2023 Alabama Post Mortem: Offense

The Texas offense wasn’t perfect on Saturday night vs. Alabama, but they were relentless. They were also poised, focused and really well coached. You knew it wasn’t Rice week anymore when Texas came out in an empty set on the first play from scrimmage and ran tempo for large portions of the game. The playbook was open. More importantly, Texas players can finally read all of the chapters.

The Horns dropped 454 yards and 34 points on Bama and probably left another ten to fourteen points out in the ether. Instead of worrying about the scoring play that got away and opportunities lost, they kept coming, created more chances and beat the Tide down in their own house.

When Bama took the lead 16-13 right before the beginning of the fourth quarter in what was starting to look like a grind-it-out finish, the Texas offense bit down on their mouthpieces and started throwing haymakers. Three 4th quarter touchdowns later, Texas had a decisive road win, a new Top 5 ranking and a new standard of play to honor and uphold. Now that Texas players, coaches, their families and the fans know what they can do, there’s no reason to let that standard fall.

OFFENSIVE LINE

The Texas offensive line is the only group that has held Bama with zero sacks and less than 3 pressures since 2014. So that’s about 125 games or so. Bama hasn’t been held sackless since Clemson in 2018. One of the better pass blocking performances that I can recall.

I’m leading with this unit because there is no win in Tuscaloosa if they hadn’t elevated their level of play so dramatically. The interior OL deserved every unkind word said about them last week and they deserve every victory laurel this week. Sark had a “brutally honest conversation” after Rice with this group and my post-mortem after the Rice game was something less than kind.

They responded. Particularly as pass protectors.

Let’s talk about physicality and effort. Better yet, let me show it to you:

That’s Cole Hutson on counter gap bringing it. The first hit was about physicality, the second hit was because he wanted to. Nasty.

A different level of energy and intensity from the guy who looked so confused and passive a week ago.

Here’s where it comes together:

Hayden Conner deftly carries his guy out of the play. Jake Majors does his job making sure that Conner is good and then finds work upfield on Malachi Moore. DJ Campbell gets across the DL’s face quickly (that Bama DL was probably supposed to stop him) and then drives two different Tide defenders, fighting them both at the goal line. DJ gets on them really fast, like shockingly so for his size. Christian Jones collapses the DL that DJ bypassed ten yards down the field and eventually pancakes him.

If you want to chuckle, watch Keilan Robinson and AD Mitchell on that play. Let’s get a hat on someone, Keilan. AD not interested in that big guy life.

Longhorn pass protection was exemplary. Run blocking was generally poor to middling until the final quarter of play, but Bama has some big, strong dudes in there. The Cole Huston detonation above is actually a good example of the line’s inconsistency in execution. Hayden Conner has to get a more aggressive block on #91 on the backside and Christian Jones gets ole’d by #32 filling the hole. Interestingly Hutson and Campbell, who basically split time (Hutson got a few more snaps) were our most effective run blockers. Hayden Conner probably the least. Everyone pass protected well. Everyone.

The speed and aggression on display above is what this group is capable of every week. If they can combine that energy and focus with better execution, they can be scary.

QUARTERBACK

Quinn Ewers played his best game as a Longhorn. We finally saw the player promised for a full four quarters and he was as cool as a polar bear’s icebox, finally breaking out in the final 15 minutes going 6 of 7 for 135 passing yards and two touchdowns. He finished 24 of 38 for 349 yards on 42 dropbacks and three passing touchdowns; chipping in another 3 runs for 11 yards, zero turnovers, and multiple dimes dropped. He had two touchdowns dropped by Brooks and Worthy. Whittington also didn’t corral a likely long catch and run. Ewers just shrugged and kept coming. Quinn did a terrific job of remaining in the pocket and generally being an elite distributor of the ball. His few errant passes (two right before halftime) were the oddity. A huge number of his passes were basically perfect throws.

On throws >20 yards, Ewers was 3 of 6 for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

Between the hashes, he was 17 of 26 for 240 yards and all three of his touchdowns.

Number of balls thrown outside the hashes to the right? Two.

Texas has a QB, y’all.

RUNNING BACKS

Major props to Jonathon Brooks for his effort level all game. Aside from hard running, he recovered two Texas fumbles, turning one of them into a 1st down conversion. He led Texas with 57 yards on 14 tough carries and had no negative runs. He did have one very negative play, dropping another touchdown on the same route that he dropped a touchdown against Rice. Time to give Blue or Baxter a shot at that one.

CJ Baxter ran hard though some pain and showed why he’s going to be a real asset in conference play. He caught the ball really well (4-21) and I’m intrigued by his potential as a pass catcher down the road.

Robinson and Blue saw spot action.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS

Xavier Worthy dominated in the 1st half with 5 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown, including tracking this beauty.

Worthy also dropped a sure touchdown in the red zone, effectively taking 4 points off of the board after the successful field goal. Alabama removed him from the game in the second half and that’s when Jordan Whittington (3-41), Adonai Mitchell (3-78-2 touchdowns) and JT Sanders (5-114) stepped up.

I have a feeling that I’m going to continue to gripe about Mitchell’s blocking every week. In response, he’ll do things like this:

and this…

So I’m just going to have to learn to deal with this right?

JT Sanders had some excellent receiving moments as well, particularly on the Y Delay concept where Texas vacates space while Sanders holds then fills the vacant space. He also had this 50 yard dagger from tempo when Alabama’s secondary was still trying to get a play call in.

Texas showed that they have an elite group of receivers who can threaten the entire field. With good pass protection and Ewers dealing (chunk throws of 50, 44, 39, 31) , this is a tough group to match up with.

Whittington was by far the best blocker of the group.

FINAL

In Sark’s first two seasons, the Texas offense was limited by whatever wrinkles that the head coach could introduce that week due to talent ceilings and inexperience. When the wrinkles ran out, so too did the Longhorn offense. In Year 3, the talented but inexperienced QB is growing into the job and the offense is growing with him.

Last Saturday, the Texas offense buried Bama running the Texas play book. Not wrinkles. That’s a major shift for this offense and while the wrinkles will keep coming, Texas efficacy will no longer be dependent on them. It’ll be about the scheme and the players running concepts fluidly.

Sark oversaw a masterwork and when his artists finally got the paint from the brush to the canvas, something amazing started to take form.

Let’s keep painting.

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