Oklahoma State 30, Texas 27: What We Learned

Aside from the fact that this was yet another brutal, heartbreaking ending for the Longhorns, three other things stood out. The Longhorns’ young defense is growing. Fed up with the play of his cornerbacks early in the game, Charlie Strong opted to throw freshmen Kris Boyd and Holton Hill out there for good. It worked out pretty well, as both got better as the game went on, including interceptions (even if Boyd’s was wiped out by a controversial roughing call). Hill’s interception late in the third quarter gave Texas the lead and placed it in the driver’s seat in the fourth quarter. It just didn’t end well. Meanwhile, the normally potent Oklahoma State offense was stifled (by its standards), gaining 292 yards through the air and just 101 on the ground. Mason Rudolph threw two interceptions, and the Cowboys certainly didn’t do anything on offense in crunch time. It wasn’t suffocating by any means, but it also wasn’t the same group that got gouged by Notre Dame (or even Cal). 24acb0269e352c5d6042128dd286d965Jerrod Heard has at least one clear weakness to address. Heard was his usual playmaking self, though his impact was significantly mitigated by the Cowboys’ use of a spy as the game went on. He kept drives alive with his feet, made some key throws, but was hampered by penalties that called back some of his biggest plays. He threw an interception, but what may have hurt the Longhorns more was his extending plays too far when he should have just thrown the ball away. While the indomitable spirit is a much-needed gift to the Texas offense, it needs to be reigned in on broken plays bereft of hope. avbthxgbsbThe Texas offensive line is still struggling.  The right side of the line continues to offer clear paths to the quarterback, and there still isn’t much of a ground attack beyond what Heard conjures up with his feet. The Longhorns had 171 yards rushing (and just 119 yards through the air), but a few drives could have been locked down better with a more consistent approach. Designed runs for Heard and Swoopes were successes the unit could point to, but it felt negated by the lack of time Heard had to throw.