The Battle for the Real “UT”
Beyond the Box Score
In the 4th ever meeting between the orange UTs, the first since the 1969 Cotton Bowl, we saw a lot of positives and a lot of negatives for both teams. The 20–17 victory for the Texas Longhorns over Tennessee has put them in a 3–1 lead all-time.
In the first quarter, it seemed like this game would go smoothly, as both Texas and Tennessee scored on their first drive. Both teams are supposed to be known for their offensive abilities. The defense for both teams showed out, and on top of that, the offenses had issues, making mental mistakes and committing many penalties. Texas had opportunities to increase the lead or gain good field position, but penalties killed their momentum. The best example is when Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons sacked freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon on a 3rd and long that probably would have made it 4th and 29, and Simmons got flagged for the poor decision of mimicking urinating on the Tennessee field. What would have been a 4th and long inside Tennessee’s 15 became a 1st and 10 close to the 30 yard line. That could have put Texas in prime position to score on a short field. For Texas, it was these types of mistakes that kept the game close in part, as Texas finished with 11 penalties for 115 yards.
Tennessee also had their fair share of penalties, with 7 for 55 yards, but their issues were not as self-inflicted. Having a freshman quarterback still learning slows a team down, but they also weren’t able to run the ball well, which is where Tennessee tries to inflict damage offensively. Honestly, neither team was able to run efficiently, but with a freshman quarterback I feel it is necessary to give him less of a burden. Tennessee had 44 rushes for 70 yards, which is 1.6 yards per carry (ypc), and a lot of credit goes to the Longhorns defense. Credit needs to go to the Volunteers defense as well, as they held Texas rushing to 36 rushes for 61 yards, which is 1.7 ypc. For both teams, that does include quarterback sacks, which was big.
Hats off to both teams for their defensive play. Neither team went over 300 total yards, and there were 16 sacks total in this game. Yes, 16 total sacks, 10 of which came from Texas. The player of the game had to be Colin Simmons. Even though he caused that ridiculous penalty, he finished with 8 tackles, 5 of them sacks. Although Tennessee didn’t have a single star player like Simmons, they played great team defense, won the turnover battle, and forced two Texas turnovers. Offensively, there is not much to discuss in detail. I’ll break some of that down for each team later, but how about that onside kick by Tennessee, which may actually have been an illegal play. I am uncertain, though, why Texas had Ryan Wingo on the hands team, as he had 7 drops last season.
Tennessee: Although the Vols lost, their season isn’t over. They do have the potential to make a playoff appearance, but I do think they fall short. This loss won’t drop them much; they will definitely stay in the top 25 and have a winnable game next week against Auburn. Their schedule still consists of Kentucky, Alabama, Texas A&M, and LSU. The good news is that they are all at home except for Texas A&M.
I do believe that if they want to make a playoff spot, they can only lose 2 of those games, and even then other teams would have to lose too, which is just a tall task. If the Vols want to play in the playoffs, they will have to protect Brandon a lot better. The Longhorns defense was able to put a lot of pressure on him with just 4 or 5 rushers. They have to limit penalties, and lastly, Faizon Brandon just needs to keep developing. This was his first SEC game and first game against a powerhouse, and he really wasn’t bad. He didn’t turn the ball over; he simply scrambled too soon or missed some open receivers. Brandon will get better as the season goes on, and defensively Tennessee played really well. If I had to nitpick something, it would be treading carefully with the coverage on the receivers. There were a lot of missed opportunities on Texas’ part to take advantage of Tennessee’s aggressive blitzing or how soft the corners were playing on the receivers.
Texas: Two weeks ago, after the Ohio State game, I said that if Texas was going to win a National Championship under Coach Sarkisian, this was the year to do it. Two weeks later, I see this as unlikely to happen. Penalties especially are killing them. This game it was 11 penalties for 115 yards; last week it was 8 penalties for 88 yards. They have to quit stopping themselves. The defense did really well by stopping Tennessee’s run and making Brandon try to beat them through the air. In this game the corners committed some interference flags, but overall they stopped the run, pressured the quarterback, and didn’t give up many big plays. The offense is really what needs the work. Texas has a difficult path ahead as well, as they play rival Oklahoma and 7 ranked opponents. They have a bye week this coming weekend, and they better figure some things out on offense. The good news, though, is they have that bye and an opportunity to get things straightened out.
Arch and Texas had trouble identifying blitzes and pressure coming from Tennessee, and a lot of credit goes to Volunteers Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles, who really made it tough on the Longhorns to move the ball. Texas also needs to find a way to run the ball. On some drives today, and against OSU, the offensive line looked like they could push over anyone; then there are other times when they get beat every play. Arch threw an interception into double coverage, and he has done that repeatedly this season. Lastly, and I have said this many times over the past few years, Coach Sarkisian needs to get a new offensive coordinator to call plays, because he isn’t the play caller he thinks he is. Against a team like Tennessee, which gave plenty of space to receivers before the snap and blitzed a lot, he only called one screen and didn’t really call many RPOs or quick passes for Arch. Sarkisian continues to call these long developing plays even when the offensive line continues to struggle, like when they played Georgia in their first matchup since Texas joined the SEC. Teams like Ole Miss take advantage of corners giving receivers 10 yards of space at the line of scrimmage and design slants or hitches for a quick 5 yards or more. For some reason, Sark does not do that, although it would help Arch ease in and get more confident. The way they have played versus UTSA and Tennessee, this team will not beat 7 ranked teams. The way Florida, Ole Miss, LSU, and Mississippi State have been playing, they may not even win 3 out of those 7. Texas and Coach Sarkisian need to adjust better and make things easier for Arch and this offensive line. The offense just doesn’t flow or seem easy like it did when Quinn Ewers was at quarterback. Arch is a different type of player. But again, they have a bye, so hopefully they can get things straightened out and adjust.
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Author — Jesse Robertson(Benchwarmer Broadcasting Co-host)