Texas Vs. New Mexico: Horns Dominate Overmatched Foe

• 9 months ago
• Update
• 0 comments

1. Link
2. Facebook
3. Twitter

Texas Vs. New Mexico: Blowout Longhorn Win Highlights Offense

In the wake of the Texas Longhorns' 45-0 victory over New Mexico, SB Nation Longhorn blog Burnt Orange Nation had a tough time picking an MVP.

It feels lame to punt on naming someone, but come on: tabbing everyone tonight makes a lot more sense than singling any one guy out. For the second straight week, David Ash played well, without playing well enough to make everyone start to get excited about his ceiling. (More on that in a bit.) Case McCoy showed why he's a valuable asset as Texas' back up quarterback. Daje Johnson exploded for his first TD, and though Gray did not, you can see the excellence -- the results will come. I'm a big fan of what we're seeing from Bergeron so far, and am amused by his early season detractors. And Texas got a much better all-around effort from its receiving corps, including a desperately needed encouraging performance from Mike Davis.

On the defensive side of the ball, BON singled out Jackson Jeffcoat for acknowledgement, after the junior defensive end recorded 7 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble.

Texas returns to action next week at Ole Miss.

For more on Horns football, visit Texas blogs Burnt Orange Nation and Barking Carnival, plus SB Nation Dallas.

• 9 months ago
• Update
• 0 comments

1. Link
2. Facebook
3. Twitter

New Mexico Vs. Texas 2012: Final Score And Game Recap

The No. 17 Texas Longhorns overcame yet another slow start, continuing to build the momentum through the second half and beating the New Mexico Lobos 45-0 on Saturday night.

Mack Brown was unhappy with his team's performance last week after taking a 31-9 lead late in the game against Wyoming. With his team leading 31-0 on Saturday night, Brown was much happier with their performance this time around. The Longhorns scored 28 points in the second half, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to pull away from the Lobos and dominate the final 30 minutes of the game.

The Longhorns led 17-0 after the first half yet were losing in some aspects of the game. New Mexico's triple-option offense gave the Longhorns trouble and kept the Texas offense on the sideline. Ash's 49-yard touchdown scramble and Mike Davis' late touchdown gave the Longhorns a chance to come out of the locker room and start over against another relatively easy opponent.

The Longhorns would hold the Lobos to under ten yards of offense in the third quarter and easily pulled away with four scores in the second half.

Quarterback David Ash showed yet another big step in his development, going 16-of-22 for 221 yards and two touchdowns while making sure to not make any game-changing mistakes. The second-year quarterback once again was hesitant in pushing the ball downfield, but he took what he was given while easily leading the offense to 429 total yards on offense.

For more on Horns football, visit Texas blogs Burnt Orange Nation and Barking Carnival, plus SB Nation Dallas.

• 9 months ago
• Update
• 0 comments

1. Link
2. Facebook
3. Twitter

New Mexico Vs. Texas: Longhorns Stumble To 17-0 Lead At The Half

The No. 17 Texas Longhorns are struggling yet again with another slow start against a relatively easy opponent, leading the New Mexico Lobos 17-0 at halftime.

The Longhorns offense has struggled to stay on the field for most of the half, using a David Ash 49-yard touchdown scramble to take an early 7-0 lead and some good special teams play to give the defense some sort of cushion to work with. Despite the score, the Longhorns have struggled for most of the half and will have a lot of issues to address before the second half.

The Texas defense, which worked through a very slow start last week against Wyoming, scrambled to contain the triple-option offense of the Lobos which was able to move up and down the field with ease yet struggled once reaching scoring territory. The Lobos, despite trailing on the scoreboard, dominated the first half by possessing the ball for nearly 20 minutes in the first and second quarter and getting 11 first downs, compared to just 6 by the Horns.

David Ash fought once again to move the ball downfield, relying mostly on checkdowns to fight an aggressive defensive front by Bob Davies' defense. Ash would take advantage of excellent field position at the end of the half, however, leading the Longhorns to a touchdown drive in the final minutes when Mike Davis took a screen pass 22 yards to the end zone.

Ash was 11-of-16 for 119 yards and a touchdown in the first half. The New Mexico Lobos accumulated 110 yards on the ground, with quarterback B.R. Holbrook passing for 32 yards on eight attempts.

For more on the Texas Longhorns and the Longhorn Network, check out Barking Carnival as well as Burnt Orange Nation. More on NCAA football in general can be found over at SB Nation's NCAA Football hub and the SB Nation YouTube Channel:

• 9 months ago
• Update
• 0 comments

1. Link
2. Facebook
3. Twitter

New Mexico Vs. Texas: Longhorns Stumble To 17-0 Lead At The Half

The No. 17 Texas Longhorns are struggling yet again with another slow start against a relatively easy opponent, leading the New Mexico Lobos 17-0 at halftime.

