Texas football: Instant postgame analysis from a rivalry loss
There's a lot to unpack from Texas's 34-27 loss to Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown.
The Sooners exploited a couple of known problems for the Longhorns, then found a handful of new ones to take advantage ofto hold off a second-half Texas charge. Here are some immediate reactions:
Texas lost the battle up front on both sides of the ball
After the Longhorns held their own in the trenches against LSU and pretty much dominated everyone else on their schedule up front, most thought the offensive and defensive lines were one of the strengths of this team.
But on Saturday, Oklahoma sacked Sam Ehlinger nine times and shut down everyone outside Roschon Johnson (see below) in the run game.
On defense, the Longhorns made a couple of nice plays, but couldn't consistently stop the Sooners' ground game (235 yards on the ground). Jalen Hurts (17-131), Kennedy Brooks (10-61) and Rhamondre Stevenson (6-37) all found success. on the ground against the Longhorns.
Not only was it the first time Texas has been outmanned up front all year, it's the first time it's happened against Oklahoma since coach Tom Herman arrived in Austin.
"We didn't play well, and we've got to figure out—everybody knows the "what," right," Texas coach Tom Herman said after the game. "The 'what'" is we didn't play well and we pressed and we've got to figure out why."
There will be some adjustments. Texas will look at film on Oklahoma's stunting and stemming up front and try to determine how it created confusion. It will examine the angles it took in trying to take down Jalen Hurts and try to figure out new ways to stop him.
Some of the "why,” however, just came down to guys getting beat by the guys in front of them.
Is that something that can be fixed? And is it something any team left on the regular-season schedule could take advantage of?
Roschon Johnson was a silver lining for the offense
On a day when it seemed very little went right for the Texas offense, running back Roschon Johnson was one of the guys who stood out in a big way.
Johnson rushed for 95 yards on just eight carries. His 57-yard scamper early in the third quarter helped breathe life into an offense that had been stagnant through most of the first half.
We've seen Johnson’s run power in previous games, but we really got a look at his big-play ability against a much-improved Oklahoma defense.
The only real downside to Johnson's day? The fact that he only got eight carries to feature his abilities on a day when he was the most explosive weapon for the Longhorns by far.
Don't be surprised to see Texas get him involved early and often starting next week against Kansas. He's going to be an even bigger part of the equation going forward.
Hard to put the blame on Ehlinger
Nobody is going to call going 20-for-37 for 205 yards a great day by a quarterback, but it was an admirable performance considering Ehlinger was sacked nine times and spent much of the day running for his life.
The most impressive part of Ehlinger's day was he never got rattled. Despite taking shots, staring across at covered receivers and battling a swarming Oklahoma defense, the Texas junior looked like a pro. He even shook off some of those early struggles and led the Longhorns on a couple of second-half touchdown drives.
Between some opportune plays from the Longhorn defense and stellar leadership from its quarterback, Texas managed to claw its way into a game that had no business being so close based on the stat line.
The secondary may be gelling
CeeDee Lamb is an elite player and just might be the best wide receiver in the country.
His 10 catches for 171 yards and three touchdowns aren't an easy pill to swallow, but when you consider that Texas held the rest of the rest of that talented receiving corps to just six catches for 64 yards and no touchdowns, you start to see some bright spots for a secondary that was a major question mark coming in.
Brandon Jones came up with a big-time interception and D'Shawn Jamison knocked the ball loose from Jalen Hurts at the end of another long run. Jamison has three forced turnovers in the last two games after being called up to a bigger role due to injuries.
The Longhorns have impressive depth in the secondary and might be finding a little chemistry to go along with it.
The red zone made a difference
Texas has a bullet point list in its meeting room with several of Herman's most important messages on it.
One says, "score touchdowns in the red zone.” Another says, "hold opponents to field goals in the red zone.”
Texas did both, then one-upped Herman's request. The Longhorns forced two red zone turnovers and held Oklahoma to a pair of field goals in two other red zone trips.
On Texas's end, the Longhorns punched it in on three of four red zone opportunities. The lone time they didn’t, which ended with Cameron Dicker's 32-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, was the first time all year Texas has kicked once it crossed the opponent's 20-yard line.
Clearly the emphasis on the red zone is more than just lip service and it was enough to keep Texas within striking distance on a day when not a lot went right.
