Horns247 Board

Big win for the psyche of the Longhorns.

The Horns went in to Lubbock and took care of business.

Yes, there were mistakes during the game, but the Horns played one of their best games of the year today.

It was a workman-like effort for Texas, the kind that has been too few and far between the last three years.

The Horns stepped up and made the plays when they counted the most.

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The game ball goes to Carrington Byndom.

It was a game of redemption for the junior from Lufkin. He had four passes defended, including two in the end zone and another in the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt.

To top it all off, he blocked Texas Tech's final field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter. The block gave Texas the ball back with a two-score lead. The offense then ran the ball seven consecutive plays to close the game out.

No question Byndom was the player for the game for the Horns.

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On offense, two players deserve game balls IMO - Johnathan Gray and Mike Davis.

Gray's explosive runs gave Texas life in the fourth quarter after the offense was mired down in the third period.

Davis caught two deep balls in the first half, one for a touchdown. And capped his performance off with another touchdown with just 9:14 left in the game.

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Tommy Tuberville should be kicking himself. Going for two in the third quarter proved to be the wrong move and that decision was 100-percent on the head coach.

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Texas played the run much better against the Red Raiders than I expected them to.

Why?

Well, first and foremost the Horns drastically reduced the number of stunts they used with the interior of their line.

The Horns, both the linebackers and safeties, still did not play with great run leverage throughout the afternoon, but at least they had a shot given the lack of stunts.

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Texas did not get much pressure on Seth Doege. Even when they blitzed, the Horns just did not do much to deter Doege.

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Did your heart skip a beat when Anthony Fera pegged the left upright on the extra point attempt?

A miss would have made it an 8-point game, essentially a one-TD and one conversion game, instead of 9 points (two scores).

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Texas Tech had the ball down 24-22 early in the fourth quarter. On a third-and-two, Steve Edmond made a phenomenal play in pass defense.

That play forced Tech to punt and the Horns got the ball back and went and scored.

Clutch play by Edmond because the Red Raiders really had the momentum.

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Texas did not use swing passes to either Daje Johnson or DJ Monroe.

When Ash was struggling during the third quarter, those kind of quick passes could have helped him get his confidence back and put the ball in the hands of fast players.

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Joe Bergeron scored the only rushing touchdown but Johnathan Gray is the team's No. 1 running back. The baton has been passed.

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Texas shot itself in the foot in the second half. There was the hold against Josh Cochran that brought back a big pass play to Jaxon Shipley. That Texas drive eventually stalled out.

Greg Daniels had a false start that put Texas into a 1st and 15 situation but Texas eventually scored on the pass in the 4th to Davis.

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Texas Tech won't be asking why holding was called against them on the fourth-quarter run that would have been a TD.

Alex Okafor was basically tackled.

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When Cedric Reed bumped Seth Doege close to the boundary and the back judge threw the flag, I felt like I was watching Anthony Hicks all over again.

This time, the refs picked up the flag. Doege, after all, didn't even fall down and Reed totally pulled off of him.

Tuberville can get mad all he wants, but it was the correct call.

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I am told that Kendall Thompson is suffering concussion-like symptoms, but he is not staying in Lubbock overnight.

He is headed back to Austin with the team. Good luck to the young man.

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The defensive tackles, as a whole, played much better against Tech than they have all season.

I don't think Tech is weak up the middle. I think it's what was asked of the defensive tackles today compared to previous games.

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The deep ball David Ash threw to Mike Davis was beautiful.

And the difference between that throw and ones earlier this year and even earlier in this game, Ash showed no hesitation.

He dropped back and let it fly.

The ball went 46 yards in the air and Davis in stride for a 75-yard touchdown.

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After Alex King pinned Texas Tech at their own 8-yard line, the Red Raiders hit four consecutive plays good for more than 10 yards each.

Tech then faced a 4th and 8 on that same drive and Doege found his receiver who had beat Adrian Phillips over the middle for 20 yards.

But the defense stiffened. Byndom had a pass break up on 3rd down forcing the field goal.

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The Longhorns got the ball back with 5:15 remaining in the fourth quarter. And ran the clock to nothing but :00s.

It was a good series of play-calling and execution by the Longhorns.

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Donald Hawkins was back in as starter this game over Luke Poehlmann, who had spelled Hawkins as starter last week.

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On Tech's first touchdown, a one-yard run, the Longhorns had just two down linemen.

I'll never understand the idea behind that. With the field condensed the Horns should be able to play man coverage and have the front seven focused completely on the run.

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Peter Jinkens and Dalton Santos both saw some action this week. Jinkens made a flash play to help Texas set up a third down.

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Byndom's big game was almost for naught.

He left the game briefly in the first quarter with what looked like a stinger and was replaced by Duke Thomas.

Thomas made a tackle on a run play his first play in the game but then was beaten for a key first down two plays later.

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Mason Walters got beat a couple of times in pass protection.

One time, the junior did not help on Dominic Espinosa's man and Tech got pressure. Another time, he was faked out on a blitz to his left and let a blitzer to his right break free to Ash.

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The wildcat remains the Horns' best short-yardage play.

Gray running short-yardage is a lot more effective than Bergeron in short-yardage.

It's not all on the running backs either. There's simply more room for error by the Longhorn blockers in the wildcat look.

That being said, Gray is much quicker to the hole than Bergeron and that matters, too.

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Mack Brown should be given credit. While the world around him looked like it was falling in on him, he stayed the course and kept the focus of his players.

The team beat Tech in Lubbock.

No, this is not a landmark victory for the program or prove the Horns are "back". But it is an important one considering that it breaks a significant streak of losses to ranked teams.

Texas did not play like they had lost its focus. I thought they might and they didn't.

Credit Mack Brown, the Texas coaching staff and the players.

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Against the Red Raiders, Texas played as physical as they have all year.

The team needs to keep its focus and play just as hard next weekend. Iowa State can beat Texas, so the Horns better not get caught napping.