Close, but not quite.
You hate to chalk something up as a moral victory in the aftermath of a brutal, crushing double-overtime loss, but if it smells like a moral victory, looks like a moral victory and feels like a moral victory ... never mind.
The bottom line is that Tom Herman's team took a massive step forward on Saturday, competing like a team that will not let the Maryland game define its season. Yet, the problem for this team is that the fight and the will were there, the execution was not.
Too many turnovers. Too many penalties. Too many coaching decisions that backfired.
Yet, the defense was incredible for 58 minutes of the game and a leader at quarterback may have emerged.
This might not have been 1998 Nebraska, but it was a hell of a lot better than 1998 UCLA, which was a key moment in the early stages of the Mack Brown era.
In the end, the team wasn't quite ready to win a game like this.
It was close, but it's not quite there.
(Other thoughts on the game ....)
* I can't say enough about the defense tonight. The offense gave the D virtually nothing but added stress for most of the game and yet the defense stood toe to toe in extreme conditions for almost the entire game. This group played its guts out. It's a damn shame it couldn't execute at the end of each half and it proved costly.
* This game was too big for Sam Ehlinger in the first and second quarters, but by the end of the game, it was far from too big for him. When he took the team 90 yards down the field to give this team the lead with under a minute to go in the fourth quarter, he reminded me of Major Applewhite in Lincoln back in 1998. It was a real coming of age performance for the true freshman. All that moxie that we talk about on a daily basis ... you saw it in the fourth quarter.
* The throws and plays that Ehlinger made in the fourth quarter and overtime are exactly what this program has been begging for over the last seven years.
* I don't know what Tom Herman does with the quarterback position in Ames. I'm guessing it's Shane Buechele's job, but that fourth quarter and overtime should mean something.
* The Texas coaches hate their running backs. Don't listen to their words, watch their actions. They don't trust any of them and for the second time in three games it cost the team dearly.
* Sam deserved better than his final fate.
* Malik Jefferson might have been the best player on the field tonight. That was what a five-star player looks like when the light switch flips on.
* My goodness ... the Texas defensive line.
*standing ovation*
* Collin Johnson was a grown-ass man today. THAT'S what he can do in every game.
* Chris Warren and Kyle Porter COMBINED for nine carries for 25 yards.
* I thought Tim Beck called a weird game, often calling plays that didn't fit the personnel on the field, while completely ignoring the running game at times when it shouldn't have been ignored.
* Armanti Foreman ... nails late in the game.
* The loss of Connor Williams was a death blow for the Texas offensive line and the injury looms like a monster dark cloud over the rest of the season. Being forced to play Tristan Nickelson AND Denzel Okafor at tackle at the same time means that the unit has almost an impossible time of being serviceable, let alone a plus-unit. The number of blown assignments, horrible penalties and failed execution was a death sentence for this team.
* The tackle play moving forward ... I don't know what to say.
* What a horrible spot leading up to the fourth down run that Ehlinger converted on the final drive for the Longhorns.
* Soooooo many bad penalties in a close game. From holds down the field by receivers after huge gains to multiple false starts to too many men in the backfield to holding on Michael Dickson's fake punt for a first down, this team couldn't get out of its own way.
* Reggie Hemphill-Mapps scooping up a ball as a punt returner on the one-yard line was the definition of YOLO. Doing it twice means that his coaches didn't talk to him about it after the first time. That can't happen.
* I found it really curious that Tim Beck brought in Jerrod Heard at quarterback on the opening drive in the third quarter right as Ehlinger was starting to heat up. By the time Heard was stuffed for a yard and the team committed a formation penalty, the freshman was back on the field staring at a 2nd and 14. The coaches needed to insert Heard into the line-up at quarterback more than they did in the first half, but that was the wrong time and wrong place.
* Charles Omenihu was one of the best players on the field in the second half. That dude is emerging into an NFL-level talent.
* I can't even process what happened on the final play before halftime. That just can't happen. You can't play great for the first 29:50 of the half and then give it all away with one inexplicable play. How did Texas not even get close to making a tackle on that play? Just a brutal turn of events for the Longhorns, who just didn't finish the half.
* DeShon Elliott was an impact player tonight. That's who he can be every week.
* First half stat: Texas had 17 carries for one yard.
* First half stat: Chris Warren had three carries.
* First half stat: UT's longest run from scrimmage was five yards.
* You can't hope to have success with a true freshman quarterback when your line is constantly making pre-snap penalties, which happened on consecutive drives in the second quarter after Connor Williams went out of the game.
* Following the missed USC field goal in the first half, USC had run more plays in UT's territory of the field (19) than Texas had totaled (nine), period.
* I can understand calling for the rugby punt when you're inside the other team's territory, but I did not understand it when it was called deep in Texas territory and you have Michael Dickson set to kick the hell out of the ball from the standard formation. That shank in the second quarter didn't have to happen, but the chances of it occurring were more likely on the roll than if he had just done his normal thing.
* Davante Davis was absolutely in the dog-house a few weeks ago and there wasn't a lot of confidence inside the program in him heading into the season. Never judge a practice player book by its cover.
* Texas keeps rolling its right-handed quarterbacks to the left and it looks uncomfortable for the quarterbacks every time it happens.
* Anthony Wheeler was on absolute fire in the first quarter, where he was involved in two sacks and a key tackle for loss. He slowed down a little over four quarters, but it's the best performance of his career by a mile.
* If you're Devin Duvernay, you have to make sure that Ehlinger's pass from the one-yard line isn't intercepted, even if it means assaulting the defensive back. Worst case? A half-yard penalty.
Finally, I just wanted to say that Sean Adams would have loved every second of this game. He lived for games like this. Rest in peace, brother.
