Postgame React: Texas Longhorns-33, Iowa State Cyclones-7

A great tribute to DKR on the field and off of it. An easy 26 point win didn't fully reflect the dominance of this Texas effort. Texas more than doubled up Iowa State in yardage (609-277) and owned them in every facet of the game, save special teams.

I thought we'd win, but didn't think it would be this easy.

Offense

• The opening wishbone double pass was sweet. We motion out the FB, run a double pass to Shipley, and hit Greg Daniels for big yardage on Bryan Harsin's flashy version of 53 Veer Pass - great tribute while still honoring our own identity. Very cool
• David Ash started sizzling (15 of 16 for 233 in the 1st half) and finished 25 of 31 for 364 yards and 2 TDs with no INTs. He threw all over the field with great confidence and really only had two balls he'd like to have again. He's legitimately in the conversation as an All-Big 12 QB
• 0 turnovers. 8 of 14 on 3rd down
• The running game was steady and strong throughout. 45-222 yards and 4.9 yards per carry despite no carry longer than 16 yards. That means a ton of productive runs. Joe Bergeron looked very fresh - making some decisive cuts and imposing his physical will - and Gray continued his high level of play. We gave Brown the 4th quarter and he's on his way to working his way back into our staff's good graces
• The WRs dominated, as predicted. ISU's CBs, once isolated, can't make a play on a quality WR. Davis and Shipley each went over 100. Loved seeing Greg Daniels grab two balls for 62 yards. He will improve massively this offseason.
• The OL probably deserves aggregate player of the game. Espinosa was outstanding for the 2nd straight week and we had only 1-2 miscues of note.
• Harsin's play-calling was incredibly aggressive. Inside of our 20 and all over the field. Constant deep balls out of running formations on 1st down and relentless pressure on the defense. Fans will nitpick his 4th and 1 pass call to DJ Grant, but I think you may be missing the larger point. This is about mindset
• 77 plays for 609 yards of offense is doing what you want, when you want

Defense

• A solid game against a shoddy ISU offense. Still, we continue to minimize early stunt games and we saved our pressure for 3rd down while running man coverage on ISU's awful WRs
• Some great snaps from Peter Jinkens. I believe he had the start, unless I'm mistaken
• Both of our interceptions came from pressure, bad throws, and layering coverage defense. I said before the game that there was simply no excuse to allow the Clones a passing play >25 yards and that's how it played out
• Josh Turner has a little something. He's playing fast and confident
• Generally excellent play by the secondary. Jantz was 15 of 29 for 133, 1 td, 2 int and we got better as they got more predictable. We patiently allowed underneath stuff and never conceded anything over the top
• ISU 3 of 12 on 3rd down. No big plays allowed. ISU's longest play of the day went for 23 yards. That's how you hold someone to 7 points
• I laughed on the series where Byndom had his pick when we ran a LB/D stunt on 1st down. ISU gashed it for 13 yards. The good news is that I can count the re-occurrence of that on one hand for the rest of the game. Diaz gets it now, but sometimes he can't help himself
• Don't get carried away with our D improvements. Yes, we're substantially better because now we're more sound, but TCU will be a challenge

Special Teams

• Fera left four points on the field and was benched for Rose, who kicked well
• Lost some field position battles on kick returns
• Didn't win this phase but total domination on offense and a winning performance on defense kept it from burning us

Final

I'll have more in-depth thoughts later, but this was a very good win for Texas. Sound defense, wide open, dominant offense, and we came ready to play from the first snap of the game. I don't know if celebrating DKR gave our players focus and clarity, but he'd be proud of the effort.