Longhorns make ‘culture’ statement
Although penalties negated Texas’ first two touchdowns, the Longhorns pulled off a 26-16 win over Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday.
No. 7 Texas (7-1, 10-1) remains in sole possession of first place in the Big 12 with one regularseason game left against Texas Tech on Friday.
A win would give the Longhorns the regular-season title and a spot in the Big 12 championship game.
A loss complicates matters, opening the door to a potential four-way tie at 7-2 among Texas, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Kansas State.
With the win over Iowa State, Texas has its first 10-win regular season since 2009, and Steve Sarkisian has his first 10-win season as a head coach.
Even though not all of Texas’ wins have been blowouts, the Longhorns continue to be a threat in late November.
Here are other takeaways from Saturday’s game:
Bold statements
Earlier this week, Iowa State offensive lineman Jarrod Hufford made some pointed statements about Texas’ final game in Ames.
“They get all the big five-star recruits,” Hufford said Tuesday. “They have all the nicest stuff in the world and they think they don’t stink. They’re just humans, and that’s how I see them.”
Hufford also said Texas has “such a high ego that needs to be checked.”
After the Longhorns’ win, in which they allowed only 9 rushing yards against the Cyclones, Texas defensive linemen T’vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy responded on social media.
“Don’t write no check you can’t cash little guy,” part of Murphy’s post read.
“9 rushing that’s tuff,” Sweat’s post said.
Both Sweat and Murphy were named team captains this week, and Sarkisian admitted that decision was very intentional.
“Making 90 and 93 (Murphy and Sweat) captains was intentional,” Sarkisian said after the game. “You want to call out our culture — I wanted them to look those guys in the eyes at midfield.”
Costly penalties
Although Texas got away with a win, the first half was a tough watch.
The Longhorns had two touchdowns in the second quarter wiped off the scoreboard due to penalties.
Quinn Ewers connected on a pass with Adonai Mitchell in the end zone, but holding was called on offensive lineman Kelvin Banks, and the touchdown was no good.
Xavier Worthy returned a punt for a touchdown, but that was also called back due to an illegal block on Kitan Crawford.
Despite the self-inflicted trouble, Texas was up 6-3 at halftime thanks to two field goals from Bert Auburn.
Solid response
After allowing TCU to score 20 unanswered points last week, Texas held its own against Iowa State in a rowdy road environment. The Longhorns outscored the Cyclones 20-11 in the second half.
Jordan Whittington scored his first touchdown of the year and Texas’ first of the night in the third quarter by connecting with Ewers on a 23-yard pass.
Texas defensive back Jerrin Thompson picked off Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht to give the Longhorns the ball back. Tight end Gunnar Helm scored on the ensuing drive.
Overall, the Texas defense had a solid night and made important plays in a low-scoring game. Sweat swatted away a field-goal attempt, and sophomore defensive back Austin Jordan returned the ball for two points.
Stepping up
In Texas’ first game this year without Jonathon Brooks, freshman CJ Baxter rushed for 117 yards on 20 carries for his first 100-yard game in college.
It was his first start since the Alabama game. Baxter was Texas’ first-string running back at the beginning of the year, but Brooks took over after Baxter suffered an injury.sophomore running back Jaydon Blue also saw some more time on the field. The Klein Cain product tallied 18 yards on seven carries.