December 22, 20241 yr Popular Post Collecting all the post-game analysis articles, including those behind paywalls, regarding the Clemson game here: (Gerald Goodridge) No. 5 Texas 38, No. 12 Clemson 24: Three things we learned Quote The No. 5 Texas Longhorns made it more dramatic than it needed to be but came away with a relatively comfortable 38-24 win over the Clemson Tigers to open up the College Football Playoff at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. It was a seemingly topsy-turvy game from Texas, with the offense leading the charge and having to make up for some defensive struggles, while also overcoming their own offensive struggles. The ground game can lead the offense Texas took advantage of a Clemson defense that struggles to stop the run and pressed the advantage as often as they could. Jaydon Blue took advantage of his speed and ability to find the edge, putting together a career day with 146 yards and two touchdowns — rushing for 10.4 yards per carry. Quintrevion Wisner wasn’t too far behind, carrying the ball 15 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns, inching closer to hitting a 1,000-yard season. Perhaps most important was the team’s ability to put the game away on the ground, both with a big response score and a game-killing drive. In the fourth quarter, after Clemson put together a long scoring drive to close the gap to one score, Jaydon Blue took an outside zone carry behind Kelvin Banks Jr. 77 yards to put the lead back to two scores. On the next drive, Texas took the ball over with 7:42 left on the clock and ran the ball eight times to bleed nearly six minutes off of the clock. Texas can be exposed through the air Cade Klubnik, a probable NFL Draft pick, is the best quarterback Texas has played this year and it showed in the game against Clemson. The Austin native racked up 336 yards and three touchdowns, nearly doubling the defense’s touchdown total in one game. Clemson connected on eight passes of 15 yards or more in this one, including two touchdowns of 22 and 25 yards. The Tigers had six players that finished with more than two receptions, with freshman TJ Moore turning in a game-high 116 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets — just 16 of his yards came after the catch. It’s the highest passing total allowed for the Longhorns this season and the first time they’ve given up more than 215 yards through the air since last year’s CFP opener against Washington. The Longhorns need to get out of their own way Texas had a chance to put this game away in the first half, forcing Klubnik into a rare interception and taking the ball over at the Clemson 23 with a 21-7 lead. The Longhorns were unable to move the ball, giving it back to the Tigers after gaining just eight yards on four plays. On the Longhorn’s next drive, a Quinn Ewers pass slipped through the hands of an open receiver turning a surefire first down into a turnover that could have been much worse. Adding injury to insult, Texas lost center Jake Majors after the fifth-year starter was on the receiving end of a blindside block following the interception. Texas rebounded and took a 28-10 lead into halftime thanks to a long drive to close out the half, but could put up just three points in the third quarter — a Bert Auburn field goal on the opening drive — to keep Clemson in the game. Regardless of the struggles, Texas won and advanced, setting up a matchup against the Arizona State Sun Devils, who got a week off after winning the Big 12. (Ian Boyd) Five quick thoughts: Texas advances to the second round past Clemson Quote Steve Sarkisian secured his second postseason victory at Texas against the Clemson Tigers with a 38-24 win at home in Darrel K Royal Memorial Stadium. Sark is now 1-1 in both playoff games and conference championship games and Texas advances to the Peach Bowl to play a quarterfinal playoff game against the #4 seed and Big 12 Champion Arizona State Sun Devils. The game was sealed in a fitting fashion with a quick toss over the middle thrown by Clemson’s Westlake grad quarterback Cade Klubnik which was blown up when fellow Westlake grad and former teammate Michael Taaffe dropped down and smoked the receiver, knocking the ball loose for a 4th down incompletion. Even with a completion Clemson was facing long odds at a win with time quickly running out and Texas up by two touchdowns thanks to a few second drives powered by the run game which put up a few insurance points and drained clock. It got interesting with a 31-10 deficit at the half reduced to 31-24 by Klubnik’s steady application of spread passing on what became an increasingly out of sorts Texas secondary. A 77-yard run by Jaydon Blue essentially killed the comeback before it could really materialize and a 4th down stop by the defense took the 38-24 lead home. Quick thought no. 1: Terrific opening script results Sark went into this game knowing Texas could run on Clemson and was determined to do so from the jump. The Longhorns opened up in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) and were determined to hammer the Tigers in the zone game early and often until it was stopped. The first drive featured six runs, the last of which was a five-yard touchdown by Quintrevion Wisner. The second drive was all runs with Sark calling five of them before a 38-yard run by Jaydon Blue ended it with another touchdown. Texas scored touchdowns on the first three drives. There were points to be scored later on, as will be the case when you can run the ball consistently, but the early script set the tone once again and built up a sizable lead for Texas. Sark had a few new packages in the run game to help produce those result but the winning formula was mostly outside zone from 12 personnel with Gunnar Helm and Juan Davis clearing out Tigers on either flank. For instance… Helm is riding star defensive end T.J. Parker out of the play while Davis seals star outside linebacker Wade Woodaz and the ball hits inside in the ensuing space which is too big for star safety RJ Mickens to close up. The deep safety took a bad angle and couldn’t catch Blue, who is an absolute demon when he hits a zone play on a single cut and go. Sark also had a jumbo I-formation package with Jaydon Chatman and Malik Agbo playing in receiver eligible jerseys (98 and 80 respectively) at tight end and Jerrick Gibson at fullback. This went less great and was often on the losing end of Texas’ 1-4 performance on the day on 4th downs. The Arch Manning short-yardage package wasn’t much better and the famous backup ran the ball three times for a total of zero yards with one fumble which was recovered by Texas. Quick thought no. 2: Secondary worries It was far and away the worst game of the season for Texas’ pass defense. That’ll happen when you face a legitimately great quarterback at the helm of a HUNH spread (hurry-up, no-huddle) offense with actual weapons for the first time in the season. Klubnik had a solid homecoming going 26-43 for 336 yards at 7.8 ypa with three touchdowns and a pick while adding 13 carries on the ground for just five yards. Clemson could never get the quarterback draw game going for more than 4-6 yards between the tackles and didn’t really carry the most impressive quarterback run game (or overall run game) into this contest. That said, Klubnik still hit some fade routes, multiple throws over the middle, some long field stop routes, and routinely scrambled before finding receivers breaking open down the field. Thorpe-winning Jahdae Barron erased Bryant Wesco, who was targeted nine times and caught just three balls for 30 yards at 3.3 ypa. Elsewhere things went less well for the Longhorns. TJ Moore had a good day with nine catches on 12 targets for 116 yards and a touchdown. Inside targets Jake Briningstool and Antonio Williams were targeted a combined 13 times and caught eight balls for 135 yards at 10.4 ypt with one touchdown. Eventually Pete Kwiatkowski moved Barron inside to nickel with Texas up 38-24 in hopes of erasing the shots in the middle of the field only for Klubnik to repeatedly target Malik Muhammad with Moore 1-on-1 down the sideline. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Klubnik wasn’t up for fully nailing the Sam Ehlinger impersonation by running it in on the goal line with the quarterback stretch play Ehlinger always ran so well. Texas repeatedly stopped him around the goal line, including on the Moore drive, and a subsequent clock-killing drive by the Texas offense killed any hopes of a Clemson comeback. Fortunately for the Longhorns, there aren’t many offenses like that in the playoffs. There is one though from Oregon which could be waiting in the semi-finals if Texas defeats Arizona State. Quick thought no. 3: Offensive identity? Texas nailed the “score on the early script, build a lead, run clock and secure the win with the run game” formula once again. The run game actually did most of the heavy lifting on either side with the following stat lines for the running backs, who lead a 48 carry, 292 yard, 6.1 ypc, and four touchdown game for the rushing attack: Blue: 14 carries, 146 yards, 10.4 ypc, two touchdowns. Wisner: 15 carries, 110 yards, 7.3 ypc, two touchdowns. Gibson: Nine carries, 35 yards, 3.9 ypc. It’s really hard to lose games when you run the football that effectively. Quinn Ewers was good on the script as well and had 141 passing yards at 10.1 ypa in the first half before finishing at 17-24 for 202 yards at 8.4 ypa with a touchdown and an interception. He hit a post route to Matthew Golden for 43 yards on Texas’ third touchdown drive and had a nice scramble where he showed better mobility and health than he’s been able to enjoy for a few weeks. His overall game management was as solid as ever with some key run checks: Golden’s emergence as the no. 1 outside receiver is massive for this team, although his decision-making on kick-off returns needs a little bit of work. Golden was targeted four times and caught two balls for 49 yards and drew two defensive pass interference calls (of three on the night) for Clemson’s star cornerback Avieon Terrell. Texas won the matchup between Golden (and Wingo at times) and Terrell. With Isaiah Bond out, Golden stepped up as a big play threat outside while Blue produced the big explosive runs. This is a formula which Texas could maintain for a few rounds yet. Helm lead the team in targets (seven) and receptions (six) and had 77 yards and this beautiful touchdown: Blue’s ability to stretch the field out of the backfield was huge here and overstressed the deep cornerback trying to play a deep 1/3 in Cover 3. Clemson scored on a very similar design later in the game. Quick thought no. 4: A depth win up front An obvious wrinkle to this game was that it came with a few moments of real adversity in which Texas’ cohesion and depth carried them to victory. One late 2nd quarter drive by Texas went terribly awry, first with a throwback screen to Wisner which resulted in a six-yard loss as well as apparent injuries to both Wisner and right tackle Cameron Williams. Wisner would get back into the game although Blue carried more of the load (without fumbles!) from that point on. Williams played one snap on the next drive and left the game without returning. The very next play, Ewers tried to lead DeAndre Moore up the field only for the receiver to bobble the pass for a Clemson interception and center Jake Majors to immediately take a big blindside block which negated a pick-6 return for the Tigers. Majors didn’t return although Sark noted in the postgame he was available: They’ll have a little over a week to heal up. For the entire second half, Texas ran the following unit on the offensive line: Left tackle: Kelvin Banks Left guard: Cole Hutson Center: Hayden Conner Right guard: DJ Campbell Right tackle: Trevor Goosby That unit had their hang-ups now and then with a false start and a few less solid snaps, but mostly they just kept up the same domination in the run game which buried Clemson from start to finish in this contest. They may not let up any time soon either because… Quick thought no. 5: Up next, Arizona State Texas’ next playoff contest will pit them up against the Sun Devils, who were picked last in the preseason All-Big 12 media poll (which is never reliable but still…). The Sun Devils had an extra week to prepare and odds are they leaned Texas’ way in terms of where they allocated scouting and practice time. However, they are a very different sort of team than Clemson. Where the Tigers have legitimate blue chip talent up and down the offensive and defensive rosters, the Sun Devils are built around an offensive line of 5th and 6th year senior transfers, players who couldn’t find playing time at other schools (including at Texas in several instances), and a few gems