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How good is Texas? Here’s my $.02: they showed some strong stuff during a five-game mid-season streak, and that team is the one Alabama had better be prepared for. But really: are they that team, or are they the team that didn’t look so great at times early and late in the season?
We’ll know more soon, but in the meantime, let’s try to get a handle on this Longhorns bunch by looking at what they’ve done on a game-by-game basis.
Texas(H) 59, ULM 20
OPPONENT – Lousiana-Monroe, Sun Belt Conference
Record – 6-6, no bowl
Schedule Strength – 100th
Average Score – 25.6-27.3
Stats and national stat rankings
Total Offense – 392.3, 48th
Rushing – 183.9, 31st
Passing Efficiency – 126.0, 70th
Total Defense – 347.0, 44th
Rushing Defense – 110.1, 20th
Pass Efficiency Defense – 121.24, 45th
GAME SUMMARY –
Texas Stats – 199 rushing, 363 passing, 33 first downs, 3 turnovers
Opponent Stats – 101 rushing, 197 passing, 17 first downs, 3 turnovers
Score by quarters – 14-3, 38-10, 45-10, 59-20
Over when – D.J. Monroe’s 89-yard kickoff return touchdown gave UT a 28-10 lead with 9:54 left in the 2nd quarter.
IMPRESSIVE – 562 yards and 33 first downs.
UNIMPRESSIVE – 3 turnovers, 17 first downs surrendered.
OVERALL – An impressive display of power but some sloppiness on both sides of the ball. UT was much aided by 80 yards in ULM penalties.
Texas(V) 41, Wyoming 10
OPPONENT – Wyoming, Mountain West
Record – 7-6, no bowl
Schedule Strength – 39th
Average Score – 18.3-27.3
Stats and national stat rankings
Total Offense – 309.4, 107th
Rushing – 136.2, 74th
Passing Efficiency – 106.5, 110th
Total Defense – 393.3, 81st
Rushing Defense – 172.5, 93rd
Pass Efficiency Defense – 133.1, 76th
GAME SUMMARY –
Texas Stats – 191 rushing, 353 passing, 27 first downs. 1 turnover
Opponent Stats – 85 rushing, 188 passing, 18 first downs, 1 turnover
Score by quarters – 3-0, 13-10, 34-10, 41-10
Over when – Tre Newton’s 13-yard TD run gave Texas a 34-10 lead with 3:02 left in the 3rd quarter.
IMPRESSIVE – 28-0 run over 12-1/2 minute period starting with the last 30 seconds of the first half; 27 first downs.
UNIMPRESSIVE – Trailed 10-6 to a terrible team with 30 seconds left in the first half; 78 penalty yards; 18 first downs surrendered.
OVERALL – How did Wyoming get Texas to visit? Maybe you could give Texas the excuse of being unprepared to play in such a tiny, remote setting: otherwise an extremely unimpressive performance by the ‘Horns.
Texas(H) 34, Texas Tech 24
OPPONENT – Texas Tech, Big 12
Record – 9-4, 41-31 Alamo Bowl win vs Michigan St.
Schedule Strength – 63rd
Average Score – 37.0-22.5
Stats and national stat rankings
Total Offense – 470.8, 4th
Rushing – 84.0, 115th
Passing Efficiency – 143.8, 20th
Total Defense – 352.4, 49th
Rushing Defense – 126.8, 37th
Pass Efficiency Defense – 117.4, 36th
GAME SUMMARY –
Texas Stats – 135 rushing, 205 passing, 20 first downs, 2 turnovers
Opponent Stats – -6 rushing, 420 passing, 25 first downs, 3 turnovers
Score by quarters – 7-3, 10-3, 24-17, 34-24
Over when – Hunter Lawrence kicked a 33-yard field goal with 3:49 left to give Texas a 10-point lead at 34-34.
IMPRESSIVE – -6 yards rushing allowed; 10-point win over the Alamo Bowl champs.
UNIMPRESSIVE – 420 yards passing given up, 76 yards of Texas penalties, Tech’s 108 yards of penalties and 3 turnovers made the difference in the game.
OVERALL – A workmanlike home win over a decent team. Not really a national-championship-caliber performance, but not a total bust, either.
