Context

The Buckeyes had just marched on an 11-play drive that ended in a field goal to take a 6-3 with 5:39 left in the second quarter. While the Longhorn defense, as it had done for most of the year, had held near the goal line, momentum remained firmly in the favor of the Buckeyes after controlling the ball for another six minutes, bringing their advantage in time of possession to roughly 17 minutes to eight minutes for the Longhorns. Since the defense had held Ohio State to two field goals, the situation was not desperate, but a sustained drive was at the forefront of every Longhorn fans' mind.

This time, a scary beginning

On the kickoff return by Jordan Shipley, Ohio State senior cornerback Shaun Lane made the tackle, hitting Shipley hard with his shoulder, injuring himself in the process. After a lengthy delay, Lane was immobilized and carted off the field, the type of delay that leaves both teams slightly shaken and away of their football mortality, but mostly out of rhythm.

1st and 10 on Texas 25

Texas starts the drive in 0 personnel, with five wide receivers. The Buckeyes show blitz, but drop into coverage. Unable to get to McCoy, Nader Abdullah reads McCoy and bats down the pass intended for Quan Cosby coming late across the middle of the field. Nice play by the senior defensive lineman.

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Context

By deferring to the second half, the Buckeyes received the ball to start the game and the Longhorns found themselves struggling to possess the football after a three and out to start the game, followed by a stalled seven play drive on their next possessions. Down 6-3 at the start of the second half, a sustained drive became imperative, if only to keep the ball away from the Ohio State offense and give the Texas defense a rest.

Ignominious beginning

The Ohio State kicker put the ball well into the endzone on his kickoff, as Jordan Shipley stumbled backing up and found himself laying on his back with the ball in his hands, leaving Colt McCoy and the Longhorn offense 80 yards from paydirt.

1st and 10 on Texas 20

Longhorns come out in their base 11 personnel, with Fozzy Whittaker earning the starting nod for the second half. McCoy hands the ball off to Whittaker on the counter play with the guard pulling. Adam Ulatoski retreats, faking the pass block, but doesn't draw the defender far enough upfield to take him out of the play. Very strange. Whittaker gains two yards.

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Credit to Texas Tech. First of all, Texas Tech deserves a lot of credit for winning the football game. Because make no mistake, Tech won the game. Graham Harrell threw a number of passes into good coverage that had to be perfectly thrown to find the hands of the Tech receiver. And they did. Repeatedly. Many observes nationally and in Texas still wondered before the game if Harrell was just another in a long line of "system" quarterbacks at Texas. He's not. Want evidence? Do system quarterbacks lead the Heisman race late in the season? It's also no coincidence that Harrell completed that final pass to Crabtree. According Ruffin McNeil, Crabtree and Harrell work on that throw often, including for at least an hour one day during the summer. 

Many observers wondered if Mike Leach would abandon the running game, as he is known for doing. He didn't, as the Red Raiders picked up 105 yards against the Longhorns, as the two running backs averaged 4.7 (Woods) and 5.1 (Batch) yards per carry, respectively. He's also answered questions about a commitment to defense, promoting Ruffin McNeil, who has done an impressive job with the unit in about a year. Here's a prediction: A major program will finally offer Leach a first tier coaching job (it's overdue) and he will leave Lubbock.

It wasn't just the offense, however. The Tech defensive line was more talented by far than any other Tech line this century. The triumvirate of Colby Whitlock, Brandon Williams, and McKinner Dixon spent most of the game in the Texas backfield harassing Colt McCoy. The defense isn't among the handful of best defensive teams nationally, but it is one of the three best in the Big 12 (Texas, OSU, Tech, in no particular order). 

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Gary Danielson goes Schlabach on Colt McCoy. Apparently, being no. 1 means the national punditry makes ill-considered statements about that football team. In a word, goes all Schlabach on you, while slobbering all over Georgia's Matthew Stafford. Take it away Gary Danielson (and remember, as a CBS analyst, he knows good offenses):

I'll take Stafford [over Colt McCoy]. He's a 235-pound player; more of a pro. If Stafford played in one of those junk offenses, he'd be putting up numbers just like McCoy. I think he's more the pro body-type, he's more Matt Ryan. I think he's just a brilliant football player, I really do. He's gonna be an NFL franchise quarterback.

It's certainly true that Stafford has the type of arm that scouts drool over and McCoy doesn't. But beyond that debate, Texas runs a junk offense? What makes it a junk offense, Danielson? Because McCoy is on pace to shatter completion percentage records in the NCAA? If it's such a junk offense, why has no one figured out how to stop it yet? Wanna see a junk offense? Go watch Auburn play. I don't think Matthew Stafford could complete 80% of his passes against air. Gary Danielson, you, sir, are a moron. Go start a club with Schlabach.

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Faux interview day continues with Part 2.0, a chat with Greg Davis about the offense. Because I spent so much time on big picture/background--both Texas and Texas Tech--there will be a Part 2.5 delving into some more specific game planning.