they found which have been developed into star players such as running back Cameron Skattebo (think Christian McCaffrey). The Sun Devil D-line certainly isn’t loaded with massive pro prospects. Texas will open up as a big favorite, probably around two touchdowns. The Sun Devils have a smaller D-line, lost their star receiver late in the year, and are actually young at quarterback with second-year player Sam Leavitt. The Longhorns’ “score early, run late, play great defense throughout” formula should be strong enough to power them over at least one more opponent before things will really get interesting in the semi-finals against another major power like Tennessee, Ohio State, or Oregon. (Sam Khan Jr.) Texas tops Clemson in first 1st-round game with pulse: Horns set date with Arizona State Quote AUSTIN, Texas — Fifth-seeded Texas held on Saturday afternoon to top 12-seed Clemson 38-24 in a first-round College Football Playoff game at Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium. It was the first meeting between the national championship programs, which pitched the first game of the first round that was competitive well into the second half, with Clemson closing the gap to seven points early in the fourth quarter. But Texas (12-2) always had a response. The Longhorns finished with 292 yards rushing on a sunny, 60-degree day in Austin. Texas advances to face No. 4 seed Arizona State on Jan. 1 in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Clemson (10-4), which won the ACC title game to make the Playoff, was making its seventh CFP appearance under Dabo Swinney, but its first in four years. Texas’ run game makes the difference The formula for slowing Texas’ offense has been cut-and-dried: Stop the run, and you can keep the Longhorns from lighting up the scoreboard. If Texas gets in a groove, good luck. The Longhorns set the tone early, utilizing both Quintrevion Wisner and Jaydon Blue to dice up the Clemson defense. Texas had 121 first-half rushing yards, but the Tigers showed signs of being able to contain the run in the third quarter, holding Texas to just 3.1 yards per rush. But after the Tigers narrowed Texas’ lead to just a touchdown, the Longhorns imposed their will, trusting their offensive line and letting Blue do the rest. His 77-yard touchdown run with 10:48 to play gave Texas the breathing room it needed to stave off the Tigers’ rally. The Longhorns’ ground performance is all the more impressive when accounting for the injuries they suffered up front. Right tackle Cam Williams and center Jake Majors both left the game in the second quarter with injuries. The Longhorns had to shuffle their offensive line, moving left guard Hayden Conner to center, subbing in Trevor Goosby at right tackle and Cole Hutson at left guard. That the group finished the way they did in spite of the shifting personnel is encouraging for Texas as it looks ahead to the quarterfinal. — Khan Clemson’s defense can’t hold up against the run The Tigers entered Saturday with a questionable-at-best run defense that ranked No. 74 nationally and gave up an average of 150.5 yards per game on the ground. It only got worse for Clemson on Saturday against a bigger, stronger Texas team that had no problem picking up chunk plays — including the 77-yard run in the fourth quarter from Blue that sealed the Tigers’ fate. The Longhorns rushed for 148 yards in the first half alone, averaging 6.7 yards per rush on 22 carries. The one-two punch of Wisner and Blue was too much for a Clemson defense that has struggled to set the edges all season and couldn’t find a way to stop Texas downhill. That opened the passing game up for Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, who had a 43-yard pass to Matthew Golden on the Longhorns’ third drive that set Texas up for an eventual 16-yard touchdown run. Texas finished the first half with 289 yards of total offense, averaging 8.03 yards per play. To Clemson’s credit, the Tigers appeared to make adjustments at halftime and held Texas to 3.1 yards per carry in the third quarter. Texas also went 2-of-5 on third down in the third. But after the Tigers offense made it a one-score game thanks to a gritty drive behind quarterback Cade Klubnik, playing in his hometown, Blue took off for the 77-yard touchdown run. On a night when Clemson knew the Longhorns defense was going to be the best it had seen all year, Swinney and defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin were always going to need their own defense to counter Ewers and the Texas offense. It couldn’t hold up. — Raynor Texas defense does its part Klubnik (26-of-43 passing for 336 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) certainly had his moments, particularly in the second half, hitting big plays. But Texas’ defense did enough early on to disrupt the Tigers, allowing the Longhorns to build a lead. Texas’ defensive front did a good job of keeping Clemson’s running game in check, with a 41-yard run by Clemson receiver Adam Randall serving as the only big run play the Longhorns’ yielded. Klubnik, who is typically reliable as a run threat, was also largely kept quiet in that facet, finishing with 5 yards on 13 attempts. And in crunch time, when the Longhorns needed a stop on fourth-and-goal to prevent the Tigers from narrowing the gap to one score again, they got it. Defensive tackle Bill Norton used all 335 of his pounds to move Clemson right guard Walker Parks, plug up the middle and tackle running back Keith Adams Jr. short of the goal line. Klubnik’s ability to hit big plays in the passing game in the second half is certainly something Texas will look to clean up, but for the most part, the Longhorns did what they needed to defensively. — Khan Missed opportunities for Tigers For as much as Texas seemed to control this game, the Tigers weren’t without their opportunities. And when Swinney looks back at this tape, there are several series he’ll wish his team had back. It started in the first half. After the Tigers put together an impressive, methodical opening drive that ended with a touchdown, Randall ripped off a 41-yard run on the third drive of the game. Randall, a receiver, helped out at running back on Saturday due to injuries at the position that decimated Clemson’s depth. And when he took off downfield, it felt like the Tigers were in position to tie the score at 14. But Clemson punted that series, unable to sustain the drive. Also in the first half, safety R.J. Mickens had what would’ve been a pick six, but it was called back for an illegal blindside block on defensive tackle Tre Williams. The offense had to settle for a field goal on the ensuing drive. Sophomore cornerback Avieon Terrell dropped a would-be interception just before the half and moments before Texas scored another touchdown. And when the Clemson defense finally caught a break in the first half and stopped Texas for a turnover on downs, the Tigers offense couldn’t cash in on the next drive and punted instead. Klubnik put together a gritty drive early in the fourth quarter that culminated with him hitting freshman receiver T.J. Moore over the middle for a touchdown on fourth-and-6 that made it a one-score game. But then the defense broke again on the Blue run. — Raynor Ewers good enough for Texas Texas QB Ewers had a great start but was up and down from that point onward. He completed his first eight passes, with that streak broken on an interception, the result of receiver DeAndre Moore dropping a would-be completion. After his hot start, Ewers completed nine of his last 16 passes and had one crucial bad ball that could have been costly: a fourth-down pass to Matthew Golden that was behind the receiver and would have been a first down if placed properly (or if Golden held on). Otherwise, Ewers made no critical mistakes or didn’t put the ball in harm’s way unnecessarily. He even used his legs to run for a first down, a positive sign considering he’s still working his way back from an ankle injury. His line was unspectacular: 17-of-24 passing for 202 yards, a touchdown and an interception, but he was good enough on a day when the run game carried the day. — Khan Texas gets hot Big 12 champ and star RB Skattebo next in Atlanta Since losing Oct. 19 at Cincinnati — a game played without injured quarterback Sam Leavitt — Arizona State has been on a roll. The Sun Devils won six in a row to win the Big 12 championship and capture the CFP’s fourth seed. They’ve gotten better every week. But Texas will be their biggest test. Entering Saturday, the Longhorns boasted the nation’s No. 2 scoring defense (giving up 12.5 points per game) and its No. 13 rushing defense (106.4 yards). The Sun Devils will counter with Cam Skattebo, a first-team All-American who finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting. Skattebo thought he deserved better — he says he’s the best running back in the country — and will try to prove as much on the biggest stage of his life. Arizona State has personnel issues. The Sun Devils won’t have receiver Jordyn Tyson, a third-team All-American who suffered a season-ending collarbone injury Nov. 30 against rival Arizona. In addition, safety Shamari Simmons is expected to miss the first half because of a targeting penalty that happened in the fourth quarter of the Big 12 Championship Game. Turnovers will be key. Texas is among the best at forcing them, as only Notre Dame and James Madison forced more entering the Playoff. But Arizona State excelled with ball security, committing only eight turnovers, fewer than every team but Vanderbilt. Texas has an edge in big-game experience. The Longhorns made last season’s CFP, while the Sun Devils, picked to finish last in this season’s Big 12, are living a fairytale. Coincidentally, the last time Arizona State surprised in such a way unfolded in 2007. The Sun Devils won eight in a row to open the season, reaching No. 6 in the national polls. At 10-2, they met Texas in the Holiday Bowl. The Longhorns won in a rout, 52-34. — Haller
December 22, 20241 yr Author Sam Khan Jr.: Texas, a complete but imperfect team, looks poised to make deep Playoff run Quote AUSTIN, Texas — Throughout its first journey through the SEC and second to the College Football Playoff, Texas has had its share of underwhelming moments. In the back half of the regular season, red zone woes nagged a Texas offense with the talent to be one of the nation’s best. In their SEC Championship Game loss to Georgia earlier this month, the Longhorns’ run game was nonexistent. Turnovers and protection problems have popped up at times, as have injuries to key players. Sometimes, the Longhorns have made winning look harder than it should, leading critics to question their lofty ranking and take exception to their resume, which included no wins over Top 25 teams entering the Playoff. But in fifth-seeded Texas’ 38-24 first-round Playoff win over No. 12-seed Clemson on Saturday, the Longhorns showed why they’re a trendy pick to advance deep into the bracket. The flaws they have can be papered over with excellence in other areas. That’s the beauty of constructing a roster as deep and talented as the one Texas has, in the fourth year of the Steve Sarkisian era. Texas’ win over Clemson, in many ways, embodied what the Longhorns have been this year: a complete, if imperfect, team. And in a tournament with no dominant power or overwhelming favorite, Texas, with a favorable draw, has as good a chance as anyone at hoisting the national championship trophy. Offensively, the Longhorns are explosive enough to jump out to a lead or put a team away. They rode that side to a 31-10 lead midway through the third quarter. A hot start from quarterback Quinn Ewers, who completed his first eight passes, and a dominant run game helped the Longhorns grab control. Defensively, Texas is physical and above all, consistent. The Longhorns kept Clemson’s running game quiet aside from one 41-yard run by receiver Adam Randall. The Tigers managed just 76 yards on the ground, and the Longhorns corralled mobile quarterback Cade Klubnik for most of the day. Neither side was perfect. Ewers’ ninth attempt bounced off the hands of receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. and into the hands of Clemson’s R.J. Mickens for a turnover. Ewers completed just nine of his last 16 passes and was off target on a key fourth-down attempt in the second half. Klubnik started having success attacking the Longhorns secondary, completing four passes of 25 or more yards over the late third and early fourth quarter, to help cut Clemson’s deficit to seven points. But in key moments, the Longhorns responded. After Ewers’ interception, he led a touchdown drive on the next series, finding tight end Gunnar Helm in the back of the end zone to extend Texas’ lead to 18. When