D
Derek Young
Guest
OFFENSE
Jesse Ertz had a decent ball game. He left the game in the third quarter due to a knee injury and Delton took over the snaps from there. But before that, he managed the game well. Ertz surprised many by having zero rushing yards at halftime but already had thrown for 170 yards - including a catch from Byron Pringle off a tipped pass. Dalton Schoen had a huge night with two touchdown receptions. He’s certainly faster than some choose to believe.
Something to keep in mind is that personnel wasn’t modified much for this game. Schoen didn’t all of a sudden see more snaps, or Pringle less. It was generally about the same. Schoen did happen to get more targets from Ertz, and a couple later from Delton. Pringle got fewer targets. Zuber did as well so we’re not sure that is indicative of anything. If any personnel changes were made, I saw much fewer snaps for Isaiah Harris. Dominique Heath was on the field much more than Harris this time around.
The drops didn’t creep up in a dramatic way this game. Pringle did drop another. Schoen dropped a fourth-quarter pass from Delton. It was a tough catch but one that probably should be made.
The running back rotation still left a little to be desired. We didn’t see Dalvin Warmack at all. We saw Justin Silmon once, I believe, and that was in the first quarter. Barnes looked good at times but we just think he may look better if he saw a few less snaps and could be fresher. I think it is important to point out, though, that Alex Barnes is a heck of a pass blocker. He picked up the blitz beautifully on more than one occasion. I also know that folks hate the option right to Barnes. I get it. I don’t love it, especially on third and short. At the same time, the yards were there for Barnes to pick up the first down and he whiffed.
I wanted to mention one drive I enjoyed a lot from Kansas State. It just had creative play-calling and great cohesion. It included the one-handed catch by Schoen on the right sideline, the pass from Ertz to a wide-open Dominique Heath down the left sideline, and the pop pass to Dimel. I thought it was going to be a drive that stalled after the holding call but then Schoen came back and caught his second touchdown of the game. Yes, the pass to Heath could have been crisper to allow more room after the catch. I thought the Wildcats underachieved on the pop pass to Dimel as well. I just didn’t think it was on Ertz. I just don’t think Dimel needed to go to the ground. I thought the ball was on the mark.
I think because of the limitations of this offense, more so than I thought was present, that it is important for it to stay on schedule. K-State doesn't have much success on any drives when it isn't doing any damage on first down. The Wildcats need some yardage on first downs. This is why the dropped passes and penalties hurt this team drastically more than it typically would another offense. It throws the Wildcats off schedule and then they become even more predictable regardless of who is calling the plays.
One pet peeve of mine is also some of the routes run by certain receivers. I know it’s happened a few times with Isaiah Harris in the past. Today it happened with Dominique Heath. The long passes or fades down sideline with smaller wideouts has occurred a few times and it’s catchable, but there’s a ton of difficulty involved. I just think the margin of error is too small for those routes on that spot on the field with guys like Harris and Heath. I would think that is more fitting for Zuber or Pringle.
It is definitely worth addressing the play and insertion of Alex Delton into the game. He was very, very good. I thought that he had fresh legs against a tired defense and provided the K-State offense with a spark. I think there’s definitely a place for that in this offense. But Texas adjusted, and sold out against him. He threw a couple times, and completed a pass but not enough to not be one-dimensional. There’s a role for him, but defining it is still a work in progress.
Why did Bill Snyder and Kansas State go back to Ertz? Personally, I might have stayed with Delton as well but I understand it. It seemed like Texas had adjusted and understood that K-State was hesitant and not comfortable with him in the pocket as a passer. They spied on him and made sure he would not beat them with his legs. Delton did return for overtime. He got a little bit of room on his touchdown run but was stopped otherwise. It was Barnes that got loose for 20 yards on a great audible and recognition by the Kansas State staff.
I know I wouldn’t overly endorse some of the play-calling in this game. Namely, the hand-off to Barnes on 2nd and 27 in double overtime. However, Barnes did scamper for 20 yards on third down in the first overtime. I still would have expected 27 points in regulation being enough to win this game. And it was more than I was anticipating seeing from Kansas State.
At the end of the day, this offense did probably take steps forward.
DEFENSE
Oh, where to start. It was not their best night of the season. Let’s get that out of the way. But it could have been much worse. What were the problems? The secondary leaked a lot on the night, especially in the second quarter. Guys were flashing open all over. Was Kansas State softened up by the quarterback draw? Perhaps. They didn’t have an answer for what Texas was doing offensively for most of the game, but the second quarter was the roughest period of the game.
Another problem? The previously mentioned quarterback draw. K-State acted like they had not seen it ever before. That had to be an error. Coach Bill Snyder even said on Tuesday how quarterback-centric the Longhorns were. They had to know it was coming. So, was it a matter of knowing it was coming but still being unable to stop it? In a word, yes. I don’t think the Wildcats were necessarily fooled. But they were dominated by a Texas offensive line that had not shown this type of ability before tonight. The Wildcats were also caught trying to defend the draw when blitzing on a few different occasions, which didn’t help. Kansas State also struggled to tackle the entire game. The missed tackle was the dropped ball in this one.
