What We Learned: Texas Longhorns Dominate BYU 35-6 Despite Redzone Issues
A Quinn Ewer-less Texas Longhorns team dominated the BYU Cougars 35-6 in their first game back inside Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in four weeks.
Unlike the win last week against Houston, once Texas got the lead, they never surrendered it, largely due to a dominant display from the defense, which held BYU to 292 yards and two field goals.
So, with the Longhorns advancing to 7-1 on the season, we empty the notebook from the win.
Longhorns Overcome Rookie Mistakes
As expected with any first-time starting quarterback, mistakes will be made. While the Longhorns ultimately cruised to victory over the Cougars, it wasn't without mishaps from Maalik Murphy.
The redshirt freshman had two turnovers in the win, the first being an ill-advised throw on the Longhorns' second drive. BYU brought pressure on second-and-10, prompting Murphy to throw a ball off his backfoot, which is when disaster struck as it fell right into the grasp of a Cougars defensive back.
Then, two drives later, a sack for the Cougars ended in disaster for the Longhorns as Murphy lost the football as he was being tackled.
However, turnovers aside, Murphy's debut showed promise as he completed 16 of his 25 passes for 170 yards with two touchdowns. The former four-star recruit even showed off his arm with his first-career touchdown being a 30-yard pass to Adonai Mitchell.
Redzone Woes
Oct 28, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns running back Jonathon Brooks (24) leaps over Brigham Young Cougars defenders during the second half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Problems in the redzone doomed the Longhorns in their loss to the Oklahoma Sooners, and a week after scoring touchdowns on three of their four redzone trips against Houston, Texas struggled versus BYU.
The Longhorns had two redzone trips that ultimately ended with no points, as they went for it on fourth down and couldn't convert—of their five trips to the redzone against the Cougars, Texas only managed touchdowns on two of them.
Style Points or Not... Just Win
The expectation in Austin this season was a Big-12 championship and college football playoff appearance. Those expectations didn't change even after the Red River Rivalry loss. While the Longhorns would undoubtedly rather have the goose egg still in the loss column, they still controlled their destiny.
All the Longhorns had to do to keep their goals alive was win. It didn't matter if it was pretty or even ugly; all they needed was a victory. Texas may not have been satisfied with last week's close win over Houston, but it was better than the alternative.
However, they will surely feel much better after the Kansas Jayhawks upset the Sooners 38-33.