Defensive Growth Could Sets Tone For Texas Against TCU
Offensive production in football is exciting. Defenses, however, still remain difference-makers in the race for a conference title.
Take Texas (3-1, 1-0) last week against Texas Tech for example. The focus was on a 70-point outing from the offense has the Horns secured their highest score since 2005.
The defense also made two key plays that solidified a win at home. Cornerback Josh Thompson's 27-yard interception return for a touchdown put Texas up by 28.
Linebacker Luke Brockermyer's interception on the opening drive of the third quarter all but ended any chance for the Red Raiders to rebound.
Maybe that will be the difference in a win or loss against TCU on the road Saturday. It can't be any worse than last year, right?
"We're just focused about this year," Thompson said Tuesday. "It's two different teams playing."
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Texas as a whole isn't that different in personnel. The Horns returned seven starters from 2020, but the scheme has differed under the direction of first-year defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski.
Players such as Brockermeyer, defensive lineman Moro Ojomo and nickel defender Anthony Cook have looked more comfortable in the new 4-2-5 approach. The secondary, which returned three full-time starters, also seems to have found its niche at the start of conference play.
Will it help versus a now angry TCU (2-1, 0-0) roster coming off a loss in the "Iron Skillet" matchup? Texas will be looking for its first win against the Horned Frogs in 2018.
Experience should help. Should the same 11 players start in Fort Worth, all will be upperclassmen.
"We have to keep the standard going and make teams fear us," Thompson said. "That's the goal."
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Currently, Texas ranks 13th nationally in red-zone defense. Outside of a four-touchdown day against now No. 8 Arkansas, the Longhorns have only allowed seven touchdowns, three of which coming from inside the 20-yard line.
In short, time and patience have helped Texas improve defensively with a returning veteran core. Maybe if they were to play Arkansas in Week 5, and should quarterback Casey Thompson start, the outcome would drastically change.
Of course, Texas still has to find a way to finish games. Of the 11 touchdowns given up, nine have come in the second half.
“The last game we really played well in the first half," Brockermeyer said Monday. "We lost a little bit of our mental focus and weren’t as focused as we should have been.”
Half-baked performances will only go so far against TCU, who have won six of the last seven matchups against the Horns. Thompson and fellow cornerback D'Shawn Jamison will need to play well against TCU's trio of wide receiver talent in Quentin Johnston, Taye Barber, and Derius Davis.
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So will the defensive line against 2021 Big 12 breakout running back Zach Evans. Pressure to Duggan in the backfield will help as well.
“It’s been two straight weeks where we’ve affected the quarterback, moved him off the spot, forced some errant throws, and forced some scrambles that maybe don’t always result in a sack,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Saturday. "The pass rush is starting to get home.”
Thompson says his goal is to make teams "fear him" in coverage. With a week-by-week change in the Big 12 standings of "pretender" and "contender" status, maybe eliminating the passing game of TCU solidifies the status of Texas' defense?
In bursts, Texas has outplayed its national ranking. Now, it just needs to play four quarters of football.
"We want to put our foot on people's necks and go full speed," Thompson said. "That's our goal. We don't want to stop. We're out there having fun."
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