Jonathan Durham got a lot of playing time in this one. Cre Moore played in the first quarter but then disappeared. That should not go overlooked. I think K-State is a bit more vulnerable there without Moore in the game. I know there are specific roles for the two cornerback spots and the nickel. I just wonder if A.J. Parker truly can’t own that spot instead of just being the reserve to either D.J. Reed or Duke Shelley.
How about a few good things? D.J. Reed is very, very good. The interception on the first play of the game tells you everything that you need to know. He baited Ehlinger into throwing the ball by applying the façade that the receiver was open. Ehlinger bit and Reed then closed on the ball and went up the ladder to get it for a pick. I’ll also take a moment to shout out Duke Shelley. While the Wildcats tackled poorly as a team, he continues to be an excellent open-field tackler from his spot on the perimeter.
Also, the red zone defense was more than good enough to come out with a win, even in the loss. There’s four different red zone visits for Texas that only resulted in a combined six points. Two made field goals, a missed one, and the turnover on downs inside the 10-yard line. There was a fifth drive that ended at the Kansas State 28 where the Longhorns missed another field goal. That’s five drives inside the 30 that they only came away with six points.
It would have been better if some of the defensive stops from K-State came at different times. They allowed Texas to answer quickly after building a 10-0 lead. The Wildcats then jumped out again, 17-7, and allowed the Longhorn offense to answer immediately once again.
I said the offense probably took steps forward, and I definitely feel that way. But I equally feel like the defense took steps backward. It was beaten by exactly what it should have known was coming. The offense did not let the drops overtake the games like the previous ball games while the defense all of a sudden had issues tackling.
SPECIAL TEAMS
I think Kansas State easily won this battle. Texas missed two field goals. The Longhorns allowed some decent returns from Reed. Aside from their booming 67-yard punt, the Longhorns were pretty inadequate in this area.
For K-State, it was impressive for the most part. Reed was great as a returner. They covered kicks pretty well. McCrane hit two clutch field goals in regulation. He missed the one in overtime but it didn’t end up mattering a whole lot. The Longhorns had an excellent punt but so did the Wildcats, pinning Texas at the 1 that set up a K-State score.
Jesse Ertz had a decent ball game. He left the game in the third quarter due to a knee injury and Delton took over the snaps from there. But before that, he managed the game well. Ertz surprised many by having zero rushing yards at halftime but already had thrown for 170 yards - including a catch from Byron Pringle off a tipped pass. Dalton Schoen had a huge night with two touchdown receptions. He’s certainly faster than some choose to believe.
Something to keep in mind is that personnel wasn’t modified much for this game. Schoen didn’t all of a sudden see more snaps, or Pringle less. It was generally about the same. Schoen did happen to get more targets from Ertz, and a couple later from Delton. Pringle got fewer targets. Zuber did as well so we’re not sure that is indicative of anything. If any personnel changes were made, I saw much fewer snaps for Isaiah Harris. Dominique Heath was on the field much more than Harris this time around.
The drops didn’t creep up in a dramatic way this game. Pringle did drop another. Schoen dropped a fourth-quarter pass from Delton. It was a tough catch but one that probably should be made.
The running back rotation still left a little to be desired. We didn’t see Dalvin Warmack at all. We saw Justin Silmon once, I believe, and that was in the first quarter. Barnes looked good at times but we just think he may look better if he saw a few less snaps and could be fresher. I think it is important to point out, though, that Alex Barnes is a heck of a pass blocker. He picked up the blitz beautifully on more than one occasion. I also know that folks hate the option right to Barnes. I get it. I don’t love it, especially on third and short. At the same time, the yards were there for Barnes to pick up the first down and he whiffed.
I wanted to mention one drive I enjoyed a lot from Kansas State. It just had creative play-calling and great cohesion. It included the one-handed catch by Schoen on the right sideline, the pass from Ertz to a wide-open Dominique Heath down the left sideline, and the pop pass to Dimel. I thought it was going to be a drive that stalled after the holding call but then Schoen came back and caught his second touchdown of the game. Yes, the pass to Heath could have been crisper to allow more room after the catch. I thought the Wildcats underachieved on the pop pass to Dimel as well. I just didn’t think it was on Ertz. I just don’t think Dimel needed to go to the ground. I thought the ball was on the mark.
I think because of the limitations of this offense, more so than I thought was present, that it is important for it to stay on schedule. K-State doesn't have much success on any drives when it isn't doing any damage on first down. The Wildcats need some yardage on first downs. This is why the dropped passes and penalties hurt this team drastically more than it typically would another offense. It throws the Wildcats off schedule and then they become even more predictable regardless of who is calling the plays.
