I can’t tell you how good recapping a Texas victory over OU feels. The last time we beat OU, I was a freshman in college, which seems ages ago. I was lucky enough to be at the game, which made the victory even more special. But even with this win, we still have a lot left to do this season if we want any hopes of returning back to the Rose Bowl. I really hope Texas doesn’t fall into their own hype and focuses on Colorado this weekend. Back to the game though, here is how I graded the performances.
Quarterback – Overall Grade: A
Vince led Texas all the way through this win, and while I wouldn’t really say he played spectular, it was definitely a special performance. He controlled the tempo very well and made touch passes like I have never seen him make before. There were a few instances where he missed some wide open receivers, but that is expected over the course of a game. He made the big throws when he had to, and started off the opening drive with a nice touchdown pass to Taylor. His deep touchdown pass to Pittman right before the end of the first half really felt like it sealed the deal in the game. I will take 3 touchdown passes and 45 rushing yards almost any weekend out of the year.
Running Backs – Overall Grade: A-
Jamaal Charles was just nuts. He did exactly what Brian had predicted, and broke a long touchdown over 50 yards. He ended up with 116 yards on just 9 carries and added a score before he was taken out with a minor injury. Selvin did most of the relief, and I must say that it scares me every time he runs the ball. Is it just me, or has he fumbled in every game he has played? Melton wasn’t really that big of a factor, but he wasn’t really needed.
Wide Receivers – Overall Grade: A+
Very Impressive performance out of this group. They seemed to run great routes and were wide open several times. Taylor seemed to run by everyone like they were standing still. Pittman has been Vince’s goto man, and he proved that yet again grabbing 4 catches for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. And again, that touchdown before the half basically sealed the deal.
Defense – Overall Grade: A+
Talk about shutting a team down. Texas held OU to only 171 total yards and only 68 yards in the first half. Watching the game, I have never seemed worried OU was going to do anything big. I hardly even remember any play over 10 yards. Bomar was getting jacked up constantly. Any time he decided to run the ball, we always put a nice hit on him. Our pass rush was on fire, and a few times I thought we hit him so hard they were going to have to pull out a stretcher. I have never seen the secondary play as well as they have. They were all over every pass and defended the short passes well. Ross was all over the place, and made a very impressive pass break when he seemed to hang in the air forever. And to top off the defensive performace, Rod Wright had that long fumble return that seemed to take about an hour.
Special Teams – Overall Grade: B
I still think we have one of the worst special teams units in the Big 12. We can never get a touchback, our punting is not that good, and we still make mental mistakes on returns. It is frustrating to watch, and I really hope that it never comes back to haunt us. Luckily though, it seems like our field goal kicking isn’t too big of an issue. Pino is no Mangum, but it will have to due.
Overall Team – Overall Grade: A
Just basically a dominate performance over OU. We outgained them 444 to 171. Yeah OU is on a down year, but with the hype that Stoops had over this years squad, it feels real good to put a whoopin on them. Let’s continue this run all year and hope I will be watching them again in ’06 at the Rose Bowl. Hook ’em
reply to #1
Brian
October 12th, 2005 at 5:38 pm
Vince didn’t make every single throw but he made most of them. He hit the 2 TD’s to Pittman and one to Taylor but he just barely missed on at least 4 other deep balls. If you hit 50% of your deep chances I think you’ll win most of your games.