Alamo Bowl Game Thread: UT v UW

Not a bad game but not what we want and expect. Yes not having Bijan and Roschon was huge. I really fail to see the lack of urgency at the end of the game. No I didnt expect to win but I do expect all players on the field to hustle their butts off to get back to the line and be ready. I still cant see how our defense cannot get off the field. We didnt fold but the long drives and lack of making plays when we could just gets tiring. I presume there are some great football minds that can explain how our qb's cannot read defenses. Just never see qb/wr adjustments. We have to have burners at wr who can actually catch the ball. Our OL still cannot pick up blocks. They are not as porous as in the past but still not there. Ok there is always next year.
 
Pomspoms said:
I said 2 months ago, at least, that Worthy needed to go and that he was a prima donna. I got chastised for it.
I also was down on QE during the season. Got chastised for that also.
I do still have a small hope for him because he shows flashes of being a success and he has time, well, spring and fall camp.
I am very underwhelmed by Sark as I have stated before. His stubbornness and not thinking outside the box, and favoritism, just makes me want to puke.
He really is an 8-4 coach and that is with good talent.
Next year he will have even better talent. So we may go 9-3.
But we need a QB like a shark needs teeth.
I really, really hope worthy is portaling or goes to the NFL, which I doubt he makes a team.
it's too bad we didn't get that QB from Wake Forest. A confident QB with a good arm and a "let's get it done" attitude.
I picked us to lose this game because Sark is our coach and QE is our QB.
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I just don't see how you can put this game on QE. He had 360 yds, 66% completions, with close to zero run game. He had the one really bad throw to Worthy on the 4th down. If Worthy just makes 2 of the 3 catches on long balls he's looking at 420 yds of offense. Plus Worthy dropped another ball that hits him right in the hands. We overcame that drop and a hold to score on that drive. OLineman having illegal motion penalties, inability to convert 3rd and 1 or 4th and 1. Those aren't on QE. I thought it was the best I'd seen him play. His stats were better against OU, but we had receivers wide open all game. He had to make much better throws last night. By next year I think he'll be very good. It's not easy playing a a RS freshman, getting hurt, coming back without practicing for a month. Card should have come in in the games he struggled.
 
X Misn Tx said:
the defense is NOT what lost the game.
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I have to disagree.

The "Bend-But-Don't-Break" style of defense sucks the life out of the players. By the 4th quarter, they are gassed. "3 and Out" as been an enigma for Texas for 10+ years. Regardless of the flaws on offense, you have to keep giving the ball back to them with some sense of regularity.
 
X Misn Tx said:
the defense is NOT what lost the game. the offense is what lost the game. the score makes obvious that we held them 13.8 points below their (4th ranked offense) average. And again we couldn't score more than 20 points.

Worthy and running game are the two reasons.
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I say both were pretty equally responsible. Texas not stopping Talula and letting them sustain long drives was critical. They didn't score many points because they were going at such a slow pace with every snap under 5 sec left on the clock. That gave the defense a chance to rest, but they still couldn't get off the field and give the ball back to the offense.

And when the offense did get it back Texas couldn't sustain any long drives because of no push, no protection from the OL and dropped passes. So yes it was both.

And the drops. Everyone is all over Worthy and rightfully so, but I keep seeing his hands in the wrong position. On the sure TD he had both hands down with the palms up. That's how you place your hands for receiving money, or receiving a button hook waist high. It's not how you position your hands for receiving a bomb in stride. It's a sure way for the ball to bounce right out of your hands.

Why is our WR coach not teaching them how to catch a ball properly? Is he holding them accountable? Do they not have drills on how to secure the ball depending on the position of the ball and location of the WR? Where's the tennis ball machine? Too me, that's just as big a fail as Worthy actually dropping the passes.

When I see the same failure over and over again with no correction, I start to put the blame on the coach.
 
Inasmuch as you can blame one player for a loss in football ((you really can’t)
This loss is on Xavier Worthy.
He acted like a little ***** all season and when Ewers finally starts dropping dimes on him he ****** it off. 3 times. 3 egregious drops.

to be fair the OL did not play well either, the defensive line was kind of a non factor all game. But Ewers played well enough for us to win and Sark called an ok game.

my one gripe against Sark today is an old one. Too much entitlement for our star players. After Worthy’s 2nd drop he should have sat his ***. Told him to get his head right for next season and be ready to compete for the starting job because he’s not the only person who can get open deep and it’s going to be wide open.and if he didn’t like it he could transfer finally. And stop being a little *****.
 
BornOrange0855 said:
Here's what I'm not getting about Ewers if what I heard the announcers say last night is correct. Or if I heard it correctly.

