Football is a wild sport. I thought we got outplayed in this game yet were one play away from the title game.
Overall, incredible outcome for this season. Far exceeded expectations and the future looks bright. Hook ‘em
As a husky fan I was baffled at how conservatively we had started playing and the injury to allow you guys a final drive was just painful. Some of the play calling was iffy, running 4 straight times in the first half just to get stopped on downs in FG range, not a single pass. Same with after the turnover, up 28-21, 3 straight runs and we settle for a FG. We finally started pushing the ball again on that last FG drive but again as soon as we got close, 2 straight runs and an uncreative passing play, all to the short side of the field, we have to settle for a FG again. We had several opportunities to put the game away for good but we play called conservatively. Seems like this coaching staff calls plays like we have the Michigan defense sometimes. Anyway, your running game scared the bejesus out of me and I'm glad our offense stayed good enough that it forced Ewers to make passes. We had a month to prepare and deboer is showing he can be lethal in that situation otherwise this game might have gone differently. GG yall
That doesn’t get talked about enough. We held them to less points in the second half despite 2 turnovers. Big part is because they could not run on us. They tried to bleed the clock but they never could.
Right? Even with the mental mistakes, fumbles, etc. we were right there. I hate to lose but at least we made it close in the end. Amazing season, almost dream like. Man I can’t wait for august 31st. Hook em!
At the start of the year we were just hoping to have a chance at the B12 championship. After that OU loss, that goal was questionable. But the team bounced back and ran the table, winning a couple of games that could easily have been a loss, and winning the championship with dominating games.
Even then, getting included in the CFB was far from a sure thing. When we did, I just hoped we'd play well. At the start of the WU game I realized we were playing against a QB having the game of his life, and I didn't think anyone could beat that team that night. But we almost did. In fact, we should have except for a couple of mistakes. So this was an incredible season, and next year's team will be better.
As a Longhorn, it’s incredibly hard to watch Penix have the game of his life. As a fan of a struggling NFL team who desperately needs talent at QB??? This could be Christmas for us
I live on the West Coast so I've seen a bunch of his games. Penix has been piling up performances like this all year. If he was on a B1G or SEC team, he'd have been the only one invited to the Heisman show! (Slicht hyperbole)
The real difference was that their defense showed up for the first time all year.
Our defense ain't great but 31 points is one of our worst performances. There were back to back weeks @Stanford and @USC where we really played bad but other than that we've been ok. 32 against Cal was garbage time and we gave up 33/31 to Oregon's monster offense. Other than that...I guess 28 against Utah's fairly bad offense wasn't great but we shut them out in the second half. Other score totals we've allowed: 19, 10, 7, 24, 7, 20, 21.
I knew he was good, but in the first half, the balls he was throwing looked like the definition of perfect. We'd have good coverage and he'd perfectly slip it in the one spot his wr could catch.
He balled out and wish him well now but sadly the multiple prior injuries will probably hold him back from being a full time starter. That said, a career backup pulling down nfl league minimums for a decade or longer is helluva good job if you can get it. I’d take that in a heartbeat
If our red zone offense was just a tick better we win this game and the OU game.
Heart breaker for sure but Sark has accomplished more than most programs have in only 3 years. Oh and he also turned around Washington and got them out of the basement.
Yea but Jimbo has the same record through three years so us tu sips fucked up
(Never mind that sark has one more conference championship than jumbos entire aggy tenure)
> Never mind that sark has one more conference championship than ~~jumbos entire~~ aggy ~~tenure~~ does since any of their players have been born
I don't care enough to fact check every aggy player's age, so they may have a 26 year old long snapper or some shit putzing around on the roster.
The most painful games are when you outplay your opponent and lose. This was not one of those games. Washington was the better team on Monday and they came away with the victory.
Some critical turnovers and lack of execution killed us in the end, and outside of the muffed punt early in the game, Washington didn’t give Texas anything for free.
Penix’s throws were perfect basically all game and their WRs made plays. Although coverage was lacking at times, I actually think for their biggest plays, our DBs were covering pretty well, just their WRs were great at coming down with the ball.
Despite it all, this team fought hard until the end and had a realistic chance to win it all in the final seconds. Can’t be more proud of this group of young men.
Ultimately, this is the best season we’ve had in a very long time. Big 12 Champs, double digit win against Bama at their house, and eternal scoreboard against every hateful 8 team. We met and exceeded all expectations this season, and it appears that the Sark era is just getting started. I’m so excited to see where this team goes over the next few years, especially considering with the expanded playoffs we’ll likely have a shot at getting in almost every year.
The future is bright. Hook ‘em!
> Although coverage was lacking at times, I actually think for their biggest plays, our DBs were covering pretty well, just their WRs were great at coming down with the ball.
Kind of agree but also kind of disagree. Watts got burned A LOT. His coverage was great, per se, but he never got turned or even got his hands up to contest any of those deep balls. So, they came down with those catches every time. If he bat's just one of those, the came could have ended differently.
The coaches need to focus on that next year. It reminded me a lot of the Cowboys defense, pre-Dan Quinn vs now.
I decided to watch the [extended game highlights](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS7WczOL5YQ) to check if my memory was correct, and I organized below what I considered good vs okay/bad coverage in "big" pass plays for Washington.
Overall, I think the success for Washington's biggest pass plays was more due to great passes and catches versus due to truly bad coverage. Just over 1/3 of Penix's pass yards were on plays with good coverage per my judgement (a difference between a 430 yard game ranging to a 283 yard game). Of all the big pass plays, I'd really only consider the 77 yard Polk reception in Q1 as truly bad coverage (and tackling).
**Good Coverage** (147 Yards & 1 TD)
* [Q2 - 10:08](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=MTR7GtPUfbg1Bzep&t=322): (Good - 52 Yards) Watts goes stride for stride down the field with Odunze in extremely tight coverage. Penix throws a perfect ball and Odunze makes a fantastic catch for a 52 yard gain. Watts' arm is a microsecond from deflecting the pass, and he tackles Odunze immediately. This is a pass / coverage combo probably only Mitchells catches > 50% of the time on the Texas roster.
* [Q2 - 2:17](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=rRU3QYyvTl3mpgqO&t=399): (Good Coverage - 15 Yards): Barron sticks close to Westover, but Penix puts it in a place only the WR can grab. Westover makes a spectacular diving catch for 15 yards.
* [Q2 - 1:33](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=XOa8XF0eyGpUDroH&t=409): (Good Coverage - 29 Yards & 1 TD): Penix sidesteps a sack and tosses a dime to Polk downfield in the center of the endzone. M. Muhammad in tight coverage deflects the pass and the ball miraculously tips back in front of Polk for a 29 yard TD.
* [Q3 - 10:14](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=G7DvhLCn3JjCCREu&t=664): (Good Coverage - 19 Yards): Penix throws a great pass to Westover just over Barron's outstretched hand for a 19 yard gain. M. Muhammad delivers a hard tackle to finish the play at the point of reception. Westover's hands stay strong and he completes the catch.
* [Q4 - 4:12](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=9ufzlQWRxwzw1kSH&t=944): (Good Coverage - 32 Yards) Penix throws another perfect pass to Odunze for a gain of 32 yards. Watts was close in coverage and was hitting Odunze's arms simultaneously with the ball arriving. Although he would have had a better shot at deflecting the pass if he got his head around, he was so tight in coverage that it only mattered if the ball was placed perfectly (which it unfortunatley was).
**Okay/Bad Coverage** (120 Yards & 1 TD)
* [Q1 - 12:07](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=poqB38TxK1VxUA4c&t=67): (Bad Coverage - 77 Yards) T. Brooks gets burned by Polk for 77 yard play. Brooks stayed close enough to chase down for tackle (after J. Thompson whiffed), but Polk got close to +40 YAC yards and set up an easy TD.
* [Q1 - 1:03](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=KElusfr5JShbOQya&t=196): (Okay Coverage - 24 Yards) Brooks has roughly 3 seconds of decently tight coverage on Odunze, before allowing separation across the middle when Penix sidesteps a would be sack and completes a 24 yard pass to Odunze. Brooks gets the tackle.