the Tigers trimmed Texas’ 14-point lead to seven, the Longhorns answered emphatically. Jaydon Blue’s 77-yard touchdown run came less than a minute after Clemson narrowed the lead. Later in the fourth quarter, when Clemson threatened to again make it a one-score game, the Longhorns’ defensive front stood tall. With the Tigers facing third-and-goal from the 1, safety Michael Taaffe and linebacker David Gbenda stuffed Klubnik on a quarterback keeper. On fourth-and-goal, Clemson tried to do what Texas A&M couldn’t three weeks ago — hand it off to the running back on a dive play. This attempt ended the same way that one did: with Texas’ defensive line imposing its will at the line of scrimmage and coming up with a fourth-down stop. This time, it was defensive tackle Bill Norton who used his 335 pounds to clog the middle and stop Clemson running back Keith Adams Jr., stifling the Tigers’ last real chance to keep pace. “It just was kind of typical of who we are,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got big people, and they know how to play a physical brand of football.” It’s easy to forget that Texas operated shorthanded in multiple areas on Saturday. Isaiah Bond, Texas’ speedy receiver transfer from Alabama, missed the game because of an ankle injury. But Helm, Matthew Golden and Ryan Wingo stepped up. The Longhorns’ running back depth chart, which has been tenuous because of injuries all season, took a hit when Tre Wisner had to leave the game. No worries. Blue responded with a season-high 146 yards and two touchdowns. The offensive line lost two starters in the second quarter, center Jake Majors and right tackle Cam Williams. Texas slid left guard Hayden Conner into the middle, then plugged in Cole Hutson (left guard) and Trevor Goosby (right tackle) and continued to run the ball effectively and protect Ewers. He was sacked just once after the lineup was shuffled. It’s not the first time the O-line adjusted seamlessly midstream. In the regular-season finale against Texas A&M, All-American left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. left with an ankle injury and Goosby filled in minimal issues. “It’s definitely a brotherhood,” Conner said. “We all rely on each other. We trust each other, like when Kelvin went down at A&M, Goosby came in, we didn’t skip a beat. That’s why we practice.” The Longhorns have blown teams out, winning each of their first six games by at least three scores. They’ve survived low-scoring slugfests against Arkansas and Texas A&M. They won by three at Vanderbilt in October. They’ve done it with flashy quarterback play and speedy receivers or dominance at the line of scrimmage. They’ve bludgeoned teams with their defensive front. The fact that they can do all those things makes the Longhorns dangerous. Texas’ Playoff path from here is a friendly one. The Longhorns return to Atlanta, where they played for the SEC title two weeks ago, to take on Arizona State, the lowest-seeded conference champion that earned a first-round bye. The Sun Devils ended the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the country, but Texas’ talent advantage is substantial. If the Longhorns win the Peach Bowl, they’d get their semifinal opponent in the Lone Star State, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, less than a three-hour drive from campus. It’s easy to envision a sea of burnt orange in JerryWorld on Jan. 10 if the Longhorns get that far. Georgia, the team that has been Texas’ kryptonite, is on the other side of the bracket and the Longhorns won’t have to see the Bulldogs unless both get to the national title game. First, Texas must get past the Big 12 champions. But Sarkisian knows, no matter what it takes, Texas can deliver. “That’s kind of the beauty of this team … we can win games a lot of different ways,” Sarkisian said. “We can win low-scoring, tight defensive, but we can also score points … and extend leads when we have to do that. We’re not just one dimensional. … And I think there’s more there for us to even improve upon.” (Bruce Feldman) Sorry, Lane Kiffin: Indiana earned a Playoff spot. SEC teams that got left out did not Quote Curt Cignetti, once again, didn’t hold back. His team was less than two hours away from kicking off its first College Football Playoff game, and the 63-year-old Indiana head coach sat in the middle of the “College GameDay” set and went right at the skeptics. “We don’t just beat Top 25 teams, we beat the s— out of them!” Cignetti said, referencing that his teams had beaten Nebraska earlier this year and Coastal Carolina when he was at JMU. It was a rewind-the-TV moment. As in, did he really just say that?! It also wasn’t true. The Huskers had fallen out of the poll by the time they played the Hoosiers. Ohio State was ranked, though, and beat Indiana 38-15. Cignetti’s bluster ultimately fell flat. The Hoosiers were whipped at the line of scrimmage Friday night by Notre Dame. They were two steps slower, and when they were down 20-3 with 11 minutes left in the game, Cignetti punted and coached like he was hoping not to get routed. A damning stat about Cignetti’s team this year: Against 11 unranked opponents, Indiana averaged 46 points per game. In two games against ranked teams, Indiana averaged 16 points and didn’t have a play of 30 yards or longer. Because the Hoosiers were getting handled for much of the night — they trailed 17-3 at halftime — the college football world had plenty of time to vent. Some tried to relitigate whether Indiana actually belonged in the 12-team Playoff field. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin didn’t miss his chance to stir the pot, mocking Indiana and the selection committee. But the truth is, no one who didn’t make the 12-team Playoff earned their way into it. Whatever happens on the field over the next month won’t change the fact that the teams that didn’t get picked simply didn’t do enough to get in. Kiffin’s Ole Miss team? The Rebels lost three games, including one at home against a dreadful Kentucky team that didn’t win another SEC game and finished 4-8. That loss by itself, coupled with the Rebels’ 28-10 home win over Georgia, wouldn’t have kept them out, but they had two other losses against unranked LSU and Florida. Alabama? The Tide also beat Georgia, but they had an embarrassing 24-3 beatdown at the hands of a mediocre Oklahoma team in late November. Alabama also gave up 40 points in a loss to 6-6 Vanderbilt and lost to Tennessee. South Carolina? It got blown out 27-3 by Ole Miss at home, and it also lost to Alabama and unranked LSU. The Gamecocks do have a road win over ACC champion Clemson, though. Indiana went 11-1 in the regular season. The Hoosiers don’t have impressive wins on their resume. Not one. But they did blow out almost everybody they faced. Only 7-5 Michigan, the team that upset Ohio State at the end of the season, got within two touchdowns of them until the Buckeyes. But Indiana played who was on its schedule. That schedule did have the two teams that actually played for last season’s national title — the Wolverines and Washington — but both of them had to replace their head coaches and most of their starting lineups. You play who you play, and it’s not IU’s fault how other teams turned out in 2024. If you don’t think Indiana deserved to make the Playoff, you’re saying it had a one-game schedule this fall at Ohio State, and because it lost that one game, nothing else it did mattered. There’s no doubt some of this criticism of the Hoosiers is rooted in the fact that they have almost never been good before. As the broadcast Friday night repeatedly noted, Indiana is the losingest program in college football history. But the Playoff is supposed to consider only what happened this year, not the past, even if it’s always been hard for human nature and those biases not to creep into the thought process. Cignetti didn’t do himself any favors, either, when he said before he took the job that he looked at Indiana’s suspect 2024 schedule and got more excited about the Hoosiers’ coaching vacancy. One concern as college football moved to a 12-team Playoff was that it would devalue the regular season. The TV ratings this fall would indicate that it hasn’t. But if the Playoff selection committee disregards wins and losses because it wants to just go by its own eye test or what Vegas thinks about potential matchups or what NFL personnel people think of a team’s “talent,” it will devalue the regular season, and that’s not worth it for all of the second-guessing and knee-jerk reactions as the revisionist history seeps into the dialogue. Expect more of this if and when the Playoff expands to 14 or 16 teams. That would just mean more teams with even more flawed resumes will get in, and more will also be sitting at home watching it. Matt Baker: College Football Playoff blowouts are nothing new, whether it’s 12 teams or 4 Quote The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff that kicked off this weekend featured an unwelcome carryover from its four-team predecessor. Bad games. All four first-round matchups were decided by double digits. Over 120 combined second-half minutes, the score was within one touchdown for all of 55 seconds. ESPN’s win probability never dipped below 87 percent in the fourth quarter for Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State or Texas. The performances — like ACC runner-up SMU, the last at-large team in, losing 38-10 to Penn State — will be scrutinized by fans and administrators trying to prove their points and shape future models. But they also require historical context. Though last year’s semifinals were close, in the four-team Playoff era (2014-23), the average margin of victory in the first round was 17.9 points. Add national title games, and the margin was 18.6. The average spread in this year’s first round was 19.3 points. Worse, but not drastically different. The difference in yardage this weekend (121.8 per game) was actually closer than the first round in the last model (125). A pair of garbage-time touchdowns made the first on-campus game of the 12-team era — Indiana’s 27-17 loss to Notre Dame on Friday night — look closer than it was. But it was still tighter than the first CFP game a decade ago: Oregon’s 59-20 demolition of undefeated Florida State in the Rose Bowl. That semifinal’s enduring image was Seminoles star quarterback Jameis Winston slipping and fumbling backward for a 58-yard scoop-and-score Ducks touchdown. Not exactly the pinnacle of elite competition. Clemson made its trip to Texas interesting by fighting back to make it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter. But the Tigers were dominated on the ground (outrushed 292-76), and a Texas win never felt in jeopardy. As soon as Clemson cut the lead to seven, the Longhorns’ Jaydon Blue broke off a 77-yard touchdown run. It was Clemson’s 11th CFP game. The Tigers’ first 10 were decided by an average of 17.7 points. Clemson lost by 14 Saturday. Ohio State’s 42-17 obliteration of Tennessee was perhaps the most shocking, as the Buckeyes outgained the Volunteers 205-16 in the first quarter. But Ohio State’s 21-10 halftime advantage wasn’t as big as its lead over Clemson (35-14) through two quarters of a Sugar Bowl triumph in January 2021. Though the Buckeyes won by 25 Saturday, it was merely the 10th-largest CFP blowout (Ohio State even had losses by 31 and 28 in the four-team era). As much as Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin — who made sarcastic social media remarks during the “really exciting” Indiana loss and “riveting” Penn State romp — and others want to gripe or snicker about the system, the issue isn’t new. It’s not a product of the electric home-field advantages that were on display; teams were blown out at neutral NFL stadiums and with reduced crowds during the 2020 COVID-19 season. It’s not a product of shakier teams with lesser reputations making the field, either. Florida State, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Michigan State suffered larger first-round losses in the old era than SMU and Indiana did this weekend. And it’s not unique to college football. The average margin of victory in the Wild Card round of last season’s NFL playoffs was 17.3 points. Was anyone grumbling about whether the Philadelphia Eagles deserved to make the field after their 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? The lopsided results don’t lend themselves to easy big-picture takeaways. A poor showing by 11-win SMU didn’t help the ACC’s case against SEC fans who thought Alabama, Ole Miss or South Carolina belonged. But the dud by a team that finished higher in the SEC standings than all of them (Tennessee) nullified that talking point. If any fans are clamoring for the older system, those days weren’t much