He played only 6 games his junior year. Then skipped his senior season. And yet he was the number one rated QB in his class? That makes no sense.

If I was grading him I'd say he's got a very good arm. And that's it. Nothing else about him dazzles me. That's not to say he can't or won't get better. But the number of stars out of high school would have been 3 at best if I was grading him.
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His ratings came from hype and potential rather than actual production and we know what DKR said about potential. Quinn had a pretty good game last night, but there were also games he should've been replaced. Which is what you would expect from a Freshman. Just like Mack did with VY. Mock came in and saved the day, Card was never given a chance. And people say Mack was stubborn.

And I'm certainly not writing him off just yet. Just as everyone talked about how much GG sucked. But he was also a true Freshman and Sophomore at Texas. He went on to do very well at SMU and made an NFL roster for I believe a number of years. College QB's that suck don't make NFL rosters.

From what I saw last night I think Quinn be good next year. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't be replaced when he's clearly having a bad game.
 
Vol Horn 4 Life said:
I'm starting to get tired of Sark trying to prove that he's some sort of explosive offensive passing genius. Seems like he has no clue what makes up his team.
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His first half play-calling was atrocious. The two no-brainers for this game, offensively, were a) to call plays that would build his young QBs confidence, and b) to establish the run by utilizing your obvious returning go-to back, Brooks. Not rocket science. He did neither.

His play-calling in the 2nd half was substantially better, and the results verified it. But he put his team in a hole for 30 minutes for reasons that VolHorn mentioned above.

In the second half, while Ewers was sharp due partially to better play-calling, Worthy was exposed as being a home run or bust player. His long pass drop turned the game, and probably cost Texas the win. Complete that play, and the D is psyched up, and on fire.

Finally, in addition to the inexplicable non-use of Brooks, the biggest impact on the game IMO was the unavailability of Overshown. That hole had plenty to do with Washington’s success on the ground. Players like Bush and Gbenda just couldn’t fill those shoes. Assuming Ford — who had a mediocre game, perhaps because of the hole left by Overshown — returns, with the addition of Ant Hill, S’Maje Burrell and the others, that position should be pretty good by OU, if not before.

The conundrum is Worthy.
 
Bummer. What a way to suck the energy out of this program entering the off season. So far Sark has shown he is nothing above mediocre. Next season will give us definite answers, one way or the other.
 
Yep he’s Coach .500 until he proves he’s not.

This was another very winnable game that we lost. These one score losses in winnable games are really starting to pile up!
Talent wise, we are a much better team than our record would suggest.
On the other hand there is plenty of data to suggest .500 is exactly who we are under Sark. It’s not an anomaly! There is a ceiling which talent may or may not be able to overcome.
 
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TexanNexile said:
Was it Worthy that caused Reds tantrum on sideline on prior game? Never heated Who/what the issue was.
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It appeared and was said to be over # of targets to Worthy and the inability of he and Ewers to connect more....frustrating hungry and confident receivers not getting more PT or targets...like Red.
 
QE%20Alamo%202022.jpg
 
I_Dont_Exist said:
I'm 67 with serious health issues.Im tired or it. I leave to y'all.. Final transmission? Maybe..
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Come on, IDE!!

(You are in the bowl Mania HF lead, so it cannot be all that bad ;))

Love you, Man. Hang tough.

Im with you on the horns stress. Been a LOOONG 10 years.
 
I have been pretty critical of QE this year. Yesterday he did better than I thought he would.Not great but better. Maybe he will improve next year,we shall see. The idea was that he would be good enough to turn pro after next year and Manning step in. I dont see this happening unless we have 180 degree improvement. We are just not a good team without the three players who sat out the game. The game was close because of the defense and QE. Sark was terrible with the play calling and not playing brooks . I also did not see Blue in the game.
 
Detective Shilala said:
Yep he’s Coach .500 until he proves he’s not.