Texas(H) 64, UTEP 7
OPPONENT – UTEP, Conference USA
Record – 4-8
Schedule Strength – 116th
Average Score – 29.8-33.5
Stats and national stat rankings –
Total Offense – 428.7, 20th
Rushing – 151.1, 51st
Passing Efficiency – 127.7, 63rd
Total Defense – 446.9, 110th
Rushing Defense – 200.8, 106th
Pass Efficiency Defense – 138.6, 95th
GAME SUMMARY –
Texas Stats – 304 rushing, 335 passing, 32 first downs, 3 turnovers
Opponent Stats – 9 rushing, 44 passing, 7 first downs, 5 turnovers
Score by quarters – 23-7, 47-7, 57-7, 64-7
Over when – Colt McCoy’s 16-yard TD pass to Jordan Shipley made it 33-7 with 7:08 left in the 2nd quarter.
IMPRESSIVE – 639 yards of total offense and 32 first downs, while surrendering only 53 yards, is impressive against anybody. Yeah, UTEP was a bad team, but they beat ranked Houston 58-41 the very next week.
UNIMPRESSIVE – 3 turnovers against a bad team.
OVERALL – Hard to get too worked-up about anything that happens against UTEP, but what more could Texas have done? This was a total beatdown from pillar to post.
Texas(H) 38, Colorado 14
OPPONENT – Colorado, Big 12
Record – 3-9
Schedule Strength – 45th
Average Score – 22.3-28.8
Stats and national stat rankings
Total Offense – 314.3, 104th
Rushing – 87.9, 113th
Passing Efficiency – 106.1, 111th
Total Defense – 363.0, 57th
Rushing Defense – 161.2, 80th
Pass Efficiency Defense - 131.5, 69th
GAME SUMMARY –
Texas Stats – 46 rushing, 267 passing, 21 first downs, 2 turnovers
Opponent Stats – 42 rushing, 85 passing, 11 first downs, 2 turnovers
Score by quarters – 3-7, 10-14, 24-14, 38-14
Over when – Jordan Shipley’s 74-yard punt return TD gave Texas a 31-14 lead with 12:29 left.
IMPRESSIVE – 2 special-teams TDs and a defensive TD in the second half; 127 yards offense given up for the game.
UNIMPRESSIVE – Needing special-teams and defensive TDs for a home win against the worst team in the Big 12.
OVERALL – An unimpressive performance against a team that had recently given up 54 points to Toledo.
Texas 16, Oklahoma 13 (Dallas)
OPPONENT – Oklahoma, Big 12
Record – 8-5, 31-27 Sun Bowl win over Stanford
Schedule Strength – 3rd
Average Score – 31.1-14.5
Stats and national stat rankings –
Total Offense – 423.9, 25th
Rushing – 134.6, 77th
Passing Efficiency- 130.7, 52nd
Total Defense – 272.6, 8th
Rushing Defense – 92.9, 8th
Pass Efficiency Defense – 99.0, 7th
GAME SUMMARY –
Texas Stats – 142 rushing, 127 passing, 20 first downs, 3 turnovers
Opponent Stats – -16 rushing, 327 passing, 18 first downs, 5 turnovers
Score by quarters – 0-6, 3-6, 13-13, 16-13
Over when – Colt McCoy’s 4-yard quarterback draw on 3rd and 4 gave Texas a first down with 2:35 left and OU holding only a single timeout.
IMPRESSIVE – A win in the Red River Rivalry; -16 on the ground for Oklahoma, forcing five turnovers.
UNIMPRESSIVE – Needing five turnovers for a 3-point win against a five-loss team.
OVERALL – One thing you will probably have trouble getting agreement on among college football fans is how good Oklahoma was this year: the same team they’ve been over this decade, just unlucky? A solid team that couldn’t win the close ones? Mediocre at best? Who knows, but all you can say for sure is that they lost five and needed some Stanford turnovers for a close bowl win that could’ve been loss #6. Texas, however, barely eked out a win at a neutral site; up to this point in the season Texas did not really look like a national championship contender except by rep.
Texas(V) 41, Missouri 7
OPPONENT – Missouri, Big Twelve
Record – 8-5, 35-13 loss to Navy in Texas Bowl
Schedule Strength – 41st
Average Score – 29.9-25.4
Stats and national stat rankings
Total Offense – 412.5, 33rd
Rushing – 127.0, 85th
Passing Efficiency – 139.1, 34th
Total Defense – 370.1, 64th
Rushing Defense – 118.6, 26th
Pass Efficiency Defense – 132.5, 74th
GAME SUMMARY –
Texas Stats – 131 rushing, 269 passing, 26 first downs, 1 turnover
Opponent Stats – 74 rushing, 99 passing, 11 first downs, 2 turnovers
Score by quarters – 21-0, 35-7, 38-7, 41-7
Over when – Curtis Brown blocked a Missouri punt and Malcolm Williams fell on it in the endzone to give Texas a 35-7 lead with 45 seconds left in the first half.