better. From 2014-23, there were almost as many blowouts of 20-plus points (22) in CFP/New Year’s Six bowls as there were games decided by single digits (26). The average national title game in the BCS era was decided by two touchdowns. Just because other postseasons have been lackluster doesn’t mean future ones have to be, of course. The conference commissioners and school administrators that organize the system will and should consider future changes when this Playoff winds down next month in Atlanta. Expansion (likely to 14 teams) is one possibility. Giving first-round byes to the top four teams, regardless of whether they won their conference, is worth discussing. So is reseeding the teams after the first round. But there’s no need to overreact after the first, small sample of uninteresting games. This first round, unfortunately, wasn’t much different than usual. Joe Cook: A rejuvenated ground game leads to red zone, overall success for the Longhorns offense vs. Clemson Quote During an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday morning, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian explained what he believed to be the key to a victory that would advance his No. 5-seeded Longhorns past the No. 12 Clemson Tigers. “The reality of it is, we’re moving the ball really well but the key to the drill is we’ve got to get the ball in the paint,” Sarkisian said. “I think tonight is going to come down to our ability to execute when we get those opportunities.” Texas succeeded inside the Tiger 20 and then on a few more critical occasions thanks in large part to a rejuvenated run game. The Longhorns were 4-for-5 in the red zone on Saturday night against Clemson, scoring touchdowns and settling for a field goal only once during a night where Texas picked up almost 300 yards on the ground. The lone blemish occurred on a failed fourth-down attempt, but that mishap was undone by two long Jaydon Blue scoring jaunts that boosted Sarkisian’s program to a 38-24 win and the quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff. Texas reached the red zone on two of its first three drives. The first, when the Longhorns took the ball down 7-0, culminated in a Quintrevion Wisner three-yard score near the end of the first quarter. Blue added his first explosive run of the game early in the second quarter on a 38-yard rush. Then, Texas put up seven more points when Wisner found the end zone from 16 yards out to make it a 21-7 game. Blue’s touchdown occurred thanks to an audible from quarterback Quinn Ewers at the line of scrimmage, according to Sarkisian. That type of play from Texas’ starting quarterback would be a difference-maker later. Texas recorded its final rendition of six-point success late in the first half when Ewers found tight end Gunnar Helm for a six-yard score. Bert Auburn‘s first and only field goal attempt of the game, a 22-yarder in the third quarter to make it 31-10, functioned as the final time the Longhorns would venture into the red zone. Luckily for Texas, a reinvigorated Blue was ready to keep the Tigers at bay. The Longhorns saw what was a 31-10 lead halfway through the third quarter dwindle down to 31-24 in the early portions of the fourth. Tiger quarterback Cade Klubnik threw two second-half touchdowns as part of the best evening an opposing quarterback has put together against the Longhorn defense. Needing a scoring drive in order to make the contest a two-possession game, Blue provided the Longhorns with just what the doctor ordered. Yet another Ewers check at the line of scrimmage into a run play created a gap on the left side of the line that Blue scampered through. Seventy-seven yards later, the 101,150 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium were in a frenzy as Blue crossed the goal line. In the end, 292 of Texas 494 total yards came via the rush. Blue carried the ball 14 times for 146 yards and two scores. Wisner had 15 carries for 110 yards and two scores himself. Even Jerrick Gibson, who saw more action after Wisner was dinged up in the second half, rushed nine times for 35 yards and was trusted with the football in key second-half moments. Much of that rushing offense came as the result of blocking from a pieced-together offensive line. Both Jake Majors and Cam Williams sustained injuries that kept them from participating in most of the second half. In response, Hayden Conner bumped one spot over from left guard to center, Cole Hutson replaced him at left guard, and Trevor Goosby stood in again at tackle. That O-line group continued to protect Ewers, who was 17-of-24 for one touchdown and an interception that deflected off of DeAndre Moore‘s hands, and create lanes in the run game to reach the 292 yard mark. That rushing total was most the Tigers gave up throughout the course of the 2024 season and more than option-based The Citadel recorded at Clemson on November 23. The 492 yards posted by Texas eclipsed the previous season high against Clemson of 458 set by fellow Playoff team SMU in the ACC Championship. The piecemeal offensive line was critical in helping Texas’ ground game bounce back. The 292 total yards were a season high for Texas, topping the 250 recorded against Kentucky on November 23. The rushing offense also bounced back in a major way from the 28-carry, 31-yard night Texas had against Georgia in the SEC Championship game. Even when sack-adjusted, Texas logged a meager 58 yards against the Bulldogs a few short weeks ago in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Now, the Longhorns will return there for a game with arguably higher stakes. No matter who was on offense for the Longhorns, the ground game helped Texas advance to the next round of the Playoff. Continuing to advance in the College Football Playoff may not be so difficult if the Longhorns can produce the type of red zone and rushing performances they put together versus Clemson on Saturday night against Arizona State in the Peach Bowl and against whatever opponent might come after the Sun Devils.
December 22, 20241 yr Author Popular Post (Thomas Jones) Texas vs Clemson grades: Running backs, offensive line get high marks against Tigers Quote Texas football won on Saturday its first-round College Football Playoff game against Clemson, but it certainly came with a fight. The now 10-4 Tigers, which had battled back to win the ACC this season, scored first then fell behind by as many as 21. But that didn't stop Austin native and Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, who was able to cut the lead to as little as seven in the second half. The 12-2 Longhorns move on to the Peach Bowl. But before that game in about a week-and-a-half, let's assess the Horns' performance Saturday. Here's how the Longhorns graded out in the 38-24 victory that sends them to the CFP quarterfinals against Arizona State: Quarterback: B With the ground game rumbling for a season-high 292 yards, Texas just needed Quinn Ewers to manage the game and keep the Tiger defense honest. He did just that with 202 yards and a touchdown on 17-of-24 passing. In the process, he moved past Major Applewhite and into third place on the school’s all-time passing yards list with 8,523 yards. Oh, and his lone interception was a well-placed ball that bounced off the hands of DeAndre Moore Jr. Season average: B- Running back: A Jaydon Blue and Quintrevion Wisner did the heavy lifting, even with Wisner battling through a leg injury that limited him in the second half. Wisner, the starter, ran for 110 yards and two TDs on 15 carries, but change-of-pace back Jaydon Blue stole the show with a season-high 146 yards and touchdown runs of 76 yards and 38 yards on just 14 carries. Freshman Jerrick Gibson even contributed in some power sets with 38 yards on nine carries. Season average: B+ Receivers: C+ Tight end Gunnar Helm was the focal point of the passing game with six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown, and he's now the school's all-time single-season leader in receptions (55) and receiving yards (688) for his position. However, a receiving corps missing the injured Isaiah Bond had a quiet game. No one but Helm had more than two catches, and Moore’s mishandling of a Ewers dart led to the only Texas turnover. Season average: B- Offensive line: A- This unit gets bonus points for its ability to overcome some key injuries. Center Jake Majors, a four-year starter who tied the school record with 55 career starts, got knocked out of the game on a first-half blindside block and didn’t return. Right tackle Cam Williams went down with a knee injury and returned for just one play. But the revamped offensive line inserted guard Cole Hutson and tackle Trevor Goosby and didn’t miss a beat while paving the way for 494 yards. The line also allowed just two sacks and had one innocuous penalty with a false start by Goosby. Season average: B+ Defensive line: A Clemson racked up the most yards by any team against Texas this season with 412, but the Longhorns’ defensive front accomplished its first goal of making the Tigers one-dimensional. Clemson had just 76 yards rushing on 24 carries, and Texas stood firm on a couple of fourth-and-shorts. Longhorns defensive end Barryn Sorrell had a monster game with a sack, another tackle for a loss and a batted pass that led to an interception by fellow edge Colin Simmons. Ethan Burke also had a sack against his former Westlake High School teammate Klubnik, and senior reserve defensive tackle Bill Norton had perhaps his best game of the year with a sack, a forced fumble and a massive fourth-down stop in the red zone. Season average: A- Linebackers: C+ Anthony Hill Jr., the Longhorns’ leading tackler, had another busy day with a team-high nine tackles. Liona Lefau contributed five tackles, but the Longhorn linebackers had trouble corralling Klubnik when he would slip out of the pocket. That helped contribute to Klubnik’s big night. Season average: B+ Secondary: C Klubnik threw for 336 yards on 26-of-43 passing, the most against Texas this season by 125 yards. He even picked on Malik Muhammad, the Texas sophomore who’s quietly had a tremendous season opposite Thorpe Award winner Jahdae Barron. By the way, Barron broke up another two passes and nickel back Jaylon Guilbeau had a strong game with four solo tackles. Season average: A- Special teams: C+ Texas had an uneventful game on special teams, which counts as a win for a unit plagued by inconsistency this season. Bert Auburn booted home his only field-goal attempt from 22 yards, and punter Michael Kern banged a 42-yard punt on his only attempt. The return game didn’t do much, but the coverage teams didn’t allow much. Season average: C- Coaching: B+ Texas coach Steve Sarkisian admittedly carries some riverboat gambling in his back pocket, right next to his play sheet. So, it wasn’t a surprise that Texas went for it four times on fourth down. But the Longhorns converted just one of those attempts, and that aggressiveness helped Clemson stay in the game. Sarkisian also got a bit too creative near the goal line with backup QB Arch Manning, especially considering how well the Longhorns ran the ball out of their base offense. But Sarkisian and offensive line coach Kyle Flood get bonus points for their ability to reshuffle an offensive line that lost two players to injuries and still roll up a season-high in yards rushing. Season average: B+ Cedric Golden: How Texas football took a Georgia knockdown and responded with a Clemson KO Quote It’s not a huge deal if you get knocked down, but it’s all about how you react. When adversity hits, you hit back or take a seat. The Texas Longhorns — two weeks removed from a disappointing loss to Georgia in the SEC championship game — had two choices on Saturday. They could take the 10-count and call it a season or rise up, clear their heads and come back swinging against a team Vegas expected them to work. The result wasn’t stress-free, but it was suitable to the liking of 101,150 fans at Royal-Memorial Stadium who bit those nails down to the nubs as Clemson pushed their charges to the limit in a historic late December meeting. The 38-24 win to open the first 12-team College Football Playoff was actually much closer than it sounded. It took some grown-man goal-line strength from veteran tacklers David Gbenda, Michael Taaffe, Barryn Sorrell and the lithely listed 335-pound Arizona import Bill Norton to turn back the upset-minded Tigers on consecutive late goal-line stops to allow Longhorn Nation a massive exhale. Now they can look-ahead to a quarterfinal meeting with Big 12 champion Arizona State in what they hope is the second of three trips to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the site of the national title game on Jan. 20. Norton and Sorrell combined for a fourth-down stop of Clemson