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Texas makes the most of its possessions and beats Vanderbilt at its own game

Joe Cookby: Joe Cook8 hours agojosephcook89
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Trey Moore, Diego Pavia (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Heading into the Longhorns’ game versus Vanderbilt, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian mentioned that he expected his team’s battle with the Commodores to be an 8-10 possession game. That’s a handful of possessions fewer than most games. Against Florida, the Longhorns had 13 total drives even after the Gators controlled possession in the opening quarter.

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Texas reached the top end of the range Sarkisian mentioned against Vanderbilt on Saturday with 10 drives. However, the final drive featured one Arch Manning kneel down to end the game. The Longhorns only had nine real chances with the football and scored on six of them.

“I thought the offense played really efficient football today, and that was going to be key against their style of offense where they can minimize possessions,” Sarkisian said.

Texas drive chart against Vanderbilt was…

DrivePlaysYardsTimeScoring playImportant play
11750:11Arch Manning 75-yard pass to Ryan WingoArch Manning 75-yard pass to Ryan Wingo
2581:08Mason Shipley 39-yard field goalArch Manning 13-yard pass to Ryan Niblett
310835:01Arch Manning 6-yard pass to CJ BaxterArch Manning 14-yard pass to DeAndre Moore
48684:15Quintrevion Wisner 4-yard rushArch Manning 17-yard pass to Quintrevion Wisner
52200:07N/AArch Manning pass intended for Jack Endries incomplete
611935:15Arch Manning 6-yard pass to Emmett MosleyArch Manning 29-yard pass to DeAndre Moore
711515:31Mason Shipley 37-yard field goalQuintrevion Wisner 13-yard rush
810325:57Mason Shipley missed 51-yard field goalArch Manning 10-yard pass to Emmett Mosley
94140:49N/AN/A
101-10:33N/AKneel down for a 1-yard loss.

The Longhorns arguably beat Vanderbilt at its own game. Sarkisian’s team had four drives last at least 5:00. Jack Bouwmeester had one punt late in the game. UT didn’t have a three-and-out.

There’s no complaining about one-play touchdown drives. While the Longhorns would have preferred a fumble recovered inside Vanderbilt’s 25 to have led to six points, getting three points was fine.

That specific juncture created an interesting moment in the game. Texas was up 10-0, but Manning and the Texas offense had run just six plays. That could have created a situation where the Longhorns might have seen Vanderbilt go on a lengthy drive to make it a one possession game and also tire the Texas defense. Instead, Texas stopped Vandy and then scored another touchdown to go up 17-3.

Vanderbilt eventually found its groove in the fourth quarter, but not via its preferred method. Vanderbilt had to pass, pass, and pass some more in order to get back into the game. It did get the benefit of its own one-play scoring drive via a coverage bust from the Longhorns, rendering that category a tie in the game.

Vanderbilt scored 21 points in the final 15 minutes. But it had to onside kick at the end and it could not gain possession of a bouncing ball before it tumbled out of bounds. Limited possession games usually fit into the Commodores’ plans, but not when the opponent takes advantage of their possessions more often than Clark Lea’s club.

Texas had 10 drives and scored on six of them. Vanderbilt had nine drives and scored on five of them. Both teams had the same amount of touchdowns, the Longhorns just added one additional field goal.

Making the most of possessions is essential to winning games over teams that like to reduce possessions in order to make up for talent discrepancies. Texas took Vandy’s normal path to victory and traversed it better and faster than the Commodores did.

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