2011 Holiday Bowl: Grading Texas' 21-10 Win over Cal

Riding a tsunami of defensive effort, the No. 24 Texas Longhorns flexed their way to a 21-10 victory over the Cal Golden Bears in the 2011 Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl Wednesday night.

The first half proved to be a warm-up for the Manny Diaz-coached defense, as the Big 12's top unit really settled in after the restart.

A rather uneventful first 30 minutes, save for the Jaxon Shipley-to-David Ash connection late in the second quarter, suddenly sprung into a defensive clinic as the Longhorns dominated after giving up an early touchdown in the third frame.

An impressive win for Texas brings the Horns to an 8-5 finish to their rebuilding year. The grades are in, and the report looks mighty impressive.

Quarterback

Grade: B

David Ash got the start, and he took the entire game in stride. It was good to see the young quarterback develop some confidence after a rough start. 

The Belton product struggled with his accuracy early on, but Bryan Harsin's play-calling allowed Ash to make some comfortable throws and settle in for a second half that was much more productive.

Ash did not seem to force any throws and even got in on the scoring with a touchdown catch from Jaxon Shipley with six minutes remaining in the first half. He finished with 142 yards passing on 14-of-23 attempts, throwing for one score and receiving another.

Overall, this is the kind of game Texas fans should have wanted from their true frosh.

It was not a match that Ash needed to win by himself, nor was it a game that needed a ton of big plays from him. Instead, Ash managed the game, took care of the ball, demonstrated patience and let the defense chip in its fair share.

Is here there yet? No, but this was a huge step in the right direction and will get things on track for the spring.

Running Back

Grade: C+

It was a tale of two halves for the Texas running game.

After managing just four yards on the ground in the first half against a very solid Cal defensive front, the Longhorns put up 105 yards in the second half, an adjustment that helped David Ash ease into things and allowed Texas to set up its trickerations.

Although no one running back for the Longhorns put up flashy numbers, a sustained, group effort generated some success on offense.

Malcolm Brown had 13 carries for 35 yards to lead the team, Cody Johnson had five carries for 21 yards and a late touchdown to secure the win, Jeremy Hills had one run for 15 yards and Joe Bergeron picked up nine yards on three attempts.

Slow and steady won the race for Texas.

But in a game where the Longhorns really flexed their defensive muscle, the running backs did their duty.

Receivers

Grade: B

If you had predicted that the Longhorns' receptions leader in Mike Davis (45) would finish the game without a single catch, many would have pinned you as an imbecile. But right you are, bold predictor.

No Davis, no problem.

The Texas pass catchers hauled in a total of 12 catches for 131 yards on the night.

Marquise Goodwin led the way with 49 yards on three receptions, including one that went 47 yards for a touchdown.

But do not understate the impacts of D.J. Grant's three catches nor Blaine Irby's lone grab for 30 yards. Jaxon Shipley, who completed a 4-yard lob to David Ash for a touchdown, caught four important balls for 14 yards.

This was a game that was in no way an offensive showcase. But the receptions came at critical junctures of the game and picked up points to give the defense a little more room with which to work. 

Offensive Line

Grade: C+

Texas still has tons of room for growth up front.

The Longhorns had some trouble dealing with Cal's defensive front as Texas struggled to establish a secure running game. Though the Horns did finish with 109 yards on the night, it is far and away from their 210 yards-per-game average.

That being said, there were some instances that did spring some life into the offense, namely a couple of big plays to Marquise Goodwin, Blaine Irby and Malcolm Brown's 19-yard scamper.

Still, with Texas losing just one starter in David Snow, the Longhorns have much to look forward to next season.

Defensive Line

Grade: A+

The defensive line anchored an entire defense that flat out dominated the opposition Wednesday night.

Led by Jackson Jeffcoat, the Texas defensive front essentially lived in Cal's backfield throughout the game, breaking up running plays before they developed and generating tons of pressure on the Bears' dynamic quarterback Zach Maynard.

