Good finish to the year, Ian is satisfied
Some quick thoughts on that crazy game.
-That was a legit win
The trolls of the journalism profession were salivating over the possibility of Charlie's squad blowing that lead and losing that game under an avalanche of Baylor single-wing runs but it didn't happen. The troops maintained their composure, held on, and the DL in particular made some big plays to put that game on ice.
Was Texas lucky to play a team with only one healthy QB on the roster? Of course! But you still have to take advantage, and you'd be hard pressed to argue that Baylor still wasn't a better team overall.
To Baylor: What's that? You've been forced to play an athlete at QB who can barely throw a bubble screen reliably? Welcome to our entire season. At least you weren't playing freshman at both linebacker positions trying to learn how to stop a new offense on the sideline in between season-defining drives.
-Contextually, this season for Texas didn't turn out so bad
Consider that Oklahoma won the Big 12 by virtue of playing Baylor in their 2nd game post-Russell, TCU after they lost Boykin, and they beat OSU with Rudolph going down early in the game.
Oklahoma had a good team this year but they had everything fall into place for them in terms of their own injuries and injuries to other teams.
Conversely, Texas dealt with tons of injuries. They played Notre Dame on the road to start the year when an Irish team that may have been the best in the country was at full strength. They lost to Cal, OSU, and Tech by a combined seven points. They finished the year with two wins over top 15 opponents, both of the games taking place away from DKR.
When you look at the big picture, which includes a Texas team without an answer at QB, with true freshman comprising over half of the impact players, and with the best player (Hassan Ridgeway) beginning and finishing the year slowed by injuries...not that bad a season.
Would it have been a much better season if Charlie had better staff in place on offense starting in the offseason? Yes. But still not a horrific season overall for a young rebuilding team. This team could make a leap and become a quality team next season, maybe a great one the year after.
-Boyette and Ford for the win
Yes, Texas surrendered the first down to Baylor on a crucial 4th down, but then Poona Ford caught the LB from behind and stripped the ball without apparent effort. Then dived after it and recovered it himself.
Boyette's tackle for loss where he nearly killed the Baylor tailback on the Bears' final drive was the final knockout blow in what was a chippy and physical game throughout.
Texas' players clearly despise Baylor and look down on them with resentment and bitterness while the Bears still have a huge chip on their shoulders and hate OU and Texas for refusing to show them the respect they feel they've earned. There was a lot of emotion in that game, this is the contest that Texas should be playing on Thanksgiving week (I know, I know
@srr50, not on Thanksgiving day itself) because this is the in-state team that Texas has a legitimate rivalry with right now.
Both teams were playing with a ton of pride and both had some moral victories today.
-Why Baylor's comeback almost worked and why Vance Bedford shouldn't be fired
The idea that a defensive staff, which is largely overseen by Charlie, should be fired a year after turning Mack's disaster of a defense into a top 10 unit nationally is pretty silly. It doesn't matter if your jerseys say "Texas" and your recruiting classes have single digit numbers next to them, freshmen are still freshmen.
When Baylor overhauled their offense and turned it into a Kansas State, single-wing/wildcat offense during freaking halftime with the level of talent they have...it was going to be a tall order for Texas to adjust quickly in response.
Compounding this issue was the fact that Texas was rolling out true freshmen Anthony Wheeler and Breckyn "Van" Hager along with Tim Cole and a thawed out Ed Freeman at LB. No Dylan Haines behind them to help make adjustments or clean up errors and later in the game no Jason Hall either.
Despite what you may have heard on Twitter, Baylor wasn't just running one play over and over again, and the plays they were running had multiple lanes that their RBs were attacking. It was a brilliant display by Baylor, essentially running K-State's offense better than the Wildcats have run it themselves in a few years. It's very hard for young LBs to fill all the potential lanes, especially with a speedy and hard-running tailback in there like Johnny Jefferson.
The common complaint was that Texas should load the box, but the fact of the matter was that mistakes and creases were still likely to occur, and then what happens? Six points instead of six yards.
Texas had to try and wrap it up instead by having Elliott, another true freshman, overlap the LBs and fill gaps behind them while Duke Thomas and DBs playing off coverage to erase mistakes and forced Baylor to work their way down the field. The response from Texas' defensive staff wasn't as bad as Twitter made it out to be.
Alright, now go hire an OC, bring in another great recruiting class that includes a JUCO QB, and get to work on building a winning team for 2016.
