Double Coverage 2015-10-01

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DOUBLE presents

COVERAGE Friday, October 2, 2015

A RIDGE ON THE LINE

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KEYS TO THE GAME

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Friday, October 2, 2015

By Akshay Mirchandani @amirchandani41

FORCE A MISTAKE EARLY This game has offensive shoot-out written all over it, especially considering how poor TCU and Texas’ defenses have played.

If it’s indeed going to be a track meet, it’s crucial that Texas doesn’t fall behind early. Yes, the offense needs to score early, but the defense also needs to force a TCU mistake early as well.

A fumble, an interception or even forcing an early three-and-out would set the tone in a big way for Texas. It would also help deflate the TCU crowd and give Texas some early confidence against the No. 4 team in the nation.

ESTABLISH THE PASS In two of his three starts, redshirt freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard had more rushing attempts than passing attempts. In his other start, a record-setting performance against California, Heard passed 31 times, but rushed 24 times as well.

Heard’s scrambling and rushing abilities is part of what makes him the best option for Texas at quarterback. A lot of those runs came from Heard making something out of nothing on broken plays. But, Texas needs to try and establish Heard in the passing game against the Horned Frogs.

TCU’s pass defense is No. 6 in the Big 12, allowing 236 passing yards per game. This is a great game for Heard to make plays from the pocket and throw downfield. Yes, he can also make plays against a TCU defense that is also No. 6 in rushing defense, but Heard has a chance to really do some damage against the Horned Frogs through the air.

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presents

COVERAGE Vol. 10, Issue 6

Friday, October 2, 2015

Double Coverage Editor...................................Nick Castillo Design Editor..................................................Iliana Storch Photo Editor......................................................Amy Zhang Copy Editor.............................................Blanche Schaefer

FIX SPECIAL TEAMS Part of the reason why Texas is sitting at 1-3 are two heartbreaking special teams mistakes. There was senior kicker Nick Rose missing that infamous game-tying extra point against California. Against Oklahoma State, freshman punter Michael Dickson couldn’t catch a snap cleanly, setting the Cowboys up for the game-winning field goal.

There have been some good things. Senior wide receiver Daje Johnson has been great in the return game, and Rose is 4-of-5 on field goals through four games. It’s just a matter of special teams being consistent and not making any more heartbreaking mistakes.

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EDITOR’S NOTE Back-to-back heartbreak losses have the Longhorns reeling. A 1-3 start is the worst start since 1956. Lost in the disappointing start is a team showing signs of growth. Through three games as the starting quarterback, redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard shows signs of being the answer at quarterback. The Longhorn defense has gradually improved after starting the season with a bad performance against Notre Dame. Texas will have to play its best game of the season against No. 4 TCU if it wants to pull off a major upset and get head coach Charlie Strong’s first signature win at Texas.

Cover Photo.......................................................Amy Zhang Writers: Jacob Martella Claire Cruz

Akshay Mirchandani

Jori Epstein

Blanche Schaefer

Jason Epstein Jillian Kushner

Ezra Siegel Aaron Torres

fourstarevents@trudys.com

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Friday, October 2, 2015

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Overlooked Doctson leads Horned Frogs in 2015

By Aaron Torres @aaron_torres95

Head coaches overlooked Josh Doctson. Now he overwhelms defensive coordinators.

Doctson’s story is the tale of an athlete no one wanted, but is now the one everybody wishes they had.

TCU’s senior wide receiver is the kid from Mansfield that no Division I college football program in Texas wanted.

The high school senior wasn’t ranked on ESPN’s RecruitingNation. Doctson, a transfer student from Wyoming, had to walk on for the Horned Frogs.

After his 18-reception, 267yard and three touchdown performance in TCU’s miraculous 55-52 win against Texas Tech, he’s arguably the best wide receiver in college football.

But Doctson’s uprising began innocuously.

He grew up 20 miles from TCU. He became a Horned Frogs fan in his youth and raced on the field of Amon G. Carter Stadium as a member of the Bleacher Creatures — a group of kids who race the length of the field before TCU home games.

