‘Bloody Tuesdays’ a major reason why Longhorns playing consistent, physical football headed into SEC championship
Longhorns headed to Atlanta with the SEC’s No. 1 scoring defense
Texas A&M coach Mike Elko’s eye-opening statement Saturday night should forever be associated with the Texas-A&M rivalry.
“Hats off to them,” Elko said after the 17-7 loss to the Longhorns, “because they physically annihilated us.”
Let those words sink in — “physically annihilated.”
Told of those comments Monday, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian didn’t flinch. He’s seen it throughout the season and even more so in November. Sarkisian seemed proud to report that Texas’ defense has forced nine straight turnovers that resulted in six touchdowns and three kneel-downs to end ballgames.
No. 2 Texas (11-1) clinched a spot in the SEC championship game by making teams pay for their mistakes. It’s the most physical brand of football Longhorns fans have seen since the back half of the 2000s. And Sarkisian is looking for more Saturday against No. 5 Georgia (10-2).
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Asked about his team’s physicality, Sarkisian said, “I think it's gone upward from a consistency standpoint I think we've had moments where we've been a very physical football team.
“You guys can recall early in the season me talking about how we’re giving up too many leaky yards in the run game. We talked about on offense, our ability to run the ball consistently, especially when our opponent knows we're going to run the ball. You haven't heard those things out of my mouth here for about the last month.”
Now, the Texas defense isn’t letting “running backs fall forward,” the coach said. The Horns are running it successfully when the whole stadium knows what’s coming. A 15-play drive featuring 15 running plays against Kentucky proved that. The second half against Texas A&M proved it again.
The Longhorns are headed to Atlanta with the league’s best scoring defense (11.7) and total defense (247.2). They also have the No. 1 pass defense and have allowed only four passing touchdowns all season, which is tied for the lowest total in the nation.
“Our practice habits have improved as the seasons gone on,” Sarkisian said. “We’re practicing better defensively than we have all year.”
Linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. called them “Bloody Tuesdays.” Every week, “we always try to make sure we set a new level of physicality,” Hill added.
On Tuesdays, defenders battle through blockers at full speed, but everyone knows to slow down when you wrap up the ballcarrier.
“We’re pretty professional about it,” Hill said. “I mean, we’re not trying to kill nobody, hurt nobody. We’re just trying to make sure we set the right physicality.”
Sarkisian just wants to see that continue this week at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“I think there’s a level of consistency now that’s better than it’s been all season long,” he said.
