AUSTIN - Texas wanted the story to be about its defense, and on Saturday night, that’s exactly how Steve Sarkisian framed the 30-6 win over UTSA.
“Our defense just kicked their ass,” Sarkisian said. “I’m excited about that, and we should be excited about that, that our defense is playing the way they’re playing.”
For a Longhorns team that has often seen the postgame spotlight land on offense, this was a different kind of night. Texas flipped the script by smothering a UTSA attack that had built a strong reputation for putting points on the board under head coach Jeff Traylor, whose background is on the offensive side. The Roadrunners had scored a touchdown in 74 straight games dating back to October 31, 2020, a 24-3 loss to Florida Atlantic, and in 23 of their previous 25 games they had topped 20 points.
That streak ended fast.
On the first snap from scrimmage, quarterback Owen McCown threw a pass that bounced off wide receiver DJ Allen’s hands and straight to Texas senior linebacker Rasheem Biles, who picked off his second interception of the season. The Pitt transfer has already sent two footballs into Bevo’s pen in the south end zone through three games, and he’s apparently running out of ideas for what comes next.
“I think I done gave Bevo enough balls,” Biles said.
It was UTSA’s first turnover of the season. The Roadrunners came into the game as one of only 20 FBS teams without a giveaway, and Texas made sure that clean sheet didn’t survive long.
“We talked about being intentional, trying to go get the ball first play of the game - Rasheem Biles’ interception - and I think that just set the tone defensively,” Sarkisian said.
From there, UTSA had to adjust on the fly. Whatever the original plan was for Traylor and coordinator Rick Bowie, the offense shifted toward quick throws designed to get the ball out of McCown’s hands immediately.
That approach kept Texas from piling up sacks - junior edge Colin Simmons had the Longhorns’ lone one on a third down - but it also left McCown with almost no room to operate downfield. He attempted just one pass more than 10 yards beyond the line in 23 throws, finished with 70 passing yards, averaged three yards per attempt and had a long completion of 13 yards.
Only two of those passes produced first downs.
The ground game didn’t give UTSA much help either. Will Henderson flashed early, using his speed to get outside for gains of 12, nine and 12 yards during the second drive, a 13-play, 59-yard march that eventually stalled in the red zone.
After that, Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp’s group tightened the edges and shut down the run. UTSA didn’t break off another rush longer than 10 yards and finished with 73 rushing yards on 23 carries, a 2.3-yard average.
The bigger issue was how little the Roadrunners could sustain anything. Their final nine drives produced just 84 yards on 32 plays and ended in eight punts. Five of those possessions were three-and-outs, and none lasted longer than five plays.
“Just really effective against the run and the pass, and so that was a real positive,” Sarkisian said.
Third down was another area where Texas finally looked in control. The Longhorns entered the game tied for last in the SEC in third-down defense, but after allowing a 3rd and 1 on UTSA’s second drive, they forced the Roadrunners off the field on their next 10 third-down chances.
UTSA’s only successful conversion came on that early short-yardage situation, and after that it was stuck in long-yardage territory, averaging 12.2 yards to go. Eight of those third downs required nine yards or more.
UTSA averaged just 2.5 yards on those third downs. McCown went 2-for-6 for 16 yards, and the run game managed only 12 yards on four carries.
For Sarkisian and Muschamp, third-down improvement had been a point of emphasis all week, and the execution matched the talk.
“I think it was tying it all together. It was just the call at the line of scrimmage.
I thought the communication in the back end. They taxed us with a couple motions, formations where there had to be real communication.
I thought we communicated well, and I thought we were sticky coverage. And then the last part is you’ve got to tackle them.
You’ve got to get them on the ground. And so I think all those things added up to they’re one for 11 on third down tonight and that’s a heck of a number for us,” Sarkisian said.
Pro Football Focus credited Texas with a heavy rotation on defense, and the Longhorns were without junior safety Kobe Black and did not have Simmons available in the second half. Even so, the numbers still reflected a defense that was getting people to the ball quickly.
Texas missed six tackles and allowed 60 yards after contact on the ground and 60 more after the catch, but McCown’s average depth of target was only 1.8 yards, so nearly everything UTSA gained had to come after the catch. The final total - 143 net yards - showed how well Texas closed space and finished plays.
“As a coach, I say it a lot, but you kind of get what we emphasize,” Sarkisian said.
On this night, the emphasis paid off in the form of a defense that looked sharp, fast and in control for most of the game.
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