Author and #1 Mr. Nasty Professor Larry Carlson
TEXAS O-LINE NEEDS TO GET NASTY
by Larry Carlson for texaslsn.org https://
Will Texas be able to win in the Horns' final home game as a Big XII member? Nothing at stake but a last chance to get into the conference title game, with a possible trip to the College Football Playoff still alive.
Will the guys in burnt orange on Black Friday Night keep Longhorn
Nation's collective nerves and blood pressure on ER watch, yet again? Probably.
The Texas offense has relied on carrot-topped kicker Bert Auburn as the winning margin too often lately, in games they should have won handily. Auburn has been money. Nailed three big field goals at Iowa State along with his lone PAT attempt. Sure enough, UT won by ten. But a team with Texas-sized talent shouldn't put it all on a kicker.
After eleven games, my assessment of the Horns offense comes back to one consistent trouble spot. Lack of an O-line push, much less a truck-size hole, on short yardage situations has restrained the Texas attack. The veteran unit of large human beings has mostly been excellent at pass protection and will need to maintain that guard duty for Quinn Ewers Friday night. But the O-line has puzzled this writer all season, as it has done for several years, with shortcomings in short yardage situations.
The Longhorn Network's Brian Robison, stalwart D-lineman for the '05 champs and a longtime hoss with the Vikings, has called the O-line's problem a lack of want-to and attitude.
When I contacted a former all-conference Longhorn offensive lineman about the Horns' red zone Achilles heel up front, he did not mince words. "The best guys in there want to not only block you, they want to embarrass you in front of your family, your girlfriend, your brother, and those 100,000 fans," he railed. "You find those guys, you win. That takes heart and love and something few have. It's hard business. But it's real business," he summed up.
Yep, it was refreshing to hear the cold, hard facts of life up front, from an expert source. The standouts at O-line play are always cerebral guys who understand the chess match part of football very well but also possess a killer instinct with a major in nastiness.
Texas fans can hope some nasty is aimed at Texas Tech come Friday evening at DKR. Last year in Lubbock, the Raiders displayed moxie and meanness, especially in the second half. Down 14 late in the third, Tech converted on third and fourth down so many times that the Raiders ended up running 100 plays on a tiring Texas defense and won in overtime.
CJ Baxter, Keilan Robinson and the Blue-Red combo, Jaydon Blue and Savion Red, supply the Horns with an overflow of talent at running back. Baxter, a five-star freshman, looked the part in Ames, replacing the injured Jonathan Brooks and cashing in for his first 100-yard game. But the men up front just have to create more than a little daylight when it comes to short yardage and red zone necessities.
I'm thinking again about something the decorated former Texas O-line texted me late last week: "Me and my line mates fought hard. We wanted to win and bleep them up. Every day was 'I'm gonna hammer your ass. And I'm gonna do it again.'" Michigan did that to Penn State recently, not passing even once in the second half while they manhandled the Nittany Lions. It was masterful.
Longhorn Nation awaits that attitude and that performance. Texas needs it now. Time for the Horns to remember that back in August, the Big XII commish himself delivered a clear message that he -- and perhaps the whole league -- does not want UT heading east for greener SEC pastures with a conference title. Brett Yormark told Tech coach Joey McGuire and Red Raider boosters that he would be in Austin for the November matchup.
"And you'd better take care of business just like you did right here in Lubbock last year," Yormark said to the cheering bunch.