One pet peeve of mine is also some of the routes run by certain receivers. I know it’s happened a few times with Isaiah Harris in the past. Today it happened with Dominique Heath. The long passes or fades down sideline with smaller wideouts has occurred a few times and it’s catchable, but there’s a ton of difficulty involved. I just think the margin of error is too small for those routes on that spot on the field with guys like Harris and Heath. I would think that is more fitting for Zuber or Pringle.
It is definitely worth addressing the play and insertion of Alex Delton into the game. He was very, very good. I thought that he had fresh legs against a tired defense and provided the K-State offense with a spark. I think there’s definitely a place for that in this offense. But Texas adjusted, and sold out against him. He threw a couple times, and completed a pass but not enough to not be one-dimensional. There’s a role for him, but defining it is still a work in progress.
Why did Bill Snyder and Kansas State go back to Ertz? Personally, I might have stayed with Delton as well but I understand it. It seemed like Texas had adjusted and understood that K-State was hesitant and not comfortable with him in the pocket as a passer. They spied on him and made sure he would not beat them with his legs. Delton did return for overtime. He got a little bit of room on his touchdown run but was stopped otherwise. It was Barnes that got loose for 20 yards on a great audible and recognition by the Kansas State staff.
I know I wouldn’t overly endorse some of the play-calling in this game. Namely, the hand-off to Barnes on 2nd and 27 in double overtime. However, Barnes did scamper for 20 yards on third down in the first overtime. I still would have expected 27 points in regulation being enough to win this game. And it was more than I was anticipating seeing from Kansas State.
At the end of the day, this offense did probably take steps forward.
DEFENSE
Oh, where to start. It was not their best night of the season. Let’s get that out of the way. But it could have been much worse. What were the problems? The secondary leaked a lot on the night, especially in the second quarter. Guys were flashing open all over. Was Kansas State softened up by the quarterback draw? Perhaps. They didn’t have an answer for what Texas was doing offensively for most of the game, but the second quarter was the roughest period of the game.
Another problem? The previously mentioned quarterback draw. K-State acted like they had not seen it ever before. That had to be an error. Coach Bill Snyder even said on Tuesday how quarterback-centric the Longhorns were. They had to know it was coming. So, was it a matter of knowing it was coming but still being unable to stop it? In a word, yes. I don’t think the Wildcats were necessarily fooled. But they were dominated by a Texas offensive line that had not shown this type of ability before tonight. The Wildcats were also caught trying to defend the draw when blitzing on a few different occasions, which didn’t help. Kansas State also struggled to tackle the entire game. The missed tackle was the dropped ball in this one.
Jonathan Durham got a lot of playing time in this one. Cre Moore played in the first quarter but then disappeared. That should not go overlooked. I think K-State is a bit more vulnerable there without Moore in the game. I know there are specific roles for the two cornerback spots and the nickel. I just wonder if A.J. Parker truly can’t own that spot instead of just being the reserve to either D.J. Reed or Duke Shelley.
How about a few good things? D.J. Reed is very, very good. The interception on the first play of the game tells you everything that you need to know. He baited Ehlinger into throwing the ball by applying the façade that the receiver was open. Ehlinger bit and Reed then closed on the ball and went up the ladder to get it for a pick. I’ll also take a moment to shout out Duke Shelley. While the Wildcats tackled poorly as a team, he continues to be an excellent open-field tackler from his spot on the perimeter.
Also, the red zone defense was more than good enough to come out with a win, even in the loss. There’s four different red zone visits for Texas that only resulted in a combined six points. Two made field goals, a missed one, and the turnover on downs inside the 10-yard line. There was a fifth drive that ended at the Kansas State 28 where the Longhorns missed another field goal. That’s five drives inside the 30 that they only came away with six points.
It would have been better if some of the defensive stops from K-State came at different times. They allowed Texas to answer quickly after building a 10-0 lead. The Wildcats then jumped out again, 17-7, and allowed the Longhorn offense to answer immediately once again.
I said the offense probably took steps forward, and I definitely feel that way. But I equally feel like the defense took steps backward. It was beaten by exactly what it should have known was coming. The offense did not let the drops overtake the games like the previous ball games while the defense all of a sudden had issues tackling.
SPECIAL TEAMS
I think Kansas State easily won this battle. Texas missed two field goals. The Longhorns allowed some decent returns from Reed. Aside from their booming 67-yard punt, the Longhorns were pretty inadequate in this area.
For K-State, it was impressive for the most part. Reed was great as a returner. They covered kicks pretty well. McCrane hit two clutch field goals in regulation. He missed the one in overtime but it didn’t end up mattering a whole lot. The Longhorns had an excellent punt but so did the Wildcats, pinning Texas at the 1 that set up a K-State score.
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