Cyclones QB to test Horns’ defense
AMES, Iowa — It will be cold Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium, though nothing worse than what Texas endured throughout an unusually wintry week. The wind is expected to gust at around 15 miles per hour and will amplify the chill, though that won’t be some unbearable phenomenon for 19th-ranked Texas, either.
Anyway, none of the Longhorns asked this week about the weather conditions seemed all that concerned. This isn’t exactly the Ice Bowl, and adrenaline tends to act like a builtin furnace.
The more pressing concerns are twofold: stopping Brock Purdy and making sure the offensive line holds up without redshirt freshman right guard Junior Angilau (MCL sprain).
If Texas (6-3, 4-2) fails in either aspect, its chase for a Big 12 title will die in Ames.
Let’s start with the quarterback.
It’s Purdy, not Texas’ Sam Ehlinger or Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts or Baylor’s Charlie Brewer, who leads the Big 12 with 2,849 passing yards. The sophomore is third in passing efficiency and has accounted for 27 total touchdowns.
Purdy doesn’t shrink in the spotlight, a trait highlighted by last week’s rally against Oklahoma — Iowa State trailed 28-7 midway through the second quarter and lost 42-41 after it failed to convert a two-point conversion with 24 seconds on the clock.
When Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando looks at Purdy, he can’t help but think of Ehlinger.
“His progression in terms of where he’s at is very similar to Sam’s,” Orlando said. “They’re both ferocious competitors. They never get rattled, they’re always trying to make a play. And then he has accuracy and he gets the ball out of his hands really quick so it’s hard to get to him.”
Purdy made his sixth career start last season on the road against Texas. It was a nightmare.
He completed 10 of 23 passes for 130 yards with one interception, didn't account for a touchdown and was sacked five times in a 24-10 loss. That miserable outing, Purdy said, was critical to his growth.
“We won all those games in a row, then we go into that game just trying not to lose,” Purdy told the Ames Tribune. “My mindset really, I learned from that and understood how I was thinking in that game.
“I was telling myself, ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that,’ rather than playing my game and trusting my guys and saying, ‘Let’s go and take it.’ That’s a huge difference if your mindset is in the right place or if it’s not.”
Purdy’s counterpart will be playing behind an offensive line that had to be partially reshaped after Angilau’s injury.
Junior Derek Kerstetter slid over to right guard, and redshirt junior Denzel Okafor occupied right tackle for the entire second half of the Longhorns’ 27-24 win over Kansas State. Texas totaled 315 yards of offense, scored 20 points and put together a game-winning drive that drained the final 6:45 from the clock.
“Man, that was incredible,” Ehlinger said. “The way that Derek just went to right guard, and (Okafor) came in and there was no drop-off.
“We continued to do what we wanted to do in the run game, great protection for me in the passing game. Because some of the their third-down stuff was really difficult and they did a great job of communicating what protection we were in and there was no drop-off so that was really, really good to see from the O-line.”
Texas needs that line to play with the same verve against a Cyclones team that ranks among the conference’s top four in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense and sacks.
Senior wideout Collin Johnson (hamstring) is in danger of missing the game, meaning the Longhorns could lean more heavily on a rushing attack that racked up 214 yards and two scores against K-State.
“You ask any defensive coordinator in the country what’s the No. 1 thing you want to do this thing and No. 1 is always stop the run,” Ehlinger said. “So as an offense you want to be able to have your run game as your foundation.”