The Texas Longhorns opened their 2012 season with a 37-17 victory over a salty Wyoming Cowboys squad in Austin on Saturday night. Here are some post-game thought from the match-up.
1. Sophomore quarterback David Ash had a solid game, finishing the night 20-27 (74%) for 156 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. Perhaps the most impressive stat of the night for the young quarterback was that he hit 10 different receivers. His timing was off on a few downfield passes, but that is to be expected in the first game and should be easily corrected. Ash also showed improved decision making on a few busted plays, choosing to throw the ball away rather than forcing a pass. His only major mistake was a fumbled snap, but fans should feel good about the progress that Ash has made since last season. Though he wasn’t spectacular, he did what was asked of him and commanded the offense well. I expect the coaches will open things up more for him as the season progresses.
2. The Longhorn running backs are as good as advertised. Both sophomores, Joe Bergeron and Malcolm Brown, went for over 100 yards each. The running game amassed 260 total rushing yards and had 3 backs (Bergeron, Brown, and D.J. Monroe) that averaged over 7 yards per carry.
3. Speaking of running backs, Texas fans finally got a larger dose of D.J. Monroe and he lived up to the expectations. Monroe once again proved to be a big-play threat accounting for 51 yards of the offense in just 6 touches. As I was watching him play, I thought about how the Longhorns will have both him and freshman Daje Johnson (who was forced to sit out for violating team rules) on the field at once. That will be a nightmare for opposing defenses. These two player redefine the word “fast.”
4. The offensive line showed much-needed signs of improvement from the past couple of seasons. They were solid in pass protection and played a huge role in the success of the Horns’ ground game. Even better news is that Texas had one false start penalty on the night, which had been a major source of frustration in recent years.
5. I was actually surprised that 10 different receivers caught passes because quite honestly, I felt that they were very quiet all night. Jaxon Shipley had his typical solid game and Mike Davis made some big plays, but other than that it just didn’t feel like the group as a whole did much. Again, I do expect the offense to open up more as the season progresses and Ash gets more confidence, but last night the receiving corp, outside of the two mentioned, was nothing more than average.
6. The field goal unit was terrible; sadly, there is no nicer way to say it. True freshman Nick Jordan was thrown into the starting role with the injury to expected starter and Penn State transfer Anthony Fera. The Longhorns missed two field goals and had an extra point blocked. This is something that clearly must get better. Period. You cannot leave 7 points on the field in the Big 12.
7. On the other hand, Texas finally found a guy who can kick the ball out of the end-zone on kick-offs in true freshman Nick Rose. The irony here is that with the way the Longhorns kick coverage team played last night, I am not sure that they should be kicking it out of the end zone. The new rule, which I hate, states that touchbacks will now be placed on the 25 yard-line. The Longhorns didn’t let the kick returners take it past the 15 yard-line all night. While I appreciate the reasoning behind the rule, I don’t see any reason for teams to even try to take the ball out of the end zone nor do I see a reason for teams to kick it that deep.
8. The defense was incredibly inconsistent. We’ve heard all season about this being one of the best in college football, but they didn’t show it in their season opener. They made some huge plays, including two interceptions (one on an amazing play by Kenny Vaccaro) and they held the Cowboys to 1-11 on third downs. At the same time, however, they gave up touchdown passes of 82 and 22 yards. As inconsistent as they were in the opener, I’m not too worried about this uint because I believe these are things that can easily be corrected, but as cornerback Carrington Byndom stated, they “need to get their heads out of the [football] magazines” and earn their reputation on the field.
9. Something needs to be said about the Wyoming sophomore quarterback Brett Davis. He is an outstanding QB who can make plays with both his arm and his feet. In fact, I believe he would start at most schools in the major conferences. With a group of solid wide receivers around him, not to mention some solid coaching, I expect that this Cowboy offense will make some noise in the Mountain West Conference this year.
10. Overall, the Longhorns had a decent night in their season opener. It wasn’t great yet it wasn’t terrible. Fans who are used to the 60+ point beat-downs in recent years need to understand that the new Longhorn teams, who focus more on a solid running game, aren’t built to score like that. There is certainly plenty that the team needs to work on, but there are many reasons to feel that this team will be much better than they were last season.
Up next the Longhorns host the New Mexico Lobos next Saturday night in Austin.
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