Rivals.com gave him a threestar ranking his senior year at Mansfield Legacy High School.

He accumulated 40 receptions, 604 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

He wasn’t recruited by TCU, even though he lived 30 minutes away. He piqued the interests of Wyoming, Tulsa and Duke — none of which are known as football schools. He chose Wyoming.

“You’d like to [recruit him], but you just … he wasn’t overly

PLAYERS TO WATCH

fast at the time,” TCU head coach Gary Patterson told USA Today earlier this year. “There’s a lot of people who can run in Texas ... Nobody else was recruiting him either.”

His freshman year at Wyoming in 2011, Doctson racked up 35 receptions for 393 yards and five touchdowns. His first was a 7-yard touchdown against TCU. But as his talent grew, his homesickness worsened. After his grandfather was diagnosed with a brain tumor, he breturned home.

“We were going through a lot as a family, myself especially,” Doctson told ESPN in 2014.

“I was really hard on myself and just a little bit distracted.

That’s really what brought me back to Texas. Family was the number-one thing in my life.

I couldn’t see myself spending four years apart from my brother and mom.”

TCU didn’t offer him a scholarship. So he walked on.

He couldn’t play his sophomore season due to NCAA transfer rules.

Doctson finally played for his dream school in 2013, and he piled up 36 receptions and 440 receiving yards. He emerged as a star his junior season.

He set TCU’s receiving yards record with 1,018 yards, he broke TCU’s touchdown record with 11 touchdowns, and his 65 receptions were one shy of the record set by Josh Boyce in 2012.

Doctson’s break-out party against the Red Raiders last Saturday was more than that. It

was a show that displayed the validation of an athlete and the evolution of a man.

“He’s the best receiver in college football,” said TCU senior running back Aaron Green after the Texas Tech game. “Everybody knows it.”

Texas defensive coordinator Vance Bedford will have his hands full this weekend. He’ll have three freshm an

cornerbacks switching off to cover Doctson.

“If I was Josh, I’d be jumping up and down,”Bedford said. “I’d be rubbing my hands, it’s new meat for me today, if I’m Josh.”

Three freshmen covering Doctson is plan A. Beford also has a plan B to cover him: “It’s flip a coin, get on my knees and say a prayer.”

Bedford can doubleteam Docston and pray all he wants. But when he is on, there is no stopping Doctson’s show.

By Blanche Schaefer @schaefer_bb

Quarterback Trevone Boykin Senior quarterback Trevone Boykin enters Week 5 as the Big 12’s leading passer and a top candidate for the Heisman trophy. His 1,470 passing yards are third in the nation, and he’s thrown for 14 touchdowns and only three interceptions so far. Boykin put up career numbers last week as No. 4 TCU narrowly avoided an upset at Texas Tech. He threw the game-winning touchdown pass from the 4-yard line with 23 seconds left in the game to seal the win 55-52. Boykin completed 63 percent of his passes and finished the night with a career-high 485 yards and four touchdowns through the air. The Longhorn defense will have its hands full on Saturday with Boykin and the No. 5 scoring offense in the country.

Wide receiver Josh Doctson One of Boykin’s favorite targets and the No. 1 wide receiver in the country, senior Josh Doctson is a central cog in the Horned Frogs’ explosive offense. Doctson put up 267 yards on a conference record-tying 18 catches against Texas Tech last weekend. He has 593 yards on 35 catches and has hauled in six touchdown grabs this season. Doctson set a TCU single-season record in 2014 with 1,018 receiving yards, and he should finish 2015 well over that number if he continues at this level of play. Doctson tagged Texas’ defense for 115 yards last year in a 48-10 TCU win and could easily do the same this year against a struggling Texas pass defense.

Running back Aaron Green The Horned Frogs might be 3-1 instead of 4-0 if it hadn’t been for senior tailback Aaron Green’s heroics last weekend. As TCU trailed Texas Tech with 23 seconds left to play, Green caught the game-winning touchdown just barely in-bounds after Boykin’s high pass was tipped off Doctson’s hands. He recorded three touchdowns and 162 rushing yards on 28 carries. Green amassed 922 yards in 2014 as TCU’s leading rusher and also leads the Frogs with 434 yards so far this season. As TCU looks to continue proving its case for a playoff bid, Green has a chance to pad that number by taking advantage of a Texas defense that’s given up 825 rushing yards this season.