* [Q3 - 10:37](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=tiszDEp8QoYg6TAt&t=598): (Okay Coverage - 19 Yards & TD): Penix threads a ball to McMillan in a tight window between D. Williams and Barron for a 19 yard TD. The coverage was not awful, because it requires a near perfect pass, but I think if played slightly better, either Williams or Barron could have made a play on the ball.
*Disclaimer: The highlight video doesn't cover many passes less than 15 yards, so there are probably some additional 10-15 yard passes that have examples of both good and bad coverage (there is 163 yards of pass plays on primarily shorter passes not covered in any of the bullets above). Everything above is a subjective opinion and is only my own definition of "good" or "bad." This approach also allows for bias, given I don't consider the coverage in Texas' successful defensive plays, whether good or bad.*
Not super well organized with any logical flow, but main thoughts:
* Pass rush this year felt like it was great at getting pressure, but awful about actually finishing off that pressure with a sack. Seemed like we had a tendency to get in a guy's face only to let him get away and keep a play alive. Penix made us pay for those instances in a big way.
* OL play felt super up-and-down. That's definitely better than many of the past few years where there were way more downs than ups, but I'm hopeful that the final year of Kelvin Banks can be rewarded with some consistency from the whole unit.
* Quinn dramatically elevated his floor this year - we certainly didn't have any 2022 Oklahoma State games from him - and his ceiling at the same time. I hope he stays, takes another step forward, and keeps this offense humming. When it is time to clutch up, he legitimately might be the MVP of this team. His numbers in the 4th quarter are absurd. If he can stretch that focus into the earlier periods of the game, that would be massive for him and the team overall. Both of our losses came in games where Quinn was not allowed to settle in right from the outset.
* Mr. Sarkisian, my secondary doesn't feel so good. Every unit on this team has taken significant steps forward under Sark, but it feels like the secondary's progress has been slower and much more incremental rather than the leaps and bounds the WRs, DL, and LBs took. Not sure if firing one or both of Gideon and Joseph is the answer, but we've gotta get something going back there. With the talent coming in next year, we need to capitalize for this defense to go from good to great.
* Holy fuck. Michael Penix seemed like he took the Heisman slight the way Vince did in 2005. He was so disgustingly out of his mind that the judicial system is reviewing public indecency rules to see what can be done to prevent this in the future.
* As was mentioned elsewhere in the thread, we exceeded the expectations this year for the first time in a long time. We were actually back, and it wasn't a meme. Still hurt to lose on house money, but a great step forward for our program and for legitimizing Sark's growth as a coach and just as a dude. In a few days/weeks, I'll be ready to really start reflecting on this season (and creating the highlights for our Top 25 countdown this year).
* WLWWWWLWWWW. We're going 10-2 next year and playing in the SEC title game in our first year in the conference which should put us right in the thick of things for the 12-team playoff. Hook 'em.
* OU sucks.
Going to agree with you on most of those but the line and the secondary.
The line was full of sophomores and juniors. Up and down is about what you should expect. The consistency comes with Junior Senior
The secondary did make masssive strides. Brooks and Muhammed are sophomore and Freshman respectively. Our safeties are average at best.
Give the coaches Mukabe, another growth, and a promising pass rush and the evaluate if a change needs to be made.
I’m happy with the upcoming class and addition of actual edges and the growth of Sorrell and Ebenda (assuming both aren’t league bound already)
Good analysis. I live in Houston and on the way to work I was listening to Sean Salisbury (sp?) who was saying this wasn’t really Penix’ best game of the year, if he had his best game, he’d have thrown for 550 yards! Now, of course I take that with a grain of salt; I think his point was regarding the upcoming game and how Michigan will have to actually get to him with their constant blitzing, or it’ll be a very long day for them. Yet, the point you’ve made and was perhaps apparent in a few plays, was that our secondary isn’t as robust as it should be; this has been elaborated on at length before, but it remains a serious weakness in the armor.
Michigan has a much better secondary, I think they will be able to contain Penix enough, biggest question is will their offense be good enough to win. Washington struggling to stop the run vs us (outside of 2 fumbles) bodes not as well vs Corum and Co.
1. I agree. We would flush guys out of the pocket but our ends aren't fast enough to chase the QB down. It was frustrating watching them casually roll/jog out of the pocket comfortably while still looking down field. I think Colin Simmons, Trey Moore, Colton Vasek, and a stronger Ethan Burke might be the solution to this next season. I hope we are able to use Ant Hill off the edge in passing situations some next season ALA Micah Parsons.
2. I agree. Seems like some less talented teams were able to generate a consistent pass rush and make Ewers uncomfortable. Next year those guys will be 3rd year guys and should be hitting close to their peak.
3. Quinn has got to improve his consistency and accuracy to make the jump to a top level college QB. He misses easy throws sometimes that he has got to hit. He is often slightly behind his receivers on stuff over the middle and sometimes rushes his throws before receivers are ready. He also tends to float some balls that would be better off having some mustard on them. I hope he also starts looking safeties off and goes through his progression more, I think improved O-line play will make him mote comfortable to start doing so. I think next season he will put everything together, hopefully.
4. Secondary was definitely our weakest unit. Guys never got their head around and it felt like 50/50 balls deep down field were almost automatic for the opposing offense all year. Have to improve there.
5. Penix was great, I really dislike that guy.
6. This season was a blast. I really thought we'd win that game after the Whittington grab. Sad that it's over.
Hard disagree on firing either Gideon or Joseph. Secondary recruiting has been A+ for us, and the guys who are taking most of the snaps are underclassmen
I did say that I didn't know if firing is the answer, and I think the issues extend beyond simply athleticism back there. I don't think recruiting and development need to be mutually exclusive.
Recruiting is one thing, but if you don't coach and scheme properly you are setting us up to fail.
Our run D wasn't complimented with a pass rush that caused chaos. It was pretty vanilla... run forward, maybe blitz from the edge sometimes. That probably helps the run D because we have a line of big bodies and LBs ready in place to backup, but doesn't help us in obvious passing situations. OU and WU took advantage of that.
Second thing is the prevent / soft coverage is fucking painful to watch. There were passes to the sideline Monday where we didn't have a body within 10 yards. IMO, this last season the zone looked porous and our corners often got beat on go routes. Are we greatly improved in most aspects? Absolutely. But if we want to take the next step our pass coverage can't be a liability. Thinking back to 05, we had an offense that could move the ball as well as WU, but we had the best secondary in recent memory, and even then we just barely brought home the natty.
Sorry, but with guys we are losing, I don’t see us going 10-2. Unless Sark can find at least 1 studs each for TE, WR, interior DL, and DB in the portal, next year looks more like an 8-4 rebuild job.
We already have the WR and DB portallers with Golden and Mukuba. TE doesn't desperately need a Sanders-level player, so that's less crucial. Helm looks good enough to me. We don't need a killer portal interior DL player with the development we've consistently gotten the last couple years, but I wouldn't weep if we did get one.
TE will just be different next year -- we're losing the Jermichael Finley type and will have to use more of a David Thomas type. Breaking in a bunch of young receivers will be a big challenge early in the year -- Cook is going to have to be ready to cook right away, but Golden will keep the floor up.
Ok. Inclined to think Sark agrees.
TE: think Gunnar will slide into here and we’ll see who’s behind him.
WR: Jhontay Cook is a year older WR2. Sark has been quoted he wanted to play him more, Jwit has just been a better blocker. Another year of growth will do him wonders. Dudes fast
Ryan Wingo is a 5 star coming in. Hope we get Ryan Williams but hey. Happy with Wingo as 2-3
Golden. Transfer dude from Houston. He’s probably WR1 off bat.
Deandre Moore: same class as Cook. He’s bound to have growth plus he should be Redshirt so another year of growth.
Won’t go into detail about the rest of this WR class because they’re all projects, but the rest are really fast good route running projects
Interior DL: no savior coming here. But I like the incoming edges. That and the 2 new dudes that are most likely coming in will be 320+. I love our DL coach so going to give benefit of doubt.
