Why did the third-down defense for the Texas Longhorns suffer so badly in 2018? During spring practice, head coach Tom Herman suggested that self-scouting found a possible answer.
Luck certainly played a role in the absence of defensive touchdowns for Texas in 2018 after leading the nation with seven in Herman’s first season, but third-down defense was the more significant and related issue for Todd Orlando’s second defense — the Horns dropped from No. 3 nationally in 2017 (27.1 percent) to No. 109 in 2018 (44.3 percent).
Orlando’s initial results on third down made that Texas defense rank as the Big 12’s best in the last decade in that regard, dating back to the 2009 group that played for a national championship.