There's not too much to say after you roll a 1-AA opponent, but there were some things worth talking about.
Quarterbacks
We knew that both McCoy and Snead would get a healthy number of snaps, and both were outstanding overall. McCoy completed 13 of his 15 pass attempts, racking up 178 yards and 2 TDs, without an interception. With the performance, McCoy moves into 8th place nationally in passing efficiency, at 174.3. The redshirt freshman has now thrown 10 TDs and just 2 interceptions. The only game he's looked at all uncomfortable in was against Ohio State, and he wasn't terrible even then. Horns fans can't ask for much more from their first year starter.
As expected, Jevan Snead saw significant action last night as well, and after his first pass - an awful long ball that should have been intercepted - he was perfect, completing 7 of 7 passing for 122 yards and a touchdown. Snead showed on Saturday that he, too, is developing. Granted, the competition was bad, but after that first bad pass, he looked so much better. His feet looked much more settled, his throws were pretty accurate, and he definitely delivers the ball with some real zip.
A great day for both kids, and an easy A for the day.
Running Backs
Neither Jamaal Charles nor Selvin Young played - a decision we agree with - but their replacements were a pretty big disappointment for the day. Playing against a team like Sam Houston State, you'd expect some big numbers from Henry Melton and Chris Ogbonnaya, but both ran modestly. Between them, they only managed 88 yards on 26 carries, a 3.4 average. Yes, Melton found the end zone twice, but neither player got much going. A rather disappointing afternoon for the tailbacks, who deserve no better than a C. Melton was especially disappointing, as he tried to dance his way to extra yards instead of lowering the boom. I don't get it.
Wide Receivers / Tight Ends
They caught everything that headed their way, and were the stars of the offense on a day when the running game was pretty average. Sweed, Nate Jones, and the Great Albino Squirrel all hauled in TD catches. Tweedie and Finley each caught passes, a welcome development. This is a great group of receivers, and as the passing game gets better and better each week, they're going to continue to make more and more plays. The Texas offense is really scary because of these guys. I'm comfortable with an A for this squad.
Offensive Line
They did a great job in pass protection, and less well with run blocking. Sammy State was overloading for the run, which limited Texas' rushing ability a bit, but the line did what it was supposed to as Texas opened up the passing attack. A solid B for the big guys.
Defense
Anyone notice who led the team in tackles? Yep - Sergio Kindle, who flew around the field en route to a 9 tackle (1 for loss) day. With Roderick Muckelroy's injury, Kindle's emergence is twice as important. How long Scott Derry can stay ahead of him is anyone's guess, but I'm thinking it's not too long. For his part, Derry made 7 tackles, but I worry about his speed out there. The team needs Kindle to keep coming on strong - a Kelson, Bobino, Kindle linebacking trio is frightening.
The secondary completely snuffed out everything Sam Houston State tried to do, limiting the Bearkats to just 105 yards passing, with two interceptions.
Overall, Texas played its base defense and dominated athletically. That's a pretty good strategy for this particular group, and I don't think we're going to see much beyond that the rest of the way, with the possible exception of the Texas Tech game. The Horns want to make teams beat them with sustained drives, and most everyone left on the schedule's going to have a tough time doing that.
For Saturday, the group gets an A- - nothing flashy, just a good solid game.
Overall
Can you ask for much more in a game like this? The most important thing about Saturday was that no one got hurt. Beyond that, it was great seeing the quarterbacks move the team up and down the field. The passing game continues to improve each week, and Greg Davis has some legitimate options for Satuday's showdown with Oklahoma.
--PB--