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THE DEFENSES
| STATISTIC |  |
 |
| Passes Broken Up | 33 | 21 |
| QB Hurries | 6 | 34 |
| Fumbles Forced | 3 | 10 |
| Interceptions | 7 | 9 |
| Sacks | 12.0 | 19.0 |
| Tackles for Loss | 42.0 | 60.0 |
| 3rd Down Conversion % | 37.61% | 37.61% |
| Rushing Yards Allowed | 121.25 (27, 3 | 218.00 (108, 10) |
| Rushing Avg. Yards/Attempt | 3.55 | 5.07 |
| Passing Yards Allowed | 178.75 (15, 2) | 229.25 (56, 3) |
| Passing Avg Yards/Attempt | 5.6 | 8.2 |
So it appears that the Longhorns are still a very aggressive defense, but the yards. Oh the yards. I find it amazing that they have 34 QB hurries to Texas Tech's 6 QB hurries just an amazing stand alone statistic. They have forced more turnovers and had more big plays, but the yards are something that I never thought that I'd see.
I don't know if the agressive defense has resulted in the players being out of place, which is why they have so many missed tackles. Still, this was an aggressive defense last year and they didn't give up the yards to this extent. And the numbers are worse in conference play, giving up 148 yards rushing in non-conference competition, while 259 in Big 12 play. And 180 yards passing in non-conference play, but 258 yards passing in Big 12 play.
Of course, most teams are going to have worse statistics in non-conference vs. conference play. It is happening to Texas Tech. The problem is that UT wasn't even very good in non-conference competition.
The most eye-opening statistic was that UT gave up 16.0 points per game in non-conference play, which included 31 points to Ole Miss, and is now giving up 42.8 in conference play. For comparison purposes, Texas Tech gave up 17 points a game in conference play and is giving up 35 points a game in conference play. For those of you who aren't math majors, that's an extra touchdown and that's surprising.
THE OFFENSES
| STATISTIC | |
|
| Red Zone TD % | 74.36% (29/39) | 80.49% (33/41) |
| 3rd Down Conversion % | 53.27% | 53.04% |
| Passing Yards | 357.88 (3, 2) | 245.00 (52, 7) |
| Yards/Passing Attempt | 8.0 | 8.2 |
| Rushing Yards | 149.00 (78, 8) | 197.88 (32, 3) |
| Rushing Yards Per Attempt | 4.60 | 5.03 |
| Touchdowns | Turnovers | 42 | 14 | 46 | 8 |
| Turnover Margin | -0.50 | 0.75 |
| Yards/Play | 6.45 | 6.38 |
| Pass Attempt / Sacks Allowed | 27.61 | 34.28 |
Offensively, the Longhorns are greatly improved and they actually look like a very efficient offensive team. An excellent red zone touchdown percentage and a pretty good third down rate are all good indicators of a very good team. Also, the Longhorns have more touchdowns than Texas Tech, which is something I would not have guessed.
The problems for the Longhorns have been that RB Malcolm Brown has been injured for part of the season. Against the two worst defenses in the Big 12, Baylor and Kansas, the Longhorns rushed for 251 and 211 yards. I do believe that they can run the ball, although I am surprised that they were only able to rush for 136 yards against Oklahoma St. and 135 yards against West Virginia. I would have guessed that they would have done better than that.
Ultimately, UT seems like a really inconsistent team. I think that on any given day, they can be a very good football team, but then they can just barely beat a bad Kansas team, beat a Baylor team by only 6 points and lost to what appears to be West Virginia team that isn't capable of stopping any opposing defense.
All helmet images via The Helmet Project and thanks to College Football Statistics for these stats.