IMPRESSIVE – A quick and efficient blowout of a 4-2 Big 12 team in their house; only 173 yards surrendered to a solid offense.
UNIMPRESSIVE – 400 yards against a mediocre offense isn’t quite a stellar performance, but it’s all Texas needed for the easy win.
OVERALL – Texas kicks it into overtime for its mid-season run by crushing the Tigers in Columbia. Easily the Horns’ best Big 12 game to date, but it looks a bit less impressive after Missouri took the bowl-game beatdown from Navy.
Texas(V) 41, Oklahoma St. 14
OPPONENT – Oklahoma St., Big 12
Record – 9-4, 21-7 loss to Ole Miss in Cotton Bowl
Schedule Strength – 31st
Average Score – 28.4-21.7
Stats and national stat rankings
Total Offense – 367.2, 70th
Rushing – 187.8, 23rd
Passing Efficiency – 127.9, 61st
Total Defense – 332.5, 32nd
Rushing Defense – 95.8, 11th
Pass Efficiency Defense – 111.1, 22nd
GAME SUMMARY –
Texas Stats – 99 rushing, 176 passing, 17 first downs, 1 turnover
Opponent Stats – 134 rushing, 143 passing, 15 first downs, 5 turnovers
Score by quarters – 3-0, 24-7, 41-7, 41-14
Over when – Earl Thomas’ 31-yard interception return TD made it 34-7 with 9:31 left in the 3rd quarter.
IMPRESSIVE – Five turnovers forced; 41-7 3rd-quarter lead against a Cotton Bowl team.
UNIMPRESSIVE – 275 yards offense.
OVERALL – A second straight very impressive Big 12 road win against a pretty good team. In retrospect probably Texas’ most convincing win of the season.
Texas(H) 35, UCF 3
OPPONENT – Central Florida, Conference USA
Record – 8-5, 45-24 loss to Rutgers in St. Petersburg Bowl
Schedule Strength – 70th
Average Score – 26.2-22.5
Stats and national stat rankings
Total Offense – 340.9, 87th
Rushing – 130.5, 82nd
Passing Efficiency – 130.8, 51st
Total Defense – 350.5, 48th
Rushing Defense – 82.8, 4th
Pass Efficiency Defense – 135.3, 83rd
GAME SUMMARY –
Texas Stats – 67 rushing, 470 passing, 24 first downs, 1 turnover
Opponent Stats – 75 rushing, 76 passing, 15 first downs, no turnovers
Score by quarters – 0-0, 14-3, 21-3, 35-3
Over when – Jordan Shipley hauled in an 88-yard TD bomb from Colt McCoy with 13:01 left in the 4th to make it 28-3.
IMPRESSIVE – 35-3 beatdown of a bowl-invited mid-major team playing a solid game (no UCF turnovers, only 5 yards penalties); out-passed UCF 470-76.
UNIMPRESSIVE – Still 14-3 with 3:30 left in the 3rd.
OVERALL – A third straight impressive win for Texas. Alabama and Florida were having a struggle or two during mid-season, and Texas (and TCU) may have been the two best teams in the nation during this stretch.
Texas(V) 47, Baylor 14
OPPONENT – Baylor, Big 12
Record – 4-8
Schedule Strength – 13th
Average Score – 20.8-27.3
Stats and national stat rankings
Total Offense – 342.9, 85th
Rushing – 100.6, 108th
Passing Efficiency – 121.1, 84th
Total Defense – 405.6, 94th
Rushing Defense – 178.8, 98th
Pass Efficiency Defense – 123.1, 48th
GAME SUMMARY –
Texas Stats – 224 rushing, 187 passing, 23 first downs, 1 turnover
Opponent Stats – 6 rushing, 240 passing, 16 first downs, 3 turnovers
Score by quarters – 14-0, 40-0, 40-0, 47-14
Over when – Cody Johnson’s 1-yard run with 2:50 left in the 2nd quarter made it 35-0.
IMPRESSIVE – 40-0 halftime lead against a Big 12 team.
UNIMPRESSIVE – 4.7 yards per pass attempt against a bad defense.
