Kevin Flaherty
longhorndigest.com
November 11, 2010
Defensively, there's a disconnect between the Longhorns' yardage allowances and the points that Texas has given up.
Texas currently ranks first in the conference in total defense, allowing just 267.3 yards per game. That's nearly 50 yards per game better than the Big 12's No. 2 team in that category, Nebraska. The Longhorns' allowance of 4.1 yards per play is also the league's best mark, by 0.4 yards over Texas A&M, and Texas has allowed the lowest number of first downs.
But the Longhorns are fifth in scoring defense, allowing 23.3 points per game. Missouri is tops in the league by allowing just 16.3 points per game.
Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp blames the defense's propensity to allow big plays for the difference in statistics, while Texas' red zone defense has also been poor, ranking eighth in the league.
"It's about consistency," Muschamp said.
It also doesn't help that Texas has turned the ball over 23 times, tied for worst in the league. Still, Muschamp said he would like to see the defense buckle down more after sudden changes and tighten up in the red zone.
None of those figures are positive heading into the Oklahoma State game. The Cowboys are second in the league in turnover margin and are by far the league's best offense in terms of points (46.3) and yardage (549.2).
The Cowboys are tearing up the field at a clip of 7.1 yards per play, and are doing so with uncommon balance. Oklahoma State is the league's top passing offense and the conference's third-best rushing offense.
Quarterback Brandon Weeden, running back Kendall Hunter and wide receiver Justin Blackmon lead the Big 12 in passing yardage, rushing yardage and receiving yardage, respectively.
True freshman punt returner Adrian Phillips was one of the few bright spots from the Kansas State game, catching every punt that hit his hands. That might not sound like much, but it's an improvement over the struggles that the Longhorns had seen at that position.
Phillips had to fair catch every punt though, so he didn't get a chance for a return. That chance might not come this week either, as Oklahoma State averages a Big 12-best 41.3 net yards per punt.
Look for true freshman wide receiver Darius White to work his way into the rotation more and more. A physically imposing 6-foot-3 target, White has impressed coaches in practice.
Texas coach Mack Brown has said that White started off behind true freshman Mike Davis because White lacked a great throwing quarterback his senior year, and his development suffered. There isn't any doubt that he's a talent though