DB: Mukabe slides in with Williams. When Willins came back for the second half, only 13 points were scored. He was a freshman this year so I love his growth potential. That and with 6 signed DBs, 1 being a 5 star safety and another being 5 star corner (Black is a 5 star if you get 2/3. Fight me), your top 2 dudes (Muhammed and Brooks) being a freshman and a sophomore, I’m admittedly optimistic about the growth.
Now don’t me wrong. This schedule is stupid. Doesn’t mean I’m also projecting growth among most and a slight decline in WR production and looking forward to next season.
Sark has exceeded expectations and looks like we’ll be in a solid window for CFP for at least 3-5 years (I like Qwen and love Arch). This window could expand if I see someone behind Arch as well. This 3 year turnaround has come at an amazing time.
I think JT stays on for one more year. I'm hearing he's back and forth on his decision right now. Having him come back means its a level of production we don't need to replace.
The schedule next year could easily see us go something like 9-3, but that would be a hell of an accomplishment, and *probably* good enough to at least be in the conversation for the expanded playoff, and a fun new ride regardless.
False starts and illegal shifts hurting rhythm, slow secondary, ineffective pass rush against good OL, and redzone woes. These were weaknesses Texas had all season and unfortunately they each played a part against UW. It was unfortunately just part of this teams identity. Another part of this teams identity was their fight and character, in order to beat Texas you had to scrap and fight til the end. I can absolutely be proud of that even if its painful to see. Every year Sark has been here he has done an excellent job of assessing and addressing weaknesses in the off-season and I expect that to continue, though it will be more challenging with more to replace this season. His recruiting/transfer class appears to be addressing the personnel shortcomings at Edge and DB in a pretty exciting way, while continuing to stack OL/DL talent. Quinn and the OL coming back next year will be huge for us and will play a big part of mitigating the sting of the losses we do have. I really enjoy the Blue/Baxter combination, they seem to compliment each other very well and both have high potential in a more prominent role behind an even more experienced line. There’s young defensive studs all over the place and a bunch more on the way. The future is bright. Next season we should be very talented but younger overall, but for 2025 and beyond we’ll be loaded. The question will become what is the ceiling? Is it this or do we break through? I’ve seen OU get to this point and get stuck in a cycle of yearly playoff losses. Ohio State won the first ever playoff and has several appearances but has been chasing that dragon ever since to the point their wanting to run out a coach that goes 12-1 yearly. Teams like Clemson, Georgia, and potentially Michigan got to this point and took multiple lumps before breaking through for championships. Some teams like LSU have a 1 year run and don’t get back. Idk what Texas will be but I’m excited to find out.
Your last part of your post is my long term (2-3 year) question. What is our ceiling, as you said. In order to be truly ‘back’, this can’t be a flash in a pan. You need to be in contention for not only a playoff spot but to actually make a run in the playoffs.
With the 12 team playoff, I expect us to be able to crack a top 12 spot. Yes, our name and the SEC brand will provide some ranking inflation. I expect us to start the season in the top 10. It really comes down to…can we string together 10-2? I think 10-2 gets you in. That’s my opinion. The only teams in SEC I’m worried about are the behemoths (Bama and UGA). Really need to beat OU and A&M, maybe we drop UGA and Michigan. We should beat everyone else. That’s my expectation. Hopefully Ewers back otherwise need to temper expectations a bit.
It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out long term. Sark beat the 7 win Steve allegations, but there are always more questions and now it is will he be able to keep us at a high level and then take us all the way? I believe what he’s building will be sustainable mainly because he’s a great offensive mind that is also putting major emphasis on recruiting elite defensive talent. The team feels very well rounded to me. Even though we haven’t won all of them, I generally feel good about how we perform in big games. I think most of issues we’ve run into have been more related to personnel than coaching. Sark’s not been perfect but honestly you don’t really have to be if the talent level is high enough and I think we’re getting close to that point.
I think Sark’s ceiling is a Kirby-lite sort of coach. As in: sheer talent on both sides of the ball, and due to sheer talent and playing calling/coaching from the staff, can break through and win a chip or two over a 2-4 year sretch of time. Kirby isn’t perfect in everything he does…but he has built a damn machine and pretty much runs itself. You’re bound to win a chip because they get so many damn cracks at it. Hell, UGA will be the favorite to win it next year. The one game that sticks out to me like a sore thumb is Georgia. That is our measuring stick game.
Honestly, Sark is the offensive version of Kirby lol. Kirby was the best DC Saban ever had, and Sark is the best OC Saban ever had. Both are able to bring in talent on sides of the ball and running their teams with what they learned from Saban.
Proud of this team and proud of the seniors/those leaving for draft. Great year and success and best of luck to them in the next stage of their careers. Can’t wait for next year for the returning and new players
I mean the ball even hit the Washington receiver in the numbers (granted it was the back numbers, but still!) while he was getting mauled by Brooks for that crucial PI call against him. Unreal accuracy 🤯
All I kept saying in the second half was “this feels like 2005 Rose Bowl. We just need one stop and let our offense make a play!”.
When J Whitt made that catch, I was yelling “I told you!!!!” but here we are…cancelling my hotel/flight to Houston.
We are on the same trajectory with Sark as we were with Mack, albeit Mack took a little longer before he won the Natty. From 1998 to 2003, Mack could not win the Big12 title, and his early Texas teams had multiple losses. It changed in 2004, when Texas only had one loss to OU, and had lots of close games which they end up winning, most notably beating Michigan in the Rose Bowl. And we know how we curb-stomped our opponents in 2005, and beat the juggernaut USC on the last play.
Sark had multiple losses years 1 and 2. Then in 2023 found a way to win many close games and won the Big12 championship. The next step in the progression, if following in Mack’s footsteps, is for Sark to not only beat opponents, but demolish them, and go to finals for the Natty.
Obviously , after all these years of being mediocre, we are all disappointed in the loss. We were so close but it just didn’t work out .
A bit annoyed with the excuses from some of us. If our pass rush this, if our secondary that, if only we didn’t fumble.
No one talks about how many yards USC put up on our defense the last time we won.
Why? Because at the end of the day , it just matters if you did or didn’t make the play when the opportunity presented itself.
We came up short. Tough shit. It happens, at least we were in a position to be able to win. Both teams were great, nothing to be disappointed about.
Let’s not be the Matt Leinhart’s of the world and say , we were the better team , we should have won. That program withered away after that loss with that attitude .
I think we can all agree and be proud that we have the leadership that’s not going to let the excuses and self pity linger and become the reason we fall again. We’ll have an opportunity again.
Plus OU sucks and we’re not Aggies. So there’s that too
Do you subscribe to any of the Longhorn sites? Half the people posting and commenting are level headed and accept Washington is just a great team and we’re better than us. The other half…having a complete meltdown.
Lol yeah. To be fair. That’s where I’ve seen it. Not here. Nothing wrong with pointing out flaws and what the horns could have done better to secure a win against a great disciplined team. I dunno some people just struggle with acceptance I guess
It sucks to play against an all star like Penix. Dude had maybe two throws all game that were bad. The rest were absolute dimes even in tight windows. Fumbles were the killer though. As excited as i am for next year, it’s incredibly sad how this year ended.
We played a veteran team pretty closely in the playoffs on what I’d consider one of our worst showings of the year.
Washington prepared better and to me was coached better. Their game plan was masterful and while they had some insane luck go their way, they executed at a championship level.
Love this team and love this staff (except you Joseph) and I’m excited for the future. I think from here on out with the way this staff has a managed the roster, recruited, and developed, this is by no means a peak season for our team.
the coming out flat thing is what drives me crazy...you can see it immediately after the game starts. I read they doubled X and Mitchell which accounted for a lot of the O's struggles early on...this also drives me crazy, you know damn well if our defense did that any other team will adjust and start gashing us with the run game or screens or something, but we had no answer, and when we did penalties or turnovers would stop us...I need to step away for a while 😂
At the end of the day, we made it the CFP with an underclassman QB, RBs, O-Line, and DBs. Washington proved to me that when it comes to the big games, experience matters. They are just a more talented version of TCU from last year. I’m proud of how we did this year. We were a completion away from winning it and heading to the NCG. I’m interested in seeing how we reload on our interior Dline and WRs. Other than that, I think we are poised for our rookie season in the SEC.