OVERALL – The Longhorns did not run up overwhelming stats, but it’s hard to complain when you hang a 40-point first-half lead on a Big Six conference team in their house.
Texas(H) 51, Kansas 20
OPPONENT – Kansas, Big 12
Record – 5-7
Schedule Strength – 40th
Average Score – 29.4-28.4
Stats and national stat rankings
Total Offense – 422.4, 26th
Rushing – 112.1, 100th
Passing Efficiency 0 135.4, 40th
Total Defense – 383.3, 76th
Rushing Defense – 138.3, 55th
Pass Efficiency Defense – 129.8, 63rd
GAME SUMMARY –
Texas Stats – 136 rushing, 396 passing, 29 first downs, 1 turnover
Opponent Stats – 47 rushing, 256 passing, 16 first downs, 1 turnover
Score by quarters – 7-0 27-6, 34-13, 51-20
Over when – Hunter Lawrence kicked a 35-yard field goal with 14:08 left to give Texas a 37-13 lead.
IMPRESSIVE – 51 points, 396 passing yards and 29 first downs against an average Big 12 defense.
UNIMPRESSIVE – Keeping the streak of a turnover in every game going.
OVERALL – Another convincing blowout against a Big 12 team with bowl pretentions. This caps off a stellar five-game mid-season run for the orange-clad.
Texas(V) 49, Texas A&M 39
OPPONENT – Texas A&M, Big 12
Record – 6-7, 44-20 loss to Georgia in Independence Bowl
Schedule Strength – 82nd
Average Score – 32.9-33.5
Stats and national stat rankings
Total Offense – 465.8, 6th
Rushing – 184.2, 30th
Passing Efficiency – 136.0, 38th
Total Defense – 426.3, 105th
Rushing Defense – 171.6, 90th
Pass Efficiency Defense – 134.5, 81st
GAME SUMMARY –
Texas Stats – 293 rushing, 304 passing, 26 first downs, 1 turnover
Opponent Stats – 190 rushing, 342 passing, 27 first downs, 2 turnovers
Score by quarters – 7-7, 28-21, 35-24, 49-39
Over when – Texas A&M’s Randy Bullock missed a 23-yard field goal attempt with 3:05 left and Texas leading 49-39.
IMPRESSIVE – 597 yards offense, including 479 from Colt McCoy.
UNIMPRESSIVE – Inability to ever shake a team that finished 6-7 against the #82 schedule in the country; 532 yards and 27 first downs allowed.
OVERALL - The worst performance of the season against a team that will be playing in Pasadena Thursday night. A&M is not even average, and they played the 'Horns pretty close to even steven in an entertaining 60-minute slugfest. Any Aggie defense at all would've sent TCU to Pasadena.
Texas 13, Nebraska 12 (Arlington, TX)
OPPONENT – Nebraska, Big 12
Record – 10-4, 33-0 Holiday Bowl win over Arizona
Schedule Strength – 42nd
Average Score – 25.1-10.4
Stats and national stat rankings
Total Offense – 322.8, 99th
Rushing – 147.1, 62nt
Passing Efficiency – 122.4, 79th
Total Defense – 272.0, 7th
Rushing Defense – 92.1, 9th
Pass Efficiency Defense – 87.3, 1st
GAME SUMMARY –
Texas Stats – 18 rushing, 184 passing, 17 first downs, 3 turnovers
Opponent Stats – 67 rushing, 39 passing, 5 first downs, 3 turnovers
Score by quarters – 0-6, 7-6, 10-6, 13-12
Over when – Colt McCoy’s throw-away sailed out of bounds as the clock ticked down to zero – oh, wait . . . make that when Hunter Lawrence nailed a game-winning 46-yard field goal as time expired.
IMPRESSIVE – giving up 39 yards passing and five first downs, while grabbing three turnovers. It’s a wonder Nebraska ever scored at all.
UNIMPRESSIVE – It took luck to win this one, and there’s simply no other way to spin it. The Longhorns’ offense could not get it done against a big-time D.
OVERALL – Nebraska’s 33-0 whuppin’ of #20 Arizona in the Holiday Bowl means that Texas’ performance wasn’t as bad as it looked at first blush. Nebraska finished strong and had a huge mental edge for the conference championship game as the underdog looking to make their season, while Texas was just looking to avoid a disastrous failure to secure a BCS championship game slot that was theirs for the taking. Nevertheless, you sure can’t call this impressive.
TOMMORROW - Alabama Game By Game
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