Saturday in Lubbock, TX the Longhorns finally looked like the Longhorns. David Ash slapped a muzzle on his critics, the defense made major improvements, and Johnathan Gray had a break out day.
It was obvious from the beginning that the Texas defense was going to look more like the one we were promised before the season got under way when the D held the high octane Texas Tech offense to a 3-and-out on their first possession.
The Longhorns would respond with a 71 yard touchdown drive that included two monster plays from freshman RB Johnathan Gray, and ended with David Ash finding Jaxon Shipley in the corner of the end zone for the first of three passing TDs on the day.
Tech came back with a long touchdown drive of their own, which had many Texas fans expecting another high-scoring shootout, but it would be the last time the Red Raiders would find the end zone until late in the third quarter. Tech?s next five possessions resulted in three field goals, a punt and a turnover on downs while the Longhorns finished out the first half with two more 70 plus yard touchdown drives and a field goal of their own. Texas led 24-13 at half.
The third quarter is where the Longhorn faithful began to get a little nervous. The defense initially continued their trend of stiffening in the red zone to hold Texas Tech to just a FG prior to that aforementioned touchdown. Tech would fail to connect on the ensuing two point conversion attempt, and at the end of the quarter Texas had a scant 24-22 lead after being shut out and held to only 34 yards of offense in the third.
The Longhorns would get back to form in the fourth quarter however. Following a Texas Tech punt, Ash led the ?Horns on a 59 yard drive and capped it by finding Mike Davis for a touchdown, giving Davis two on the day. The nail in the coffin came with 5:15 left in the game as Texas blocked a Tech field goal attempt and ran out the clock, making the final score 31-22 in favor of the Longhorns.
What to take away
David Ash is THE quarterback for the Texas Longhorns. After a poor performance last week on the road against Kansas, Ash came roaring back to the tune of 246 yards and three TDs. He sent a clear message to all the fickle UT fans that had immediately jumped back on the Case McCoy bandwagon: this is my team, and I am the best QB on the roster.
Johnathan Gray is the RB of the future for the Texas Longhorns. Gray has looked good all season, but has primarily been seen only in the wildcat formation which he runs to perfection. Against Tech he took on more of a featured role and flourished. From that initial drive where he had a 26 yard rush and then picked up 34 more on a screen pass, Gray was running full throttle. I?ve been saying it since I first watched some of his high school tape over the summer: this guy is the next Ricky Williams.
The defense played well. They weren?t as good as they could have been and there is still plenty of room for improvement but they held in the red zone and limited a high powered offense to only two touchdowns. The D made stops when it had to and the blocked field goal was huge.
Mack Brown showed some emotion on the side line. It was great to see the normally stoic coach celebrating and jumping around after the blocked field goal and again after Gray got the final first down needed to run out the game clock.
What it all means
Texas got a big win on the road in a hostile environment and looked good doing it. They weren?t perfect, but they came much closer to playing up to their potential than we have seen all year. If they can carry this momentum forward and build on their success then the Longhorns will continue to win decisively up until that Dec. 1 date with Kansas State. That game is going to require a flawless performance by Texas if they want to win.
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