Horns hope to foil Patterson’s plans
AUSTIN — Despite what some agitated fans felt and expressed online, Texas coach TomHerman wasn’t trying to take a veiled shot at TCU counterpart Gary Patterson earlier this week while fielding a question about the series.
It’s true Texas hasn’t had much fortune against Patterson’s Horned Frogs, posting a 2-6 record since 2012. The Longhorns under Herman have lost two of three meetings, including last year’s 37-27 letdown in Fort Worth.
So the Texas coach managed to stir up some manufactured drama by asserting he wasn’t “tremendously frustrated” by Patterson’s defense, which Herman said relies more on talented and well-prepared players than a complex scheme.
“It does get frustrating sometimes because Gary, to his credit and a ton of respect for him, doesn’t do a whole lot,” Herman said Monday. “But what he does is get his players to play really, really hard, puts them in great position. You have this false sense of, maybe, some confidence because unlike other defenses you play, where half the battle is figuring out where they’re going to be lined up and blitzing from and rushing from and all that stuff, that battle is not one that’s waged a whole lot against Coach Patterson’s defenses.”
The biggest questions for No. 9 Texas (2-0, 1-0 Big12) ahead of Saturday’s game at Royal-Memorial Stadium, according to Herman: “Can we play more fundamentally sound than them? And can we play harder than them?”
Texas managed to get out of Lubbock last weekend with a win. But it was a sloppy performance filled with innumerable missed tackles, 100 yards worth of penalties, special teams blunders and too many missed chances.
TCU (0-1, 0-1) isn’t as explosive as Texas Tech, but it has plenty of weapons to attack the Longhorns with.
Horned Frogs quarterback Max Duggan in August was diagnosed with a heart condition during the team’s COVID-19 testing procedures and missed a few weeks of preseason practice but looked strong in his season debut. In just about one half of work during a 37-34 loss to Iowa State, the 6-foot-2, 201-pound sophomore completed 16 of 19 passes with three touchdowns and one interception.
Duggan only picked up 10 yards on the ground, but in last year’s win over Texas, he rushed for 71 yards and a score in addition to throwing for 273 yards and two touchdowns.
“He is dangerous with his legs,” Herman said. “Whether it’s designed runs or zone-read runs where he’s reading somebody and just scrambles. We’ve got to be very disciplined in our rush lanes when they do drop back to pass.”
Texas’ linebackers and defensive backs will have to show some genuine improvement after allowing Red Raiders quarterback Alan Bowman to rack up 331 passing yards with five touchdowns. And the defensive front, led by junior linebacker Joseph Ossai, will have to keep Duggan contained and try to make TCU’s offense one-dimensional.
On offense, the nation’s highest-scoring team shouldn’t struggle to throw another big number up on the scoreboard. Texas senior quarterback Ehlinger should be eager to make amends for last year’s performance against TCU, when he completed just 22 of 48 passes with two touchdowns and four interceptions.
Not that it’ll be a cakewalk. TCU’s defense boasts talent and experience at every level, especially in the secondary with safeties Trevon Moehrig, La’Kendrick Van Zandt and Ar’Darius Washington.
The expected season debut of sophomore slot receiver Jake Smith (hamstring) should help Ehlinger. And after Iowa State ran for 212 yards on 28 carries, junior Keaontay Ingram, sophomore Roschon Johnson and freshman Bijan Robinson (back) should be involved early and often.
“We’re definitely going to have our hands full,” Ehlinger said Tuesday. “They have incredible athletes, and they are really well coached. They tackle well in space and they play very sound. So we’re going to have to be the sameway. We’re gonna have to be really attentive to details take what they give us.”
Texas can’t afford to slip in its final tune-up before next week’s trip to Dallas to face No. 18 Oklahoma (1-1, 0-1). And if this really is going to be the Longhorns’ year, Herman is going to have get the best of Patterson.