AUSTIN, Texas — Throughout its first journey through the SEC and second to the College Football Playoff, Texas has had its share of underwhelming moments.
In the back half of the regular season, red zone woes nagged a Texas offense with the talent to be one of the nation’s best. In their SEC Championship Game loss to Georgia earlier this month, the Longhorns’ run game was nonexistent. Turnovers and protection problems have popped up at times, as have injuries to key players. Sometimes, the Longhorns have made winning look harder than it should, leading critics to question their lofty ranking and take exception to their resume, which included no wins over Top 25 teams entering the Playoff.
But in fifth-seeded Texas’ 38-24 first-round Playoff win over No. 12-seed Clemson on Saturday, the Longhorns showed why they’re a trendy pick to advance deep into the bracket. The flaws they have can be papered over with excellence in other areas. That’s the beauty of constructing a roster as deep and talented as the one Texas has, in the fourth year of the Steve Sarkisian era.
Texas’ win over Clemson, in many ways, embodied what the Longhorns have been this year: a complete, if imperfect, team. And in a tournament with no dominant power or overwhelming favorite, Texas, with a favorable draw, has as good a chance as anyone at hoisting the national championship trophy.
Offensively, the Longhorns are explosive enough to jump out to a lead or put a team away. They rode that side to a 31-10 lead midway through the third quarter. A hot start from quarterback Quinn Ewers, who completed his first eight passes, and a dominant run game helped the Longhorns grab control.
Defensively, Texas is physical and above all, consistent. The Longhorns kept Clemson’s running game quiet aside from one 41-yard run by receiver Adam Randall. The Tigers managed just 76 yards on the ground, and the Longhorns corralled mobile quarterback Cade Klubnik for most of the day.
Neither side was perfect. Ewers’ ninth attempt bounced off the hands of receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. and into the hands of Clemson’s R.J. Mickens for a turnover. Ewers completed just nine of his last 16 passes and was off target on a key fourth-down attempt in the second half.
Klubnik started having success attacking the Longhorns secondary, completing four passes of 25 or more yards over the late third and early fourth quarter, to help cut Clemson’s deficit to seven points.
But in key moments, the Longhorns responded. After Ewers’ interception, he led a touchdown drive on the next series, finding tight end Gunnar Helm in the back of the end zone to extend Texas’ lead to 18.
When the Tigers trimmed Texas’ 14-point lead to seven, the Longhorns answered emphatically. Jaydon Blue’s 77-yard touchdown run came less than a minute after Clemson narrowed the lead.
Later in the fourth quarter, when Clemson threatened to again make it a one-score game, the Longhorns’ defensive front stood tall. With the Tigers facing third-and-goal from the 1, safety Michael Taaffe and linebacker David Gbenda stuffed Klubnik on a quarterback keeper. On fourth-and-goal, Clemson tried to do what Texas A&M couldn’t three weeks ago — hand it off to the running back on a dive play.
This attempt ended the same way that one did: with Texas’ defensive line imposing its will at the line of scrimmage and coming up with a fourth-down stop. This time, it was defensive tackle Bill Norton who used his 335 pounds to clog the middle and stop Clemson running back Keith Adams Jr., stifling the Tigers’ last real chance to keep pace.
“It just was kind of typical of who we are,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got big people, and they know how to play a physical brand of football.”
It’s easy to forget that Texas operated shorthanded in multiple areas on Saturday. Isaiah Bond, Texas’ speedy receiver transfer from Alabama, missed the game because of an ankle injury. But Helm, Matthew Golden and Ryan Wingo stepped up.
The Longhorns’ running back depth chart, which has been tenuous because of injuries all season, took a hit when Tre Wisner had to leave the game. No worries. Blue responded with a season-high 146 yards and two touchdowns.
The offensive line lost two starters in the second quarter, center Jake Majors and right tackle Cam Williams. Texas slid left guard Hayden Conner into the middle, then plugged in Cole Hutson (left guard) and Trevor Goosby (right tackle) and continued to run the ball effectively and protect Ewers. He was sacked just once after the lineup was shuffled.
It’s not the first time the O-line adjusted seamlessly midstream. In the regular-season finale against Texas A&M, All-American left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. left with an ankle injury and Goosby filled in minimal issues.
“It’s definitely a brotherhood,” Conner said. “We all rely on each other. We trust each other, like when Kelvin went down at A&M, Goosby came in, we didn’t skip a beat. That’s why we practice.”
The Longhorns have blown teams out, winning each of their first six games by at least three scores. They’ve survived low-scoring slugfests against Arkansas and Texas A&M. They won by three at Vanderbilt in October.
They’ve done it with flashy quarterback play and speedy receivers or dominance at the line of scrimmage. They’ve bludgeoned teams with their defensive front. The fact that they can do all those things makes the Longhorns dangerous.
Texas’ Playoff path from here is a friendly one. The Longhorns return to Atlanta, where they played for the SEC title two weeks ago, to take on Arizona State, the lowest-seeded conference champion that earned a first-round bye. The Sun Devils ended the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the country, but Texas’ talent advantage is substantial.
If the Longhorns win the Peach Bowl, they’d get their semifinal opponent in the Lone Star State, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, less than a three-hour drive from campus. It’s easy to envision a sea of burnt orange in JerryWorld on Jan. 10 if the Longhorns get that far. Georgia, the team that has been Texas’ kryptonite, is on the other side of the bracket and the Longhorns won’t have to see the Bulldogs unless both get to the national title game.
First, Texas must get past the Big 12 champions. But Sarkisian knows, no matter what it takes, Texas can deliver.
“That’s kind of the beauty of this team … we can win games a lot of different ways,” Sarkisian said. “We can win low-scoring, tight defensive, but we can also score points … and extend leads when we have to do that.
“We’re not just one dimensional. … And I think there’s more there for us to even improve upon.”
(Photo: Jack Gorman / Getty Images)