Quarterback Trevone Boykin

Defensive end Josh Carraway Texas’ offensive line crumbled last week when junior right tackle Kent Perkins left the game with a knee injury.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard was sacked five times, once for a loss of 22 yards, without Perkins on the line. Perkins is day-to-day and there is a good chance he’ll play Saturday, and Texas’ offensive line will need all the reinforcement it can get against TCU junior defensive end Josh Carraway.

He wreaked havoc on the Longhorns last year in a 48-10 Horned Frogs blowout, returning an interception 33 yards for a touchdown in the final minutes of the game. Carraway also forced a Longhorns fumble in the first quarter, which led to TCU’s first touchdown. If Perkins isn’t in the Texas lineup Saturday or isn’t 100 percent healthy, Carraway could exploit the weak Texas line and force turnovers at the hands of young

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TEXAS’ SPIRITS REMAIN HIGH Longhorns still hopeful after 1-3 start

By Ezra Siegel @SiegelEzra

The Longhorns haven’t caught many breaks this season.

In back-to-back weeks, late-game specialteams disasters sunk the Longhorns’ chances of winning. Additionally, a variety of controversial calls negated several big plays.

It would be easy for the Longhorns to hang their heads and blame their struggles on bad luck. However, they aren’t succumbing to a negative attitude. Instead, they’re holding themselves accountable and looking for ways to improve.

“You look at it, you look at that game there on Saturday, and we have our chances,” head coach Charlie Strong said. “We don’t have a dropped ball here and then just making a stop, we take the will out of them to [score] … we’ve just got to keep working. [A lucky break] will come some day.”

Strong’s sense of accountability is catching on in the Longhorns’ locker room. The players won’t accept that only questionable calls or special teams cost them the game. They know they could have done more to prevent their bad breaks.

“Obviously a lot of things we can improve on and it’s not like we went out there and played the greatest game we could and almost won,” junior safety Dylan Haines said. “We made a lot of mistakes on defense, struggled on offense at the end of the game, and then special teams is obviously just as important as everything else. We’ve just got to get better.”

The biggest issue may have been Texas’ inability to move the ball and protect its lead. The Longhorns led almost the entire fourth quarter against No. 20 Oklahoma State, but went threeand-out on three of their four drives while holding that lead.

Texas also lost out on potential field goal op-

portunities in the second half when sacks and an interception on a dropped pass cost the team its field position. As its schedule ramps up, Texas will have to avoid squandering such opportunities.

“It’s just capitalizing,” senior wide receiver Marcus Johnson said. “We could have extended drives, and we could have made plays. We just have to be able to learn and be composed and make those plays happen, so you’re not dealing with losses where the difference is four points.”

Texas will be focusing on its fundamentals as it gears up for No. 4 TCU. The team plagued itself with dropped passes, penalties and assignment mistakes throughout its last two losses.

Now, they’ll look to learn from those mistakes and take advantage when opportunities present themselves.

The Longhorns’ spirit remains high despite two heartbreaking losses. After conducting a players-only meeting, the team is on the same page. Jay Norvell, wide receivers coach and offensive play-caller, said that Texas still has the chance to make this year special, and the players have echoed that sentiment.

“We’re a mentally strong group,” senior linebacker Peter Jinkens said. “We bend, but don’t break. We suffered some losses, but there’s still a lot of positivity around this team and a lot of positive energy.”

Texas will need that positive energy Saturday in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs boast a notoriously explosive offense, and the Longhorns may find themselves down quickly. Yet, with a focus on fundamentals, the team may be able to avoid another unlucky heartbreaking loss.

“We’re ready to start playing Texas ball and really just dominate another team,” sophomore defensive end Naashon Hughes said. “We have big opportunities to show who we are as a team … we have to show what we’ve been working on all year.”

