Stopping every drive, not allowing a single point, holding the Rams offense to 74 yards passing and 118 yards rushing had to happen, or else.
Going into the season, Texas was ranked in the Top 3, by Nick Saban, and Top 4 by AP and most everyone else.
Everyone knew Texas was going to win, that was a given, but how were they going to win was the question.
The biggest unknown was the [[Texas defense]]. How was Texas going to fill the shoes of TVondre Sweat (who was at the game watching from the sidelines), Byron Murphy, or Jaylan Ford, and keep the Texas defensive domination going this season.
Texas did not miss a beat. Colorado State ran a total 56 plays the entire game. Ironically, the Texas defense had a total of 56 tackles the entire game. Standouts #3 [[Jaylon Guilbeau]] led with eight tackles, #0 Anthony Hill Jr. added five, and #33 David Gbenda contributed four.
On one of Gbenda’s tackles he did this:
Of the 12 drives ran by Colorado State, seven ended in a punt, two because of interceptions, and two on downs.
#7 [[Jahdae Barron]] started as a cornerback and added an interception on a deep pass up the middle by the Rams’ quarterback Brayden Nicolosi that he perfectly read play, then returned it 30 yards.
Freshman #27 [[Wardell Mack]] snagged a sweet interception in the back of the end zone on another deep pass by the Rams to put a stamp on any doubt about the domination of the Texas defense.
Will the same level of play and domination continue in Ann Arbor when Texas travels to Michigan to face the Wolverines?
Had Texas’ defense not played the way they did, the pundits would have had to recalibrate their rankings.
Discover more from Horns Illustrated
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.