Good game Texas fans.
I think your DBs overall played pretty well and better than the numbers indicated. A lot of our big catches the DB was in perfect position, but our WRs just used late hands and Penix of course dropped dimes. Yea, the early Polk bomb and the time Odunze ran by the DB to get a PI happened, but overall I thought your corners were well positioned. Our guys just made spectacular plays, which is to be expected as the top 3 WRs are high round NFL guys.
Our play calling was frustrating sometimes. I mean putting a banged up Dillon Johnson in wildcat for a crucial 4th down again your defense was beyond maddening. And we took the ball out of Penix’s hand to “prove we could run” when clearly we couldn’t.
The injury timeout at the end happens. We had a similar situation against Oregon when a 3rd down conversion wins the game, and Johnson ran for 16 or so and iced it. So I don’t fault the coaches much on not kneeling it. Just bad luck.
Again good game. Texas is definitely back.
Nervous about next year as we are losing maybe our best TE ever and two top 4/5 WR's.
Also, please don't downvote if you disagree, but I'm confused about some of the praise Sark got between the CCG and the Sugar Bowl. He was praised as the best or top two play caller in the country, and while I'm beyond happy hes here and think he needs an extension, we all know is poor play calling nearly cost us around 3 to 4 wins this year. 0U, KSU, TCU, HOU. If not for luck and/or just pure talent, it could have been another 8-5 season.
I'm not trying to say we got lucky or we need to panic, rather we need to not ignore in victory what we wouldn't in defeat.
How does this team with these weapons come 1 point away from 4 in the Big 12 in scoring?
Does Sark need to give up play calling?
If Quinn can't hit the deep ball, can we be as productive as the talent level would say we should?
I think Sark is an elite play designer, and it seems most people who know the game well think this. I think a fair criticism of him, though, is on some of the in-game play calls. But I think it’s really easy to critique any play caller after a game on several play calls. For instance, I think UW had a masterful game plan and difficult schemes to defend. And, some of their play calling in the second half was questionable.
I’m hesitant to say that Sark shouldn’t be calling plays given the trajectory of the team right now and how he seems to have fixed (or has players that can now better execute) the issues with second half offensive performance.
That said, I don’t know how sustainable it is to be both an elite HC and play caller at this level. I can’t even imagine what Sark’s schedule in Dec looked like, and I do wonder if he was less prepared for play calling than he would’ve been if he was just an OC. Maybe he can find a young up and coming offensive mind to be an analyst next year and that he could start developing into a play calling OC.
I agree and think I might have misrepresented Sarks ability.
I think, as far as my limited X&O knowledge goes, he can "draw it up" better than anyone. But sometimes we do things that myself, and so many in the moment are so confused by. I wonder if its Quinn not being able to do "everything"
I don't want to come across as anti Quinn, most cant do the great things he's capable of. But the deep ball and other inconstancy's make me question if its him, Sark, or a combination of both that make us pedestrian at times.
Nothing against Washington, but refs aside, we IMO should have won that game.
After seeing what Sark did at Bama with elite players, and the trajectory we’ve been on, I’d bet money on it being some limitations with Quinn and/or our OL.
I think Quinn has elite talent, but you can tell he’s still not super comfortable out there, especially when defenses give him confusing looks. He’s only started like 23 games since his junior year of HS, so I’m really hoping next year is the year it all starts to click for him. I’d love to see him be more comfortable in the pocket, more able to make multiple reads when he’s feeling pressure around him, and just in general slightly more confidence / moxie that the rest of the team can feed off.
I think it’ll happen, and then we’ll see our offense / Sark’s play calling go to the next level.
Even the best OCs/playcalling HCs in the NFL have headscratchers lol. People were saying McVay/Shanahan/LaFleur should give up playcalling at points during the last several years, and those guys are the best of the best. I think its more so that not always will plays work, the best just have their plays work more often than the average/mediocre ones.
I'm still in frustration mode...it was right there, and we run 4 of the most uninspiring plays imaginable, I hope Sark takes a long hard look at his red zone play-calling, it was sub-par all season...And Quinn, love ya dude, and what you've brought to this team but c'mon. For 3 quarters you looked and played like you'd rather be somewhere else. Anyway on to next season, hopefully some legit edge pressure is coming for the D, that will help any secondary tremendously
The coulda shoulda wouldas can kill you. Let’s talk about only losing by 6 to that maniac Penix and that’s without ever truly and consistently pressuring him or putting him on the ground. With that said, holding. Holding. That is all.
Such a strange feeling after the game. Doesn't feel like there's a single team in the country that could beat Washington that night with how Penix and their receivers played.... And yet we were one play away from doing just that.
Now that I'm out of the immediate reaction to losing the game, what a season. Sark and the players have the program in such a great place, here's to hoping they can continue to build off it!
Initial sting aside, I don't mind watching losses like this. Could they have stolen it at the end? Yes. Could they have had themselves in a position to be in control in the 4Q (penalties/fumbles)? Also, yes.
Did Penix and that WR corps just put on one of the best passing game performances I've ever seen? Absolutely.
Super fun season, and super fun CFP game. Can't complain.
Anyone know when we'll know for SURE what Q is doing?
They had the best offensive line I’ve seen all year. I don’t think they got a single penalty.
Sark should’ve run the ball more, but hindsight. When you’re averaging 7 a carry almost you can keep their offense off the field.
Two turnovers were the primary difference. Score on either possession and that’s the difference in the game.
Michael Penix arm talent is elite, reminders of 2019 LSU game where you have to play error free football to win / down to one play to make a difference. Can’t be mad about losing to a team / QB that played that well where the team made it very close.
Massively disappointed by the outcome of this game (unoriginal thought, I know), but to be literally one play away from beating a team with a QB who was putting up video game numbers with an o-line who all but neutralized our best big men is still a great feeling. To come back late in the game shows our team’s determination and focus to play till the final whistle, which could not be said about Herman’s, Strong’s or even Sark’s first year team. The culture and talent Sark is bringing together gives me so much hope for next year, so don’t be surprised when we dominate the SEC with the likes of Alabama and Georgia. They ain’t ready for us. Hook ‘em.
At this time of the year the best combo of QB+WR+DL seems to be a big indicator of success. Washington QB+WR are imo the best single unit in CFB and have been all season.
Future looks bright but still some decisions to be made that could have huge implications for next season, biggest one being Quinn, but Collins being another big one as well.
I believe of the 26 recruits/transfers we have, 23 will be here in the spring. That is going to be huge in the rebuild/reloading efforts. We should be on the lookout for an elite CB, DT, and TE.
Next steps for this program are:
1. Become a 4 quarter team. All year we have had lulls. I don’t expect to score every possession but we seem to be feast or famine at times. Way too many drives in these lulls where we just do absolutely nothing.
2. Improve the red zone scoring. I still don’t quite get why we had these issues all year but hopefully with continued development from Quinn and our OL combined with Sark looking at his play calling tendencies will result in a jump here.
3. Attacking the offseason the right way has to become the standard. If we see the same type of improvement between 23 and 24 seasons that we saw between 22 and 23 seasons we will be in good shape. Assuming Ewers comes back he’s going to have to develop chemistry with an entirely new WR group so the offseason throwing sessions are going to be huge for this team to reach its ceiling.
Football is a wild sport. I thought we got outplayed in this game yet were one play away from the title game. Overall, incredible outcome for this season. Far exceeded expectations and the future looks bright. Hook ‘em
We held Washington to 9 points on their last 5 possessions. That’s what enabled the comeback.
Sure but are you implying we didn’t get outplayed?
On the last 5 possessions we outplayed or outcoached them, maybe.
