Texas 42, Rice 28: What We Learned

[caption id="attachment_18566" align="alignleft" width="300"]Photo by Justin Armstrong Photo by Justin Armstrong[/caption] Texas managed to take down Rice on Saturday in Austin. What did we learn about the Longhorns and Owls? DCTF's Mike Craven breaks it down. It wasn’t a perfect game, or even one that should make Texas Longhorn fans believe this team can compete against the top teams in the Big 12, but it was exactly what Charlie Strong’s squad needed. Despite Rice controlling the clock, gaining more yards and being able to move the ball, Texas bounced back from last week’s loss to Notre Dame to beat the Owls at home, 42-28. It was a week of change for the Longhorns. The decisions by Strong and his staff seemed to pay off. New offensive coordinator Jay Norvell didn’t get a lot of plays on offense, but inserting Jerrod Heard as the starting quarterback provided a spark to an offense that was needed after the last three Texas games. Heard will never be a player who lights it up in practice, but he showed he was a gamer. His ability to extend plays with his legs made the Rice defense vulnerable to big plays. The redshirt freshman ended the game with two touchdown passes, including a 69-yard connection with true freshman John Burt, and nearly 100 yards rushing. The defense struggled at times, but it came up with enough plays to be happy with the performance. True freshman linebacker Malik Jefferson has a chance to be the best linebacker at Texas since Derrick Johnson, and he showed that big-play ability on a fumble return for a touchdown in the third quarter. The amazing part of watching Texas is the amount of young players forced to make an impact. Texas’ best wide receiver is a true freshman. Two freshmen start on the offensive line. Kris Boyd is a true freshman pushing for starting snaps at cornerback. It is a young team that should improve each week as those guys grow up in live action. For Rice, losing always hurts, but the Owls showed why they can compete for a Conference USA title. Driphus Jackson struggled, but Samuel Stewart had a great game. The redshirt freshman rushed for over 100 yards and showed he can carry a load. The problem for the Rice offense is consistency at the wide receiver position, but a young and inexperienced offensive line controlled the Texas defense until turnovers and Texas’ special teams turned the game upside down. The Longhorns need to improve. Rice impressed in a loss. College football is fun that way.