Horns sizzle, fizzle before escaping with win
Narrow victory bodes ill for team struggling to gain respectability
AUSTIN — One day, the 2018 “Revolution” recruiting class might return Texas to what it was during the height of Mack Brown’s tenure. A perennial national title contender, a team respected rather than ridiculed, a must-see Saturday event.
That’s the hope, outlandish as it might sound at the moment for a program struggling to regain its footing. For coach Tom Herman, this stockpile of talented freshmen, cumulatively ranked third nationally by recruiting outlet 247Sports, represents the hope of a starved program.
A few Texas youngsters provided a possible glimpse of the future against a bleak backdrop in a 28-21 win over the Golden Hurricane (1-1) at Royal-Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
“The only issue that we continue to combat is tension and pressing,” Herman said. “I thought the first half we did a fantastic job of that. Third quarter not so much, but the fourth quarter we rallied and did it. I’m happy with where we’re headed.”
The opening quarter saw freshman safeties Caden Sterns and B.J. Foster haul in their first career interceptions. On Tulsa’s first offensive play, Sterns plucked Tulsa quarterback Luke Skipper’s underthrown deep ball from the sky and stamped one foot inbounds before lunging into a raucous mob scene on the Texas sideline. Foster’s leaping, twisting pick came on another errant long shot on Tulsa’s final first-quarter drive.
Electric freshman running back Keaontay Ingram danced around, and ran through, half of Tulsa’s defense on a 29-yard run to put Texas (1-1) ahead 14-0 late in the opening period.
The drive before that, freshman wide receiver Brennan Eagles shed his man on a deep hitch route and hauled in a 35-reception, the first of his career.
“They’re part of one of the best recruiting classes in the country,” Herman said. “Two of those guys (Sterns and Foster) were here all spring as well.
“They are college-ready. I expect you’re going to see a lot of them for years to come.”
Worrisome start to season
It was a brief look ahead into one possible timeline, one Longhorns fans surely hope comes to fruition.
The remainder of the game served as a burning reminder such a rosy result is far from assured. Texas couldn’t shut the door on a Tulsa team that last weekend needed a fourth-quarter rally to defeat FCS program Central Arkansas. That should worry Herman. That should worry every coach and player on this team.
Initially, it looked as if Texas had captured and bottled the right blend of aggression and patience, a mixture that eluded it in last week’s season-opening loss to Maryland.
Quarterback Sam Ehlinger needed just three plays and 27 seconds to get Texas on the board, setting up his 1-yard touchdown run with a 36-yard completion to Lil’Jordan Humphrey.
The Longhorns’ second scoring drive lasted four plays. The third lasted five and culminated with Humphrey shedding two Tulsa defenders as he streaked down the sideline for a 40-yard receiving touchdown.
Any semblance of momentum or superiority seemed lost as soon as Texas retook the field after halftime. Its first four secondhalf drives were all duds featuring penalties and miscues. Tulsa then scored on three straight drives — two short runs by sophomore running back Shamari Brooks and a 35-yard touchdown pass to Keenen Johnson in which nickel back Josh Thompson stumbled to the ground.
Texas is lucky to have escaped with a win. The Golden Hurricane outgained Texas 203-192 in the second half and held the ball for nearly 19 minutes.
Had it not been for a miserable kicking performance and a case of the drops, Texas might be staring at an 0-2 start.
Tulsa missed field goals of 43, 29, and 36 yards. Two Golden Hurricane receivers allowed would-be touchdown passes to slip from their grasp. Texas cost itself some points by failing to score on fourth-and-goal from 2 yards out when Ehlinger’s pass for Collin Johnson sailed out of bounds.
Ehlinger’s 11-yard touchdown pass to graduate transfer running back Tre Watson with 6:25 remaining proved the deciding factor in a game that grew far too close for the increasingly uneasy fans assembled. He completed 21 of 27 passes for 237 yards with two touchdowns and added 51 yards on the ground.
Herman remains optimistic
Watson carried the ball 18 times for 74 yards and Ingram turned 10 rushes into 64 yards.
Humphrey set a career high with seven receptions and matched his previous best with 109 receiving yards.
“We’ve got to play the way that we played in the first half,” Herman said. “We’ve got to play loose, we’ve got to have fun. We’ve got to make sure that we balance understanding that we can’t take our foot off the gas, but at the same time we’ve got to have a ton of fun out there.”
A far tougher test awaits. Texas on Saturday will face 17th-ranked USC at Royal Memorial Stadium.