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Knee-jerk reaction: Texas bows to BYU's will

According to thefreedictionary.com, a knee-jerk reaction is "an immediate, unthinking emotional reaction produced by an event or statement to which the reacting person is highly sensitive."

By natedub9
BYU quarterback Taysom Hill breaks tackles vs Texas in Provo
BYU quarterback Taysom Hill breaks tackles vs Texas in Provo
George Frey

In media interviews during the week, Jamaal Williams said that they were going to make Texas bow to their will. I appreciated the bravado, although I was concerned going into game day, especially after a very poor offensive performance last week. Either Jamaal is a soothsayer, or all the Cougars really needed for this game was some bravado.

In about three and a half hours, the Cougars changed course; from red alert panic, fire everyone, self-destruct mode to (no big deal) setting a BYU record for rushing yards, and a Texas school record for rushing yards given. BYU was only 36 yards shy of the much ballyhooed 715 yards that Texas put up last week against New Mexico State. If you want to bend someone to your will in football, there is no better way.

Things to Be Excited About

There are so many things to be optimistic about on September 9. The offensive line from Saturday's game manhandled the athletically "superior" (?) Longhorns. The unit was unrecognizable from the one that played at Virginia.

Jamaal Williams is amazing. Really, the way he plays makes my brain explode. It’s not just the gaining of yards, it’s the how. The stiff arms, jukes, stop-and-go moves, and just pushing defenders back and moving piles forward. He has the whole skill set, enough to be one of the top 5 BYU running backs ever.

Paul Lasike also was very good.

The defense (aka, the Zion Curtain) is still intact. They held some very talented running backs and receivers to modest numbers, and they are absolute monsters on 3rd and 4th down.

Kyle Van Noy, against all odds, looks improved from last year.

Oh, and Taysom Hill looked like the best running quarterback in the country. Speaking of "knee-jerk reactions", Orangebloods.com reported that Manny Diaz was fired the day after the game.

Words of Caution

Even though it was a 19-point win over the #15 team in the country (does that count as a big win?), there are still some things to be cautious about as fans map out their smack talk. They were actually pretty obvious, but we’ll leave them in writing.

The passing game is still not good. Taysom Hill is hanging around 30% for completions, which is about half of what would be considered good, and there are other teams who will scheme much better than Texas for their read option running game. Virginia had a much better scheme, and you can put money on Utah's Kyle Whittingham and Kalani Sitake (defensive coordinator) having a better game plan than Mack Brown and Manny Diaz brought into Provo.

To top it off, there were two or three snaps that went over Taysom's head. That's Football 101, but we haven't been able to figure it out for 3 seasons.

Having said all of that, all of Cougar Nation should enjoy the victory. It was a Big Win, and was one of the most enjoyable games I’ve witnessed in the last few years, and the afterglow is going strong over 36 hours later.

For your enjoyment, and pretty much without need of explanation:

Last week, BYU was in Dan Wolken’s Misery Index. This week, Texas takes their place.

Wait, the Longhorn Network didn’t want to replay the football game?

Earlier this week, a photo circulated on Twitter of a hand-drawn sketch that Bronco allegedly made for a recruit. James Bates gave the Longhorns a taste of what they are missing.

Lastly, the weather was out of control for the second week in a row. I read some unconfirmed, unofficial reports that winds reached 59 MPH (that it was they felt like), and the rain was coming horizontally through the whole stadium during the 2 hour delay. I took a short video of it myself that can be seen here (You may want to turn down your volume).

So although this knee-jerk reaction is posted a bit late, it crystallizes my thoughts following the game. What was your knee-jerk reaction following the game? What are the memorable tweets or articles you read?

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