PB: At least out here in the fans' world--maybe it's different amongst you coaches--when talking about Texas Tech, the conversation inevitably starts with and is dominated by chatter about their big numbers offense. But, the conversations frequently end on a brief but emphatic "Yeah but their defense blows." You know what I mean?

Greg Davis: Honestly? I really wouldn't know... I coach from the sky, interact minimally with the press, close my eyes and count to 10 when I see a newspaper, and am forbidden from using the internet.

PB: Truthfully, Greg... that's probably better.

Davis:  That I'm cocooned?

PB: That you never, ever go on the internet.

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A pause from Belmont insanity for a look at the week in numbers.

2 -- Consecutive games Texas has been outscored in the second half (MU 28-21, OSU 10-7).

1 -- Game this season (OSU) Texas has not scored in the 4th quarter.

88 -- Total yards by which Texas (504) outgained Oklahoma State (416).

13 -- Difference between total number of plays run by Texas (77) and OSU (64).

6.5 -- Average yards per play for both Texas and OSU on Saturday.

12:58 -- Time remaining in the game when Texas got the ball back on its own 22 after OSU's field goal cut the lead to 28-24.

5:27 -- Time left in the game when Texas' drive ended on the Cowboys' 10-yard line (McCoy fumble).

15 -- Plays run by Texas during the drive.

3 -- Yards lost on the Cowboys' subsequent drive on 4th and 6, Lamarr Houston's tackle of Dez Bryant essentially sealing the game.

228 -- Yards rushing (sack adjusted) by OSU on Saturday.

32 -- Rushes (sacks excluded) by OSU.

7.1 -- Yards per carry by the Cowboys.

117 -- Yards rushing (sack adjusted) by Texas on Saturday.

31 -- Rushes (sacks excluded) by Texas.

3.8 -- Yards per carry by the Longhorns.

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A little nicked up. During the weekly MB-TF feature, "From the film room" (sorry can't link it), Greg Davis mentions that he has some nicked up offensive players. Looking at the body language on the field and watching Jordan Shipley limp off after getting his leg twisted under him on a tackle, I have to guess Davis is referring to Shipley, Cosby, and Chris Ogbonnaya. All three of them looked a little slower than normal getting up after plays, not unexpected after such a brutal three-game stretch. Ogbonnaya in particular looked like he lacked his normal burst, possibly the result of the early play against Missouri when he fumbled the football and got up limping.

Part of the issue here is the controlled passing game, which leaves the players vulnerable as they catch balls over the middle. Colt McCoy has done an excellent job not putting his receivers into situations where defenders can really tee of on them, but all of them have taken some hard hits this season. Oklahoma State's secondary provided the physical play expected but not delivered from Missouri. Which leads into the next issue...

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Texas stays atop BCS Standings.  Not that it's a surprise, but the Longhorns will kickoff in Lubbock as the #1 team in the BCS Standings. Texas earned all but a handful of human #1 votes and scored perfect with the computers to maintain their comfortable margin over Alabama and Penn State. As several Texas players said after the 'Horns hard-fought victory over OSU, the brutal schedule is a blessing in that regard--win and they're in.

Texas Tech enters the week #7 in the BCS despite a #5 ranking in both the Harris and Coaches polls--their relatively manageable schedule-to-date hurting them significantly with the computers. Red Raider fans shouldn't lose any sleep over it: If Tech dispatches of Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in November, the computers will love them dearly.

Bonkers, Part 1. Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby's numbers this season are getting ridiculous:

Shipley--58 catches, 737 yards, 10 TDs
Cosby--56 catches, 688 yards, 4 TDs

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What almost was...

Yes, that's Colt down there in Solomon Gundy's wake.  This was a game that everyone thought we'd have to give away to lose, and we nearly did, though not by the mechanism in which we were worried about, exactly.  I'm sorry, Mack, but you don't get to say you told us so, because if you had really thought that OSU was going to be one of the best teams we'd face all year, then we would have come into the game with something approaching the creativity and preparation that we saw for OU.  Instead, our game plan was to completely abandon the run game and put as much pressure on Colt as possible in a scheme with two big weeks of film out on it.  If we had a mortal at QB, we'd have scored about ten points in this game while OSU named their score against our ragged-tired defense that had to play 40 minutes of possession.  Look again at PB's third down chart, and then take a look at the play-by-play.  Notice a trend?  Colt McCoy (and Jordan Shipley) dragged our butts through this game.  It's decision time for Davis:  Gamble that Colt continues to out-perform almost every quarterback in history for the remainder of the season, or figure out a way to get him some help.

The rest is after the jump...

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Before we even get into the details, consider that you could easily argue:

Texas won in large part because Colt-Shipley-Cosby-Ogbonnaya are near-unstoppable in the short passing game. Though our historical superiority over OSU makes it hard for some Texas fans to admit, in truth--given that Texas was outplayed in several key aspects of the game by an impressive Cowboys squad--this turns out to be quite a win to appreciate. Really. I'm comfortable saying that's the best team Texas has played this year.

Game thoughts after the jump...

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