Longhorns brace for frightening onslaught
Cowboys offense a 3-headed monster
OKLAHOMA STATE AT (12) TEXAS 6:30 p.m. today, ABC
AUSTIN — Here’s the thing about Armageddon: It’s not a one-off, at least in Tom Herman’s world.
The first came three weeks into his inaugural season as head coach of Texas. It was a date with fourthranked USC at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Trojans won 2724 in double overtime.
The second: last year’s Big 12 championship game against a historically explosive Oklahoma team quarterbacked by eventual Heisman winner Kyler Murray. Buoyed by a 12-0 fourth quarter, the Sooners claimed their fourth straight conference crown.
The third, to hear Herman tell it, will hurtle toward Royal-Memorial Stadium on Saturday evening like some devastating asteroid with an orange-tinged tail.
“I’ve used the phrase before — it’s a scene from ‘Armageddon,’ ” Herman said Monday, “scariest environment imaginable. That’s all you have to say, scariest environment imaginable.”
Herman’s not being too hyperbolic. Oklahoma State’s offense is a frightening beast.
No running back has gained more yards on the ground this season than sophomore Chuba Hubbard. No wideout has more receiving yards than junior Tylan Wallace. Only two underclassmen in the nation have posted a higher passer rating than freshman quarterback Spencer Sanders.
This is an offense with many arms, each of them deadly. Cutting off just one won’t be enough. Then there’s “The Streak.” It’s almost unfathomable, but the Cowboys are the only team in the history of college football with five straight wins at DKR. The last time Texas beat Oklahoma State in Austin, Colt McCoy was a junior, George W. Bush was president, and the original iPhone was but a year old.
“Recent history would tell you, if it is a rivalry, we haven’t held up our end of the bargain very well,” Herman said. “Obviously we’ve got a huge historic rival in Oklahoma. But every game in the Big 12 is big for us. To say one is more important than the other, I’d be lying to you.
“I do think because of how good
they’ve been over the course of the last decade, we perk our ears up every time we have an opportunity to play ’em.”
No. 12 Texas (2-1) already has faced an offense with firepower similar to that of Oklahoma State (3-0).
Two weeks ago, LSU rolled into Austin with a Heisman candidate quarterback and an array of weapons. The Longhorns couldn’t endure in that apocalyptic environment, either — the Tigers gained 573 yards and rode three fourthquarter touchdowns to a 45-38 win.
That prompted a bit of soulsearching on the defensive side of the ball. Last week’s dismantling of Rice provided a confidence boost for coordinator Todd Orlando’s maligned unit, but the Cowboys are in a different stratosphere.
Still, that victory over the Owls and the firsthand experience from the LSU loss, brutal as it was to scan the final statistics, should benefit Texas come Saturday night.
“As I said after that game, having played that game, win or lose, we’re going to be better for it,” Herman said. “That kind of environment, those kind of bright lights, that kind of anticipation.
“And then certainly the skill, especially offensively. I don’t want to say we were surprised by LSU, but we certainly won’t be surprised by Oklahoma State. We know how good those guys are.”
The Longhorns’ offense is scary in its own right. Junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger will make sure his unit keeps pace with the Cowboys, just as he did against LSU.
It will be on the defense, especially a porous secondary — the cornerback spot opposite sophomore Jalen Green remains in flux — to make enough plays for UT to win.
“We’ve got a saying around here: We ain’t changin’,” Herman said. “We do what we do. Hopefully we prepare every week like it’s a conference championship game. I just don’t think there’s any other way to do it.”