Longhorns Team Speed Too Much For Cowboys

Oklahoma State was not given much of a chance by the public ahead of Saturday’s Big 12 Championship game. And it was not long into the game that we could see Texas was looking to prove that correct. 

There were many areas of concern for the Cowboys in the 49-21 loss to the Longhorns, whether it be turnovers, lack of offensive rhythm, missed tackles, etc. But while watching the game, there was one aspect of the Longhorns that proved to be too much. 

And that is team speed. 

Texas’ offensive skill core comprised of Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Keilan Robinson, and others were simply too fast for Oklahoma State to contain. 

With the team speed of Texas, Oklahoma State was punished if a read was not made correctly or an angle was off. There was no forgiveness from the Longhorns. 

The Cowboys secondary struggled to stay in stride with both Worthy and Mitchell in coverage as both receivers had receptions of 50+ yards. If just one were on the field, the Cowboys would have the ability to cheat over the top or bracket one side. But with both posing the same elite downfield threat ability, the secondary was forced to play true, and they were simply not able to keep them in check.

For the large part of the game, the Cowboys held the Longhorns from any explosive plays. However Keilan Robinson was able to break one in the third quarter for 57-yards, squandering any second half tone Oklahoma State was looking to set. 

Texas feasted on the Cowboys defense in the screen game as well. The Oklahoma State defense was gashed several times throughout the game due to missed tackles on or around the line of scrimmage. The Cowboys defense also failed to rally on a number of plays, requiring second or third level players to chase down ball carriers from behind. 

At times, Cowboys defenders would shed blocks on the perimeter but not fully wrap up or occasionally, completely whiff on tackle attempts. 

Overall, there was simply a mismatch in speed, mainly from the Texas offense. And when a team can provide speed in space on a consistent basis, bad things happen defensively. Players naturally try to cheat over and react early to beat the speed, but find themselves out of position or leaving open grass elsewhere. 

It also showed up in special teams as Brennan Presley was limited greatly in his kickoff returns. A number of them were caught within the 5-yard line and he was brought down before reaching the 20. Before the 15-yard line in some cases. 

On the offensive side of the ball, the Cowboys had very few explosive plays. The primary weapons were not able to break off any big runs or runs after the catch. Previously in the season, Ollie Gordon or Brennan Presley were sure to have at least 4-5 plays between the two where they created a play that wasn’t there. 

The Texas defense stifled them today.

Moving forward, there must be an improvement in team speed for the Cowboys, mainly on the perimeter. And having that elite speed can not be coached. It must be recruited. The Cowboys have a great deal of size at the skill positions with Ollie Gordon and number of receivers at 6-foot-2 and bigger, and while some of them can run, there are few guys with elite speed once the ball is in their hands. Now, it is imperative to add some elite runners to the mix as well.