The Texas Longhorns began the post-Colt McCoy era in a very inconsistent fashion. At times Texas’ defense looked absolutely clueless on the field, while at other times it looked to be the top-tier defense it has been billed as. Texas’ offense had similar problems throughout the game, with horrific memories of the 1st half of the 2010 National Championship game, where offensive coordinator Greg Davis continuously ran ultra-conservative plays that resulted in 3-and-outs.
The Longhorns did walk away with a lot of positives from this preseason-esque game, primarily the growth of the running game. Texas ran for a total of 197 yards (4.3 ypc), which is a drastic improvement from last season, when they averaged just 154 ypg. The other positives include kicker Justin Tucker having a far bigger leg than Big XII championship game hero Hunter Lawrence, and the Texas defensive line appearing to have some depth.
Grades
Here are my grades for the first game of the year for the Texas Longhorns:
- Offense: B
- Defense: B
- Special teams: D
- Overall: B-
