Longhorns move step closer to title game
Grinding physical play on both sides of the ball takes the wind out of Cyclones
AUSTIN – About 35 minutes before kickoff, nearly every fan in Royal-Memorial Stadium appeared fixated on “Godzillatron,” the gargantuan and grandiose videoboard hanging over the south end zone.
The crowd, then about quarter capacity, roared in unison as it witnessed West Virginia quarterback Will Grier’s final pass batted down by an Oklahoma State defender in the end zone. The Cowboys had defeated the Mountaineers and, in the process, granted Texas control over its own destiny.
For UT, the pathway to the Big 12 title game was now straightforward: defeat Iowa State on Saturday and Kansas next Friday.
The 15th-ranked Longhorns (8-3, 6-2 Big 12) checked off the first box Saturday night with a 24-10 win over 16th-ranked Iowa State (6-4, 5-3) on senior night.
Before the game, Herman told his team the “big picture didn’t matter.” Forget WVU and Oklahoma State and focus on this game.
“They were aware of it, but I think we got them dialed back in very quickly,” Herman said.
Texas won this game with, for the first time since a 23-17 win over Baylor on Oct. 13, a swarming and tenacious defensive performance. It won despite losing starting quarterback Sam Ehlinger for the entire second half due to a re-aggravation of the shoulder injury he suffered in that win over the Bears. It won because it dominated the majority of 50-50 plays, the ones that can flip a game on its head one way or the other.
Texas signaled its intent to outmuscle the conference’s most physical team on game’s first possession. After surrendering opening-drive scores in eight of 10 contests, including each of its last five, Texas blanketed ISU’s receivers and swarmed quarterback Brock Purdy to force a punt.
It was a heaven-sent sight for Herman and especially defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, who of late had bemoaned his unit’s inability to make routine tackles and force stops on third down.
“Really proud of our defense,” Herman said. “This is a defense that has taken a lot of hits lately. A lot of people thought we had forgotten how to play defense or how to coach defense. I can’t credit them enough for the way they responded.”
And the Longhorns introduced a more bruising offensive style after engaging in defense-optional shootouts over the past three weeks. Herman, it seemed, wanted to make this a battle of wills.
UT set the tone with powerful runs from tailbacks Tre Watson and Keaontay Ingram. That helped wear down ISU’s defense and open up the passing game.
On its first drive, Texas setup completions of 35 and 13 yards to wideout Collin Johnson with some power runs by Watson. Ehlinger put Texas ahead 7-0 with a 7-yard touchdown run, his 10th of the season.
In one half of action, Ehlinger completed 12 of 15 passes for 137 yards with one touchdown, a 19yarder to Ingram.
Junior Lil’Jordan Humphrey provided all the evidence needed to show Texas possessed more of that magical coachspeak term – “want-to.”
His best moment put Texas up 24-3 late in the third quarter.
Iowa State defensive back Brian Peavy had Humphrey totally wrapped up. It should have been a simple tackle. Instead, Humphrey wriggled free and dove past one more Cyclone to finish off the 27yard touchdown reception.
Texas limited ISU to 224 yards of total offense and just 2.6 yards per rush. Star running back David Montgomery managed just 33 yards on 10 carries.