The SEC Forum at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

Well, I mean, the ref criticism is fair and accurate, and I'm not seeing it done in the context of "that's why we only barely won."  It's just pointing out that the refereeing in that game was abysmal.  And that it's been the norm in Texas games, possibly everywhere in the Big 12.  (Though as mentioned, the SEC crews were out to match them this weekend.)

I'm not sure about the killer instinct.  Have to think about that more.  This game in particular seems like a poor point of evidence, since Texas merely went as Murphy went.  When he was on, Texas was fire.  When he was off, they stalled and struggled to put drives together.  It wasn't playcalling, aggression, change of strategy, etc.  It was a hot and cold QB who sometimes released on time and on target and sometimes waited too long and short-armed a bunch of throws. 

Arguably, Sark should've done better at USC, but take into consideration the guy was dealing with his own personal demons at that time. 

One thing that's clear to me, is that this is a different Texas team than any of the 2010 - 2022 versions.  This team is for real on the lines and they're finding ways to win instead of ways to lose. 

You can't coach experience. A player just has to earn that.
Texas handed KSU 20 points in 3 minutes. They busted a tackle on the sidelines, glided a poor INT (the only real criticism of the bunch) on a ball that didn't get thrown away properly, and had their best RB fumble. Of course, all of these disasters had to happen right about their own 30.
KSU stayed strong and hoped for a break to get them back in the game. They got more than could reasonably be expected, but that's why we love this sport. College football played by 18-22 year old guys. The ball is pointy and bounces funny.
In the first half, KSU dared Maalik to beat them with his arm. They stacked the box against the run and played man on the receivers. Murphy repeatedly found Adonai Mitchell for huge gains. Once it became apparent that he could keep doing that, they lifted a safety back high, sacrificed run support, and started playing zone.
Realistically, Mitchell was still open. However, the inexperience of Murphy showed when he was reluctant to risk turnovers if he misread the zone. He got tentative and slow. It only got worse once the score got close.
Longhorn fans will remember 1st year Quinn's hilariously awful attempts to throw the ball away. Turns out, it's harder than it looks and impossible to practice. Experience really is the only teacher sometimes.

OU is the most penalized team in the Big 12.

So, ranking from least-penalized to most-penalized, with national rankings in parentheses:

1. Iowa State (T12)
2. Baylor (T16)
3. Kansas (T23)
4. Kansas State (T27)
5. West Virginia (T33)
6. Oklahoma State (T37)
7. BYU (T44)
8. Houston (T51)
9. Texas (T59)
10. Cincinnati (T65)
11. Texas Tech (T77)
11. UCF (T77)
13. TCU (T92)
14. Oklahoma (113)

good news



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66eHGcA0F2E

an ugly win but a win is better then a loss

Ewers was 22 of 33 completed passes for 317 yards 1 passing TD and 1 interception

not his best performance but not his worst either

The coaches chose to shut down our passing attack late in the game for a more conservative ground attack

TCU played eight in the box a was successful at containing our rushing attack

much of the lack of offensive performance came from this coaching decision which I really disagreed with

but again a win is a win

an ugly win but a win is better then a loss

Ewers was 22 of 33 completed passes for 317 yards 1 passing TD and 1 interception

not his best performance but not his worst either

The coaches chose to shut down our passing attack late in the game for a more conservative ground attack

TCU played eight in the box a was successful at containing our rushing attack

much of the lack of offensive performance came from this coaching decision which I really disagreed with

but again a win is a win

Ewers is clearly still hurt and struggling to throw the ball.  That red zone flat pass at the goal line was the perfect playcall and the receiver was wide open for it, but Ewers pulled up short on the throw and couldn't put any power on the ball.  Result-- incomplete pass well short of the receiver.

I think that had as much as anything to do with why the mix shifted to run-heavy in the second half.  Don't get me wrong, Ewers did quite well for a player who was clearly still injured and playing at MAYBE 60%.  Hopefully he can continue to heal.  It's obvious the coaching staff trusts Ewers at 60% more than they trust Maalik at... well... any %.

But our defense has GOT to do better at containing the opponent, especially when the offensive strategy changes of necessity, as it did last night.  They did fairly well in the first half, and just flat-out stunk in the second half.  

I'm really worried about the game in Ames. Over the past decade plus it's been a tough place for us to play, you know they're hungry, and we're just not playing with a chip on our shoulder.  The injuries to QB1 and RB1 aren't going to help.

Ewers is clearly still hurt and struggling to throw the ball.  That red zone flat pass at the goal line was the perfect playcall and the receiver was wide open for it, but Ewers pulled up short on the throw and couldn't put any power on the ball.  Result-- incomplete pass well short of the receiver.

I think that had as much as anything to do with why the mix shifted to run-heavy in the second half.  Don't get me wrong, Ewers did quite well for a player who was clearly still injured and playing at MAYBE 60%.  Hopefully he can continue to heal.  It's obvious the coaching staff trusts Ewers at 60% more than they trust Maalik at... well... any %.

But our defense has GOT to do better at containing the opponent, especially when the offensive strategy changes of necessity, as it did last night.  They did fairly well in the first half, and just flat-out stunk in the second half. 

I'm really worried about the game in Ames. Over the past decade plus it's been a tough place for us to play, you know they're hungry, and we're just not playing with a chip on our shoulder.  The injuries to QB1 and RB1 aren't going to help.

Ewers did have that long 3rd down pass for a 1st down late in the game so he must of not been too injured

he also passed the ball for over 300 yards

he might have reinjured himself late in the game who knows

if the coaches were trying to protect him late in the game as you suggest then their play calling was necessary

I hope he gets better by next week