Texas records a complete victory over the Kansas Jayhawks
This quarterback thing is unreal. Not since Bama – for three straight weeks now – have the Longhorns faced their opponent’s starting QB.
It’s hard to say exactly what that meant to this game.
As Kansas coach Lance Leipold said in his post-game press conference, his offense was “non-rhythmatic” all day long.
Maybe that was the QB, maybe that was the Texas defense. Maybe it was both.
Jason Bean’s speed in the option game and the hard running of Daniel Hishaw are really the only things that tested Texas on a regular basis on Saturday. The regular starter Jalon Daniels, for as talented as he is, is not as fast to the edge as Bean, giving KU something extra in the triple option that the Horns clearly had not prepped for as much.
Yet Pete Kwiatkowski effectively ended the effectiveness of the option by dialing up two different play calls.
He went with either a more traditional 4-3 defense, adding Jett Bush to the lineup and removing the star position, or he decided to go heavy at defensive end, lining up either Vernon Broughton or Alfred Collins at one of the defensive ends while keeping Jahdae Barron on the field. The response clearly worked.
And Kwiatkowski’s had them for three straight weeks when facing uncertainty.
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The Horns’ D will now move forward and face their toughest test to date. Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.
Through five games this season, only one team has scored more than 14 points on Texas (Alabama scored 24 in Tuscaloosa).
Meanwhile, Oklahoma is fourth in the country in scoring, averaging 46.8 points per game.
So something’s gotta give. Hopefully Kwiatkowski and the Texas D are up to the challenge once more, this time against the starting Sooner QB.
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The Texas offense erupted against the Jayhawks.
The Horns broke the school record for yards gained against a Big 12 conference opponent with 661 total yards.
Quinn Ewers was confident and accurate from the start. The interior of the Texas OL paved the way for Jonathon Brooks all game long. Xavier Worthy and AD Mitchell were routinely open and secured the catch.
The Texas offense at times on Saturday was a true thing of beauty, spreading the ball around, beating KU on the ground and through the air.
The Horns didn’t punt all game long. That’s impressive, and I don’t care who you’re playing.
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Another not-so-small thing to note:
In his post-game presser, Leipold also said that he felt like Texas was the best team his Kansas squad has played since he entered the conference in 2021. Those are big words.
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