Texas Longhorns vs. Florida Atlantic Owls Game Review

The Texas Longhorns, needing a win to stay above .500 and in reach of eligibility for a bowl game, took on the Florida Atlantic Owls in a matchup of a former Goliath against David. 

As it turned out, Texas would continue being Goliath in this matchup, as they beat the Owls 51-17.

The win helps the Longhorns keep their hopes of going to a bowl game and getting over .500 alive with just one more game to go. Granted, this game was much easier because of the opponent that they faced, but for the Longhorns, not much has been easy this season.

So here is a quick recap of the Longhorns game against the Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday afternoon.

Scoring Summary

Texas got the first score of the game when running back Cody Johnson ran the ball into the end zone from one yard out. The Owls would answer shortly afterwards when wide receiver Rob Housler caught a 56-yard pass from quarterback Jeff Van Camp, and after the extra point the game was tied 7-7.

The Longhorns took control of the game in the second quarter and started off their scoring spree with a 63-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Garrett Gilbert to wide receiver James Kirkendoll. Texas would go up 17-7 after a 22-yard field goal by kicker Justin Tucker still in the second quarter.

The last score of the second quarter came when Gilbert hit wide receiver Malcolm Williams for a 47-yard touchdown to put Texas up 24-7. That was the halftime score.

The third quarter started off with a score from the Owls when Housler caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from Van Camp to make it 24-14 with the score still in favor of the Longhorns. Texas would add a 43-yard Tucker field goal to make it 27-14 and the Owls would counter with a 41-yard field goal by kicker Ross Gornall to make it 27-17.

The rest was all Texas. The final score of the third quarter came on a 49-yard field goal by Tucker to put Texas up 30-17.

In the fourth quarter, Texas linebacker Emmanuel Acho returned an interception (of Van Camp) 57 yards for a touchdown. That touchdown made it 37-17 to start the fourth quarter.

Gilbert had a one-yard touchdown after the interception return for a touchdown to make it 44-17. Ryan Robertson would close out the game and score the final points on a 10-yard run to make it 51-17.  That would be the final score of the game.

Stud of the Game

Gilbert finally had the game that everyone had been looking for out of him since he took over at the start of the season. He completed 15 of 21 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns, but most important, he didn’t throw any interceptions. 

Perhaps this was a bit of a coming-out game for Gilbert, who really needed it to help build his skill and confidence for future games.

Dud of the Game

The defense shouldn’t have allowed the long touchdown pass that the Owls managed to get in the first half of the game. 

Take away that touchdown pass and overall, the defense had a pretty nice effort.

Analysis

The Longhorns did exactly what they had to do in order to win this game and may have played their best game of the year aside from their win against Nebraska. Granted, what they did this past Saturday came against a clearly weaker team, but for Texas, a win is a win and they need the win to reach those two very important goals.

While his numbers may not have been outstanding, Gilbert was a very effective game manager and not making any mistakes was a huge plus for him. He learned a lot about the offense in this game and this will only serve to help him grow more for the future.  This was the kind of game that Gilbert needed to have to boost his confidence, the confidence of his offense and the confidence of the coaching staff.

The running game had a pretty good day as well, as starting running back Cody Johnson had 124 yards and a touchdown on the day. The Longhorns need to keep on perfecting their running game for future contests and for next season and it looks like they have several pieces in place to do well there.

The defense stepped up and played a very nice game and even had a turnover returned for a touchdown which was something very nice to see.  Granted, they allowed 17 points but with the way that Texas has played on defense this season, what they did against the Owls should be considered a success.

Now the question is, do they have enough to win on Thursday, reach .500 and earn a bowl bid?

Next Up

The Longhorns will host the Texas A&M Aggies this Thursday night. A full preview of this game will be posted by Thursday morning.