Texas report card: Second-half turnaround makes for strong second-half grades
Berry Tramel
Oklahoman
AUSTIN, Texas —
Oklahoma State's 32-24 victory over Texas on Saturday was a second-half masterpiece. The Cowboys were largely ineffective in the first half but outscored UT 29-7 over the final 35½ minutes. The report card isn’t pristine, but it’s more than acceptable.
Running game: A
The Cowboys gained 57 yards on 15 first-half running plays. But the OSU ground game started wearing down Texas. In the second half, the Cowboys had 180 yards on 30 true running plays.
Tailback Jaylen Warren ran for 118 yards in the fourth quarter. OSU in that final period ran 26 plays to UT’s eight and controlled the ball for 11 minutes.
Deep-ball pass defense: B
The Longhorns hurt the Sooners a week ago with downfield passing. But OSU mostly kept the lid on that element of UT’s offense.
Quarterback Casey Thompson threw longer than 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage only four times. One was a 58-yard bomb to Xavier Worthy. Another drew an interference penalty. Another was incomplete. The last was intercepted by safety Tanner McCalister to seal the game. The Longhorns’ receivers are quite talented, but OSU didn’t let those pass catchers loose.
Offensive ingenuity: A
Coordinator Kasey Dunn had some good ideas coming into the game, which didn’t necessarily work, then made some nifty adjustments. At halftime, Dunn changed some direction on formations, moving it toward the sideline, giving Warren more room for cutbacks, which were quite effective. Dunn also installed some speed option, with quarterback Spencer Sanders keeping a few times and pitching once. None gained much, but in the fourth quarter, the option set up a 17-yard run by Brennan Presley off a reverse, followed immediately by a Presley-to-Sanders throwback after a lateral. Alas, Presley’s pass was low and fell incomplete.
Perimeter defense: B
Texas made hay in the first 34 minutes of the game, both on sweeps and short passes. Tailback Bijan Robinson had runs of 38, 26, 10 and nine yards attacking the flank. Texas also produced gains of 25 yards on a shovel pass and 13 yards on a swing pass. But in the final 26 minutes, the perimeter went dry for the Longhorns, and Texas didn’t make a single first down.
Red-zone offense: C
The Cowboys penetrated the Texas 20-yard line five times. But OSU scored only two offensive touchdowns. The Cowboys settled for Tanner Brown field goals of 21, 21 and 29 yards. Tay Martin dropped a sure touchdown on a fade route. And OSU’s final touchdown, a 10-yard Sanders run, came courtesy of Texas allowing the Cowboys to score.
Pass rush: A
The Cowboys got after Thompson all game. They ended up with four sacks — Jayden Jernigan, Collin Oliver and Brock Martin each had one, and Israel Antwine and Brendon Evers shared one. OSU also was credited with four quarterback hurries, flushed Thompson into scrambles for positive yardage twice and pressured him much more. Thompson’s numbers were quite pedestrian — 15 of 27 passing, 179 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Penalties: B
OSU won the penalty game, which pleased Mike Gundy. OSU had seven penalties for 65 yards; Texas had nine penalties for 80 yards. But the Cowboys had only two penalties, for 10 yards total, in the second half. OSU committed three major penalties early in the second quarter, and all hurt. A hold on guard Jake Sills and an unnecessary roughness on tight end Braden Cassity crippled drives that led to punts, and the pass interference penalty against Jarrick Bernard-Converse helped set up a UT touchdown.
