Coach PK & the Texas D—#1 Defense in the Nation

The Texas defense is 90th in the country in 3rd down conversion rate and haven't played the best offense in the B12 yet. That's all I need to know.
 
I'll cautiously throw in my support. Agree the Offensive has not provided the 2nd half support needed to keep the D from getting worn out. But the 3rd down conversion rate they are allowing is insane. Honestly, I think we just don't have the talent on the D side of the ball. We better get some hosses in that can play and man up on opposing receivers and lineman who can consistently put pressure on the QB. That last drive Saturday was a team that flat out laid their guts out to stop KState and kudos to Coburn for creating the fumble and Jaylan for jumping on the ball. Kids don't ball out like that for coaches they don't believe in.
 
You're not alone.
I am not in love..but generally have held a higher regard than most here and have been patient and am seeing it rewarded.
Calls for Petes head are irrational and absurd at this point.
As I have stated many times before, the defense can certainly get better, but the offense bears some blame for part of the woes over the last two seasons and hasnt helped in the second halves...when defenses tend to tire if left on the field too long.
We give opposing Ds rest with unsustained "drives" while ours goes right back out at key junctures.
We are sporting near the best run D and in the top pack overall D in the conference
Ranking 1-3rd in most key statistics.
Tackling has inproved, flying to ball, virtually no one has killed us deep, and dline play is pretty stout. Linebackers playing well and communication/playing as a team vastly inproved. Penalties as a team have been high, but not high on D. In general, I see a more disciplined unit in nearly every area.
Need to continue to improve pass rush and see what can be done about the bend but dont break pass D giving up too many easy yards on medium (8-15 or so) yd routes.
 
I don't think PK has forgotten how to coach. I also don't think our D is where it should be.

Our major issue seems to be the LBs and safeties not understanding the edges of their zones, which is something that PK's defenses excelled in at UW. But, he also had that kind of personnel that was built for it... not Michael Taaffe (sorry Michael Taaffe).

I'm grateful that they've stepped up at points (ISU and KSU) to help us get tough wins. But, the offense surely didn't do many favors in the 2nd half of either game. Or in any of the 3 losses.
 
My Dad was a wise guy to me once. Once.
Johnny-Dangerously-images-cbfd386b-ce1b-4e30-838f-1c6600b1725.jpg
 
That's because the Texas defense doesn't have to go up against Bijan Robinson.:smile1:
Yeah...I loved (and predicted) Bijan proving who the real big boy back in the league is over Deuce the other night.
(And he did it with waay less holding by his linemen )
 
I am not against K, but I now and have always hated a zone defense unless you're talking basketball. Also not a fan of the three man front unless we have really fast OLBs or DEs.

Dion,

I watch Patterson on the sidelines and swear I expect him to stroke out. All I know is that OU was running the ball down our throats using the wildcat. Patterson was on the South 25 yardline, pulled up his pants, wiped his brow, walked briskly to the north 25-30 yardline, had a few words with someone, and then returned to the South end. After that conversation, OU's offense was significantly less a factor.
 
I guess I am too old and remember what defense was like in the 60s. Maybe my memory is bad but I dont remember many teams scoring 33 points on us. How will 33 points fare in the SEC?
 
Yeah...I loved (and predicted) Bijan proving who the real big boy back in the league is over Deuce the other night.
(And he did it with waay less holding by his linemen )
As we have throughout his career (save his freshman year), when we play KSU our defense drops a Deuce all over the field. He hasn't ever had much success against us.
 
I don't think PK has forgotten how to coach. I also don't think our D is where it should be.

Our major issue seems to be the LBs and safeties not understanding the edges of their zones, which is something that PK's defenses excelled in at UW. But, he also had that kind of personnel that was built for it... not Michael Taaffe (sorry Michael Taaffe).

I'm grateful that they've stepped up at points (ISU and KSU) to help us get tough wins. But the offense surely didn't do many favors in the 2nd half of either game. Or in any of the 3 losses.

I too think our D is much better than last year. Players are gaining confidence and experience in K's scheme.
Regarding the LB's and Safeties: we have Overshawn at LB, the others are vastly inexperienced; and our corners and safeties (except Jamison) are way inexperienced, yet very talented. We should be much better as the back seven get real time experience, which they are getting now. Ford is starting his first year. He will be a monster next year.

Unfortunately, that experience is coming at a high cost due to injuries in these critical positions.
 
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I too think our D is much better than last year. Players are gaining confidence and experience in K's scheme.
Regarding the LB's and Safeties: we have Overshawn at LB, the others are vastly inexperienced; and our corners and safeties (except Jamison) are way inexperienced, yet very talented. We should be much better as the back seven get real time experience, which they are getting now. Ford is starting his and this is his first year. He will be a monster next year.

Unfortunately, that experience is coming at a high cost due to injuries in these critical positions.
Ford played quite a bit last year. I agree he should improve more next year.
 
Defense has room for improvement but they have been playing very well when the offense isn’t going 3 and out all day. Offenses are too good nowadays, mostly, to completely shut down.
 
I guess I am too old and remember what defense was like in the 60s. Maybe my memory is bad but I dont remember many teams scoring 33 points on us. How will 33 points fare in the SEC?
For the season we are at 21.8 points per game which is 38th in the nation. That is one spot behind Tennessee's defense. Only Georgia and Bama Defenses are in the top 20 from the SEC.

This article from 2019 did research on college football scoring trends. I think if you looked at SEC alone it would be similar. The chart in the middle gives a good overview of the trend of mean scoring of all teams and the top scoring team for each year. In 1963, the mean points per game by a team was 15.9. In 1983 it was 22.2 and in 2018 it was 29.4. That's a 85% increase in points per game per team in 55 years.

Not sure how many of you saw the SMU-Houston score from Saturday. 77-63. That's a record for non-OT games.

I think the modern era of scoring makes our perceptions of the defense seem worse and the offense seem better than in decades past.

Just my 2 cents...
SMQ: A century of scoring trends in college football
 
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