The Longhorns offense has struggled to stay on the field for most of the half, using a David Ash 49-yard touchdown scramble to take an early 7-0 lead and some good special teams play to give the defense some sort of cushion to work with. Despite the score, the Longhorns have struggled for most of the half and will have a lot of issues to address before the second half.

The Texas defense, which worked through a very slow start last week against Wyoming, scrambled to contain the triple-option offense of the Lobos. New Mexico was able to move up and down the field with ease, but they struggled once they reachied scoring territory. The Lobos, despite trailing on the scoreboard, dominated the first half by possessing the ball for nearly 20 minutes in the first and second quarter and getting 11 first downs, compared to just 6 by the Horns.

David Ash fought once again to move the ball downfield, relying mostly on checkdowns to fight an aggressive defensive front by Bob Davies' defense. Ash would take advantage of excellent field position at the end of the half, however, leading the Longhorns to a touchdown drive in the final minutes when Mike Davis took a screen pass 22 yards to the end zone.

Ash was 11-of-16 for 119 yards and a touchdown in the first half. The New Mexico Lobos accumulated 110 yards on the ground, with quarterback B.R. Holbrook passing for 32 yards on eight attempts.

For more on the Texas Longhorns and the Longhorn Network, check out Barking Carnival as well as Burnt Orange Nation. More on NCAA football in general can be found over at SB Nation's NCAA Football hub and the SB Nation YouTube Channel:

• 10 months ago
• Update
• 0 comments

1. Link
2. Facebook
3. Twitter

Texas Vs. New Mexico: D.J. Monroe Gets A Shot

Senior D.J. Monroe is one of the best athletes on the Texas Longhorns football team, that much is difficult to argue with. But while Monroe has earned All-American honors as a member of the Texas track and field team, he has underwhelmed on the Longhorns football team.

Many Longhorns fans felt it was due to the coaching staff's use of the running back, or lack thereof, starting a Free D.J. Monroe movement. However, the movement grew weary as a seeming apathy from Monroe coupled with an inability to translate his skills to a football setting slowed the calls for more play time from fans.

Now in his final season with the Longhorns, though, Monroe may finally see the field in a role that fans have long wanted to see. On Tuesday, coaches and players alike chimed in on the improved play of Monroe, including co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin:

"He is a guy that is an explosive player for us. We look at those and think how we get the ball in their hands. I thought the one thing that D.J. really showed in that game was down here in the end zone when we handed the ball off to him in the wild formation and he turned the corner, ducked his shoulder and he just got skinny in a hurry and physical and got in. There was a collision there, and he kept his feet and fell into the end zone. That was really something that we wanted to see. He did it through spring and fall camp, and it showed up in the game. He was being very physical in those situations, and I think that has to continue."

Plays like that are ones that were absent from Monroe's game in past seasons. Monroe will have another opportunity to make an impact on Saturday when No. 17 Texas takes on New Mexico at 7 p.m. CT at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

For more coverage of Texas football, stay tuned to this SB Nation Dallas StoryStream as well as Barking Carnival and Burnt Orange Nation.

• 10 months ago
• Update
• 0 comments

1. Link
2. Facebook
3. Twitter

David Ash Grades Out Well In Wyoming Game

The 64 million dollar question surrounding the Texas Longhorns in 2012 is the play of QB David Ash.

As a true freshman thrust into the position last season, Ash wasn't ready. For Texas to get back to the top of the Big 12 this season after a two-year tailspin, he'll have to be.

That's why parsing the tea leaves of his unremarkable game against Wyoming (20-27 for 155 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT's) has become a cottage industry among Longhorn fans in the last few days.

The good news, according to offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin, is that Ash did all he was asked he to do by the Texas coaching staff:

According to Harsin's grading scale, Ash received a "solid winnable" grade -- essentially what the narrative has held Ash needs to do to win this season. Yes, the big plays are important, but remember that protecting the football and being accurate are the two keys for Harsin. No interceptions. Accuracy that was more than adequate until compared to someone like Colt McCoy. This is what the coaches want.

A "game manager" is more than enough for Texas to defeat a punchless team like Wyoming. The real question is whether they'll be able to beat teams like Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and West Virginia if they don't ask their QB's to do more.

For more coverage of Texas football, stay tuned to this SB Nation Dallas StoryStream as well as Barking Carnival and Burnt Orange Nation.