Horns need week of rest, learning after win
AUSTIN — Even with 96,936 rowdy fans screaming and singing and bouncing inside Royal-Memorial Stadium, Texas coach Tom Herman could still hear Malcolm Roach roaring.
The senior defensive end needed to make himself heard. He needed the rest of the Longhorns to feel his desperation.
“I heard him a couple different times when there was some stoppage of plays, you know, dang near begging his teammates — ‘Don't do it for yourself, do it for each other,’ ” Herman said following a 36-30 win over Oklahoma State.
Roach and the defense made just enough plays to offset the Cowboys' 494 yards of total offense.
Safeties Montrell Estell and Chris Brown recorded timely interceptions. Nine different Longhorns came together to record 12 tackles for loss. There were a pair of key fourth-down stops, the most impressive of which was linebacker Joseph Ossai's backfield tackle on tailback Chuba Hubbard at the 4-yard line.
“When you’re doing it for yourself, you’ve got no shot,” Herman said. “No shot. As hard-hitting and as banged up as those guys were, even the ones that stayed in, they were feeling that game for sure.”
What happened Saturday night at DKR was, in one sense, cathartic for the 11th-ranked Longhorns (3-1, 1-0 Big 12). The Cowboys’ dominance, both in the series at large and inside UT’s hallowed house, was a wound that had festered for too long.
But the game was also at times sloppy, poorly executed and, in Herman’s own admission, poorly coached.
Quarterback Sam Ehlinger's interception-free streak finally came to an end in late in the third quarter on a misfired pass that was tipped. Later, Texas strung together a pair of three-and-outs and a turnover on consecutive fourth-quarter drives while trying to put away the Cowboys.
Most egregious of all, Oklahoma State converted muffed punts by Jake Smith and Brandon Jones into 14 points. Those miscues nearly cost Texas dearly.
“Obviously the punt return game was embarrassing,” Herman said. “We have got to do a better job of coaching those situations.”
Then there was the inside handoff to Roschon Johnson fourth-and-3 from the Oklahoma State 28yard line. Herman is notorious for his adherence to The Binder — the sacred tome said anything closer than six yards was worth going for in the second quarter of a game Texas led 14-6.
But the Cowboys swallowed Johnson whole behind the line of scrimmage. Newly energized, the visitors went 70 yards in six plays to make it a one-point game.
“It was an ill-advised call,” Herman said. “It was the right decision. It was a poor call.”
Texas knows it can’t play this way every week. It might survive another messy performance when it returns to the field in two weeks against an underwhelming West Virginia team.
A legitimate contender like fifth-ranked Oklahoma will make the Longhorns pay.
“Obviously we can't live our lives like that,” Herman said. “You know, I'm not advocating that by any stretch of the imagination.
“But if you do want to find a positive in it, we beat a really good football team. We were able to get the job done despite our mistakes. Again, got two weeks to learn from them.”
And two weeks to heal. Saturday’s battle left several key defensive players battered: cornerback Jalen Green (dislocated shoulder), defensive back Josh Thompson (foot fracture), safety Caden Sterns (knee) and linebacker Marcus Tillman (MCL sprain).
“Hopefully we can get B.J. (Foster) and DeMarvion (Overshown) back for our next game and we can minimize some of that damage there in the secondary,” Herman said. “But we've got to get some guys healthy, get them rested, and make sure that we know we've got a fourgame stretch coming up and then another bye week.”
Roach, at least, remains healthy. And as injuries mount, his presence, both physical and vocal, will take on even more import.
“There is a reason Malcolm Roach is a captain,” Herman said. “It was really cool to hear Malcolm literally echo the things that he had been taught for the last three years. That's a sign of really good leadership.”