Huskies. They dive into the proficient passing attack manned by Michael Penix Jr. and star wideouts Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, and Ja’lynn Polk, and some of the best strategies needed in order to do that. Many of the same players from the Longhorn secondary will be charged with defending U-Dub’s players this year, including Ryan Watts, Jerrin Thompson, Jahdae Barron, and Terrance Brooks. Ian explains how the Longhorns respected the passing game more than any team on the 2022 schedule save for Alabama and Bryce Young. Odunze got a lot of respect, and Barron at nickel had a primary responsibility for the pass. The important thing to remember is that Texas had a “light box,” which hurt the Longhorns once on a long touchdown run by the Huskies. Joe explains that the light box strategy is going to be the one the Longhorns deploy against the Huskies again and it’ll take a stout day from the Texas defensive front.
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12:03-20:16: Texas’ light box has been able to dominate opposing offensive lines this season thanks to the play of the defensive tackle tandem of Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat. Those two create problems for opposing offensive lines because, as Ian explains, they are able to decimate multiple gaps to where running the football is an impossible chore. Ian details where they align and how they do their best work, and both dive into how that frees up other players like Jaylan Ford, David Gbenda, and Anthony Hill to make plays. Joe explains how teams are in tough situations whether they go light or heavy because of the play of Murphy and Sweat.
20:17- : The strength of Murphy and Sweat are key to winning a championship, as Ian noted in writing on Inside Texas. Ian goes into detail about how having a strong defensive front allows for defensive backfields to remain in a two-high look, which helps dedicate numbers to defend the pass against dangerous receivers. Joe talks about how that’s a prevalent defense in the NFL these days, and while this is the college game there are lessons applicable from the league at the highest level of college football.
