Stock Up: Defensive Line

Two weeks ago against Oklahoma, the Texas defensive line had what was probably its worst game of the season. Against Iowa State, the opposite was true.

The line stepped up against The Cyclones, totaling six of the team’s eight sacks in the game and limiting the Iowa State running attack to only 98 yards across 43 attempts.

The defensive line took advantage of the Cyclones’ shaky offensive line the whole game, and frequently pressured the Iowa State quarterbacks. The performance was certainly a welcome relief for the Longhorns, especially after the last game, and the Texas needs the defensive line to continue the trend in the coming weeks.

Stock Down: Sterlin Gilbert

What was normally Texas’ strong suit, the potent offense, sputtered in the first half against the Cyclones. The offense was only able to muster a field goal in the last minute of the half after its drive was resurrected by an unsportsmanlike penalty by Iowa State. The Longhorns struggled with the play calls in the first half, and Gilbert seemed to want to focus on the run despite Iowa State doing a decent job at stopping the Texas running backs.

Despite the slow start, the offense, led by Shane Buechele, did explode in the second half after switching to a pass-heavy offense. However, Gilbert’s struggle with plays in the first half can’t be repeated further down the road if the Longhorns hope to hang with the potent Big 12 offenses.

Stock Up: Devin Duvernay

Freshman wide receiver Devin Duvernay had a standout game against Iowa State, nabbing four catches and leading the team with 96 yards.

Duvernay’s highlight came early in the third quarter when the freshman hauled in a deep pass and escaped defenders en route to a 75-yard touchdown. His performance is a strong follow up to the game against Oklahoma two weeks ago. In that matchup, Duvernay caught three passes for 81 yards and a touchdown.

Duvernay is proving himself to be a good playmaker for the Longhorns, and if can keep up the strong play, he’ll be essential to the offense going forward.

Stock Down: Penalties

The Longhorns had trouble with penalties against Iowa State, drawing the yellow flag nine times for a total of 100 yards.

The penalties were especially costly in the first half, where Texas’ drives were often killed after flags marched the team backwards.  The struggle with penalties is nothing new to the Longhorns, as they have be penalized for at least 70 yards in all but one of their games this season. Texas needs to control its discipline, especially on the offensive side of the ball, in order to control momentum and limit any advantages the opposition gets.