Texas Football notebook: Healthy Horns, tight battles, lessons from 2022
Quinn Ewers isn’t the only one making his return to the field this weekend.
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Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was asked Thursday if Jalen Catalon and Kitan Crawford, two members of the Longhorns’ safety rotation who have missed time in the past few weeks, would be able to go on Saturday versus the TCU Horned Frogs.
“Catalon and Crawford will both be available,” Sarkisian said.
That wasn’t the only piece of good news. After Kelvin Banks missed some series and Christian Jones was completely held out versus K-State, Sarkisian fielded a question about their status as well.
“Christian and Kelvin are both good to go Saturday night,” Sarkisian said.
That has Texas as healthy as it can be at this point in the season. Sarkisian was very pleased when he told the media that everyone practiced on Monday, including the players mentioned above. As Texas heads down the stretch, availability remains more and more crucial. Texas has everyone available at this juncture, a quality many teams can’t claim.
Tight games are going Texas’ way
TCU was a college football Cinderella story in 2022, and not just in that they were the unlikeliest of candidates to play for a national championship. The Horned Frogs, under first-year head coach Sonny Dykes and with Heisman finalist Max Duggan leading a talented roster, kept finding their glass slippers just in time before the clock ferociously struck midnight versus the Georgia Bulldogs.
What propelled TCU all the way to the national championship game was its ability to win tight games. The Horned Frogs played 10 games that had final margins of 10 or fewer points and won nine of them. The only loss was the result of Kansas State stuffing Kendre Miller in overtime of the Big 12 Championship before hitting a game-winning field goal.
| 2022 TCU Opponent | Score |
| SMU | W 42-34 |
| Kansas | W 38-31 |
| Oklahoma State | W 43-40 |
| Kansas State | W 38-28 |
| West Virginia | W 41-31 |
| Texas Tech | W 34-24 |
| Texas | W 17-10 |
| Baylor | W 29-28 |
| Kansas State | L 31-28 |
| Michigan | W 51-45 |
Where TCU excelled last season, Texas struggled. The Longhorns played in seven games where the final margin was 10 or fewer, and won only two of them.
| 2022 Opponent | Score |
| Alabama | L 20-19 |
| Texas Tech | L 37-34 |
| Iowa State | W 24-21 |
| Oklahoma State | L 41-34 |
| Kansas State | W 34-27 |
| TCU | L 17-10 |
| Washington | L 27-20 |
The tables have turned. Texas has already surpassed the number of wins it had in these types of games last year.
| 2023 Opponent | Score |
| Alabama | W 34-24 |
| Oklahoma | L 34-30 |
| Houston | W 31-24 |
| Kansas State | W 33-30 |
TCU has played close games, too. But unlike last year, the Horned Frogs have come up just short on every occasion.
| 2023 Opponent | Score |
| Colorado | L 45-42 |
| West Virginia | L 24-21 |
| Texas Tech | L 35-28 |
“You look at what Texas has done, they’ve had to hold on in some one-score games,” Dykes said Tuesday. “They’ve managed to win those games and that’s why they’re in the situation they’re in. We’ve managed to lose our one-score games and that’s why we’re in the situation we’re in.”
Sarkisian has often praised his team for its versatility and skill in winning in a variety of ways. If the Longhorns’ game with the Horned Frogs somehow comes down to the wire, it’ll be a situation Texas has enjoyed more success in during the 2023 campaign.
Learning from last season’s matchup
The Longhorns’ worst offensive performance of the 2022 season came versus TCU. Texas scored just three offensive points, and the only UT touchdown of the game was via Jahdae Barron returning a Duggan fumble to the end zone.
There were individual components of the offense that struggled, too. Bijan Robinson had one of his least productive games. The same goes for Roschon Johnson. But what stands out when looking back at that contest is Ewers’ performance.
Ewers was 17-for-39 for 171 yards with an interception. He obviously wasn’t the only Longhorn to have a poor game, but his outing was indicative of the day everyone, including the head coach, had versus TCU.
“We just didn’t play very well,” Sarkisian said.
What caused that?
“The biggest thing I took away going back and going through that game from a year ago and reading through my notes from that ballgame a year ago? We were really, really emotional going into that game,” Sarkisian said.
Sarkisian said he didn’t feel like his team was composed or poised during the leadup to the game, preventing them from playing how he believed they could play.
“I think we’re a lot more equipped this year to play the style of football we’re capable of playing, and to do it confidently in a hostile environment,” Sarkisian said. “That’s what it’s going to take. They’re not going to give us anything. We’ve got to go earn it.”