Friday, Octo

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ober 2, 2015

Ridgeway leads defensive line

By Nick Castillo @NickCastillo_74

The ball found its way into Texas defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway’s hands.

Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph cocked his arm to throw but lost the ball before he could fire a pass. Ridgeway scooped it into his hands. He delivered a stiff arm, fought his way out of Rudolph’s arms and ran 34 yards for a touchdown.

“I wasn’t about to go down,” Ridgeway said.

His touchdown against Oklahoma State was a breakout moment. The 6-foot-3, 314 pound junior entered 2015 with high hopes after recording 43 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and six sacks during his sophomore season. But a back injury kept him out of fall practice. He was able to play against Notre Dame and has slowly worked his way back to the starting spot. “[Ridgeway] has been working hard,” head coach Charlie Strong said. “You look at the California game — he played really well — and what happened the first two [weeks] is just during the preseason camp he was just working back getting into shape and had a couple of nagging injuries. But then you watch him go out there and play this past week against Oklahoma State and had just a great game.”

Ridgeway has begun to find his edge in 2015.

Although he’s only amassed 16 total tackles and one sack this season, Strong has admired his ability to control the line of scrimmage. Strong said he was glad to see him step up against the

Cowboys and score a touchdown.

His teammates are also glad to see Ridgeway return to form. Sophomore defensive end Naashon Hughes said when Ridgeway is playing well, the defense is at its peak.

“When Hassan plays the way he does, he sets the edge for the defense,” Hughes said. “He stops the offense from doing whatever they want do up the middle because he’s that much of a dominant force. Whenever he plays like that it just shows how dominant we can be as a defense.”

As Texas prepares for its toughest challenge against No. 4 TCU, the Longhorns will need Ridgeway at his best. Texas enters Fort Worth with a 1-3 record, its worst start since 1956.

Senior running back Johnathan Gray said Ridgeway needed a break, and now he has confidence that can help him and the team against the Horned Frogs.

“He’s a big part of our defense,” Gray said. “He plays like that every snap, every game. The sky is the limit for him and our defense … He’s a big threat and we keep needing him to do that.”

While his teammates and coaches have bragged on him, Ridgeway isn’t satisfied with his touchdown against the Cowboys. He said he’d rather win than make the big play.

“It doesn’t feel good coming out like that,” Ridgeway said. “It would have felt good winning.

That’s the only thing that would have felt good.”

Although Ridgeway isn’t satisfied with his touchdown or losing, Gray said Ridgeway’s gradual improvement can go a long way for him.

“The sky is the limit for that kid,” Gray said.

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SCENARIOS

Friday, October 2, 2015

Texas wins if…

The offense moves the ball. TCU’s offense knows how to score, and Texas will have to keep up with TCU’s fast-paced offense. The Horned Frogs rank No. 4 in points per game and No. 2 in yards per game. Texas, however, ranks No. 70 in points per game and No. 111 in yards per game. The stats are not on Texas’ side entering the game Saturday, so the Longhorns must change things to stand a chance. TCU’s Heisman candidate quarterback, senior Trevone Boykin, already has 1,470 yards on the season. Last week against Texas Tech, Boykin was 34-for-54 with 485 yards and four touchdowns.

Texas redshirt freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard has to match up to Boykin to help Texas get down the field. Heard was 9-for-17 with 119 yards and no touchdowns in last week’s loss to Oklahoma State.

Heard will need Boykin-like stats to compete in Fort Worth, otherwise Texas will get behind quickly.

Everything goes well in the kicking game. For the second week in a row, a Texas kicker messed up in a big way. Against California, it was senior kicker Nick Rose’s shanked extra point. Against Oklahoma State, freshman punter Michael Dickson lost control of the snap and shanked the punt. These were only two kicks out of many, but they changed both games. Texas kickers must be on their ‘A’ game against TCU. No shanking, no fumbling snaps, no 20-yard punts and no missed field goals. There seems to be some bad kicking juju for the Longhorns, but maybe it’s just in the confines of Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium.