You hate to chalk something up as a moral victory in the aftermath of a brutal, crushing double-overtime loss, but if it smells like a moral victory, looks like a moral victory and feels like a moral victory ... never mind.
The bottom line is that Tom Herman's team took a massive step forward on Saturday, competing like a team that will not let the Maryland game define its season. Yet, the problem for this team is that the fight and the will were there, the execution was not.
Too many turnovers. Too many penalties. Too many coaching decisions that backfired.
Yet, the defense was incredible for 58 minutes of the game and a leader at quarterback may have emerged.
This might not have been 1998 Nebraska, but it was a hell of a lot better than 1998 UCLA, which was a key moment in the early stages of the Mack Brown era.
In the end, the team wasn't quite ready to win a game like this.
It was close, but it's not quite there.
(Other thoughts on the game ....)
* I can't say enough about the defense tonight. The offense gave the D virtually nothing but added stress for most of the game and yet the defense stood toe to toe in extreme conditions for almost the entire game. This group played its guts out. It's a damn shame it couldn't execute at the end of each half and it proved costly.
* This game was too big for Sam Ehlinger in the first and second quarters, but by the end of the game, it was far from too big for him. When he took the team 90 yards down the field to give this team the lead with under a minute to go in the fourth quarter, he reminded me of Major Applewhite in Lincoln back in 1998. It was a real coming of age performance for the true freshman. All that moxie that we talk about on a daily basis ... you saw it in the fourth quarter.
* The throws and plays that Ehlinger made in the fourth quarter and overtime are exactly what this program has been begging for over the last seven years.
* I don't know what Tom Herman does with the quarterback position in Ames. I'm guessing it's Shane Buechele's job, but that fourth quarter and overtime should mean something.
* The Texas coaches hate their running backs. Don't listen to their words, watch their actions. They don't trust any of them and for the second time in three games it cost the team dearly.
* Sam deserved better than his final fate.
* Malik Jefferson might have been the best player on the field tonight. That was what a five-star player looks like when the light switch flips on.
* My goodness ... the Texas defensive line.
*standing ovation*
* Collin Johnson was a grown-ass man today. THAT'S what he can do in every game.
* Chris Warren and Kyle Porter COMBINED for nine carries for 25 yards.
* I thought Tim Beck called a weird game, often calling plays that didn't fit the personnel on the field, while completely ignoring the running game at times when it shouldn't have been ignored.
* Armanti Foreman ... nails late in the game.
* The loss of Connor Williams was a death blow for the Texas offensive line and the injury looms like a monster dark cloud over the rest of the season. Being forced to play Tristan Nickelson AND Denzel Okafor at tackle at the same time means that the unit has almost an impossible time of being serviceable, let alone a plus-unit. The number of blown assignments, horrible penalties and failed execution was a death sentence for this team.
* The tackle play moving forward ... I don't know what to say.
* What a horrible spot leading up to the fourth down run that Ehlinger converted on the final drive for the Longhorns.
* Soooooo many bad penalties in a close game. From holds down the field by receivers after huge gains to multiple false starts to too many men in the backfield to holding on Michael Dickson's fake punt for a first down, this team couldn't get out of its own way.
* Reggie Hemphill-Mapps scooping up a ball as a punt returner on the one-yard line was the definition of YOLO. Doing it twice means that his coaches didn't talk to him about it after the first time. That can't happen.
* I found it really curious that Tim Beck brought in Jerrod Heard at quarterback on the opening drive in the third quarter right as Ehlinger was starting to heat up. By the time Heard was stuffed for a yard and the team committed a formation penalty, the freshman was back on the field staring at a 2nd and 14. The coaches needed to insert Heard into the line-up at quarterback more than they did in the first half, but that was the wrong time and wrong place.
* Charles Omenihu was one of the best players on the field in the second half. That dude is emerging into an NFL-level talent.
* I can't even process what happened on the final play before halftime. That just can't happen. You can't play great for the first 29:50 of the half and then give it all away with one inexplicable play. How did Texas not even get close to making a tackle on that play? Just a brutal turn of events for the Longhorns, who just didn't finish the half.
* DeShon Elliott was an impact player tonight. That's who he can be every week.
* First half stat: Texas had 17 carries for one yard.
* First half stat: Chris Warren had three carries.
* First half stat: UT's longest run from scrimmage was five yards.
* You can't hope to have success with a true freshman quarterback when your line is constantly making pre-snap penalties, which happened on consecutive drives in the second quarter after Connor Williams went out of the game.
* Following the missed USC field goal in the first half, USC had run more plays in UT's territory of the field (19) than Texas had totaled (nine), period.
* I can understand calling for the rugby punt when you're inside the other team's territory, but I did not understand it when it was called deep in Texas territory and you have Michael Dickson set to kick the hell out of the ball from the standard formation. That shank in the second quarter didn't have to happen, but the chances of it occurring were more likely on the roll than if he had just done his normal thing.
* Davante Davis was absolutely in the dog-house a few weeks ago and there wasn't a lot of confidence inside the program in him heading into the season. Never judge a practice player book by its cover.
* Texas keeps rolling its right-handed quarterbacks to the left and it looks uncomfortable for the quarterbacks every time it happens.
* Anthony Wheeler was on absolute fire in the first quarter, where he was involved in two sacks and a key tackle for loss. He slowed down a little over four quarters, but it's the best performance of his career by a mile.
* If you're Devin Duvernay, you have to make sure that Ehlinger's pass from the one-yard line isn't intercepted, even if it means assaulting the defensive back. Worst case? A half-yard penalty.
Finally, I just wanted to say that Sean Adams would have loved every second of this game. He lived for games like this. Rest in peace, brother.
