Well, this certainly wasn’t the best game the Texas Longhorns have ever played, especially in the beginning, but when it was all said and done, the outcome was more or less what was expected.
Texas took a double-digit win over a solid UTSA Roadrunners squad and was in control throughout the fourth quarter. Here are some first thoughts of the Horns’ 38-20 win over the Roadrunners.
Texas needed Bijan Robinson to be Bijan Robinson, and he was. With Quinn Ewers out and Hudson Card stumbling, Texas could certainly have used a big night from Robinson, and he delivered, turning 20 carries into 183 yards and three touchdowns, including a career-long 78-yard dash to give Texas a 24-17. giving edge and a 41-yard touchdown burst to effectively end the game with Texas leading 38-20 in the fourth. At key moments he was vintage Bijan, and the Longhorns could very well be 2-1 and not 1-2 as a result. He finished with 202 total yards.
Roschon Johnson continues to prove why he is such a valuable member of this team. Not that anything he’s doing right now comes as a surprise, but on a night with Robinson as the headliner, Johnson kept the offensive wheels churning multiple times, mostly through sheer toughness and willpower. Johnson was the best backup in the country, finishing with 14 total touches for 104 yards and one receiving touchdown.
The Texas defense reacted to a particularly rough start. Just to be sure, Pete Kwiatkoski’s defense will get some heat during film reviews for their first-half performance, bringing a 20-play scoring drive, a 65-yard touchdown drive, and a quick touchdown attack on a trick play en route to a deficit. from 17-7. But after that point midway through the second quarter, they were a much improved group. UTSA’s next three drives ended with a punt, and while the defense sacrificed another long field goal, the next time they reacted to an important point with a Jahdae Barron pick-six when UTSA trailed just 24-20. The next timeout they overcame a horrendous targeting call on a DeMarvion Overshown sack in third, eventually coming off the field in fourth and inches to hold UTSA scoreless in the second half. Obviously there will be a lot to improve on, mainly missed tackles and some covering errors, but Steve Sarkisian and PK will certainly be happy with the response from the defence, especially after the slow start.
Texas will need Quinn Ewers back ASAP. First, just to be clear, a bumpy Hudson card held up more than its holding, helping to develop a handful of scoring drives where the offense relied heavily on short passes and ground play. He finished his night 15-of-23 for 161 yards and one touchdown, adding another 35 yards on two carries, but the offense is clearly a little handicapped and one-dimensional without Ewers simply because Card doesn’t have any of the natural gifts that Ewers has – accuracy in the field, anticipation, arm strength, etc. Given those limitations, teams will turn their ears back and force Texas to beat them through the air, just like Alabama and UTSA did, and like we’ve seen It just won’t be a recipe for too much success without the added stress.
Jeff Traylor is building a great program in San Antonio. UTSA is clearly a team with talent, but more than that, to throw some early haymakers with a Texas team that is naturally more talented, you have to be confident, disciplined, tough and play the way you think you’re going to win . The Roadrunners were all that on Saturday night. And while Texas typically gets the team’s best shot, this wasn’t a case of a UTSA team far exceeding expectations — they’re legitimately good again and continue to turn out to be a program in a rush.
#thoughts #Texas #win #UTSA