Not average bears
Texas can’t slow down Baylor as it earns Big 12 title game spot.
WACO — The coach removed his cap. The player fastened his helmet. And in the eye of an orangewhite vortex at McLane Stadium, they began to ram heads.
It was a motivational tactic steeped in machismo. The sight of 44-yard-old Tom Herman grabbing senior defensive end Malcolm Roach’s helmet and smashing their skulls together was unexpected and gladiatorial and downright bizarre.
But Texas needed some sort of pregame galvanization following weeks of listless starts, so the coach known for kissing his players figured acting like a couple heated bighorn rams might do the trick.
“I used to do that as a coordinator at Ohio State and as a head coach at Houston,” Herman said. “In my old age I’d kinda stopped doing it a little bit. But I just felt it inside of me this game because I knew that we had to play physical, play with strain, and I just felt like the young Coach Herman, I guess.”
Herman’s headache probably wasn’t worth it, not after Texas (6-5, 4-4 Big 12) fell flat in a 24-10 loss to No. 14 Baylor (10-1, 7-1) on Saturday.
Texas did not start fast. It did not finish strong. It made killer mistakes in crucial moments. It was a poor performance and a microcosm of a season that has spiraled in ways no one foresaw just a couple months ago.
An offense that went punch-forpunch with LSU and Oklahoma State in September was fortunate to even score in the first half against Baylor. Had sophomore Keaontay Ingram not escaped the end zone for a 68-yard run late in the second quarter, which set up Cameron Dicker’s 47-yard field goal, the Longhorns would’ve been down 7-0 at the half.
The defense, at least, played a spirited half.
Sophomore corner D’Shawn Jamison chased down receiver Chris Platt and stripped the ball near the red zone following a 44-yard catchand-run. Junior safety Brandon Jones pounced on the fumble.
Baylor was able to score once in part thanks to a short field after Chris Naggar’s punt flew only 19 yards to the 50-yard line. Bears tailback John Lovett capped the drive with a 28-yard touchdown run in which offensive lineman Blake Bedier took out a handful of Longhorns by himself.
Otherwise, the Texas defense was sturdy for the first 30 minutes.
“On defense we flew around,” senior end Malcolm Roach said. “Played with a lot of passion.”
A few injured Longhorns had an impact, of course.
Senior wideout Collin Johnson (hamstring) has an important sort of gravity when he’s on the field, drawing defenders away from others. Ingram (ankle) missed the entire second half and safety DeMarvion Overshown (ankle) missed most of it. Safety B.J. Foster (neck) and cornerback Anthony Cook (knee) didn’t play at all.
Still, Baylor looked every part the superior team in the second half. Quarterback Charlie Brewer marched the Bears 87 yards downfield on their first drive, peppering passes all over the field before plunging in for a 1-yard touchdown.
Then, Texas really unraveled. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger’s fourth-down pass wobbled low and hit the ground, granting Baylor more good field position.
Receiver Denzel Mims owned his team’s third scoring drive. He contorted along the sideline and reeled in a 16-yard reception on fourth down to keep the offense on the field and later hauled in Brewer’s 12-yard touchdown toss.
With the run game nonexistent and a 21-3 deficit showing on the scoreboard, Texas decided to take a deep shot. An underthrown ball to receiver Brennan Eagles became Ehlinger’s ninth interception of the season, which Baylor converted into a 24-yard field goal.
Ehlinger completed 22 of 37 passes for a season-low 200 yards and failed to throw or run for a score for the first time all season.
“We made what we thought
were some really good adjustments in the run game,” Herman said. “We didn’t execute. We knew we had hats on hats at least. We just didn’t develop our guys enough throughout the week in terms of finishing those blocks.
“And when you can’t get the run game going that’s really difficult against a defense like that. So that was the biggest culprit.”
Then it got embarrassing. Senior offensive linemen Zach Shackelford and Parker Braun drew 15-yard personal foul penalties on consecutive plays and turned a third-and-4 into a thirdand-34 in Texas territory.
That was it for Texas, save for a meaningless last-second touchdown run from Daniel Young.
“When you’re not playing to the standard that we have set you’re going to be frustrated,” Herman said. “Everybody in the building is frustrated, but the manifestation of that frustration can never be deterimintal to the team.
“Obviously there in the fourth quarter to lose our composure is ridiculous, unacceptable and will be dealt with punitively. I can assure everyone of that.”