Looking at the good and bad from Texas football's loss to Oklahoma State
Everybody sees the bad in a game like yesterday’s. I can see them, too. But it’s not all that I saw. This wasn’t the same type of loss as a year ago. Texas football fought hard all the way through. They didn’t let Oklahoma State run the clock on them by running the ball down their throats.
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So where do we go from here?
The team with the better quarterback won the game.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: In college football, the team with the better QB wins about 80 percent of the time.
Sure, there are a couple of teams so talented that they may be able to overcome that, but Texas most certainly is not one of those teams at this juncture in time. And Spencer Sanders, a four-year starter, was decidedly better than Quinn Ewers yesterday.
Sanders didn’t get locked on to a single receiver, didn’t get rattled when Texas threw different defensive looks at him, and didn’t hear footsteps against a solid pass rush from the Horns.
Ewers, however, did all of those things. He locked on to Xavier Worthy far too often. He was often flummoxed by coverages from Oklahoma State. And he definitely heard footsteps way too often.
But this is NOT a rip on Quinn Ewers post. Quite the opposite.
It’s a recognition of where he’s at in his evolution as a player.
Ewers has struggled two consecutive weeks primarily because he is a freshman quarterback.
Think about it. Last week was the first time Ewers had seen an opponent drop so many defenders into coverage. This week, the bracketed coverage on Worthy was a new wrinkle, along with the three-high safety look. Plus he got popped in the face a couple of times in the first half which I think sped up his internal clock and feel in the pocket.
It doesn’t matter how talented Ewers is, or how easy the game seems to come to him at times, there are always firsts for any quarterback. And, by definition, that’s what is happening right now.
The last two defenses he has seen both have a unique twist.
Thankfully, that will likely be the end of the truly unique approaches in the conference. Yes, K-State, Baylor and TCU all play their own styles. But they’re not all that far away from what Ewers has now seen.
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Let’s see how he plays the second time he sees more of these defenses.
**
My biggest concern on the team is actually on defense.
The secondary is a complete conundrum. And I don’t see any clear solutions.
Anthony Cook is likely out for quite a while because of injury. And I don’t think there’s another safety ready to go in his place.
Kitan Crawford simply isn’t there mentally when it comes to responsibilities and coverage. JD Coffey is not a pass defender.
So where will the Horns turn?
Perhaps they find a more fitting role for Morice Blackwell. Or they move Michael Taaffe full time to the spot.
Compounding the issue at safety is the mercurial play of D’Shawn Jamison and the health of Ryan Watts at cornerback.
Jamison has unquestionably looked good in spots, but he’s also the DB who has looked the most overmatched at times. If anything, Jamison has been consistently inconsistent. Watts, meanwhile, made a big play against OSU, but had a dinged shoulder going into the game and then missed the rest of the second half with what appeared to be a hamstring strain. If Watts is on the shelf, it further limits who and what the Horns can do in their preferred scheme moving forward.
**
The Horns have two weeks to get healthier and to focus on beating K-State in Manhattan. It’s not an insurmountable task. But the Horns need more from Quinn Ewers and they need a reasonable solution to the secondary.
