Longhorns face another test against a ranked foe
AUSTIN — If the Texas football team had to be given a spirit animal, the most appropriate choice might be a scraggly cartoon coyote by the name of Wile E.
Animator Chuck Jones, creator of the star-crossed predator and its indomitable nemesis Road Runner, purportedly crafted a set of rules that every episode must obey. One in particular stands out in relation to UT.
Rule No. 10: “The audience’s sympathy must remain with the Coyote.”
All but the most fervent of Longhorns’ loathers have likely felt some of that emotion while watching coach Tom Herman’s team play this season. UT has come oh-so-close against Southern Cal, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State — programs ranked fourth, 12th and 10th, respectively, in the Associated Press poll on game day — only to end up taking an anvil to the face.
And like the Coyote, UT (4-4, 3-2 Big 12) keeps rising each morning, believing this will be the day. They get their next chance at 6:15 p.m. Satuday against TCU, which is ranked No. 8 in the first College Football Playoff poll.
The Horns’ stubborn will and determination, their ability to move past those failures, has been perhaps the most impressive development in Year 1 of Herman’s reign aside from the defense’s maturation into a game-changing force.
“There’s a lot of teams in the country that would have splintered at this point, but I think our guys really do realize that it’s much better to be close than it is far away,” Herman said following UT’s 13-10 overtime loss to Oklahoma State. “Although the losses might hurt a little bit more because you are invested and you are on the doorstep and you can see the other side, that makes losing a little bit more painful, and that’s OK. It should because that allows us learning opportunities to grow, and our guys have embraced that.”
Last weekend, the Horns
finally tasted victory again following two heartbreaking defeats, routing Baylor 38-7 in Waco. It won’t be anywhere near that easy against the Horned Frogs (7-1, 4-1).
Series streak at three
TCU has a three-game series win streak for the first time since the 1930s. It has won those contests by a cumulative score of 12926. UT’s most recent trip to
Amon G. Carter Stadium in 2015 resulted in a 50-7 loss.
“I remember it being the first quarter, 30-0,” linebacker Malik Jefferson said. “It was probably the worst game I’ve ever been involved in. Definitely one of the most frustrating because there was nothing that you could do. Just watching guys catching the ball left and right, it was a bloodbath.”
Though TCU is coming off its first loss of the season, a 14-7 shocker at Iowa State, it has outscored its last three opponents 76-20. Coach Gary Patterson has pieced together the Big 12’s No. 1 scoring defense, No. 1 rushing defense and No. 1 passing efficiency defense. Offensively, UT ranks eighth, seventh and eighth among Big 12 teams by those metrics.
Full complement at QB
Fortunately, Herman will finally have his full assortment of quarterbacks this week, along with center Zach Shackelford (concussion) and receiver Reggie Hemphill-Mapps (knee). He also noted Shane Buechele, Sam Ehlinger and Jerrod Heard could all take snaps against TCU.
“They are very fast,” offensive coordinator Tim Beck said. “They get to the ball well and play off of blocks. They are well coached. They understand their system. They know the strengths. They know the weaknesses. They know how to make adjustments when you find an area to attack. It’s going to be a great challenge for us offensively.”
The most important thing, Herman believes, is to avoid self-inflicted wounds in the game’s opening minutes.
“Let us not get in those positions,” Herman said. “Let us start faster, play better early. The Oklahoma game sticks out to go down 20-to-nothing and rally back to take the lead in the fourth quarter, that’s saying something. Now, we have to be able to sustain that kind of effort and focus.
“I think the biggest thing has killed us is the mistakes made at very critical times. And they’re not made because of lack of effort and they’re not made because of lack of knowledge, I think they’re made because of lack of true laser-like focus on your job and what to do and maybe getting wrapped up in the moment a little bit of the enormity of the moment. The biggest thing is to take a deep breath, trust your training and then go execute it the way that you’re trained to do.”