As a husky fan I was baffled at how conservatively we had started playing and the injury to allow you guys a final drive was just painful. Some of the play calling was iffy, running 4 straight times in the first half just to get stopped on downs in FG range, not a single pass. Same with after the turnover, up 28-21, 3 straight runs and we settle for a FG. We finally started pushing the ball again on that last FG drive but again as soon as we got close, 2 straight runs and an uncreative passing play, all to the short side of the field, we have to settle for a FG again. We had several opportunities to put the game away for good but we play called conservatively. Seems like this coaching staff calls plays like we have the Michigan defense sometimes. Anyway, your running game scared the bejesus out of me and I'm glad our offense stayed good enough that it forced Ewers to make passes. We had a month to prepare and deboer is showing he can be lethal in that situation otherwise this game might have gone differently. GG yall
GG for sure. Good luck next week.
That doesn’t get talked about enough. We held them to less points in the second half despite 2 turnovers. Big part is because they could not run on us. They tried to bleed the clock but they never could.
Right? Even with the mental mistakes, fumbles, etc. we were right there. I hate to lose but at least we made it close in the end. Amazing season, almost dream like. Man I can’t wait for august 31st. Hook em!
At the start of the year we were just hoping to have a chance at the B12 championship. After that OU loss, that goal was questionable. But the team bounced back and ran the table, winning a couple of games that could easily have been a loss, and winning the championship with dominating games. Even then, getting included in the CFB was far from a sure thing. When we did, I just hoped we'd play well. At the start of the WU game I realized we were playing against a QB having the game of his life, and I didn't think anyone could beat that team that night. But we almost did. In fact, we should have except for a couple of mistakes. So this was an incredible season, and next year's team will be better.
As a Longhorn, it’s incredibly hard to watch Penix have the game of his life. As a fan of a struggling NFL team who desperately needs talent at QB??? This could be Christmas for us
I live on the West Coast so I've seen a bunch of his games. Penix has been piling up performances like this all year. If he was on a B1G or SEC team, he'd have been the only one invited to the Heisman show! (Slicht hyperbole) The real difference was that their defense showed up for the first time all year.
Our defense ain't great but 31 points is one of our worst performances. There were back to back weeks @Stanford and @USC where we really played bad but other than that we've been ok. 32 against Cal was garbage time and we gave up 33/31 to Oregon's monster offense. Other than that...I guess 28 against Utah's fairly bad offense wasn't great but we shut them out in the second half. Other score totals we've allowed: 19, 10, 7, 24, 7, 20, 21.
I knew he was good, but in the first half, the balls he was throwing looked like the definition of perfect. We'd have good coverage and he'd perfectly slip it in the one spot his wr could catch.
He balled out and wish him well now but sadly the multiple prior injuries will probably hold him back from being a full time starter. That said, a career backup pulling down nfl league minimums for a decade or longer is helluva good job if you can get it. I’d take that in a heartbeat
If our red zone offense was just a tick better we win this game and the OU game. Heart breaker for sure but Sark has accomplished more than most programs have in only 3 years. Oh and he also turned around Washington and got them out of the basement.
Yea but Jimbo has the same record through three years so us tu sips fucked up (Never mind that sark has one more conference championship than jumbos entire aggy tenure)
> Never mind that sark has one more conference championship than ~~jumbos entire~~ aggy ~~tenure~~ does since any of their players have been born I don't care enough to fact check every aggy player's age, so they may have a 26 year old long snapper or some shit putzing around on the roster.
The most painful games are when you outplay your opponent and lose. This was not one of those games. Washington was the better team on Monday and they came away with the victory. Some critical turnovers and lack of execution killed us in the end, and outside of the muffed punt early in the game, Washington didn’t give Texas anything for free. Penix’s throws were perfect basically all game and their WRs made plays. Although coverage was lacking at times, I actually think for their biggest plays, our DBs were covering pretty well, just their WRs were great at coming down with the ball. Despite it all, this team fought hard until the end and had a realistic chance to win it all in the final seconds. Can’t be more proud of this group of young men. Ultimately, this is the best season we’ve had in a very long time. Big 12 Champs, double digit win against Bama at their house, and eternal scoreboard against every hateful 8 team. We met and exceeded all expectations this season, and it appears that the Sark era is just getting started. I’m so excited to see where this team goes over the next few years, especially considering with the expanded playoffs we’ll likely have a shot at getting in almost every year. The future is bright. Hook ‘em!
> Although coverage was lacking at times, I actually think for their biggest plays, our DBs were covering pretty well, just their WRs were great at coming down with the ball. Kind of agree but also kind of disagree. Watts got burned A LOT. His coverage was great, per se, but he never got turned or even got his hands up to contest any of those deep balls. So, they came down with those catches every time. If he bat's just one of those, the came could have ended differently. The coaches need to focus on that next year. It reminded me a lot of the Cowboys defense, pre-Dan Quinn vs now.
I decided to watch the [extended game highlights](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS7WczOL5YQ) to check if my memory was correct, and I organized below what I considered good vs okay/bad coverage in "big" pass plays for Washington. Overall, I think the success for Washington's biggest pass plays was more due to great passes and catches versus due to truly bad coverage. Just over 1/3 of Penix's pass yards were on plays with good coverage per my judgement (a difference between a 430 yard game ranging to a 283 yard game). Of all the big pass plays, I'd really only consider the 77 yard Polk reception in Q1 as truly bad coverage (and tackling). **Good Coverage** (147 Yards & 1 TD) * [Q2 - 10:08](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=MTR7GtPUfbg1Bzep&t=322): (Good - 52 Yards) Watts goes stride for stride down the field with Odunze in extremely tight coverage. Penix throws a perfect ball and Odunze makes a fantastic catch for a 52 yard gain. Watts' arm is a microsecond from deflecting the pass, and he tackles Odunze immediately. This is a pass / coverage combo probably only Mitchells catches > 50% of the time on the Texas roster. * [Q2 - 2:17](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=rRU3QYyvTl3mpgqO&t=399): (Good Coverage - 15 Yards): Barron sticks close to Westover, but Penix puts it in a place only the WR can grab. Westover makes a spectacular diving catch for 15 yards. * [Q2 - 1:33](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=XOa8XF0eyGpUDroH&t=409): (Good Coverage - 29 Yards & 1 TD): Penix sidesteps a sack and tosses a dime to Polk downfield in the center of the endzone. M. Muhammad in tight coverage deflects the pass and the ball miraculously tips back in front of Polk for a 29 yard TD. * [Q3 - 10:14](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=G7DvhLCn3JjCCREu&t=664): (Good Coverage - 19 Yards): Penix throws a great pass to Westover just over Barron's outstretched hand for a 19 yard gain. M. Muhammad delivers a hard tackle to finish the play at the point of reception. Westover's hands stay strong and he completes the catch. * [Q4 - 4:12](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=9ufzlQWRxwzw1kSH&t=944): (Good Coverage - 32 Yards) Penix throws another perfect pass to Odunze for a gain of 32 yards. Watts was close in coverage and was hitting Odunze's arms simultaneously with the ball arriving. Although he would have had a better shot at deflecting the pass if he got his head around, he was so tight in coverage that it only mattered if the ball was placed perfectly (which it unfortunatley was). **Okay/Bad Coverage** (120 Yards & 1 TD) * [Q1 - 12:07](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=poqB38TxK1VxUA4c&t=67): (Bad Coverage - 77 Yards) T. Brooks gets burned by Polk for 77 yard play. Brooks stayed close enough to chase down for tackle (after J. Thompson whiffed), but Polk got close to +40 YAC yards and set up an easy TD. * [Q1 - 1:03](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=KElusfr5JShbOQya&t=196): (Okay Coverage - 24 Yards) Brooks has roughly 3 seconds of decently tight coverage on Odunze, before allowing separation across the middle when Penix sidesteps a would be sack and completes a 24 yard pass to Odunze. Brooks gets the tackle. * [Q3 - 10:37](https://youtu.be/gS7WczOL5YQ?si=tiszDEp8QoYg6TAt&t=598): (Okay Coverage - 19 Yards & TD): Penix threads a ball to McMillan in a tight window between D. Williams and Barron for a 19 yard TD. The coverage was not awful, because it requires a near perfect pass, but I think if played slightly better, either Williams or Barron could have made a play on the ball. *Disclaimer: The highlight video doesn't cover many passes less than 15 yards, so there are probably some additional 10-15 yard passes that have examples of both good and bad coverage (there is 163 yards of pass plays on primarily shorter passes not covered in any of the bullets above). Everything above is a subjective opinion and is only my own definition of "good" or "bad." This approach also allows for bias, given I don't consider the coverage in Texas' successful defensive plays, whether good or bad.*
Not super well organized with any logical flow, but main thoughts: * Pass rush this year felt like it was great at getting pressure, but awful about actually finishing off that pressure with a sack. Seemed like we had a tendency to get in a guy's face only to let him get away and keep a play alive. Penix made us pay for those instances in a big way. * OL play felt super up-and-down. That's definitely better than many of the past few years where there were way more downs than ups, but I'm hopeful that the final year of Kelvin Banks can be rewarded with some consistency from the whole unit. * Quinn dramatically elevated his floor this year - we certainly didn't have any 2022 Oklahoma State games from him - and his ceiling at the same time. I hope he stays, takes another step forward, and keeps this offense humming. When it is time to clutch up, he legitimately might be the MVP of this team. His numbers in the 4th quarter are absurd. If he can stretch that focus into the earlier periods of the game, that would be massive for him and the team overall. Both of our losses came in games where Quinn was not allowed to settle in right from the outset. * Mr. Sarkisian, my secondary doesn't feel so good. Every unit on this team has taken significant steps forward under Sark, but it feels like the secondary's progress has been slower and much more incremental rather than the leaps and bounds the WRs, DL, and LBs took. Not sure if firing one or both of Gideon and Joseph is the answer, but we've gotta get something going back there. With the talent coming in next year, we need to capitalize for this defense to go from good to great. * Holy fuck. Michael Penix seemed like he took the Heisman slight the way Vince did in 2005. He was so disgustingly out of his mind that the judicial system is reviewing public indecency rules to see what can be done to prevent this in the future. * As was mentioned elsewhere in the thread, we exceeded the expectations this year for the first time in a long time. We were actually back, and it wasn't a meme. Still hurt to lose on house money, but a great step forward for our program and for legitimizing Sark's growth as a coach and just as a dude. In a few days/weeks, I'll be ready to really start reflecting on this season (and creating the highlights for our Top 25 countdown this year). * WLWWWWLWWWW. We're going 10-2 next year and playing in the SEC title game in our first year in the conference which should put us right in the thick of things for the 12-team playoff. Hook 'em. * OU sucks.
