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My preview was correct in breaking down OSU's personnel (particularly noting their upgrade at DT), but I was dead wrong on their predicted defensive strategy. Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Bill Young abandoned his usual bend-but-don't-break philosophy, killed the Longhorn running game for three quarters with numbers and blitzes, and dared David Ash and the Longhorn receivers to beat top notch cornerbacks placed on islands. Which Texas did.
Harsin pulled double duty as OC and DC and, as against Ole Miss, we saw him consciously play call with our defense and the total team in mind. Harsin robbed possessions from the OSU offense, particularly in the second half of the contest when it was clear that the Cowboys would score every time they had the ball. OSU only had five possessions in the second half and scored on four of them (27 plays, 251 yards, 9.3 yards per play, 2 TDs, 2 FGs) the only non-score when they took over with 0:29 seconds left in the game on their 25 yard line and the defense finally got a stop. In that half, the Longhorn offense had the ball for 20:32 compared to OSU's 9:28 and scored three touchdowns in five possessions (Ash interception, one punt).
Despite racking up 440 yards and putting 34 offensive points on the board, it wasn't all glory for the offense. I wrote in my preview that this game would be a great litmus test for our OL - can they impose their will from the opening whistle on comparable athletes or stacked fronts? - and we found out that answer is no. Which we probably already suspected. That means any decent team that wants to deny our running game can if they're willing to allow the Longhorn passing game some operating space. But the better Ash and our receivers play, the more cloudy that calculus gets.