You're thinking of Lyle Sendlein who's starting for the Cardinals.
Griffin is not a big loss because his backups are better physically. I don't know if Tech plays with a nose or a nose shade, but these matchups gave Dallas Griffin problems because he's just not a big kid. We'd have to tie up a guard to get the nose blocked which would allow linebackers to make plays vs. teams that played a nose. When we down blocked and pulled Griffin (which was hardly ever because Greg Davis is an asshat) we ran the ball with more success. Or when we went two TE's vs. Nebraska and made the LB's account for extra gaps, our stretch play worked much better and took some pressure off of Dallas. To the tune of about 200 yards rushing in the 4th quarter. When we played teams that attacked our center, our stretch worked for shit because Griffin would lose the line of scrimmage and Charles would be dancing in the backfield while playside LB's ran free.
Chris Hall and Buck Burnett are more physically gifted and can hold their own vs. a nose or shaded DT without OG help, unless that DT is a stud. Especially Burnett, he just mauls people at the point of attack. Now where Dallas' loss will be felt is in blitz pickup and protection adjustments. He is a 4.0 student and an academic all-american. But hell, Nebraska blitzed the hell out of us with 3 quarters worth of success when Dallas was making line calls so his cerebralness may be overblown. Will Tech blitz? Can they afford to? I don't think their corners are athletic enough in coverage for their front 6 or 7 to sell out down after down but we'll see.
Look, Texas will put up atleast 35 in this game, so the real capping needs to be done on the other side of the ball. Be cognizant of the defensive injuries specifically to Jared Norton and Sergio Kindle. If they play they add precisely the sort of play-making ability that can stymie Tech's passing game. They're both big hitters that can punish short crossing routes, they can run to swing passes to backs out of the back-field and still tackle in space, and certainly comprise our two best blitzers, with Kindle being a special talent because he's too strong to be blocked with a back and too fast for TE's and tackles. If those two play, especially Kindle, I'll be making my first wager of the year on Texas. They're just what the doctor ordered for a basketball on grass game. Yes, I understand our safeties haven't played well, but their hands are tied when "other" linebackers are in the game.
Also, keep in mind Texas hasn't strung together 4 solid quarters this year and I think part of that can be attributed to their lacking an identity. Offensively, they've found an identity and defensively, their young talent is starting to emerge. See Kindle, Norton, Muckelroy, and Deon Beasley based on a great showing against Adarius Bowman and Dez Bryant last week. If the defense shows like I think they will in Austin (keep in mind this group has been poor-mouthed for two straight weeks) they'll roll. And they should since the blue print is there to stop this Tech offense thanks to CU and Mizzu. Can Duane Akina work a DVD player?
Again, keep tabs on injuries to Kindle, Norton, and even Eddie Jones (a defensive end that helps with depth) and you're golden. If they don't play you shouldn't. Atleast not the Texas side. Even if they don't play, I'm not sure I would trust a schizo Tech team on the road unless I'm getting double digits.