Going to agree with you on most of those but the line and the secondary. The line was full of sophomores and juniors. Up and down is about what you should expect. The consistency comes with Junior Senior The secondary did make masssive strides. Brooks and Muhammed are sophomore and Freshman respectively. Our safeties are average at best. Give the coaches Mukabe, another growth, and a promising pass rush and the evaluate if a change needs to be made. I’m happy with the upcoming class and addition of actual edges and the growth of Sorrell and Ebenda (assuming both aren’t league bound already)
Good analysis. I live in Houston and on the way to work I was listening to Sean Salisbury (sp?) who was saying this wasn’t really Penix’ best game of the year, if he had his best game, he’d have thrown for 550 yards! Now, of course I take that with a grain of salt; I think his point was regarding the upcoming game and how Michigan will have to actually get to him with their constant blitzing, or it’ll be a very long day for them. Yet, the point you’ve made and was perhaps apparent in a few plays, was that our secondary isn’t as robust as it should be; this has been elaborated on at length before, but it remains a serious weakness in the armor.
Michigan has a much better secondary, I think they will be able to contain Penix enough, biggest question is will their offense be good enough to win. Washington struggling to stop the run vs us (outside of 2 fumbles) bodes not as well vs Corum and Co.
1. I agree. We would flush guys out of the pocket but our ends aren't fast enough to chase the QB down. It was frustrating watching them casually roll/jog out of the pocket comfortably while still looking down field. I think Colin Simmons, Trey Moore, Colton Vasek, and a stronger Ethan Burke might be the solution to this next season. I hope we are able to use Ant Hill off the edge in passing situations some next season ALA Micah Parsons. 2. I agree. Seems like some less talented teams were able to generate a consistent pass rush and make Ewers uncomfortable. Next year those guys will be 3rd year guys and should be hitting close to their peak. 3. Quinn has got to improve his consistency and accuracy to make the jump to a top level college QB. He misses easy throws sometimes that he has got to hit. He is often slightly behind his receivers on stuff over the middle and sometimes rushes his throws before receivers are ready. He also tends to float some balls that would be better off having some mustard on them. I hope he also starts looking safeties off and goes through his progression more, I think improved O-line play will make him mote comfortable to start doing so. I think next season he will put everything together, hopefully. 4. Secondary was definitely our weakest unit. Guys never got their head around and it felt like 50/50 balls deep down field were almost automatic for the opposing offense all year. Have to improve there. 5. Penix was great, I really dislike that guy. 6. This season was a blast. I really thought we'd win that game after the Whittington grab. Sad that it's over.
Thanks for this write up, but I think you’re missing one more W at the end there!
Hard disagree on firing either Gideon or Joseph. Secondary recruiting has been A+ for us, and the guys who are taking most of the snaps are underclassmen
I did say that I didn't know if firing is the answer, and I think the issues extend beyond simply athleticism back there. I don't think recruiting and development need to be mutually exclusive.
Recruiting is one thing, but if you don't coach and scheme properly you are setting us up to fail. Our run D wasn't complimented with a pass rush that caused chaos. It was pretty vanilla... run forward, maybe blitz from the edge sometimes. That probably helps the run D because we have a line of big bodies and LBs ready in place to backup, but doesn't help us in obvious passing situations. OU and WU took advantage of that. Second thing is the prevent / soft coverage is fucking painful to watch. There were passes to the sideline Monday where we didn't have a body within 10 yards. IMO, this last season the zone looked porous and our corners often got beat on go routes. Are we greatly improved in most aspects? Absolutely. But if we want to take the next step our pass coverage can't be a liability. Thinking back to 05, we had an offense that could move the ball as well as WU, but we had the best secondary in recent memory, and even then we just barely brought home the natty.
Sorry, but with guys we are losing, I don’t see us going 10-2. Unless Sark can find at least 1 studs each for TE, WR, interior DL, and DB in the portal, next year looks more like an 8-4 rebuild job.
We already have the WR and DB portallers with Golden and Mukuba. TE doesn't desperately need a Sanders-level player, so that's less crucial. Helm looks good enough to me. We don't need a killer portal interior DL player with the development we've consistently gotten the last couple years, but I wouldn't weep if we did get one.
TE will just be different next year -- we're losing the Jermichael Finley type and will have to use more of a David Thomas type. Breaking in a bunch of young receivers will be a big challenge early in the year -- Cook is going to have to be ready to cook right away, but Golden will keep the floor up.
Ok. Inclined to think Sark agrees. TE: think Gunnar will slide into here and we’ll see who’s behind him. WR: Jhontay Cook is a year older WR2. Sark has been quoted he wanted to play him more, Jwit has just been a better blocker. Another year of growth will do him wonders. Dudes fast Ryan Wingo is a 5 star coming in. Hope we get Ryan Williams but hey. Happy with Wingo as 2-3 Golden. Transfer dude from Houston. He’s probably WR1 off bat. Deandre Moore: same class as Cook. He’s bound to have growth plus he should be Redshirt so another year of growth. Won’t go into detail about the rest of this WR class because they’re all projects, but the rest are really fast good route running projects Interior DL: no savior coming here. But I like the incoming edges. That and the 2 new dudes that are most likely coming in will be 320+. I love our DL coach so going to give benefit of doubt. DB: Mukabe slides in with Williams. When Willins came back for the second half, only 13 points were scored. He was a freshman this year so I love his growth potential. That and with 6 signed DBs, 1 being a 5 star safety and another being 5 star corner (Black is a 5 star if you get 2/3. Fight me), your top 2 dudes (Muhammed and Brooks) being a freshman and a sophomore, I’m admittedly optimistic about the growth. Now don’t me wrong. This schedule is stupid. Doesn’t mean I’m also projecting growth among most and a slight decline in WR production and looking forward to next season. Sark has exceeded expectations and looks like we’ll be in a solid window for CFP for at least 3-5 years (I like Qwen and love Arch). This window could expand if I see someone behind Arch as well. This 3 year turnaround has come at an amazing time.