running back Keith Adams Jr. from the 1-yard line, one play after Gbenda and Taaffe stopped Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik on a keeper. Those were easily the two biggest stops of the season, given what was at stake. “We just realize that it's a blessing that we still get to keep playing,” said Sorrell, whose second-quarter deflection led to Colin Simmons’ interception. "Obviously there are things that we can work on, but at the end we get to go back to work and that's what we've been doing throughout this whole year.” Overcoming adversity only makes you stronger It wasn’t perfect, but it was more than enough at a time of the year when the phrase “survive and advance” takes on ultimate importance. The Horns (12-2) showed Clemson the CFP door and secured Steve Sarkisian’s second consecutive 12-win season. They took to heart the head coach’s lessons on overcoming adversity and meeting the challenge when things don’t go to plan. Just ask quarterback Quinn Ewers, who battled injuries throughout the regular season, missing two games while some wrote ill-timed stories about how his understudy Arch Manning should replace him full time. Ask the offensive line, which lost All-American left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. before the SEC title game and then starters Jake Majors and Cam Williams on Saturday but didn’t miss a beat with redshirt freshman Trevor Goosby and veterans Hayden Conner and Cole Hutson picking up the slack. Ask running back Jaydon Blue, who has battled the fumble bug at several points this season but took over for injured Quintrevion Wisner with a pair of massive touchdown runs, including a 77-yard scoring sprint that put the Horns back up double digits in the fourth quarter. The Longhorns are as good as their No. 5 seeding and have answered the call like champs in most instances when adversity has popped them on the chin. Sarkisian challenged the offense to run it better after posting a measly 31 yards in the conference title game loss to Georgia and they responded with 292 yards and three touchdowns against the Tigers. The defense had one of its leakiest performances, so we know it will be challenged in similar fashion between now and New Year’s Day. Their versatility showed in this one. The Horns discovered their offensive groove on a day when the defense spent more time than usual on its heels. “We can win games a lot of different ways,” Sarkisian said. “We can win low-score and tight defensive tight games, but we can also score points when we have to and extend leads when we have to do that. I thought tonight when they cut it to a one-score game, the response the offense had with Blue’s long touchdown run to open it back up to a two-score a game … that's what this team gives us the ability to do. We're just not one-dimensional.” The best teams get it done in a variety of ways and Sarkisian has built one of the deepest rosters in the country, including the guys who jumped in the transfer portal but decided to stick around for what could be an extended playoff run. None of this happened overnight and adversity didn’t just strike in the first Georgia loss. It’s been a slow but methodical build to national relevance from 2021 to now. Better yet, this program has a great foundation. It’s built for sustained success as long as the architect sticks around and ghosts those NFL calls that are certainly coming Sarkisian's way. Clemson was a quality opponent that didn’t go away The Tigers were miles better than that 34-3 season-opening showing against eventual SEC champion Georgia indicated. Klubnik, who is on my mythical Mount Rushmore of quarterbacks along with Drew Brees, Nick Foles and Sam Ehlinger, threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns against the best pass defense in America and the offense finished with 412 yards, the most gained by a UT opponent since Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington Huskies posted 532 in last season’s CFP semifinals. With that said, they don’t give a style-point bonus at this time of the year. It’s win and move on or move on to the offseason. While it turns out Texas became the third of four first-round hosts to win by double-digits, the Horns were the only team that was legitimately threatened when Klubnik’s 7-yard TD pass to T.J. Moore cut the lead to 31-24 with 11:43 left. This is where it helps to be battle-tested. Two plays later, Blue was off to the races. “Our job was to put the defense in great positions, and I believe we did that for the most part,” Ewers said. “If we can compete and if we can continue to play complementary football, I think we're going to be really tough to beat." My aunt used to say in church, “Thank God I don’t look like what I’ve been through.” The message was simple. We’re all a reflection of our life experiences and the bad ones that didn’t kill us only steeled our resolve. The Longhorns can attest because they’ve seen some adverse situations but are sitting pretty and headed back to Atlanta. Cedric Golden: How Texas football handled Clemson, Austin native Cade Klubnick Quote Texas football felt it could run it on Clemson. The nation’s top defense felt it could contain Cade Klubnik. Two boxes checked would mean the first College Football Playoff win in program history. It happened. The Horns took a 38-24 win in the historic first College Football Playoff meeting of the blue bloods. Bring on Arizona State. Some notable names went down with injuries on one play, but the No.5 Horns overcame and advanced. The Horns will play the Big 12 champion Sun Devils at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on New Year’s Day. The Horns improved to 12-2, its second straight 12-win season under coach Steve Sarkisian. Texas ruined Westlake legend Cade Klubnik’s homecoming. The Clemson quarterback, in his first game at Royal-Memorial Stadium since leading the Chaparrals to a playoff win over Vandergrift en route to a Class 6A Division I championship win over Quinn Ewers and Southlake Carroll, was as good as advertised. He completed 26 of 43 passes for 336 yards and three touchdown passes, including a fourth-down scoring strike to T.J. Moore to pull the Tigers to within 31-24 early in the fourth quarter. Not to be outdone, running back Jaydon Blue put a charge into the sellout crowd with a 77-yard scoring sprint to put the Horns back up by 14 two plays later. The play started with him avoiding a potential strip before he outraced two Tigers to the end zone in the highest scoring Longhorn win since a 31-14 takedown of Kentucky on Senior Day. Klubnik was amazing in his Austin return, driving the Tigers down to the goal line, but Texas tackle Bill Norton stopped Keith Adams Jr. to preserve the double-digit lead, essentially foiling Clemson's upset bid. It was undoubtedly the most complete game the Horns have played in all phases since the 49-17 win over Florida, the second of five straight wins to end the regular season. With 2:45 remaining in the first half, Ewers hit running back Quintrevion Wisner in the flat. Wisner was awkwardly tackled to the ground and was helped to the sideline with what appeared to be a lower body injury. He did return for the second half. Tackle Cam Williams was rolled up on while blocking in the same sequence. He returned for one play before he was shut down for the rest of the game. One play later, center Jake Majors went down after a blindside block on a Ewers interception and did not return. The Horns won this game with a familiar formula: a physical run game and a playmaking defense that bent but seldom broke. With left tackle Kelvin Banks back after missing the SEC title loss to Georgia with an ankle injury, Ewers enjoyed much better protection than that fateful day in Atlanta when the line gave up six sacks. He completed 17 of 24 passes for 202 yards, a touchdown and one interception that came on a deflection by DeAndre Moore Jr. The Horns led 28-10 at the half after running for 148 yards and passing for another 141. Ewers completed the scoring with a 19-yard TD pass to Gunnar Helm. Wisner and backfield mate Jaydon Blue rushed for the other three. Wisner rushed 15 times for 110 yards and two scores while Blue carried the ball 14 times for 146 yards and two more scores, including the 77-yarder.
December 22, 20241 yr Author Eric Nahlin: Takeaways from Texas' playoff win over Clemson Quote I just got home after staying in Bellville, Texas. A true Texas hamlet of a town. What a surreal time. A Friday Christmas party in said town followed by a playoff game in Austin just days from Christmas. So weird, so awesome. That was a great crowd befitting of the day. Texas no longer takes a back seat to the more animated crowds in the country. Where to start? *****Hello Jaydon Blue! Just when I was out, he pulls me back in. That’s the running back we thought we’d see this year with his elite, elite play-speed. Chris Johnson and Jamaal Charles are the running backs I’ve seen that are faster. Maybe Raheem Mostert, who Blue is pretty similar to. Once he’s in the open field you just hope nobody makes a needless block to get it called back. There’s no catching him. The craziest thing is how effortless his speed appears to be. *****Coming into this game the turnover battle was key. Drawing even in that regard greatly increased Texas’ chances of winning. Texas protected the ball other than the Ewers interception that wasn’t all that careless. Maybe a little too much heat on it? Either way, a clean game for the most part. *****As I was writing the ‘four scenarios’ piece I became quite agitated thinking about the persistent miscues this season. There have been way too many turnovers and penalties. In addition to holding onto the ball Texas played a clean game when it came to the zebras. Texas still found ways to make life difficult for itself — what the hell is up with these third quarters — but it wasn’t due to penalties. Sark had the team ready to play. *****Cade Klubnik had a sensational game. He wasn’t going to Texas so I never truly became familiar with him but how can you not like that kid? I’m hoping his game against the vaunted Texas pass defense will make the secondary better going forward. Michael Taaffe and Malik Muhammad won’t enjoy film review today but they’re ballers who will use the game as motivation. No concerns there. It was wild to see Clemson start the game off with a touchdown drive. ******Barryn Sorrell is one of my favorite Horns. My faves are always the grinders who put in work. I think Sorrell made himself some money on Saturday afternoon. His strength at the point of attack will translate to the league but he showed some play-making ability yesterday that will gain notice from scouts. *****Very solid performance from Quinn Ewers. His confidence has slowly been restored and he indeed looked the healthiest he has since September. His deep ball is rounding into form. If you squint, this offense has the makings of a team that can win the whole thing. Run-pass balance is probably the single most important aspect of this team going forward. The TD to Gunnar Helm was clockwork. *****Trevor Goosby is an unsung hero this year. I wondered how he’d fare on the right side but his play there was seamless. They need to clone that guy. *****The Texas D-tackles were quite active to my eyes. Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton showed up numerous times. Broughton started off the season hot then gave way to Collins. Now they’re both balling. Broughton makes a lot of plays that don’t show up in the boxscore. *****Bill Norton. Wild Bill is turning up of late and becoming exactly what we hoped when he joined the roster. That’s a tough guy to move, especially on predictable run downs. *****Texas’ inability to definitively put teams away is maddening but they somehow still never lose game control. It’s an odd phenomena that I hope to be bitching about after they win the National Championship. *****Clemson DT Peter Woods is pretty damn good. There has been talk he’ll enter the portal which is sort of hard to believe if you investigate him. He’s clearly a leader on that team. If he goes in, the market for him will be insane but Texas will be part of the insanity. You know his tweet last night put everyone on notice so I’m not talking out of turn. ******I see Tennessee got dismantled. That was a team I was hoping would lose for portal purposes. Not that I really wanted Ohio State to win, that’s a bridge too far, but I am curious to see who all volunteers for the portal. *****New Year’s Day can’t come quick enough. I like that Texas has the early game. Let’s get another vintage 2024 Texas win, a schizophrenic blowout close game, and then let’s enjoy the Oregon vs Ohio State rematch and the Georgia vs Notre Dame rock and stick fight. Dave Wilson: Texas answers Sarkisian's challenge as RBs explode in CFP win Quote AUSTIN, Texas -- Coach Steve Sarkisian said he had a simple message for his offensive line and running backs after Texas' SEC title game loss to Georgia, the Longhorns' second loss to the Bulldogs this season. "Run to win." Texas ran for just 60 yards in the two games against Georgia -- 29 in a 30-15 defeat in Austin in October and 31 in a 22-19 overtime loss two weeks ago. On Saturday, in the first round of the expanded College Football Playoff, the Longhorns ran for a season-high 292 yards in a 38-24 win over Clemson. Now, they will run all the way back to Atlanta, the site of that second Georgia loss, with a quarterfinal trip to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl to face Arizona State on Jan. 1. "We needed to run the football to win this game," Sarkisian said. "We're going to need to run the football to advance in these playoffs. That's what playoff football's about." Running back Jaydon Blue, who struggled with an ankle injury early in the season and missed the UTSA game, reeled off 38- and 77-yard scoring runs, both on audibles called by quarterback Quinn Ewers, who finished 17-of-24 passing for 202 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Blue, who had lost four fumbles this season and was carrying a football around a month ago to highlight ball security after fumbling against Kentucky, had 2 yards on two carries in the two Georgia games. On Saturday, he rushed for a career-high 146 yards, calling it a "sigh of relief." "Going back to the SEC championship, we didn't run the ball well at all," Blue said. "[Sarkisian] just stayed on us in practice. The O-line, running backs, the whole offense took that in, and we were more physical in practice. He really made a big emphasis on us running the ball." And the Longhorns managed it against the Tigers despite some key linemen suffering injuries in the game. Shortly before halftime, center Jake Majors and right tackle Cameron Williams were hurt. Hayden Conner moved from left guard to center, with backup center Cole Hutson playing left guard and Trevor Goosby at right tackle. Meanwhile, Clemson's offense was able to press Texas. The Longhorns, which hadn't allowed more than 350 yards to any team this season, gave up 412 yards, including 336 yards and three touchdowns through the air from Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik. Texas had allowed just four previous touchdown passes all season. The contest represented a rematch of the 2020 Texas state championship game between Ewers, who was born in San Antonio, and Klubnik, an Austin native playing against several former high school teammates on the Longhorns squad. Texas safety Michael Taaffe, one of Klubnik's best friends, said after Saturday's game that the signal-caller posed challenges that the Longhorns hadn't previously seen this season. "When you look across the sideline, no matter how close you are with the other opponent, they're your opponent," Taaffe said of Klubnik. "We were definitely sharing words back and forth. So that was fun. But then, at the end of the game, it's all love. He had a great game. ... He helped us get ready for next Saturday, for sure. So hats off to Cade; he's a baller." Sarkisian said this team has proved to him it is versatile and resilient. "I don't know if this was our best game defensively, but when we had to have it, they made those plays. To me, that's a sign of a great defense," Sarkisian said. After Clemson rallied from a 31-10 deficit to make it 31-24 following Klubnik's third touchdown throw, Blue was off on that 77-yarder early in the fourth quarter. Sarkisian saw it as a sign of resolve, both for Blue and the Longhorns. "He was able to continue to work and improve his game and then have a game like this in the playoff," Sarkisian said of Blue. "Just really proud of him, but I think that is kind of symbolic of everybody on our team. Everybody's been dealing with stuff. I know one thing about our team, it's that when times get tough, we respond. And Jaydon was a great example of that."
December 22, 20241 yr Author Stewart Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Don’t blame Playoff committee for first round getting out of hand Quote And now, 12 Final Thoughts from the first weekend of the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. 1. The first on-campus Playoff game kicked off at 8:10 p.m. ET in front of 77,622 roaring fans at Notre Dame Stadium. You didn’t have to be in the 25-degree South Bend weather to get the chills. Anyone watching on TV could appreciate the magnitude of this moment for a sport that has only ever played its postseason at bowl games and neutral sites. The honeymoon lasted about 40 minutes, until Indiana fell behind Notre Dame 14-0 and the first wave of complaints began. The wrong team(s) got in. The game(s) were boring. Twelve teams was too many. Or too few. Twenty-seven hours later, Ohio State completed the fourth home blowout of the first round, an anticlimactic ending to such an anticipated weekend. Maybe the committee did a bad job. Maybe it was the weather. Or … maybe Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas and Ohio State are really good teams. 2. The eighth-seeded Buckeyes were the biggest wild cards coming into the weekend. Who knew where their heads would be three weeks removed from their Michigan nightmare? Many of the fans who booed them off the field that day apparently stayed home for this one, as tens of thousands of orange-clad Tennessee fans infiltrated the Horseshoe. Well, those concerns went out the window before the end of the first quarter. Ohio State raced to a 21-0 lead en route to a 42-17 demolition of the ninth-seeded Vols. The Buckeyes’ star-studded offense did whatever it wanted, starting with quarterback Will Howard’s best performance of the season: 24 of 29 for 311 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Tennessee’s cornerbacks had no answers for receivers Jeremiah Smith (six catches, 103 yards, two TDs) and Emeka Egbuka (five catches, 81 yards), and running back TreVeyon Henderson (14 touches, 134 yards, two TDs) was electrifying. Only head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly can say why Ohio State’s offense has so rarely played to its potential, or why it flat-out no-showed against Michigan. But this version could win a national championship. 3. How would you like to be No. 1 seed Oregon watching that game? The Ducks went undefeated, including beating Ohio State at home in a classic — and now they’ve got to go play the Buckeyes again in the quarterfinals? While Penn State gets Boise State? Seems like a bug. But it’s going to make for a fantastic Rose Bowl — and a classic Big Ten-Pac-12 matchup, no less. Dillon Gabriel and the Ducks get my benefit of the doubt because they’ve been more consistent all season and they’ll be well-rested. But remember, Ohio State was on the verge of winning their first meeting before that back-breaking offensive pass interference call on Smith. And Howard will be out for revenge after his last-second clock miscue cost the Buckeyes their last shot. 4. No. 5 seed Texas has been at its best this season when the running game gets cranked up, and that’s exactly what happened in Saturday’s 38-24 win over No. 12 seed Clemson. Tailbacks Jaydon Blue (14 carries, 146 yards, two long touchdowns) and Quintrevion Wisner (15 carries, 110 yards, two TDs) became the first Longhorns tandem since 2022 to both go over 100 yards. Texas advances to the Peach Bowl, where it will meet Big 12 champion Arizona State and will be expected to win. The Sun Devils got much better as the season went on, and star running back Cam Skattebo finished fifth in the Heisman voting, but man, Texas’ defense is really good. And this time it’s not playing Georgia in Atlanta. 5. Clemson finished with four losses for the second straight season, but quarterback Cade Klubnik gives the Tigers hope for 2025. After falling behind 31-10 in the third quarter, Klubnik got Clemson back within one score despite the Tigers being down their top two running backs. Klubnik finished 26 of 43 for 336 yards, three touchdowns and an interception and had more rushing attempts (13) than his teammates (11), but he got no help from Clemson’s defense. Two plays after Clemson cut it to 31-24, Texas’ Blue dashed 77 yards for the dagger touchdown. Dabo Swinney recently signed his first-ever defensive player out of the transfer portal, Purdue end Will Heldt. Now he just needs a few more. 6. Penn State’s 38-10 rout of SMU must have been cathartic for the 100,000-plus in Beaver Stadium, even if it meant becoming popsicles for four hours. Nittany Lions fans have spent much of the past eight years getting let down in big games, but this performance was emphatic. Two pick sixes in the first 17 minutes got the crowd roaring, and it soon became apparent that SMU’s offense stood no chance against Kobe King, Abdul Carter, Dominic DeLuca and Dani Dennis-Sutton. Penn State’s own offense was hardly overpowering (5 yards per play), but it didn’t need to be. Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings (20 of 36, 195 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions) struggled badly against the best defense he’s faced, while SMU managed just 58 rushing yards on 36 attempts. 7. Penn State now heads to the Fiesta Bowl, where its rushing defense gets a next-level challenge in No. 3 seed Boise State and Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty, who has 2,497 yards and 29 TDs on the ground this season. James Franklin’s team will likely be a heavy favorite for a second straight game. (It opened as a 10.5-point favorite, per BetMGM.) Thanks to this tournament’s funky seeding, the Nittany Lions managed to draw the committee’s No. 9 (Boise) and No. 10 (SMU) teams in their first two games. Top seeds Oregon (against No. 6 Ohio State) and Georgia (against No. 5 Notre Dame) have tougher quarterfinal draws than Penn State, which has the second-best odds to make the title game (40 percent), according to The Athletic’s model. It’s a golden opportunity for Franklin’s team in its biggest postseason game since the 2017 Rose Bowl against USC. 8. If you thought the bickering from three weeks ago over the final spots in the bracket would be rendered moot once the games started… you must be new here. Just like in the BCS and the four-team CFP, every lopsided postseason game becomes a retroactive rallying cry for the team(s) left out. Even Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, still miffed his 9-3 team didn’t get in (while pretending that home loss to 4-8 Kentucky never happened), took some shots at the committee during both the Notre Dame-Indiana and Penn State-SMU games. (He was noticeably silent during the Ohio State-Tennessee game.) Look, SMU got embarrassed. But the committee boxed itself in when chairman Warde Manuel declared after their penultimate rankings that teams whose seasons had ended would not be reevaluated after the conference championship games. At that point, the story became whether SMU would get “punished” if it lost to Clemson (which it did). Given a truly blank slate, maybe the committee would have given someone like 10-2 BYU a second look. As it was, it faced considerable pressure to avoid “knocking SMU out” for playing a 13th game. And then the Mustangs lost on a 56-yard field goal. They had to be in. 9. No. 7 seed Notre Dame finally got its first BCS/CFP win, dominating No. 10 seed Indiana (the final score was 27-17, but it was 27-3 with two minutes to go) to set up a fascinating Sugar Bowl quarterfinal against No. 2 seed Georgia. In some ways the Irish and Bulldogs are mirror images: Both teams are physical on offense but with the ability to be explosive (see Jeremiyah Love’s 98-yard touchdown run Friday), and both have filthy defenses. Adding to the intrigue, Georgia is expected to be without injured quarterback Carson Beck, meaning backup Gunner Stockton will make his first career start against the nation’s top-rated pass defense. But we may find out just how important those first-round byes can be. Whereas Georgia will have had 24 days of rest come Jan. 1, Notre Dame saw several key players suffer injuries 11 days out. Standout defensive tackle Rylie Mills went down clutching his knee after a sack and did not return. And starting right guard Rocco Spindler spent the second half in street clothes. The severity of those injuries is not yet known, though Marcus Freeman told ESPN that Mills’ injury was “not season-ending.” 