Rice could not stop both phases of the Texas offense. They're not a horrid defense, but they just can't commit the players both ways. They chose to fortify the run stop - which is the right choice. Running is preferable to passing, since passing requires more coordination and higher chance of self inflicted mistakes.
To be consistently dangerous, Texas had to be able to threaten both on a given play. Obviously, this balance easily overwhelmed Rice's ability to counter. Recall last season when an inability to switch focus to passing allowed even outclassed defenses to pack the LOS and bog down the Texas offense.
We learned little about Texas' power, but paradoxically in doing so learned a lot. Too often in years' past, even with Supercoach Tom Herman, Texas simply could not shred athletically inferior opponents. Texas did what it should have done, which is no surprise, but a big reversal of previous outcomes.
Oh, and Cameron Dicker launched a 57 yard FG, which is pretty cool.
