Crunch Time: Analyzing Texas’ third-down and red-zone performance vs. Florida

The Longhorns raced out to a huge lead. How did key performance areas play into the big margin?

This past Saturday, the then-No. 5 Texas Longhorns secured their fourth SEC victory in decisive fashion, taking care of the Florida Gators, 49-17, as the Longhorns offense raced out to a 35-0 halftime lead before cruising for the remaining two quarters.

Quarterback Quinn Ewers looked composed and deliberate in the pocket behind a first-class gameplan from head coach Steve Sarkisian that schemed pass catchers wide open. Ewers finished the day with 333 yards and five touchdowns. As a team, the Longhorns tallied 12 plays of 20-plus yards.

Games that get out of hand so early can be difficult to scrutinize with a fine-tooth comb. Nonetheless, in this week’s edition of Crunch Time, we’ll break down Texas’ performance on third downs and in the red zone.

Third downs

5-of-11 (45.5 percent)

Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Texas converted 45.5 percent of its third-down chances, nearly identical to the season conversion rate of 46.5 percent. However, the story underlying these numbers is that Texas was just 1-of-5 (20.0 percent) in the first half. Rarely is it possible for a team have just one third-down conversion while racing out to a 35-point lead. While this demonstrates the talent of the Texas offense and how well the ball was moving early in the chains, it does raise the question — what went wrong on third down?

In the first quarter, the recipe for third-down failure remained unchanged from previous weeks. Texas fell behind the chains, creating third and long that led a collapsed pocket and failure to convert.

Leading up to the first third down of the game, the offense was rolling — the Longhorns had four first downs in five plays and were threatening with a 1st and 10 at the UF 23-yard line.

On first down, the Longhorns opted for a swing pass towards the field to running back Quintrevion Wisner, who began in the backfield and swung towards three perimeter blockers — wide receivers Isaiah Bond and Matthew Golden and H-back Juan Davis.

While this play gained seven yards, the potential for more is palpable. Sarkisian had secured a personnel advantage in space — Wisner had to outrun a linebacker in man coverage while each blocker took care of a secondary defender. If either Davis or Bond had maintained their block for long enough for Wisner to pass through, he could have scored.

At the time, a seven-yard first down gain felt like a win for the Longhorns. When evaluated under the Crunch Time microscope, it becomes clear how more the play could have gone for. Especially with the benefit of hindsight and how the rest of the drive played out, the takeaway is clear — Texas has to capitalize when they can, otherwise things can go south quickly.

Following the swing play, the Longhorns rushed for a seven-yard loss on 2nd and 3 when Wisner gave ground on a broken play, setting up a 3rd and 10 that led to Texas burning a timeout and taking a sack. The sack set up a 51-yard field goal for kicker Bert Auburn that missed right.

The third-down sack of Ewers continues an unfavorable trend of pressure getting to the quarterback on third down. In this instance, Florida loosely disguised a Cover 2 Man look on the back end while only rushing four. They were able to get home thanks to a weakside T/E stunt that Texas right guard DJ Campbell and right tackle Cam Williams were unable to properly diagnose, pass off, and dispose of.

It appears that Campbell was a step late in diagnosing and thus reacting to the incoming stunt. His attention from the snap was caught by the tackle and remained with the tackle for too long. By the time he reacted to the looping edge, it was too late.

Without knowing the protection call, it is difficult to precisely determine the reasoning for the poor handoff. It’s possible Campbell thought he had help from Majors or Wisner. Regardless, Ewers did not have enough time and the drive ended up without points.

Texas faced another 3rd and 10 on the very next drive. Once again, pressure from Florida dictate the play, although this time, Ewers scrambled for nine yards.

The chess match between coaches was on full display from each play call on this third down. After the previous third-down sack, Sarkisian opted for a much heavier protection package with tight end Gunnar Helm aiding Campbell and Williams on the right side while Jaydon Blue, the best pass-blocking back, chipped on his way out of the backfield.

Meanwhile, Florida lined up six defenders on the line of scrimmage before rolling into zone coverage on the back end with a four-man rush. Both pairs of tackles and edges stunted.

This exchange demonstrates the back and forth between play callers. Texas opted for more protection and shaded it to the right side while Florida added a stunt and changed the coverage.

With heavy protection and just three routes, no receiver was able to find enough daylight for Ewers to deliver, giving the Florida front four enough time to collapse the pocket. After his scramble, Texas converted a 4th and 1 deep in their own territory in a bold decision by Sarkisian.

The third-down failures for the starting Texas offense continued in the second quarter. In a familiar trend, miscues on early downs put Texas in tough situations. In this case, a holding penalty called on left tackle Kelvin Banks help create 3rd and 20. A drop on first down and errant third-down throw derailed a different drive.

The lone conversion of the first half was a thing of beauty. Facing 3rd and 7, Ewers and Bond connected for a big gain. With the ball on the left hash, Sarkisian loaded Bond and DeAndre Moore Jr. into the boundary while Florida rushed four and played zone.

