 "Photo: Erik Reyna/The Daily Texan")
Last year, Longhorns’ weaknesses were pretty obvious.
They had an inexperienced secondary on defense, which meant that for the most part, they had to count on just the front four to bring pressure.
On offense, the team struggled to establish a running game and didn’t have a gamebreaker besides Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby — when he was healthy.
While it was a fun ride until the Texas Tech game, you couldn’t help but feel it was going to come crashing down eventually. A team with obvious weaknesses on both sides of the ball is going to get exploited. And it did.
The scary thing about this year’s team is that it’s hard to find a weakness. You won’t find a bigger cynic than me, and I’m staying up late at night trying to find something that could lead to this team’s downfall due to its schedule for the rest of the season. So far, I’ve found nothing.
Coming into the season, I thought the rush defense would struggle because senior defensive tackle Roy Miller, the anchor of last year’s defensive line, graduated. But after eight games, the Longhorns lead the nation in rushing defense. Teams are averaging only 1.76 yards per carry against the Horns.
The secondary is no longer inexperienced and no longer a weakness. Aaron Williams and Curtis Brown have emerged as shutdown corners. Safety Earl Thomas is third in the nation with six interceptions. Heading into the game with Oklahoma State, Zac Robinson had only been picked off three times. The Longhorns picked him off four times in the game.
On offense, it looked like the rushing game would be the Achilles’ heel after the Longhorns rushed for just 1.8 yards per carry against Colorado.
But the next week against Oklahoma, the Longhorns were able to run the ball when they had to late in the game. And now, Colt McCoy is more involved in the running game, unlike at the beginning of the season.
Scout Inc.’s Todd McShay wrote a column last week arguing that the Horns were beatable if teams took away the short throws from McCoy. This is essentially what Oklahoma did. McCoy will lock in on Shipley short, and if he is not open, McCoy won’t have time to go through his progressions and beat the blitz.
When teams use this strategy, it leaves favorable matchups down the field. McCoy wasn’t able to hit down the field against Oklahoma, but he was able to get a big pass-interference call.
Against Missouri, McCoy threw down the field to John Chiles for a 34-yard touchdown and hit Malcolm Williams for a 44-yard gain against Oklahoma State. If McCoy continues to have success throwing down the field, this team is dangerous.
The biggest weakness on offense may be the line, but even it is serviceable. Most of McCoy’s sacks have been coverage sacks.
On special teams, the Longhorns have always had a strong punt returner in Jordan Shipley, but they’ve added a dynamic kick returner in D.J. Monroe and have a strong block unit when they choose to go for the return.
So after looking at the overall picture, it’s hard to imagine how Texas could falter. Not just in the remaining games of the regular season and Big 12 championship game, but also against Florida or Alabama.
The No. 1 rush defense in the country should be able to neutralize Tim Tebow or Mark Ingram. Florida has struggled through the air this year and likely would against Texas’ secondary. Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy, in his first year as a starter, would also likely be at a disadvantage against Texas’ secondary.
In the end, the national championship usually goes to the most complete team, and right now that is looking like Texas.
Be the first to comment on this article!