By Jillian Kushner @jilliankushner

Texas loses if…

Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan Staff

Redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard works to run out of a tackle against Oklahoma State on Saturday.

Heard struggled against the Cowboys, only throwing 119 yards and an interception.

BY THE NUMBERS

128

By Jason Epstein @jwepstein96

The number of penalty yards the Longhorns earned last week.

The average distance of a Texas punt this season.

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The defense can’t stop Boykin. With a quarterback like Boykin, the defense needs to be the best it has been all season. Sadly for the Horns, the defense has been the least reliable part of their game, allowing 395 total yards against Oklahoma State. The defensive backs need to stay on the receivers, especially TCU senior receiver Josh Doctson. Doctson had 18 receptions for 267 yards against Texas Tech. The defense must stop the Boykin-to-Doctson connection.

The officiating goes the way it did against Oklahoma State. From phantom holding calls to penalties on players who weren’t even in the game, Saturday was a referee mess. While the refs are completely out of Texas’ control, the Longhorns need things to go their way on the penalty front this weekend.

The officiating appeared lopsided in Oklahoma State’s favor, as Texas was penalized 16 times for 128 yards. The Cowboys were penalized seven times for 40 yards. Oklahoma State had more yards from Texas’ penalties than their own rushing game of 103 yards.

40

The ranking of TCU heading into this week.

30

The percentage of third downs converted by the Longhorns. Succeeding in just 15/50, these missed opportunities have contributed to Texas’ 25 punts in four games.

78 The percentage of red-zone touchdowns Texas has completed.

142.2

636.5

The average number of yards per game recorded by the Horned Frogs in four contests

The average number of all-purpose yards per game by Texas’ team-leading receiver, senior Daje Johnson.

290

The total number of yards recorded

by Texas against Oklahoma State.

Texas’ record against TCU in the last ten games. Last year, TCU defeated Texas 48—10 in Austin.

7-3

29

The number of tackles by freshman defensive back Malik Jefferson. He has 3.5 tackles for loss, five quarterback hurries and one fumble returned for a touchdown.

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TEXAN STAFF PICKS

Friday, October 2, 2015

NICK CASTILLO

CLAIRE CRUZ

JORI EPSTEIN

JASON EPSTEIN

Overall Record

29-11

30-10

26-14

Last Week’s Record

7-3

6-4

TCU 48-35

W.Virginia vs.

Oklahoma

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JILLIAN KUSHNER

JACOB MARTELLA

AKSHAY MIRCHANDANI

BLANCHE SCHAEFER

27-13

29-11

30-10

31-9

26-14

29-11

31-9

6-4

7-3

7-3

8-2

7-3

5-5

7-3

6-4

TCU 38-31

TCU 38-31

TCU 45-28

TCU 49-35

TCU 45-35

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

W.Virginia

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Alabama vs.

Georgia

Georgia

Georgia

Alabama

Alabama

Georgia

Georgia

Georgia

Georgia

Georgia

Georgia

Ole Miss vs.

Florida

Ole Miss

Ole Miss

Ole Miss

Ole Miss

Ole Miss

Ole Miss

Ole Miss

Ole Miss

Ole Miss

Ole Miss

Texas Tech vs. Baylor

Baylor

Baylor

Baylor

Baylor

Baylor

Baylor

Baylor

Baylor

Baylor

Baylor

Iowa vs.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Arizona vs.

Stanford

Stanford

Stanford

Arizona

Stanford

Arizona

Stanford

Stanford

Stanford

Stanford

Stanford

Arkansas vs.

Tennessee

Arkansas

Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee

Arkansas

Arkansas

Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee

Mississippi St. vs.

Texas A&M

Texas A&M

Texas A&M

Texas A&M

Texas A&M

Mississippi St.

Texas A&M

Texas A&M

Notre Dame vs. Clemson

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Clemson

Clemson

Clemson

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Texas vs. TCU

Mississippi St. Mississippi St. Mississippi St.

Notre Dame

Clemson

Clemson

TCU 45-35

TCU 48-31

EZRA SIEGEL

TCU 38-27

AARON TORRES

TCU 58-13

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