I thought coming into this game that it would tell us a lot about who this Texas team is. Playing Ohio State close in Columbus was nice, but Ohio State wasn’t exactly going for the throat in that one and the Buckeyes are a much different team now than they were in week one. The other three nonconference games pretty much meant nothing, including the shutout of Sam Houston. Unfortunately, this game did tell us a lot, and none of it was good. Texas needed to win this game and do it in convincing fashion to show me that it was a championship-caliber team, and the Longhorns failed miserably. It’s one game and I don’t want to overreact over one Saturday, but this looks like a middle-of-the-pack SEC team, and that may be generous.
It’s pretty staggering really, how far off the expectations for this team were when you look at how the team has played through the entirety of five weeks. Yes, there have been flashes of dominance against bad competition, but to think that this team was ranked No. 1 when the season began is bewildering. The offense is a mess and the defense was completely exposed today by an offense that had been garbage all season.
Other random thoughts from the game …
That opening kick return by Florida was the first kick return against Texas all year. Coming into this game, the Longhorns had given up 0 kick return yards through four games.
Hat tip to Florida on that first drive. Texas missed a couple of tackles but that was mostly good execution by Florida in both the run game and the passing game. The Gators absolutely gashed Texas between the tackles … something to watch moving forward.
First play for Texas … Wisner dropped for a loss. How do you not block Tyreak Sapp?
Florida absolutely gashing Texas early on. 12 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown to start the game.
Arch putting the ball into some tight windows early on. Can’t keep playing with fire like that, even if the pass to Wingo did somehow make it between two defenders for a completion.
Through two drives … Florida 148 yards of offense, Texas 43 yards of offense. Florida dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and Manning missing open receivers on a couple of passes that could have been completions. Terrible start for Texas.
Huge punchout by TyAnthony Smith to force a fumble when Florida was driving up 10-0. If the Gators go down and score to make it 17-0, Texas might have been in some real trouble.
Holy crap, what a catch by Parker Livingstone. When that ball came off of Arch Manning’s hand, I thought it was way overthrown but Livingstone was able to track it down and make a spectacular one-handed catch and hang on despite contact. Beautiful play, but it sucked seeing Livingstone come up hurt after taking a shot on his knee.
Nice job of playing complementary football, as Sark likes to say, with Texas capitalizing on the fumble to drive down and score to cut the lead to 10-7. Huge swing of events there.
This won’t be a popular but it’s something I’ve been thinking for a while … everyone assumed this defense is elite after four weeks, including yours truly. But the truth is that it hadn’t been tested at all, including in week one against Ohio State when the Buckeyes were extremely conservative. Florida’s by no means an offensive juggernaut but this was the first even close to decent test this group has faced and the first half isn’t exactly inspiring confidence for when Texas plays much better offenses in the coming weeks.
True freshman Dallas Wilson is eating UT’s lunch in the first half. That’s a guy Texas tried to recruit pretty hard.
Florida scores to go up 17-7 and this is in no way a fluke. The Gators have outgained Texas 256-88, are 5-6 on third down and have held the ball for 17:45 compared to 7:20 for Texas.
Emmett Mosley gets wide open on a double move and Manning misses him by several yards. That’s a throw Arch needs to make but the offensive line has to actually give him some protection too.
Next play, Texas punts and Florida blocks it up the middle for a safety. It’s only 19-7 but it feels like the wheels are officially off for Texas.
Colin Simmons back-to-back-to-back plays after the safety to help Texas force a three-and-out. More of that please
That sack of Arch Manning to end the first half was actually a blessing in disguise. Instead of Texas punting with about 40 seconds in the half off an incomplete pass and giving Florida the ball around midfield, the Longhorns were able to run the clock out.
Speaking of the offensive line …that group is getting the shit kicked out of it by Florida.
First half stats of note … Florida 263 yards, Texas 87 yards; Arch Manning 6-12 for 63 yards and 1 TD pass for a 121.6 rating; D.J. Lagway 13-17 for 150 yards and 1 TD for a 170 rating; Florida 113 rushing yards and 5.3 yards per attempt; Texas 24 yards rushing and 2.2 yards per attempt; Parker Livingstone 2 catches for 47 yards; Florida 17 first downs to 4 for Texas; Florida 5-7 on third down, Texas 1-4 on third down; Anthony Hill 7 tackles, 1 fumble recovery;
Good to see Parker Livingstone back in for the second half. Good for him, good for Texas.
Perfect call on the double pass for what should have been a walk-in touchdown but Ryan Wingo overthrows Jack Endries. Brutal. Texas would wind up having to punt. Seven-point swing on that one play.
Beautiful play by Arch Manning for that touchdown pass in the third quarter. In the face of pressure, he climbed the pocket to give himself some time and kept his eyes downfield before delivering a perfect ball to Ryan Wingo to cut the deficit to one score. Best play of the game by Arch so far, by a wide margin.
Texas time of death … 5:06 p.m. when Dallas Wilson catches the ball down the right sideline on a busted coverage and then bullies his way into the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown to make the score 29-14. Ball game.
Kobe Black on that above-mentioned TD catch … good grief. I don’t want to pile on a young guy, but true freshman Dallas Wilson absolutely punked him at the line of scrimmage.
Did I mention that Texas tried to flip Dallas Wilson when he was committed to Oregon? Insult to injury.
Aaaaand, a Wingo drop on a deep ball that was very catchable. When it rains it pours.
Nick Brooks got a lot of run at left guard and to my naked eye, the film review is not going to be kind to him. When he wasn’t making penalties, defenders were running right by him practically untouched.
Because of back-to-back Brooks penalties, Texas is behind the chains and Arch throws a bad interception, hitting the defender in the numbers to drive the final nail in the coffin.
Crowd noise was definitely a factor in this one, and Texas did not handle it well at all. Way too many mental mistakes.
Technically, Texas’ goals of an SEC Championship and CFP run are still on the table but if we’re being realistic, this team has another couple of losses in it, if not more than a couple.
Everyone’s SEC rankings are going to be interesting this week.
Last, but certainly not least … get well soon Scott Wilson!
