Iowa State has a tremendous ability of just making a game ugly and the Cyclones were able to do that for most of this one (with the help of some UT miscues) to keep the game close before Texas was finally able to go up by two scores and keep it that way. Credit to ISU for a hard-fought effort but ultimately the Longhorns were just too talented and made just enough plays on offense to get a gritty road win. 10-1 and what seems like a near-certain spot in the Big 12 Championship game feels pretty good in year three under Sark.
I thought Sark called a really good game in this one despite Texas not lighting up the scoreboard the way we’ve seen in the past. The TD to Jordan Whittington, the TD to Gunnar Helm and even the two-point play were great calls and perfectly timed. Good job by Sark in this one.
I’m not sure this game moves the needle much with UT’s ranking, especially considering what Oregon did earlier in the day, but this was one of the Longhorns’ more solid performances they’ve put together over the last month. Sure, there were some miscues but overall Texas played a pretty solid game in all three phases.
Great job by the Texas defensive line in the first quarter. They were able to make Rocco Becht uncomfortable on just about every throw, aside from a couple easy quick slants.
What happened to JT Sanders as a blocker? My goodness it feels like he’s regressed in that area. Get that dude out in routes because he’s a liability when left in to protect.
In the first quarter, Texas faced four third downs. The average line to gain was 10 yards. That has to change or Texas has no chance in this game.
It’s early in the second quarter, but it just feels like this is going to be an “ugly” game for four quarters where both offenses are going to have to fight and claw for every yard.
What a killer mistake on that fumble by Xavier Worthy. Texas finally was putting together a good drive before the play took points off the scoreboard. Texas had two players (Christian Jones and JT Sanders) right there to recover the ball but they couldn’t corral it. Huge swing play right there.
No way in hell was that targeting on Derek Williams. That play wasn’t even close. Every close call was going against Texas in the first half of this one. If not for the replay guys, Texas would have been getting hosed by the officials.
Xavier Worthy to the house on a punt return … but another bad mistake by UT with a block in the back by Kitan Crawford. Texas should have been up by a couple scores at that point but kept shooting itself in the foot with bad penalties.
What’s up with the dumb ass Iowa State fans booing injured Texas players on plays when the runner went out of bounds? Did they honestly feel it was a stall tactic by Texas … on a stopped clock?
Bert. Freaking. Auburn. Well done, my man.
Some first half stats of interest - Texas 6 penalties for 49 yards, Iowa State 1 penalty for 0 yards. Texas 205 total yards, Iowa State 115 total yards. ISU 11 rushes for 5 yards. Quinn Ewers 13-20 for 163 yards, 133.5 QBR. Texas 4 sacks given up.
How good must that have felt for Jordan Whittington to get that touchdown catch (not to mention a big play in the first half). Whittington had been a forgotten man in recent weeks so kudos to him for making a big play when his number was called.
Like clockwork, the Texas defense can’t capitalize after Texas goes up by two scores, letting Iowa State march down the field for an 84-yard touchdown drive that took just 3:34.
How much money has T’Vondre Sweat made himself this year? Not only does he dominate the offensive backfield, he’s now a special teams force in blocking Iowa State’s PAT, which Austin Jordan scooped up and took back for two points for the Longhorns. That was a three-point swing in a game in which it feels like points are going to be at a premium down the stretch.
Huge play by Jerrin Thompson to read the QB and undercut the route for an interception, and a great drive by Texas following the turnover to capitalize with a touchdown. Sark likes to talk about complementary football and you can’t do it much better than what Texas did in that sequence.
And … then it was not-so-good complementary football by the defense in giving up a 66-yard touchdown catch on fourth down. Just when it looked like Texas might be close to putting Iowa State away. Guess I should know better by now.
Hey, finally a penalty that mattered against Iowa State on an obvious pass interference call with 11:38 left in the game. You’ll take the 15 yards if you’re Texas, but that looked like it could have been a touchdown if the ball is thrown out in front of Adonai Mitchell.
Bert. Freaking. Auburn X2. After some early-season struggles, Bert is on a heater.
Nice stand by the defense after stretching the lead to 10. Iowa State helped out a little with an illegal formation but a third-down sack and then a stop on fourth-and-long when Texas was able to play back pretty much sealed the win.
Quinn Ewers’ final stat line … 23-33 for 281 yards and 2 touchdowns for a 161.2 rating. Gutsy performance by Ewers and he played really well overall.
We all wondered how the running game would hold up without Jonathon Brooks. There wasn’t a lot of flash or huge plays, but CJ Baxter going for 117 yards on the night was a very solid effort.
Texas losing Xavier Worthy would be worrisome in most weeks. Hopefully he’ll be back for Texas Tech on a short week, but that feels like a game that Texas can win without him if necessary.
10-1 … 10-1 … 10-1. Been a long while since we’ve been able to say that.
