Plan A for the Colorado State Rams: Come in and display the chemistry between quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and wide receiver Tory Horton that could spare them some points against a fresh Texas squad.
Plan B? Utilize the rush game.
However, Texas’ secondary didn’t leave room for either of those options. In fact, it didn’t leave room for any scoring opportunities for the Rams.
A tackle for loss by sophomore linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and a quarterback hurry from senior defensive lineman Vernon Broughton in the first quarter set the tone quickly and early, and the rest of the Longhorn defense appropriately followed suit to help Texas overpower Colorado State 52-0.
“They ran a lot of quick games, so the key was to just try to take away some of the quick routes they had,” Hill said. “I feel like we did a good job of doing some of that today.”
Fowler-Nicolosi felt the pressure ignited by Hill and his teammates and ultimately folded, finding the most achievement in cowering from the deep ball and sticking to pass-offs or tossing at short distances to pick up yardage. He ended the game with 59 total passing yards, 5.7 yards per completion, four passes broken up, and an interception. His partner in crime, Horton’s longest reception was 10 yards and his total amount of receiving yards came to 31, the second-lowest in his career.
With a quarterback with a total of 3,460 passing yards last season, Texas did more than enough to keep the Rams from sending the ball across the field.
“From a defensive standpoint, (I’m) proud of our secondary, to really minimize the explosive plays,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said during his post-game press conference. “Those guys have been hearing about themselves all offseason, and so for them to come out and kind of shut down that passing game the way that they did was good.”
The redshirt sophomore went two-for-two on short passes for a total of 18 yards but was unable to make either of his two attempts at 15 yards or more downfield. He was left with only 25 net passing yards by halftime and was gaining a mere 4.2 yards per completion against Texas’ 13.8 yards.
In the instance that he did muster the confidence to throw it long down the middle during the second quarter, with Horton waiting at the Texas 27-yard-line, Longhorn senior defensive back Jahdae Barron found himself at the right place at the right time for an interception and 30-yard return. Five drives later, Texas was able to capitalize on it with a touchdown.
The Rams returned in the second half with a renewed sense of urgency, utilizing the success of their short and mid-range passing, yet barely mustered over a 50% completion percentage in the third quarter. Texas juniors, defensive back Malik Muhammad and safety Michael Taaffe, assisted in that area, each having a pass breakup before the ball was turned over to the Longhorns with four minutes left in the third quarter.
Barron mentioned that the defense saw pressure being put on Fowler-Nicolosi from a variety of guys, something that they were prepared to do thanks to the efforts of the defensive coaching staff and each other.
“Coach PK and the whole defensive staff, just having us aware of their routes — knowing and having good communication and playing smart and playing patient,” Barron said. “It starts with the d-line and putting pressure on him, on a good quarterback that can sling it around. I think we played a tremendous job with effort.”
Texas will take on No. 9 Michigan in Ann Arbor next weekend for their first road game and matchup against a ranked opponent, where Sarkisian hopes to translate the physical defense he saw today.
