Tony Thomas
Author
Bevo was so uneasy with the performance of the Texas Longhorns’ offense on Saturday, he took a dump on the sidelines in protest.
In the first half against the UTEP Miners, the Longhorns avoided the end zone like it was the Texas A&M prayer breakfast. Arch Manning’s two quarterback touchdown runs are the only evidence that Texas played in the first half. The stagnant Longhorns converted just one third down on nine tries in the first half.
Manning’s first half stat line: 5 of 16 (33 percent), 69 yards, the two aforementioned rushing scores and an INT.
The Miners’ offense looked equally anemic and managed only a field goal in the first 30 minutes of play. The score was 14-3 at the half.
Manning was off on his throws for the majority of the game. He finished 11 of 25 for 44 percent. He didn’t throw a touchdown pass until the fourth quarter (to Ryan Wingo). In between, he was underthrowing, overthrowing (on a deep ball to Parker Livingstone in the end zone) and out of sync with his receivers.
For a team whose running back room looks like a M.A.S.H. unit, the Longhorns sure called a ton of running plays against the Miners.
Running back CJ Baxter got hurt on the first play of the game and he limped off the field. He did not return. Quintrevion Wisner sat out the game. Manning took off and ran more times than he should have. I don’t think you want Manning as one of your leaders in rushing touchdowns and average yards per carry (5.7) in a single game.
The Miners finally scored a touchdown late in the game and the final score was 27-10.
Against Conference USA member UTEP, the play calling was conservative. This was an opportunity to open up the offense and improve on some things. Penalties and turnovers reared their ugly heads again.
In victory, it wasn’t pretty. The word of day was inconsistency. Does the modern-day collegiate athlete pale in comparison to the great varsity players of the past? At times, it begs the question to be asked, what are these Texas kids thinking about because it’s not football.
TJ Chapman
Lead Columnist, Editor
Week 4 in the Group of 5 features three games that are conference matchups. The games below from Conference USA and the MAC, while not conference games, are against other Group of 5 squads. Sadly, the best game in the Group of 5 this weekend will be missed by most of the country. It starts […]
TJ Chapman
Lead Columnist, Editor
Week 2 was a very good week for the Group of 5. There were upsets of Power-4 programs, such as West Virginia losing at Ohio. But the major upset of the day came when USF stunned the Florida Gators 18-16 in Gainesville, FL. If USF can ride this wave of momentum, the Bulls will be […]
Tony Thomas
Author
The Miners are 0-6 against the Longhorns with an average margin of defeat of 36 points per loss
