Texas Special Teams Mistakes Are Becoming Too Costly to Ignore

One part of the Texas Longhorns team is making costly mistakes that are changing the outcomes of games

Texas Longhorns special teams coordinator Jeff Banks against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

After the first loss of the season, the Texas Longhorns are now self-reflecting across the board to correct the issues from the Oklahoma game and keep the rest of the season on track.

One of the issues that arose in the loss, is the performance from the special teams. On the surface, it might seem like a major hiccup that caused the loss, but the problem might be even more deep-rooted than what meets the eye at first glance.

How can the Longhorns avoid the mistakes, and can such a small part of the game continue to play a major role for the rest of the year?

A Few Plays Created a Critical Shift vs. Oklahoma

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian looks on during the game between the Sooners and the Longhorns at Cotton Bowl. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Special teams are often viewed as the one group of names that fans never want to know, unless it's for a kicker who won on a walk-off field goal. As a whole, punters and kickers are often viewed as a small part of the game, until they aren't.

For the Longhorns, much of that falls on the punt unit, who according to BCFToys, are one of the lowest performing groups in the country. Their "PE" ranking, which is possession value generated per non-garbage punt, is one of the worst is the country, ranking No. 133 out of 138.

That falls directly into the opponent field position value, where the Longhorns are once again one of the lowest in the country, ranking No. 113 in the country. That is the same for the offensive side of the ball as well, where punt returns, which were one of the bright spots last season, have fallen off a cliff this season.

The data numbers aren't even needed to see the struggles with special teams, as they aren't underlying issues. Instead they are available to be seen to the naked eye.

A missed kick against the Sooners, which played a major part in the loss, was there. That wasn't even the significant struggle from the special teams, as the punt unit had a punt blocked that Oklahoma was able to recover for a touchdown.

Even kickoffs have become a problem for the Longhorns, with kicks going out of bounds, setting up opponents with prime field position, a focal point of getting a strong kicker in the off-season.

Special teams coordinator Jeff Banks is one of the highest-paid coordinators in the country, and most of the errors are unforced mental mistakes. With struggles on offense as well, limiting costly mistakes in unnecessary areas, is the difference between a close win, and a close loss.

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