Texas Football: 5 overreactions from loss to Maryland

4. Pass defense will regress

It wasn’t all bad for the Texas defense in this game. After a rough first quarter, the defense locked down on Maryland quarterback Kasim Hill for the better part of the remaining time. Even the rain delay didn’t hurt the pass defense too much. However, there were some obvious instances of missed tackles and poor fundamental coverage from senior leaders like Kris Boyd and P.J. Locke III.

Texas allowed more than 60 percent of passes to be completed from Hill for more than 250 yards and two touchdowns. For a Maryland offense that usually thrives off the ground game, we expected a bigger performance from the secondary in holding them in check.

Likely the most disappointing aspect of this performance from the Texas secondary was the lack of turnovers. Texas didn’t force a single turnover all game against an interception-prone offense. We’ll see if this talented but young secondary has something different in store for the rest of the season, but it will be an uphill climb.

Last season, Texas thrived off turnovers behind a multitude of defensive backs that all managed at least two interceptions. The loss of former All-American safety DeShon Elliott could wind up hurting this defense more than many people thought. Early departures were known to potentially hurt this defense, but it could be more impactful than originally thought.