Longhorns beat second straight ranked foe.
UT beats Big 12 nemesis for first time in 4 years with a strong second half, key defensive plays
AUSTIN — In past years, Texas probably would have wilted.
Momentum would have snowballed in the opposite direction, crushing Texas under the weight of mistakes and missed opportunities. And for a portion of Saturday’s game against No. 17 TCU at Royal-Memorial Stadium, it seemed the Longhorns would adhere to that familiar script.
But as coach Tom Herman has said for weeks and weeks, this team didn’t feel or act like the same old Texas. These players, he preached, were not bound by past failures and shortcomings.
For the past two Saturdays, the Longhorns have met and perhaps exceeded Herman’s sky-high expectations.
Texas’ 31-16 win over the Horned Frogs was, even more so than last Saturday’s conquest of No. 22 USC, a true moment of catharsis for the Longhorns (3-1, 1-0 Big 12).
“There’s a grit to this team that’s fun to be around,” Herman said. “There’s no head hanging, there’s no bad body language, there’s no doubt.
“You start of 0 of 8 on third down, there’s going to be a lot of doubt that creeps in. But I think we were confident in the way that we prepared and we were confident that if we went out and stuck to the game plan, that the plays would start going our way.”
TCU (2-2, 0-1) had dominated this meeting since moving from the Mountain West to the Big 12 in 2012, outscoring Texas 153-33 in four straight wins. It was as onesided a fight as could be imagined.
This day, the Longhorns stood up to the schoolyard bully. This time, they put the final period on a relatively miserable chapter in Texas football history.
The plays this game hinged on belonged to Texas, and the sheer amount made by the defense was staggering.
Cornerback Kris Boyd jarred loose a would-be touchdown pass to TCU wideout Jalen Reagor, forcing the opposition to settle for a short field goal instead. Boyd poked away another potential Reagor reception that would have gone for at least 50 yards.
Fellow cornerback Davante Davis swooped in to break up a pass that would have placed TCU at the goal line early in the fourth quarter with Texas ahead by eight.
Senior safety Brandon Jones intercepted TCU sophomore quarterback Shawn Robinson early in the second half and later recovered a fumble forced by sophomore defensive lineman Marquez Bimage.
Freshman safety Caden Sterns, the “Wolf of DKR,” feasted on the TCU offense, recording a pair of interceptions at critical intervals.
On the first, he identified a designed wide receiver pass and flew across the field in time to pluck Kavontae Turpin’s attempt. He nearly returned the second, this one off Robinson, for a touchdown, weaving through a sea of purple jerseys before stepping out of bounds at the 2-yard line.
Quarterback Sam Ehlinger ran in for the score on the next play to put Texas ahead 24-16.
“It was fearless,” Herman said of his secondary’s performance. “When you’re confident in your preparation, you’re confident in the way that you’ve been trained, you’re confident in your teammates and their preparation and their ability to do their job. Then it should be very easy and fun to play fearless and to not hesitate and not think.”
The defense’s performance allowed UT’s offense to work itself out of an extended lull that struck during the second and third quarters. Not counting a halftime kneel down, Texas had four straight drives without picking up a first down.
Trailing 16-10 with 8:44 remaining in the third period, the Longhorns finally settled into a groove.
Junior receiver Collin Johnson used every inch of his 6-foot-6 frame to reach and pull in a 31yard touchdown pass from Ehlinger in the closing seconds of the third quarter.
Lil’Jordan Humphrey delivered the fatal blow on a 38-yard catch-and-run touchdown with 3:18 remaining. The junior wideout picked up a block from Johnson and shed one final defender on his way to the end zone.
Ehilinger completed 22 of 32 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson finished with seven catches for 124 yards. Graduate transfer running back Tre Watson led Texas with 58 yards on 15 carries, including a 3yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Next weekend, Texas travels to Manhattan, Kan., to face a Kansas State team coming off a 35-6 rout at the hands of No. 12 West Virginia.
“We have got many, many, many steps left to take,” Herman said. “We went 1-0 against a really good opponent and we’re going to have to wake up tomorrow and take another step and do it on the road against another really good opponent.”