In what was probably the ugliest win in a long time for No. 5 Texas football, head coach Steve Sarkisian's squad walked out of Nashville, TN, with a ranked win in Week 9 over the No. 25 Vanderbilt Commodores. As many expected, Vanderbilt proved to be an incredibly difficult out in Nashville in a closely fought game.
The bye week comes at a good time for Texas football after escaping No. 25 Vanderbilt with a messy win in Nashville in Week 9
Texas had multiple chances to seal this victory late against Vanderbilt, but constant mistakes and poorly-timed penalties kept the Commodores and standout quarterback Diego Pavia hanging around well into the fourth quarter. The Longhorns had double-digit penalties for over 100 penalty yards, including what was likely at least 150 net penalty yards lost due to those untimely calls.
Turnovers and a lack of execution from turnovers generated also cost the Texas offense against Vanderbilt and Pavia. Texas didn't convert any of its three turnovers its defense generated from two picks and one forced fumble into any points on offense.
Quinn Ewers' two picks set up Vanderbilt's offense in plus territory, which turned into 14 points for the Commodores. Had it not been for the two Vandy short fields from those tipped-ball picks by the Vandy defense, Texas could've had a much larger cushion late on the scoreboard for this game.
Nonetheless, a ranked win on the road over an SEC foe will never come easy. The Longhorns needed a top-25 win before the bye week to put this team back on track in the SEC Championship Game race and the 12-team College Football Playoff path.
Here are four overreactions after Texas's victory escape vs. Vanderbilt in Week 9 on the road.
Texas has found its most well-rounded wide receiver
The Longhorns needed someone to step up in the lead receiver role this week in the absence of junior wideout Isaiah Bond against Vanderbilt on Saturday. Sophomore wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. stepped up to be the pretty clear-cut WR1 for the Longhorns on Saturday, with a huge performance in the receiving game in the win over Vandy.
Moore helped to spark the Longhorns' offense when it needed to get on the scoreboard to counter Vandy's early score and momentum coming off the Ewers early-first quarter turnover. Ewers connected with Moore on an explosive 27-yard touchdown pass and catch for a nice response for the Texas offense to get their first lead of the game.
WR DeAndre Moore says Quinn Ewers audibled his route in the middle of his motion on his first TD reception to a slot-fade. https://t.co/HkJdYGu3qa
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) October 27, 2024
Moore not only proved to be an explosive weapon for the Longhorns' offense in the receiving corps with Bond out due to a lower-body injury, but he also provided a steady target in the screen and short pass game for Ewers. Moore helped Texas get some separation against Vandy with his second touchdown catch and run of the game on a screen/swing pass that went for over 20 yards and a touchdown before halftime.
The impact Moore had on this game stemmed beyond his receiving production. He was a proficient blocker downfield for the ball carrier and on designed run plays on the outside.
One of the biggest plays Moore made in the win yesterday was to ultimately help seal the victory for the Longhorns. He recovered the onside kick that kept Vanderbilt from potentially tying the game with a field goal late in the fourth quarter.
This was a massive day for Moore, who has emerged as a real weapon and potentially Texas's top go-to receiver target with Bond out for SEC play over the past few weeks in October.