Another challenge for reeling defense
STILLWATER, Okla. — The final scene looked like it could have been pulled from some “Friday Night Lights” fan fiction. Or a haywire UFC weigh-in between belligerent rivals.
Two coaches, grown men, stomping out onto the field, their faces flushed, arms flailing. Fans looking on, half hoping for anarchy to engulf the field, half in a state of disgusted confusion.
Texas coach Tom Herman and Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy never came within arm’s reach of each other during the melee that never was. Too many bodies separated them in the final minute of the Cowboys’ 38-35 win over Texas on Saturday.
Herman and Gundy shook hands after, dutiful as ever, and downplayed the event. No harm done, unfortunate misunderstanding, they said.
The episode, sparked by UT senior defensive end Breckyn Hager’s indefensible decision to continue charging at Cowboys quarterback Taylor Cornelius after a kneel down, was the climax of a strange night in Stillwater.
Sullen faces in dirtied white uniforms peppered the field as the final whistle blew. There were tears in the Longhorns’ locker room. Herman and his players considered those reactions a sign of growth.
“That’s a good thing,” senior tight end Andrew Beck said. “There are teams that have been through here where it wouldn’t have torn it up as bad as it did. Shoot, last year.”
Herman said afterward he was “proud of the way our guys fought in the second half.” And they did fight, clawed back from a 3114 halftime deficit.
But twice now, the Texas defense has run up against a Big 12 offense it couldn’t handle.
The Longhorns limited Oklahoma for a time, but the Sooners put 45 points on the board and gained 535 yards in that Oct. 6 battle. Oklahoma State gashed the Texas defense for 502 yards, five touchdowns, and one field goal.
A pair of short misses by Oklahoma State kicker Matt Amendola — from 41 and 38 yards — kept UT from flatlining earlier.
Texas at least stemmed the bleeding in the second half, limiting OSU to 124 yards and one score, which came on a drive that began at the UT 35-yard line. There were small moments of triumph scattered throughout — sacks by Gary Johnson, Anthony Wheeler, and Charles Omeinhu; 11 total tackles for loss — but no one wanted to talk much about that in the aftermath.
Herman said the defense needed to improve on third down. It didn’t.
The secondary needed to remain disciplined, especially knowing gunslinger Gundy’s tendencies. It didn’t.
Cowboys receiver Tylan Wallace repeatedly burned Texas, even after cornerbacks Davante Davis and Kris Boyd returned from a first-quarter suspension for a team rules violation. Boyd, matched up against Wallace for most of the night, had about as nightmarish a performance as one could imagine.
A more potent offense awaits Texas next weekend. Saturday’s clash between No. 15 Texas (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) and No. 12 West Virginia (6-1, 4-1) at Royal-Memorial Stadium will reveal whether Herman and his bunch are ready for this moment.
WVU, fresh off a 58-14 shellacking of Baylor, ranks ninth in passing offense, 15th in total offense, and 16th in scoring offense.
“We are in a point in our program right now where we cannot play our best, especially on the road, against a really good football team and expect to win,” Herman said. “It’s not going to happen.”