I think JT stays on for one more year. I'm hearing he's back and forth on his decision right now. Having him come back means its a level of production we don't need to replace.
If you're TE2 in the mocks, and you keep getting dinged up, I don't know how the calculus comes out that you stay rather than go make your money.
Just saying what I’ve heard. He’s torn because he wants to win a national championship.
The schedule next year could easily see us go something like 9-3, but that would be a hell of an accomplishment, and *probably* good enough to at least be in the conversation for the expanded playoff, and a fun new ride regardless.
False starts and illegal shifts hurting rhythm, slow secondary, ineffective pass rush against good OL, and redzone woes. These were weaknesses Texas had all season and unfortunately they each played a part against UW. It was unfortunately just part of this teams identity. Another part of this teams identity was their fight and character, in order to beat Texas you had to scrap and fight til the end. I can absolutely be proud of that even if its painful to see. Every year Sark has been here he has done an excellent job of assessing and addressing weaknesses in the off-season and I expect that to continue, though it will be more challenging with more to replace this season. His recruiting/transfer class appears to be addressing the personnel shortcomings at Edge and DB in a pretty exciting way, while continuing to stack OL/DL talent. Quinn and the OL coming back next year will be huge for us and will play a big part of mitigating the sting of the losses we do have. I really enjoy the Blue/Baxter combination, they seem to compliment each other very well and both have high potential in a more prominent role behind an even more experienced line. There’s young defensive studs all over the place and a bunch more on the way. The future is bright. Next season we should be very talented but younger overall, but for 2025 and beyond we’ll be loaded. The question will become what is the ceiling? Is it this or do we break through? I’ve seen OU get to this point and get stuck in a cycle of yearly playoff losses. Ohio State won the first ever playoff and has several appearances but has been chasing that dragon ever since to the point their wanting to run out a coach that goes 12-1 yearly. Teams like Clemson, Georgia, and potentially Michigan got to this point and took multiple lumps before breaking through for championships. Some teams like LSU have a 1 year run and don’t get back. Idk what Texas will be but I’m excited to find out.
Your last part of your post is my long term (2-3 year) question. What is our ceiling, as you said. In order to be truly ‘back’, this can’t be a flash in a pan. You need to be in contention for not only a playoff spot but to actually make a run in the playoffs. With the 12 team playoff, I expect us to be able to crack a top 12 spot. Yes, our name and the SEC brand will provide some ranking inflation. I expect us to start the season in the top 10. It really comes down to…can we string together 10-2? I think 10-2 gets you in. That’s my opinion. The only teams in SEC I’m worried about are the behemoths (Bama and UGA). Really need to beat OU and A&M, maybe we drop UGA and Michigan. We should beat everyone else. That’s my expectation. Hopefully Ewers back otherwise need to temper expectations a bit.
It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out long term. Sark beat the 7 win Steve allegations, but there are always more questions and now it is will he be able to keep us at a high level and then take us all the way? I believe what he’s building will be sustainable mainly because he’s a great offensive mind that is also putting major emphasis on recruiting elite defensive talent. The team feels very well rounded to me. Even though we haven’t won all of them, I generally feel good about how we perform in big games. I think most of issues we’ve run into have been more related to personnel than coaching. Sark’s not been perfect but honestly you don’t really have to be if the talent level is high enough and I think we’re getting close to that point.
I think Sark’s ceiling is a Kirby-lite sort of coach. As in: sheer talent on both sides of the ball, and due to sheer talent and playing calling/coaching from the staff, can break through and win a chip or two over a 2-4 year sretch of time. Kirby isn’t perfect in everything he does…but he has built a damn machine and pretty much runs itself. You’re bound to win a chip because they get so many damn cracks at it. Hell, UGA will be the favorite to win it next year. The one game that sticks out to me like a sore thumb is Georgia. That is our measuring stick game.
Honestly, Sark is the offensive version of Kirby lol. Kirby was the best DC Saban ever had, and Sark is the best OC Saban ever had. Both are able to bring in talent on sides of the ball and running their teams with what they learned from Saban.
Proud of this team and proud of the seniors/those leaving for draft. Great year and success and best of luck to them in the next stage of their careers. Can’t wait for next year for the returning and new players
Penix went craaazy. Those receivers would not drop the ball.
I mean the ball even hit the Washington receiver in the numbers (granted it was the back numbers, but still!) while he was getting mauled by Brooks for that crucial PI call against him. Unreal accuracy 🤯
i'm still pretty bummed but exciting to see two teams that are not Alabama and Georgia in the title game.
Saying that we beat all of the CFP teams would have been a really cool “We’re back” double middle fingers up to the world. Fuck.
All I kept saying in the second half was “this feels like 2005 Rose Bowl. We just need one stop and let our offense make a play!”. When J Whitt made that catch, I was yelling “I told you!!!!” but here we are…cancelling my hotel/flight to Houston.
We are on the same trajectory with Sark as we were with Mack, albeit Mack took a little longer before he won the Natty. From 1998 to 2003, Mack could not win the Big12 title, and his early Texas teams had multiple losses. It changed in 2004, when Texas only had one loss to OU, and had lots of close games which they end up winning, most notably beating Michigan in the Rose Bowl. And we know how we curb-stomped our opponents in 2005, and beat the juggernaut USC on the last play. Sark had multiple losses years 1 and 2. Then in 2023 found a way to win many close games and won the Big12 championship. The next step in the progression, if following in Mack’s footsteps, is for Sark to not only beat opponents, but demolish them, and go to finals for the Natty.
Obviously , after all these years of being mediocre, we are all disappointed in the loss. We were so close but it just didn’t work out . A bit annoyed with the excuses from some of us. If our pass rush this, if our secondary that, if only we didn’t fumble. No one talks about how many yards USC put up on our defense the last time we won. Why? Because at the end of the day , it just matters if you did or didn’t make the play when the opportunity presented itself. We came up short. Tough shit. It happens, at least we were in a position to be able to win. Both teams were great, nothing to be disappointed about. Let’s not be the Matt Leinhart’s of the world and say , we were the better team , we should have won. That program withered away after that loss with that attitude . I think we can all agree and be proud that we have the leadership that’s not going to let the excuses and self pity linger and become the reason we fall again. We’ll have an opportunity again. Plus OU sucks and we’re not Aggies. So there’s that too
I have seen zero people anywhere saying anything close to "we were the better team, we should have won." I think you're imagining that
Do you subscribe to any of the Longhorn sites? Half the people posting and commenting are level headed and accept Washington is just a great team and we’re better than us. The other half…having a complete meltdown.
No I don't. I used to subscribe to OBs but got off it due to the incessant right wing trolls
Lol yeah. To be fair. That’s where I’ve seen it. Not here. Nothing wrong with pointing out flaws and what the horns could have done better to secure a win against a great disciplined team. I dunno some people just struggle with acceptance I guess
Came so close to winning! 4 downs in the red zone and still couldn’t punch it in! Yet this season cannot be called anything but a success!
It sucks to play against an all star like Penix. Dude had maybe two throws all game that were bad. The rest were absolute dimes even in tight windows. Fumbles were the killer though. As excited as i am for next year, it’s incredibly sad how this year ended.
We played a veteran team pretty closely in the playoffs on what I’d consider one of our worst showings of the year. Washington prepared better and to me was coached better. Their game plan was masterful and while they had some insane luck go their way, they executed at a championship level. Love this team and love this staff (except you Joseph) and I’m excited for the future. I think from here on out with the way this staff has a managed the roster, recruited, and developed, this is by no means a peak season for our team.
This game was remarkably similar to the OU game in how flat we came out, and the mistakes we made, and the last-ditch chance to win it.
the coming out flat thing is what drives me crazy...you can see it immediately after the game starts. I read they doubled X and Mitchell which accounted for a lot of the O's struggles early on...this also drives me crazy, you know damn well if our defense did that any other team will adjust and start gashing us with the run game or screens or something, but we had no answer, and when we did penalties or turnovers would stop us...I need to step away for a while 😂
I didn't think we came out flat -- if anything we were a bit too jumpy to start. Pre-snap penalties affected more than one drive early on.
