Texas-Texas Tech: 'Horns Claim Revenge Over Rival Raiders

For Mack Brown, it must have felt good lifting the giant gorilla off his shoulders.

After 10 months of waiting, the Texas Longhorns finally got the chance to exorcise some demons after last season's stunning loss at the hands of rival Texas Tech.

Texas fought its way to a 34-24 victory over their rivals from West Texas.

It didn't exactly go as planned for the boys in burnt orange, but Colt McCoy and Co. found a way to hold off a Tech offensive surge in the second half.

The first half had the looks of a defensive struggle, surprising considering the high scoring nature of this rivalry. At the half, Texas held a 10-3 lead.

Offense

Jordan Shipley got the scoring going for Texas, returning a punt 46 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Apart from a Hunter Lawrence field goal, there was no offensive pulse for the Longhorns.

Colt McCoy struggled in the first half, throwing a pick after overthrowing John Chiles on what should have been an easy throw for the Heisman contender.

The Texas quarterback would rebound, however, throwing a key touchdown to Dan Buckner at the start of the fourth quarter, putting the Longhorns in a comfortable position.

McCoy finished 24 of 34 for 205 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions. He made some good throws throughout the game, but it still seems like he is forcing the ball downfield.  McCoy was also high on quite a few throws that he made on a regular basis last season.

The Longhorns may have found their running back of the future in the young Tre' Newton. The freshman ran 20 times for 88 yards and a touchdown. He showed impressive vision between the tackles and good speed on the edge.

Jordan Shipley hauled in 11 of McCoy's passes for 73 yards, but his shining moment came on the punt return touchdown.

Flex-tight end Dan Buckner came up big yet again for the Longhorn offense, catching six balls for 75 yards and the key fourth down touchdown. Look for Buckner to see more and more passes come his way as the season progresses.

John Chiles stretched his legs a bit in Texas' wildcat offense, something we haven't seen from Texas since early last season. Chiles faked a handoff and ran up the middle for 34 yards, showing good speed and elusiveness in the open field.

Apart from two sacks early in the fourth quarter, the Texas offensive line provided solid protection for Colt McCoy throughout the game.

The line is finally run blocking on a consistent basis, as it opened up huge running lanes for Tre' Newton on key downs.

The Texas running game will only get better going forward, and it really has to if McCoy's struggles continue.

The coaching staff will be concerned that the offense had some trouble finishing drives.

After an Earl Thomas interception inside the Tech 30 yard line, the Longhorn offense was unable to capitalize (interception).

Defense

The first half proved to be a Texas defensive clinic, as Will Muschamp's crew took it to Tech quarterback Taylor Potts early and often. 

The explosive Red Raider offense was held to just three points and 163 yards passing in the first two quarters.  The defensive line led by Sergio Kindle was able to throw Potts out of rhythm and keep the Tech offense in check.

The secondary held its own as well, jumping on the short passing routes and preventing any large gains.

It is also worth noting that safety Blake Gideon played well and didn't give up any long gains (had to be good for his psyche).

The Longhorn defense recorded one sack and three forced fumbles (two recovered) in the first half. Will Muschamp has constantly preached the need for more takeaways.

However, the second half became a shoot out, as was expected coming in.

Taylor Potts threw three second half touchdowns, torching the Longhorn defense out of a no-huddle, hurry up attack.

Potts finished 46 of 62 for 420 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.

The Longhorn defensive backs, after playing tight coverage on the Tech receivers in the first half, played ten to fifteen yards off in the second half, resulting in consistent 12 yard gains for Potts and the Red Raider offense.

Tackling was also an issue in the second half.

Safety Earl Thomas whiffed on a tackle inside the Texas 10 yard line, resulting in a touchdown for Tech receiver Lyle Leong (80 yards, two touchdowns).

Curtis Brown and Aaron Williams each missed a few easy tackles that led to long gains after the catch.

Brown also got mixed up on a coverage assignment, leaving receiver Tramain Swindell wide open for a Tech score with about seven minutes left in the game.

Such coverage breakdowns cannot continue if the Longhorns hope to survive against the potent offenses of the Big 12.

Sergio, who hasn't recorded a sack in 2009, finally got one and it couldn't have come at a better time.

With Texas up by just seven late in the fourth quarter, Kindle shed his blocker and exploded into Taylor Potts, jarring the ball loose. The Longhorns recovered the fumble and went on to put the game away.

Kindle was blitzed from all over the field, keeping Potts on his heels for a good deal of the night.  As long as he continues to get to the quarterback, the defense should be just fine in the long run.

The Longhorns face UTEP in Austin next weekend.