No. 5 Texas 27, No. 25 Vanderbilt 24: Five observations and Sunday conversation

All wins are good wins when trying to make the playoffs, with the expanded 12-team field changing the dynamic even more. I'm sure a lot of people will be aware that the No. 5 Texas Longhorns' 27-24 victory over the No. 25 Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday in Nashville was due to an onside kick, but I will not be one of them. This is a much-improved Vanderbilt team under Clark Lea and they are definitely on the rise as a program.

Texas missed the opportunity to truly pull away at various points in the game, but ultimately all that matters is coming out of the game with a win and getting into the bye week on time so you're healthy and ready for the next round in a few Weeks Florida is coming to town.

The Longhorns were the only top 5 team to play close today. No. 4 Ohio State struggled against Nebraska early in the day in Columbus, and only a late interception by Huskers true freshman Dylan Raiola put the game away. Sometimes games are won in ugly ways, but all that matters is that you win and stay in the race.

Under head coach Steve Sarkisian, Texas remains in the hunt in the final stretch and back half of its schedule. From now on it's all about surviving and moving forward.

Penalties and errors made the game close

That was easily the most frustrating aspect of the game for Texas on Saturday – 10 penalties for 107 yards compared to Vanderbilt's four penalties for 35 yards – which leads to them ending up in dogfights and keeping games close. The Longhorns were able to move the ball up and down the field against Vanderbilt's defense for a total of 392 yards offensively, but shot themselves in the foot several times by calling penalties too early that wiped big plays off the board and them behind the posts.

While there were a number of untimely penalties on offense, one of the bigger penalties came at the expense of the defense. On Vanderbilt's final drive of the game, Texas defensive tackle Vernon Broughton was penalized for targeting quarterback Diego Pavia, negating a 72-yard interception return by Longhorns cornerback Kobe Black.

This penalty resulted in Broughton being ejected from the game, rendering him ineligible to play for the first half of the Florida game. In addition to the ejection, extending the drive allowed the Commodores to put together their longest scoring drive of the game and put them in position to make an onside kick.

The penalties and errors have been far too consistent from week to week for Texas and could eventually jeopardize the Horns' College Football Playoff hopes.

Quinn Ewers was better this week

Yes, I know someone will bring up the interceptions in the comments, but hear me out for a second – 27 of 37 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns is a much better performance than what you saw from Ewers the last two games.

The first tipped pass that resulted in a turnover was the result of a pressure allowed on the interior line by center Jake Majors, while the other came on a loose runner that appeared to be intentional (I believe the tight end was called after that). Pointing to the flat released). a starting block). You want Ewers to anticipate the defender putting his hands up the second time, but I don't blame him for the first as that pressure falls on the offensive line.

At one point, Ewers had 17 consecutive completions, and he accomplished this by distributing them to eight different receivers over the course of the ballgame. He has moments where he appears indecisive and won't let go of the ball, which caused some problems at various points in the ball game, but I'm not as disappointed in Ewers as I most likely will be after this performance.

The Texas defense played winning football

The defense deserves recognition for how it defended an offense that you can truly prepare for. Everyone knows Pavia's story by now and everyone has seen his proficiency with the triple-option style offense that Vanderbilt employs.

You have to be disciplined, play with good eyes, secure the edges, take good angles and tackle well in space. Texas did that when he was tasked with it for most of the night. Once again, the defense was dealt double-decker poo-poo sandwiches in the form of short turnover fields. Vanderbilt managed to convert them into points. That being said, the Texas defense made sure Pavia and its offense got everything they had, doing a great job of getting off the field on money downs and limiting big plays.

Additionally, the Longhorns defense was able to fend off Pavia twice (would have been three without the penalty) and also recovered a fumble. Pavia entered the game with just one interception to his name and was very good at protecting the football – according to Pro Football Focus, the interception thrown by Pavia was his only turnover-worthy play this year.

Texas safety Michael Taaffe has been a key cog in the back end of the Longhorns' defense all year and was involved in two of the three forced turnovers.

Taaffe came up big in a game that saw Andrew Mukuba withdrawn, having already faced Derek Williams, who was sidelined with a season-ending knee injury. The former walk-on was a real godsend for the Horns and current Director of Player Personnel John Michael Jones.

Vanderbilt is known to do two things very well early in this matchup: they keep the ball away from the opposing offense by dominating time of possession and they are very good at draining money. Texas won the possession battle (31:09 to 28:51) and held Vanderbilt's offense to 4 of 14 conversions on money downs. This is a winning proposition when playing against a team with such an identity.

By the way, I noticed that true freshman Kobe Black made a few attacks on corners throughout the game on Saturday. Every time he appeared on my screen he made a play. He had the pick six called back and had a good PBU on third down. If he starts coming in, it will only further strengthen the depth of the secondary for Texas.

DeAndre Moore Jr. steps up in a big way in Isaiah Bond's absence

With Texas losing its WR1 prior to this matchup, it was critical for the offense to have someone step up from Nashville's receiver core. I thought it might have been true freshman Ryan Wingo starting without Bond, but instead it was Deandre Moore having his best game of the year against the Commodores.

Moore had six catches for 97 yards and not one but two touchdowns to pace the Texas passing game.

After Saturday's performance, Moore now leads the team with five touchdown receptions on the year and is starting to show that he's something to consider along with the other weapons at Ewers' disposal. For him it was a big game and a performance that was definitely worthy of a game ball.

Texas still had some issues in pass protection

On the one hand, the offensive line protection wasn't nearly as bad as it was last week. On the other hand, they had more problematic moments in this game against Vanderbilt's defense, which ranks last in the SEC in sacks and entered the game ranked 78th in tackles for a loss. The Commodores' defense was credited with nine tackles for a loss and struggled with four sacks against Ewers on Saturday.

The most concerning moment for me was when Texas was in slide protection and there was either a miscommunication or a direct hit by Hayden Conner that resulted in him running free up the middle and getting an easy sack. Obviously some context needs to be taken into account since I'm not in the film room, but clearing the gap and allowing a defender free run to the gut is never the right decision in this situation.

Later, Cameron Williams was hit with a sack, further derailing a drive in which Texas had good momentum. It was a one-on-one fight, with big opponents on the sidelines and Williams being beaten with all his might.

Between the untimely penalties and the defensive blows, the offensive line needs to get some things right over the course of the bye week. They still have some good defensive units on the roster and you can be sure that each of them will be keeping an eye on the records from the last few weeks.

Opponents have found something.

With a record of 7:1 you make it into the second game week of the season. You have time to work out the bumps and bruises and bring people like Mukuba and Bond back to Florida. Be healthy and ready for another freshman quarterback, but this one has plenty of physical ability even if he's still trying to figure things out.

As usual, the 24-hour rule applies. Don't let me catch you moping and being irritable in this area. This team is still firmly in the playoff picture and can still achieve all the goals it sets out to achieve. It's on to the Gators.