10. Curt Cignetti’s Indiana was one of the best stories of the 2024 season, but boy did it end with a dud. It wasn’t just that the Hoosiers got blown out. The brash Cignetti, who just hours earlier on “College GameDay” proclaimed, “We don’t just beat Top 25 teams, we beat the s— out of them,” could not have coached more conservatively as IU punted from the Notre Dame 37 in the first quarter, settled for a field goal from the Irish 16 already down 14-0 and bafflingly punted down 20-3 in the fourth quarter. Just like against Ohio State on Nov. 23, Indiana (11-2) was completely overmatched in the trenches, and quarterback Kurtis Rourke (20 of 33, 215 yards, two TDs, one interception) misfired to several open receivers. A disappointing ending to the program’s best season in a half-century. Notre Dame beat Indiana in their first matchup since 1991. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images) 11. With the game out of reach in the final minutes, ESPN’s Sean McDonough was not shy about questioning why Indiana, with its weak schedule, was included in the CFP in the first place. Kirk Herbstreit went in for more the next morning. In general, I agree with them that the committee needs to be more discerning about schedule strength in this age of 16/17/18-team conferences. Indiana will not be the last Big Ten or SEC team to win 11 games against empty calories. But there was nobody else worth going to the mat for this season instead. The alternatives either lacked their own big wins (Miami), lost to bad teams (Alabama and Ole Miss) or lost to multiple other teams on the bubble (South Carolina). It was only a few years ago people were complaining that the four-team CFP was mostly the same teams every year. I personally enjoyed the novelty of watching Indiana in a Playoff game. At least until that punt. 12. That’s not to say I have no beefs with the new format. Reserving the first-round byes for conference champions was well-intended, but it had a profoundly unfair effect on the seeding this first year. The No. 3 (Boise State) and No. 4 (Arizona State) seeds, both champions, are double-digit underdogs in their quarterfinals to the Big Ten (Penn State) and SEC (Texas) runners-up. That’s not how a bracket is supposed to work. And there’s one other flaw worth considering, now that we’ve experienced our first on-campus games: The top four seeds don’t get to hold their own. I myself love a trip to Pasadena, but I bet even Oregon fans would trade their Disneyland trip in exchange for Ohio State having to come back to Autzen Stadium. But that’s not going to change in the next 10 days. Charlie Williams: What we learned from Texas' win over Clemson in the College Football Playoff Quote First off, welcome back to the running game. This win against Clemson was built on the offensive line’s dominance from start to finish, setting the tone for what might have been Texas’ most complete team performance of the season. Let’s break it down position by position. Quarterback Quinn Ewers played a balanced game and showed that he doesn’t need to be a superstar for Texas to win a championship. The interception wasn’t his fault—it was the result of a dropped pass—but he managed the game well overall. His decision to step up in the pocket and run for a key first down before halftime was a big moment and helped keep the drive alive. That said, he missed an easy throw on fourth down, which is just part of who he is at this point. It happens, so you’ve got to expect it a couple of times a game. This is the version of Ewers Texas can win with: a quarterback who manages the game, picks up key first downs, and makes the necessary throws. Plenty of teams have won championships with “bus driver” quarterbacks who don’t need to be elite, just consistent and reliable. Running Backs Tre Wisner was outstanding. He ran through tackles, made defenders miss, and imposed his will on Clemson’s defense. He didn’t shy away from contact and really set the tone for the game. Aside from the Georgia game, he’s been consistent all season. He’s 27 yards away from eclipsing the 1000-yard mark, which would keep Steve Sarkisian‘s streak of having a 1000 yard rusher every season alive. Just ignore the games needed to get to that mark. Jaydon Blue showed growth. We already know about his speed and ability to break long, explosive runs, but what stood out in this game was his ball security. Covering the ball with two hands in traffic shows that he’s learning and applying what he’s been taught in practice. Wisner and Blue together are becoming a dangerous duo at the right time. Offensive Line This was an absolute clinic. Running for 292 yards doesn’t happen by accident—it’s all about effort, physicality, and dominance. Clemson’s decision to use smaller defenders to set the edge didn’t work, and Texas took full advantage, overpowering them all game. Did anybody else see a holding call on the Texas offensive line last night? Besides one false start and an illegal man downfield, this team played clean up front—or maybe this ref crew was just better than the SEC championship crew! To sum it up the offensive line controlled the trenches from start to finish, and the only thing that stopped the run game was the guy with the headset on the sideline. Receivers and Tight Ends Gunnar Helm was as consistent as ever, and his touchdown right before halftime was huge. He’s reliable and always makes plays when it counts. The receivers had a mixed performance. They struggled to fight through contact on contested throws and had some key drops, including one that led to a nullified pick-six and could’ve swung the game’s momentum. On the other hand, they made some tough catches and did a great job blocking on the perimeter, which helped spring several long runs. Defensive Line The defensive line had a solid day. The edges were especially effective, creating pressure, getting sacks, and recording tackles for loss that kept Clemson behind the chains early. The interior defensive line played well situationally but wasn’t the dominant force we’re used to seeing. Still, their biggest moment came in the fourth quarter when they stuffed Clemson on a critical fourth-down run. This group continues to show that when it matters most, they won’t be moved—especially near the goal line. Linebackers The linebackers made some key stops, particularly against the run, but they struggled in pass coverage. They didn’t get enough depth on RPOs or crossing routes, which Clemson took advantage of. Liona Lefau made a great play reading a throwback screen, where Clemson had a hold my beer moment. Anthony Hill had a huge stop, chasing down a running back on a beautifully designed screen and pushing him out just short of the first down. That play got Clemson off the field and helped build momentum early in the game. Plays like these helped Texas stay in control. Secondary OK, they’re human! For the first time this season, there was noticeable miscommunication in the secondary, which led to big plays, first downs, and touchdowns for Clemson. Malik Muhammad had a rough day at the office, and Jaylon Guilbeau, outside of two well-timed blitzes where he caused tackles for loss, seemed lost in zone coverage. It felt like he was trying to do more than his job, which is out of character of how the secondary has played all season. Give credit to Clemson’s young receivers and quarterback Cade Klubnik, who is the best QB Texas has faced this year. Thorpe Award winner Jahdae Barron was solid as ever, moving around and making key stops. Michael Taaffe and Andrew Mukuba also stepped up late, making plays to help seal the game. Even though the group had a rough day, they’re resilient and capable of bouncing back strong. Special Teams Special teams didn’t give me a heart attack, so that’s a win. There were a couple of shaky moments—a bad decision to return a kickoff and a muffed punt caused by teammates running into each other—but overall, they did what they needed to do. No need to elaborate further—I’m not jinxing anything. Final Thoughts This was an exciting and thrilling game where both sides of the ball had to depend on each other, and Texas got it done in all three phases with a complete team performance. There’s still room for improvement, especially with communication in the secondary, pass coverage from the linebackers, and some play-calling decisions. But this is playoff football—it’s about surviving and advancing. Texas showed they have the focus and determination to make a deep run. On to Arizona State. Nobody cares how the sausage is made—just keep making it. See you in Atlanta.
December 26, 2024Dec 26 Author (Scipio Tex) 2024 Clemson Postmortem: Defense/Special Teams Quote The Texas defense experienced its first real relative setback of the season as Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, strong Clemson receivers, and a fine offensive game plan conspired to allow a 400+ yard effort and 24 points on the scoreboard. Clemson opened the game with a good script of disciplined stop and comeback routes against zone coverage and then mesh (crossing routes) when Texas went to man. Their first touchdown is a good example of a double pick play paired with mesh. The tight end gets the initial pick that interferes with Jaylon’s path and then #1 hunts Guilbeau down on the mesh route and literally stalk blocks him. Obvious pass interference(s) as neither pick player even tries to sell an actual route, but it wasn’t thrown. Texas could help itself by not having Barron and Guilbeau playing at the same depth at the start of the play. They should be staggered. Barron can’t stop a tight end from firing off directly into him, so one of them has to be at a different depth. Additionally, Guilbeau should be running under rubs, not over them. But that level of blatant OPI has to get a yellow hanky. Texas adjusted as Clemson’s initial script ran out and shut down Clemson on their next four drives (13 plays, 50 yards, 1 interception combined) and allowed a field goal on the fifth right before half on a short field after the Moore volleyball set. Why that run of success? They started shifting coverages more before the snap confusing the Clemson receiver reads and they brought various sim pressures and blitzes while allowing the Texas pass rush to get up the field. That created one-on-one matchups on the edge and Horn pass rushers were able to let it go while still respecting lane integrity. That’s when Texas had its best pressure on the Clemson QB and put a fairly simple passing game under wraps by disallowing easy run-seven-yards-and-turn-around outlets and not allowing the slower developing routes at all. The profusion of batted balls around this time was not coincidental, either. In the second half, Texas went to a stronger containment rush strategy – the Texas edges locked up with the offensive tackle at the line of scrimmage with both arms extended and watched before starting their pass rush – and Clemson began picking on Manny Muhammad’s failed attempts at press coverage on TJ Moore while exploiting overall poor communication with tempo. If you’re going to press, put your hands on the receiver immediately or bail. The squat in no-man’s land where you feel out how they will release is a losing proposition against a bigger and quicker athlete unless you’re playing zone and we sure as hell ain’t. Muhammad is put into a trail position and actually does a decent job in recovery despite a jab to the face mask, but Klubnick throws a dime. Texas clearly struggled with disorganization in the second half and the secondary spent an inordinate amount of time pointing and chirping at each other as Clemson ran to the line of scrimmage for another snap. Barron, Taaffe, McDonald and Mukuba were largely buttoned up while the Texas linebackers, Guilbeau and Muhammad struggled to understand exactly who had what or simply failed in their technique. Clemson’s last four possessions of the game went for 55, 64, 73 and 31 yards with two drives resulting in touchdowns and the other two stopped on downs. Props for the 4th down stops, but the Texas defense was outplayed and schematically solved. Their best defense was a stubborn Clemson offense that thought they could play bully ball close to the goal line. For the game, Texas allowed 6.1 yards per play despite no consistent Clemson running attack. This was a Clemson offense that limped into the postseason and badly struggled with reads on shifting coverages. Perhaps the two weeks off were what was needed to get them back on track and a lot of credit goes to Klubnik making some terrific throws to a talented young receiver corps, but this was the first time all year that the Texas pass defense showed composure and soundness issues and I’m not a fan of fretting a mobile QB’s legs so much that you deliberately cripple the best and most disruptive matchup you have in the game: pass rush. DL Strong game from Sorrell. He played with a lot of physicality. 