Turnovers and penalties on the Longhorns were crucial to the effectiveness of the Commodores on Saturday.
The No. 6 Texas Longhorns narrowly avoided disaster on the road, holding off the Vanderbilt Commodores to stay in the SEC Championship race and go into the season’s second bye week in the win column. Vanderbilt came into the game with a recipe for an upset, one they had used perfectly in the previous two weeks, and Texas seemed willing to play its part in helping them accomplish that goal.
Texas: 10 penalties, 108 yards
One of the biggest keys to successful road performances is limiting preventable mistakes on offense, but Texas couldn’t get out of their own way. Offensively, it felt like every time they started to build momentum, a yellow flag arrested that momentum and kept the game ugly. Up 14-7 in the first half, Quintrevion Wisner broke a big run that put Texas in the Vandy red zone, but the play was erased by a holding call, arresting the momentum of the drive. Thankfully, the Texas defense responded with a three and out, and in a rare show of complementary football Texas scored on the ensuing drive.
Four of Texas’s offensive penalties came on first downs, nullifying 30 total yards and pulling two first downs off the board. On the other side of the field, three of the Longhorns’ four defensive penalties resulted in Vanderbilt first downs, including a Manny Muhammad pass interference call that gifted the Commodores a first down, which they turned into a touchdown. On the ensuing drive, as Texas tried once again to put distance between them and Vandy, Texas converted on a 3rd and 1, but the play was erased by a penalty. On the replay, Ewers was sacked, forcing a Texas punt.
Quinn Ewers: 27-37, 288 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
After spending much of the year on the Heisman watch and in line for a favorable draft position, quarterback Quinn Ewers has faced struggles over the last two weeks. The third-year starter turned in his third career multi-interception game, the first of which Texas managed to win. The turnovers require context, as a combination of impressive individual plays and scouting from the Commodores put them in a position to force those errors.
Whether because of the injury or his recent struggles, Ewers has seemingly regressed to a combination of holding onto the ball and relying on short passes to create offense. He finished the day with 21 of his 37 targets coming five yards or shorter, including 12 at or behind the line of scrimmage. That range obviously accounted for most of his production on the day, with 167 of his 288 yards representing that target space.
Total defense: 269 total yards (114 rushing, 155 passing)
For the second week in a row, the defense did the best job they could, starting several of their drives in the shadow of their own end zone and defending a short field. Two of Vanderbilt’s three touchdowns came following interceptions, traveling just 69 yards combined on those two touchdown drives. If you add in an errant punt that gave the Commodores the ball on the Texas 36-yard line, their first three scoring drives covered a total of just 98 yards for 17 points.
The defense has held all eight opponents to less than 300 yards, setting themselves up for one of the most successful defensive outings in recent memory. In the first three years under Pete Kwiatkowski, the defense put together just 11 sub-300 games defensively, a number they’re well on the way to doubling this season.
Texas now goes into the much-needed bye week with a lot to work on, facing four games that determine if they can meet their goals in their first year of SEC play.