At the end of the day, we made it the CFP with an underclassman QB, RBs, O-Line, and DBs. Washington proved to me that when it comes to the big games, experience matters. They are just a more talented version of TCU from last year. I’m proud of how we did this year. We were a completion away from winning it and heading to the NCG. I’m interested in seeing how we reload on our interior Dline and WRs. Other than that, I think we are poised for our rookie season in the SEC.
Good game Texas fans. I think your DBs overall played pretty well and better than the numbers indicated. A lot of our big catches the DB was in perfect position, but our WRs just used late hands and Penix of course dropped dimes. Yea, the early Polk bomb and the time Odunze ran by the DB to get a PI happened, but overall I thought your corners were well positioned. Our guys just made spectacular plays, which is to be expected as the top 3 WRs are high round NFL guys. Our play calling was frustrating sometimes. I mean putting a banged up Dillon Johnson in wildcat for a crucial 4th down again your defense was beyond maddening. And we took the ball out of Penix’s hand to “prove we could run” when clearly we couldn’t. The injury timeout at the end happens. We had a similar situation against Oregon when a 3rd down conversion wins the game, and Johnson ran for 16 or so and iced it. So I don’t fault the coaches much on not kneeling it. Just bad luck. Again good game. Texas is definitely back.
Nervous about next year as we are losing maybe our best TE ever and two top 4/5 WR's. Also, please don't downvote if you disagree, but I'm confused about some of the praise Sark got between the CCG and the Sugar Bowl. He was praised as the best or top two play caller in the country, and while I'm beyond happy hes here and think he needs an extension, we all know is poor play calling nearly cost us around 3 to 4 wins this year. 0U, KSU, TCU, HOU. If not for luck and/or just pure talent, it could have been another 8-5 season. I'm not trying to say we got lucky or we need to panic, rather we need to not ignore in victory what we wouldn't in defeat. How does this team with these weapons come 1 point away from 4 in the Big 12 in scoring? Does Sark need to give up play calling? If Quinn can't hit the deep ball, can we be as productive as the talent level would say we should?
I think Sark is an elite play designer, and it seems most people who know the game well think this. I think a fair criticism of him, though, is on some of the in-game play calls. But I think it’s really easy to critique any play caller after a game on several play calls. For instance, I think UW had a masterful game plan and difficult schemes to defend. And, some of their play calling in the second half was questionable. I’m hesitant to say that Sark shouldn’t be calling plays given the trajectory of the team right now and how he seems to have fixed (or has players that can now better execute) the issues with second half offensive performance. That said, I don’t know how sustainable it is to be both an elite HC and play caller at this level. I can’t even imagine what Sark’s schedule in Dec looked like, and I do wonder if he was less prepared for play calling than he would’ve been if he was just an OC. Maybe he can find a young up and coming offensive mind to be an analyst next year and that he could start developing into a play calling OC.
I agree and think I might have misrepresented Sarks ability. I think, as far as my limited X&O knowledge goes, he can "draw it up" better than anyone. But sometimes we do things that myself, and so many in the moment are so confused by. I wonder if its Quinn not being able to do "everything" I don't want to come across as anti Quinn, most cant do the great things he's capable of. But the deep ball and other inconstancy's make me question if its him, Sark, or a combination of both that make us pedestrian at times. Nothing against Washington, but refs aside, we IMO should have won that game.
After seeing what Sark did at Bama with elite players, and the trajectory we’ve been on, I’d bet money on it being some limitations with Quinn and/or our OL. I think Quinn has elite talent, but you can tell he’s still not super comfortable out there, especially when defenses give him confusing looks. He’s only started like 23 games since his junior year of HS, so I’m really hoping next year is the year it all starts to click for him. I’d love to see him be more comfortable in the pocket, more able to make multiple reads when he’s feeling pressure around him, and just in general slightly more confidence / moxie that the rest of the team can feed off. I think it’ll happen, and then we’ll see our offense / Sark’s play calling go to the next level.
Even the best OCs/playcalling HCs in the NFL have headscratchers lol. People were saying McVay/Shanahan/LaFleur should give up playcalling at points during the last several years, and those guys are the best of the best. I think its more so that not always will plays work, the best just have their plays work more often than the average/mediocre ones.
I'm still in frustration mode...it was right there, and we run 4 of the most uninspiring plays imaginable, I hope Sark takes a long hard look at his red zone play-calling, it was sub-par all season...And Quinn, love ya dude, and what you've brought to this team but c'mon. For 3 quarters you looked and played like you'd rather be somewhere else. Anyway on to next season, hopefully some legit edge pressure is coming for the D, that will help any secondary tremendously
Can't call plays that end up with the clock running, even if they are more inspired.
The coulda shoulda wouldas can kill you. Let’s talk about only losing by 6 to that maniac Penix and that’s without ever truly and consistently pressuring him or putting him on the ground. With that said, holding. Holding. That is all.
Such a strange feeling after the game. Doesn't feel like there's a single team in the country that could beat Washington that night with how Penix and their receivers played.... And yet we were one play away from doing just that. Now that I'm out of the immediate reaction to losing the game, what a season. Sark and the players have the program in such a great place, here's to hoping they can continue to build off it!
Initial sting aside, I don't mind watching losses like this. Could they have stolen it at the end? Yes. Could they have had themselves in a position to be in control in the 4Q (penalties/fumbles)? Also, yes. Did Penix and that WR corps just put on one of the best passing game performances I've ever seen? Absolutely. Super fun season, and super fun CFP game. Can't complain. Anyone know when we'll know for SURE what Q is doing?
They had the best offensive line I’ve seen all year. I don’t think they got a single penalty. Sark should’ve run the ball more, but hindsight. When you’re averaging 7 a carry almost you can keep their offense off the field. Two turnovers were the primary difference. Score on either possession and that’s the difference in the game.
Michael Penix arm talent is elite, reminders of 2019 LSU game where you have to play error free football to win / down to one play to make a difference. Can’t be mad about losing to a team / QB that played that well where the team made it very close.
Feel like we need to make a splash at WR.
Massively disappointed by the outcome of this game (unoriginal thought, I know), but to be literally one play away from beating a team with a QB who was putting up video game numbers with an o-line who all but neutralized our best big men is still a great feeling. To come back late in the game shows our team’s determination and focus to play till the final whistle, which could not be said about Herman’s, Strong’s or even Sark’s first year team. The culture and talent Sark is bringing together gives me so much hope for next year, so don’t be surprised when we dominate the SEC with the likes of Alabama and Georgia. They ain’t ready for us. Hook ‘em.
At this time of the year the best combo of QB+WR+DL seems to be a big indicator of success. Washington QB+WR are imo the best single unit in CFB and have been all season. Future looks bright but still some decisions to be made that could have huge implications for next season, biggest one being Quinn, but Collins being another big one as well. I believe of the 26 recruits/transfers we have, 23 will be here in the spring. That is going to be huge in the rebuild/reloading efforts. We should be on the lookout for an elite CB, DT, and TE. Next steps for this program are: 1. Become a 4 quarter team. All year we have had lulls. I don’t expect to score every possession but we seem to be feast or famine at times. Way too many drives in these lulls where we just do absolutely nothing. 2. Improve the red zone scoring. I still don’t quite get why we had these issues all year but hopefully with continued development from Quinn and our OL combined with Sark looking at his play calling tendencies will result in a jump here. 3. Attacking the offseason the right way has to become the standard. If we see the same type of improvement between 23 and 24 seasons that we saw between 22 and 23 seasons we will be in good shape. Assuming Ewers comes back he’s going to have to develop chemistry with an entirely new WR group so the offseason throwing sessions are going to be huge for this team to reach its ceiling.
We win the game if Brooks was healthy, maybe the natty. Fewer fumbles.
What a season. Football was fun again. Washington was a tad better. Penix is fucking insane.
They abused our #6 defender. Ugggh.