3 pressures, a batted ball that led to an interception, and a sack. I really appreciate that even when he can’t realistically make a play on the ball, he’ll make the effort to torture the guy across from him. Ethan Burke had a nice coverage sack in the first half when Texas was still bringing a pass rush. Colin Simmons brought Clemson offensive tackles in the first half and early 3rd quarter with 3 QB hits (and a PI call) but asking him to stand and watch and calling it “containment” isn’t a winner. I felt the same way about Trey Moore. That’s textbook DT play by #15. Displace, don’t over penetrate, maintain your gap, shut down the other gap with the guard’s body by locking him out, keep that shoulder free, meet the RB in the hole. That’s poetry. A really nice game from Bill Norton. He always struggles with pad level early, gets lower and then starts kicking ass. Collins and Broughton played fine – Broughton had a nice batted ball when Texas was actively pass rushing – and Collins had a tackle for loss in the red zone – but they weren’t particularly impactful as they seemed occupied with keeping their rush lane more than getting push and Clemson abandoned the run game fairly early. LB Hill was poor in coverage. When we ran zone against mesh, he didn’t seem to understand when he should mirror the QB’s movement versus whether to sit in his spot or find work. Great hustle play to prevent a 3rd down conversion on a Mafah checkdown and he had some nice run fills. He led the team in tackles and had 7 solos off of pure effort. Gbenda blew a coverage that led to a Clemson TD pass on a RB release. Lefau played better than I thought he had on the rewatch. Very close to a pick 6 on an instinctive read of a Clemson trick play. DB Barron was exceptional. He shut down every receiver he faced. Clemson targeted him 8 times for 4 completions for 23 yards and two PBUs. Eventually, they just left him alone. Muhammad got cooked. He allowed a staggering 120 yards on 8 targets and 6 completions. He needs a major rework on his approach to man coverage in press. Press or bail. In off coverage, he took way too many recovery steps when the ball was thrown in front of him. Clemson got in his head early and never left. Guilbeau was targeted 7 times and gave up 5 completions. He had a couple of timely nickel blitzes but he still falls victim to bad angles. Taaffe uncharacteristically missed two key tackles that would have stymied large Clemson gains. He played better in the second half, but he wasn’t ready for Clemson’s skill speed or size early. He finished the game nicely though. Recognize that play? Crosser! Great recognition by Taaffe. Jelani McDonald was terrific in 32 snaps. Massive hit on a Clemson screen. Very physical. I love #25. He’s going to be so good. Gavin Holmes subbed in at corner and put on a clinic in 19 snaps. Clemson targeted him three times, zero completions. If we’re going press man, Holmes may be the better option if Muhammad can’t figure out a viable approach. Special Teams Good kick coverage. Clemson’s punter sucked. No real game impact. Final The Texas defense is mortal after all. There are some things to clean up and probably some weaknesses that were revealed in both athletes and game plan with a lead, but the modern game favors the offense to get theirs when they execute beautifully. Need to find a way to disrupt that execution and timing. (Scipio Tex) 2024 Clemson Postmortem: Offense Quote The Texas offense tore through Clemson in front of a boisterous over capacity crowd in the first ever playoff game hosted in DKR. Props to the Texas fans for bringing it. The energy and buzz was palpable through my television screen. The Tigers defense surrendered season highs in points, yardage and rushing yards as Texas nailed them for 38 on the scoreboard and just under 500 yards of offense. A revitalized Texas running game led the way behind dominant OL play and a pair of backs who haven’t looked this spry since early August. There’s nothing more satisfying than handing off the football and seeing the other colored jerseys moving backwards or on their backs while explosive runners make cuts on the edge of a razor. Quinn Ewers complemented a relentless run game with timely, accurate passing and several excellent checks at the line of scrimmage that led to positive results. That’s how the Horns averaged nearly 7 yards a play against what had been a Top 20 defense. The first three Texas drives of the game went for 75, 65 and 82 yards respectively, all ending in touchdowns. After a bad luck interception on a Moore volleyball set of a Ewers strike and another turnover on downs, Texas drove 65 yards on 7 plays with 1:33 on the play clock to score before the end of half and take a 28-10 lead on a 19 yard Gunnar Helm skinny post. Clemson rallied gamely behind Klubnik and won the second half 14-10, but the game wasn’t really in doubt. Let’s get into it… QB This was game manager Quinn at his very best. That guy will win Texas a lot of football games. He finished 17 of 24 for 202 yards and was extremely sharp in recognition and in the overall quality of his throws and decision making. He started the game a sizzling 7 of 7 for 100 yards, including a 43 yard post strike to Golden to loosen up the Tiger defense that saw him subtly manipulate the Clemson safety before throwing a strike. #3 also converted a key 3rd and 3 with his legs and found outlets on extended plays, like another 3rd down conversion check down to a late-releasing Blue. He hit both of his deep balls. He also coolly engineered an end of first half scoring drive. Sometimes playing QB for Sark is as simple as hitting your free throws and Quinn did that. Later in the game, he drilled an off balance 3 pointer as a Clemson blitz into a Helm screen forced Ewers to get the ball out unconventionally and urgently. Helm one handed the reception to turn the play into a first down gain. Terrific improvisation turned a sure sack or batted ball into a nice Helm gain. The only real negatives were a 4th down ball thrown behind Golden on a crosser and a pair of self-sacks. On the first sack early in the game, he bailed directly into pressure as DJ Campbell walled off penetration inside. Later, he had a weird self-sack slide as he fled the pocket. That should have been a throwaway. Seeing Sark absolutely lose his mind on the sideline on that one almost made it worth it. OL Dominant. Having Kelvin Banks back healthy provided immediate dividends as he was one of three Longhorn tackles who manhandled Clemson edge setters in outside zone, repeatedly pinning their outside shoulder and creating massive holes. I thought Banks had a good matchup coming in with Clemson’s much hyped TJ Parker and that proved correct. Banks toyed with Parker for four quarters, limiting him to zero pressures on the QB. Eventually, Parker just stopped pass rushing and sort of hung out hoping for a batted ball. No knock on Parker – he will play in the NFL – but Banks is just that good. The other Clemson edges were more or less abused down to down and their big men inside operated mostly on the “try really hard for a play then try to tie” method. That won’t work when the Texas OL is playing with desperate violence. Regrettably, Texas had to demonstrate its depth. Jake Majors went down on a cheap shot and Cam Williams got hit on the side of his knee on a blown throw back screen. Losing a starting center and a tackle is less than ideal in a playoff game, but Conner slid to center, Hutson came in capably at guard and Goosby carried the weight at right tackle. Three new faces at three positions and Texas carried right on. If that had happened just a couple of years ago, Texas would have been in complete disarray. Instead, Next Man Up. That’s the kind of machine we want to build and maintain. There’s a noticeable deficit in Williams versus Goosby blocking bigs at the point of attack, but Goosby is terrific on second level defenders and he’s a fine pass protector. Hutson brought his characteristic physicality in his 46 snaps, including a Peter Woods pancake on a screen pass. I expect Majors back. I’m less than optimistic on Big Cam. DJ Campbell was incredibly physical. He brought it. He and Cole Hutson thrive when they can fire out and rock people. No Texas unit played better or dominated more from start to finish. They earned their pancake money and they whipped an athletic but unsound Clemson front for four quarters of play. RB The Texas running game led the way with a pair of 100-yard rushing efforts from Blue and Wisner and each scored two touchdowns. That 100+ yard, 2 touchdown duo combo is only the third time that’s happened in Texas history. That’s the easiest touchdown that Tre will score. Please watch DJ Campbell on the pull hitting the outside edge until the play’s completion. I promise satisfaction. Violent. Jake Majors is impressive on the quick pull from center. Great job getting a hat on a better athlete in space. The block downs playside are fantastic as well. The white jerseys are only going one way. There’s an urgency and speed of execution happening here that’s exciting to watch. Tre Wisner’s steady slashing cutback runs on outside zone (14-110-2 touchdowns) were deadly and he repeatedly got small through creases only to finish runs with the most power a 195-pound RB can muster. Great game. Am I Blue? Yes, I’m Blue. Note that Clemson is in a 8 man front running a 6-2 against our 12 personnel. They should have this covered up. They do not have that covered up. Several key playside blocks, but please note how DJ Campbell reaches the 3 technique while big Cam Williams reaches the edge and turns him like a child. Helm and Davis do their job impeding and screening with real effort, but the big men getting play side reach blocks was the key. A defense cannot allow that to happen and I seriously question Tiger fundamentals. The players also got their asses handed to them, so there is that. It also helps that the Clemson safety #7 underestimates Blue’s foot speed. Uh, no Khalil Barnes, that won’t cut it. This run was similar – every blocker does his job, the movement is all in one direction at the line of scrimmage and Blue shakes off an arm tackle to explode through a fat crease. Good luck running him down. Jaydon Blue delivered the coup de grace when Wisner got nicked up with 16 touches for 177 yards and another pair of scores, including touchdown runs of 38 and 77 yards. We haven’t seen this Jaydon Blue since the Texas Tech game last year. I hope he sticks around, because the confident player we saw on Saturday looks a hell of a lot like Jahmyr Gibbs for the Detroit Lions. The hesitant runner slipping and falling like a baby giraffe on ice that we saw for the bulk of the season is no more. He clearly healed up his body and his mind. Speaking of baby African ungulates, baby rhino Jerrick Gibson came in late to close and his ball security and effort were on point. If you throw out the three longest runs for each Texas running back (77, 22, 21) the trio still averaged a very healthy 4.9 yards per carry. When you combine down-to-down success with explosives, that’s as good as it gets. It’s also worth noting that Texas handed the ball off on 3rd and long multiple times for first downs. Clearly Sark liked what he saw in those spots, but that’s the ultimate insult to a defense. WR/TE Golden played even better than I thought on review. Texas’ steadiest receiver caught 2 for 49 yards, but he drew two big PI calls and probably deserved two more. Wingo caught a pair of balls and drew his own PI to get Texas out of its own end zone, but he didn’t win a ball downfield (his arm was being held) on a Ewers dime and he ran a couple of wrong routes that led to one incompletion. Gunnar Helm was fantastic. Probably the best and most complete game I’ve seen from a Texas tight end in years. The best weapon on the field was too big for Clemson safeties and too athletic for Clemson linebackers. Terrific after the catch. He finished with 6-77 and a touchdown and he had his best blocking effort of the season. Extremely competitive and aggressive. Great effort and feet. Juan Davis drew 35 snaps in 12 personnel. He was active, but I can’t say that he was particularly good down to down. He’s more of a screener than a people mover. I love DeAndre Moore but he needs to clean up the volleyball set bullshit. Final Texas drew the most dangerous of the opening round lower seeded opponents and delivered a decisive 38-24 win. ACC champion Clemson concludes the season 0-3 against SEC opponents. They were 10-1 against everyone else. Texas’ next opponent is Big 12 champion Arizona State, a scrappy and very well coached team that’s about to find out that there are levels to this. It turns out that there may only be two conferences that matter. Where have I read that before!?!
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