Bond showed his elite speed and crisp route-running ability on this play. Starting at the base of the numbers, Bond was able to stem inside and sell vertical. The UF safety, even with an 11-yard head start, bought the vertical sell in all of its entirety, respecting the deep threat of Bond so much that he opened his hips. This temporary change in stance gave Bond a huge window of space which he accelerated into using a speed cut before rounding out the route. He secured the first down catch with a toe tap.

This route by Bond demonstrates his NFL-caliber abilities while highlighting how he can alter a defense — Bond’s top-end speed can blow the lid off a defense, meaning any time he is on the field, an opposing team’s safeties are being stretched vertically. This creates an endless combination of route concepts and formations to score points by taking advantage of that deep threat.

On the delivery side of this conversion, Ewers looked composed and athletic in the pocket. After taking his drop, Ewers felt the pressure from his left and naturally maneuvered towards the vacated area. He kept his eyes downfield with his base underneath him throughout the play and delivered a strong throw.

Ewers was eventually pulled in the third quarter after throwing his fifth touchdown of the game.

In the second half, Texas converted 4-of-6 third downs (66.7 percent), including going 3-of-4 (75.0 percent) in the fourth quarter.

The performance against Florida moved Texas’ third-down conversion rate to 45.6 percent, an increase from the 38.4-percent conversion rate last year. The Longhorns currently rank 18th in the country and fourth in the SEC in third-down conversion rate.

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Red zone

Four attempts, two TD, one missed FG, one game-ending kneel

Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images

Texas scored touchdowns on two red-zone trips while missing a long field goal and kneeling the ball to end the game.

As mentioned previously, the failed field goal occurred at the end of a drive that appeared promising, but was quickly derailed. Facing 2nd and 3, Texas lost 16 yards over the next two plays, had to burn a timeout, and ultimately left Auburn with a more difficult attempt.

Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Auburn has struggled this year, facing fewer opportunities and longer kicks. Through nine games, he has attempted only nine field goals total, with just three attempts under 40 yards. The missed field goal on Saturday was Auburn’s first attempt from beyond 50 yards this season and would have slotted as the second longest of his career.

Excluding the final red-zone drive, where Texas kneeled to end the game, that leaves two red-zone trips worth analyzing, both of which resulted in rushing touchdowns for the Longhorns.

The first of these two drives capped an already impressive first half for the Longhorns. Thanks to an interception by freshman linebacker Ty’Anthony Smith, Ewers and company set up shop at the UF 45-yard line. With just two completions, Ewers had moved the offense to the UF 5-yard line.

Sarkisian didn’t need to dial up something diabolical — outside zone worked just fine. Behind the right side of the offensive line and Helm, Blue found a crease that led to six points.

Even with time winding down in the first half, Sarkisian trusted his bread and butter running play of outside zone. Helm delivered a key block on a double team, opening up just enough space for Blue to cut up field for six.

The final red-zone trip for the Longhorns took place at the end of the third quarter with the score 42-10 in favor of Texas. A 12-yard gallop by freshman Jerrick Gibson brought the ball to the UF 18-yard line.

With backup quarterback Arch Manning at the helm, Sarkisian started the red-zone series with a quick screen into the boundary as Manning swung the ball to freshman Ryan Wingo, who used a Helm block for a free four yards. In this scenario, Sarkisian used a formation with specific personnel to steal a few yards on first down. So long as Helm handled the corner, Florida would not have enough defenders to stop the play from gaining several yards at minimum.

Now facing 2nd and 6 from the UF 14-yard line, Sarkisian handed the ball to Gibson, who went virtually untouched into the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the year. Gibson showcased his vision and speed, while the offensive line flexed their might to pave the way.

After seeing the intended hole on the play wasn’t fully cleared out, Gibson cut the ball up field off the left side the offensive line. His vision found the empty space and he had enough speed to take advantage of it. For the line, they continued to exert their will on the Florida front seven. Having a clean run from inside the red zone that ends in the end zone is hard to do, regardless of score, opponent, or time remaining.

For Gibson, the opportunity on this play — and others against Florida — are a testament to his patience and team-first mindset. Gibson, a Tallahassee native, led Texas with a touchdown on career highs in yards (100) and attempts (16).

After bursting onto the scene in the first few weeks of the season thanks to injuries and situational running styles, the freshman has been sidelined as of late, rushing for just 17 yards in the previous four games after accruing 210 rushing yards in the first four.

With Wisner and Blue fully healthy, the staff had elected to keep Gibson away from the field to ensure Texas had enough scholarship running backs should someone go down. Despite this choice and the lack of playing time, Gibson showed he was ready to be called on. While the true freshman did fumble, his performance on Saturday once again reaffirmed the he runs the ball with speed, vision, and physicality.

Gibson’s role moving forward will likely return to that of previous weeks. Nonetheless, as demonstrated against Florida, he is an asset on the field, especially in the red zone.

For the season, Texas has scored 31 touchdowns on 43 red-zone attempts in addition to five red-zone field goals makes for an overall scoring rate of 83.7 percent, which is tied for 79th in the country. At 72.1 percent, however, the touchdown rate for the Longhorns is up from an abysmal 50.8 percent last year, and ranks 22nd nationally.