After giving up just 10 yards rushing in the first half, the Longhorns actually forced negative three yards rushing in the second half, a true testament to how dominant Texas was in the trenches.

Whether it was forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, sacks, tackles for loss or all of the above, name a defensive lineman and he likely had a big play.

Jeffcoat had a couple of sacks. Calvin Howell forced a fumble and recovered another. Both Reggie Wilson and Chris Whaley picked up two other fumbles.

With the Longhorns returning all but one starter on the line (Kheeston Randall), Texas has plenty to look forward to in 2012.

Linebacker

Grade: A-

Welcome to the show Jordan Hicks.

The former 5-star Ohio standout came through in a big way for the Longhorns in a position that will see two senior starters off to the next level in 2012.

Emmanuel Acho and Keenan Robinson turned in really solid games, as usual, in their final outings in burnt orange, leaving little doubt as to why the duo was so successful this season.

Hicks picked up a couple of sacks as Acho and Robinson played key roles in stopping Cal's running game.

The two seniors went out with a bang, and it is time for Texas to usher in a new era of linebackers starting with Hicks.

Secondary

Grade: B+

Although the Bears' Marvin Jones and Keenan Allen kept the Texas secondary busy all game, the Longhorns pass defense was solid, thanks to some major help from the big boys up front.

Jones and Allen combined to catch 17 passes for 170 yards, but just two other players caught balls for Cal. For a team that came into the game averaging about 250 yards through the air, Texas did its job keeping the Bears below status quo.

A number of Texas defensive backs came up with big plays.

Quandre Diggs had an early interception. Kenny Vaccaro added an NFL-caliber play after hurdling a blocker before recording a sack. Adrian Phillips and Sheroid Evans forced fumbles and Carrington Byndom, who seemed to have little to do, recovered a fumble.

Perhaps the most important stat of the night is the average of 10 yards per catch between Jones and Allen. For a duo that managed about 14 yards per reception on the season, the Texas secondary really kept Cal's stars in check.

Special Teams

Grade: C+

It was a ho-hum kind of night for special teams on both sides. 

Twice Justin Tucker punted the ball inside the Cal 20, but apart from that, it was a pretty forgettable performance from the senior, which included a 38-yard field goal miss.

His 39.6 yard average per punt is a little misleading after several of his kicks gave Cal far better field position than it deserved.

Coverage was okay, not good, but not bad. A bad break on special teams could have shifted the momentum in either team's favor, but with a shutdown defensive effort from the Longhorns, no such miscue changed the result.

Coaching and Game Plan

Grade: A

Chalk this one up for an all-around win for the Texas program.

The first half became painstakingly similar to what many Longhorns fans have witnessed throughout the season, but the second half showcased an entirely different intensity that had Texas pick up three turnovers and a slew of negative yardage plays for the Bears.

Defensively, the Horns picked up six sacks and five turnovers in a game that truly demonstrated their defensive superiority. Cal simply looked overmatched in the final 25 minutes.

Texas's offense sputtered right out of the gate.

It looked like the unit that took the field against Missouri and Kansas State and could not move the ball at all. But as the game wore on, and the defense kept the game in Texas' favor, Bryan Harsin really dialed up some key plays that manufactured points.

The game plan looked pretty simple. Beat Cal to a pulp on defense, ride the running game to set up a handful of big plays through some misdirection and trickeration.

Game, set, match.

Intangibles

Grade: A

Talk about wanting it.

The first half saw both teams play at a pretty even keel as both defenses were playing lights-out. But the tide turned quite swiftly in the second half as Texas flat out was the better team.

Big play after big play in Cal's backfield continually swept momentum towards the Longhorns until the final whistle.

Though the 8-5 mark means little in terms of what Texas was able to accomplish in 2011, the bowl win marks the start of growth for the spring and eventually the 2012 season.