This was another very winnable game that we lost. These one score losses in winnable games are really starting to pile up!
Talent wise, we are a much better team than our record would suggest.
On the other hand there is plenty of data to suggest .500 is exactly who we are under Sark. It’s not an anomaly! There is a ceiling which talent may or may not be able to overcome.
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Our offense without Bijan and Rojo is devoid of first rate playmakers. Worthy is a very mediocre receiver. He has speed to burn but cannot be depended upon to go get the ball or even catch it when it’s right there. I question his heart and toughness. Our best playmaker on defense was not on the field last night.
QE was decent last night but not special. He needs help from his receivers and O-line.
We need playmaking receivers who fight for the ball. J Whit is the closest we had to that last night.
Sanders is potentially that guy. He has to get more throws his way. He needs to be integrated into the offense like Kelly (Chiefs TE) is. Sark needs to watch film on the Chiefs for a couple of days to see how Andy Reid design’s plays to get the ball into his playmakers hands.
Johntay may be a playmaker. Let’s hope so. Some one who will fight for the ball.
Maybe Red is. I don’t know.
Jalen Ford is a very special player. He has a knack for finding the ball. Hope he’s back next year.
Our D line was beaten like a drum by the UW O-line. Patterson was unable to design any stunts that resulted in putting consistent pressure on their QB.
Sorry, but last night UW had the playmakers and a plan in place to get them the ball.
Sark’s plan had QE getting the ball to Worthy and QE did. But Worthy literally repeatedly dropped the ball. The guy just has not been delivering the goods for most of the season.
Brookes in the D backfield, Ford on D; and Brooks and Sanders on O have potential to shine. There’s always next year.
 
Btw, Ewers finished with a 132.6 QB rating this year.

Sam Ehlinger had a 124.1 rating in his freshman year.

Vince Young had a 130.6 in his freshman year.
 
DEPTH! Texas lacks it and was exposed.

We don't have to have 5 stars at the 2nd and 3rd string, but we need competent backups that can come in. The opt-outs exposed the lack of depth. Not having someone to spell worthy exposed it.

Recruiting classes need to look at players who can accept they may not be the cream of the crop but who will accept their roles as 'next man up' and still give it their all in practice without finding the portal.
 
mb227 said:
Recruiting classes need to look at players who can accept they may not be the cream of the crop but who will accept their roles as 'next man up' and still give it their all in practice without finding the portal.
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Not looking to start a debate here, but I wonder how many of those guys exist anymore? Especially with the portal available. Hudson Card obviously wasn't one and he's headed off to a good school. But it seems there are a lot of guys that will leave for schools out of the P5 just in order to get some PT.
 
I went the Alamo Bowl to support the Horns. Great atmosphere and energetic crowd. Love supporting the Horns. My observations, some made by other posters:

1. Texas is NOT the same team without Bijan and Roshon. Before I'm called Cpt. Obvious, it needs to be stressed over and over again. Bijan brought elite level talent as a runner and receiver out of the backfield. Roshon created a near unstoppable force of nature. It is wishful thinking that Brooks, K. Robinson could fill this gap for four quarters. We had something like 14 yards rushing going in to the half and gained a game total of 51. This put tremendous pressure on Quinn and the receivers to step up.

2. Quinn stepped up. He held his own in a one-dimensional offense. A few bad passes, but several very good ones. No interceptions/fumbles. His stats and rating were a bright spot. If he had Bijan to keep the Husky defense honest or to throw to out of the backfield, Quinn would've had an MVP type performance.

3. Xavier and the receivers did not step up. As noted, dropped passes, poorly run routes, and inability to gain YAC hurt. Worthy is, bottom line, a smallish butter fingered speed demon WR. In a stronger WR room he'd be staring at second string.

4. Red Zone failures. Two trips into the red zone yielded two field goals. Our one-dimensional offense left 8 additional points on the table.

5. D-line was pretty much a non-factor all night. Couldn't generate a legitimate pass rush and hung the secondary out to dry. On some plays, Pennix could've ordered DoorDash. Gave up chunks of run yards at worst times. Not good when our leading tackler is a DB (Jerrin Thompson had 11). Bijan and Roshon's declarations for the NFL somewhat overshadowed Overshown's absence, which I think hurt the defense more more than expected. Overall, the defense gave up their lunch money on 3rd down and just not get off the field.

6. Time of possession. Washington 35.46. Texas 24:14. Tells the story of an offense that can't run the ball and defense that can't get off the field.

This offense needs help next season. Quinn has great potential, but he needs the O-line to mature into road graders, the RBs to evolve into first string mental and physical runners, and, most of all, WRs to complement Quinn. We don't have Bijan and Roshon to make a mediocre offense occasionally explosive. :hookem:
 
longhornlegend said:
Not a bad game but not what we want and expect. Yes not having Bijan and Roschon was huge. I really fail to see the lack of urgency at the end of the game. No I didnt expect to win but I do expect all players on the field to hustle their butts off to get back to the line and be ready. I still cant see how our defense cannot get off the field. We didnt fold but the long drives and lack of making plays when we could just gets tiring. I presume there are some great football minds that can explain how our qb's cannot read defenses. Just never see qb/wr adjustments. We have to have burners at wr who can actually catch the ball. Our OL still cannot pick up blocks. They are not as porous as in the past but still not there. Ok there is always next year.
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