#DKR500, #HookEm: A Senior Night to Remember

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Galatians 6:9

Confession: It was the first time we've ever cried on Senior night.

Kris Boyd, Charles Omenihu, Davante Davis, P.J. Locke, Jerrod Heard, Patrick Vahe and, of course, Breckyn Hegar (in pigtails, no less!).

We've always had a soft spot for Charlie Strong's 2015 recruiting class. That was the year talent began to return to the forty acres after the drop-off in the late Mack Brown years. It's had to believe they've played their last home game at DKR.

As for the game itself, it was the most dominant performance the Longhorns have turned in all season.  Following Oklahoma State's upset over West Virginia, Texas controlled its own fate.  They responded accordingly.

Sam Ehlinger continues to play like a monster.  He passed for one touchdown and ran for another.  His early game rhythm with Colin Johnson was a sight to behold.  Unfortunately, he sat out the second half due to injury.

But Shane Buchele didn't miss a beat.  He literally didn't have an incomplete pass the entire night.  Where Sam connected with Colin, Shane connected with Lil'Jordan Humphrey (including for one touchdown and several other impressive plays).

Speaking of Lil'Jordan, that guy's a superstar.  He needs to come back for senior year.  Right now, he's probably a mid-round draft pick, but a monster senior season would catapult him into the first or second round.  He should learn from Malik's mistake, wait a year, and make real money.

Tre Watson and Keontay Ingram deserve credit.  They've become a phenomenal duo.  Having a pair of backs who can bust 25 yards on any given play does wonders for your passing game.

Also, Breckyn totally had a sack in the second quarter.

Beyond the game was the atmosphere at DKR.  Electric doesn't cover it.  Unreal might be the place to start.

During the fourth quarter, they played "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey.  Beginning with the student section, everybody used the flashlights on their phones to light up DKR.  Unfortunately, we were too busy enjoying the moment to capture video.  To understand what it was like, check out this author's twitter feed and watch any video we retweeted with the phrase "chills."

Bottom Line: This season has had its ups and downs.  But it's had a lot more ups, and a lot fewer downs, than any recent season.  With one game to go, we're masters of our own fate.  And it feels good.

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Westlake High's Finest: Breckyn and Sam embrace
 following their final home game as teammates.

Until Chris Warren starts getting 25+ carries per game, the Longhorns aren't serious....

“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,"
Isaiah 1:18 (a)

It began during the K-State game, when a friend sent the following message:

Why doesn’t Warren get 25-30 carries a game? That size punishes a defense.

Because we were coming off a win, we didn't originally give it a lot of thought.  But following two more losses, the question does beg to be asked: Why isn't Chris Warren getting 25-30 carries per game?!?  That size does punish a defense.

Horns 24/7 on Saturday's Oklahoma State game:

The Longhorns squandered what Herman called a “monumental effort by our defense” due to the offense tallying only 283 total yards through four regulation quarters and an overtime period. Texas averaged only 4.1 yards per play, was doubled-up in first downs compared to the Cowboys (26-13), averaged just 1.3 yards per rush as a team (33 carries, 42 net yards), and moved the sticks on third down at a 3-for-17 clip.

That's pretty brutal; it's made all the more brutal by the fact that the offense performed that abysmally while Warren only got 12 carries.

When we originally planned this post, we were going to write about how the coaching staff's lack of confidence in the running game was making Sam Ehlinger very predictable.  But now Ehlinger has a concussion and is out indefinitely.  Unfortunately, Ehlinger's concussion is a the predictable consequence of the coaching staff's refusal to give Warren the ball more often.

Observe Warren's workload so far this season:

He hasn't had more than 16 carries in a game.

It doesn't take a genius to see how this works: Warren gets a bunch more carries between the tackles.  The defenses respond by loading up the middle.  This creates room on the outside for Colin Johnson, Jerrod Heard, Dorian Leonard, Armanti Foreman, Reggie Hemphill-Mapps (assuming he's healthy) and John Burt to bust big plays.

But until the offense establishes an interior running game, those receivers will consistently receive double coverage.

The biggest shame is that the defense is starting to emerge as a genuinely elite unit.  Holding an Oklahoma State offense led by a genuine Heisman contender at Quarterback to 10 points is an impressive accomplishment.  But it'll all remain for naught until the offense gets in gear.

And the obvious step 1 for getting the offense in gear is a power running game, for which Chris Warren is the obvious candidate to lead.

Bottom Line: Tom Herman says he has confidence in the offensive coaching staff, but if they can't figure out that 6-4, 250 lbs, running backs wear out defenses then they deserve to be fired.

Longhorn results (finally) beginning to match potential!!!

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Galatians 6:9

We'll get to the kicking game, but otherwise we were very content with what we saw in last night's double overtime victory over an always difficult Kansas State team.

While neither was perfect, both the offense and the defense turned in solid performances against a challenging opponent.  The defense gave up a few big plays, but also stepped up and made several other plays when they had to.  On offense, Sam Ehlinger and a multi-faceted running game continue to impress.

But, unfortunately, there's the kicking game.  Junior Kicker Joshua Rowland missed two fourth quarter field goals.  Had Rowland hit either, overtime would have been avoided.  While the rest of the team stepped up during overtime, this was an unnecessary risk to an otherwise encouraging performance.

And it's not like this is a new issue.  Rowland is now 4 for 9 kicking field goals this season.  And this follows on the debacles we've seen recently with Trent Domingue and Nick Rose.  This has been a problem for several seasons and we have no idea why it hasn't been addressed.

That being said, it's also worth noting that the mistakes never spiraled out of control.  When they were made, they were acknowledged and contained.  That, right there, is the difference between Tom Herman and Charlie Strong.

Finally, we don't have time to go into detail, but props to the following: Chris Warren, Kyle Porter, Toneil Carter, Reggie Hemphill-Mapps, Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Jerrod Heard, Malik Jefferson, Breckyn Hegar, while punter Michael Dickson remain a freak of nature!!!

Bottom Line: If they can get the kicking issues resolved, this team can be dangerous!!!

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