It wasn’t easy or pretty, but Texas managed to come out of their first SEC road game with a win.
The No. 5 Texas Longhorns went on the road for the first time in SEC play and while it turned into an unnecessary nail-biter, they managed to walk away with a win over the No. 25 Vanderbilt Commodores. Many of the issues for Texas were self-inflicted, with penalties, missed opportunities, and a lack of complimentary football rearing their ugly heads for the second week in a row.
The line issues aren’t fixed
From quarterback Quinn Ewers playing with defenders in his face because of miscommunication to important plays nullified by penalties, the offensive line was not up to the standard the team needs and fans expected a few weeks ago. Texas saw two first downs and a collective 33 yards of plays nullified due to holding calls in addition to the penalty yardage, plus a false start and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that put Texas behind the chains on first downs.
Ewers’ interception on the first drive of the game was due to a defender that should have been accounted for putting a hand on the ball and creating a havoc play. While some of the sacks come down to the quarterback’s indecision with the ball, Ewers was brought down four times for negative-29 yards and hurried another two, causing the offense to sputter.
The defense can’t continue to play with their backs against the wall
The first time the defense took the field, they were already in the shadow of their own end zone thanks to an interception returned to the Texas 31-yard line. They lost contain on a 3rd and long, letting Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia scramble for an 18-yard touchdown to take the lead. The next points came after a three-and-out by the offense and a poor punt from Michael Kern. The Commodores then went just 29 yards and kicked a field goal as time expired in the first half to cut the lead to 11.
Vanderbilt’s first 17 points of the game covered just 98 yards of the field, just one of which started on their side of the 50-yard line. It wasn’t until their final touchdown drive of the game that they had to start deep in their own territory and turn it into points — one of just two drives longer than 40 yards on the day for the Commodores.
Complementary football has a long way to go
The Longhorns defense did their best to keep the team in this game, despite the struggles on the other side of the ball. Texas turned Vanderbilt over twice and forced four three-and-outs in the game, two of those coming on the first two opposing drives of the second half. In response, Texas had a drive sputter that ended in a field goal and saw Ewers picked off on a naked bootleg that Vanderbilt sniffed out from the snap and made a pair of incredible individual plays.
Perhaps even more frustrating for the defense is the fact that for two weeks in a row, they’ve turned the opponent over twice, but the offense couldn’t find a way to score points. It’s a much different story for Texas heading into the bye week if they are able to turn those turnovers into points.