Ladies and gentlemen, it's over.
Against one of the best Big 12 defenses and without the aid of any kind of running game, true freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger put the team on his back, delivered a near 500-yard night of offense and led the Longhorns to a win that might have saved their season.
Ehlinger made this team his on Saturday and he rewarded the trust that was given him in a big, big way.
The win is huge, but the importance of what Ehlinger's emergence means can't be stressed enough.
Tom Herman has his guy and it took only five games for it to becomes crystal clear.
(Other game thoughts...)
1. Ehlinger: 30 of 50 for 380 yards and two touchdowns as a passer and 107 yards on 20 carries as a runner. Against a Bill Snyder-led defense. Wow.
2. The kid made one bad throw all night and outside of that, he was nothing short of sensational. His ability to make plays and buy time with his feet gave this team a chance tonight.
3. After that interception on his first throw of the game, Ehlinger went 15 of 20 for 189 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for a team-best 59 yards in the first half. That's what you call a big-time response.
4. Speaking of big-time response, you can't say enough about the entire offense and the way it bounced back after failing to convert fourth and goal at the two-yard line, only to see KSU go 98 yards in the blink of an eye to take a 10-0 lead. At that exact moment, the season felt like it was on the brink and this much-maligned group responded with three consecutive long scoring drives to take the lead going into halftime. That was unexpected.
5. Hot damn, that was a total team victory that required a lot of guts. This team wouldn't have won this game a year ago. You can feel Tom Herman's presence in this program with the way this team plays.
6. Oh, I totally agreed with going for it on 4th and two in the first quarter. I'm okay with going for seven when a fourth-down field goal is less than 20 yards, especially at that spot in the game, playing at home. It backfired, but I totally agreed with the decision, with all due respect to taking points to give the team confidence.
7. All off-season, Texas fans worried that the team would lose a game because of its place-kicking. Well, that fear was much-deserved.
8. My Monday Morning Quarterback Moment of the Day on Saturday Night: Texas should have called a quarterback draw and positioned the possible game-winning kick in the middle of the field instead of asking Justin Rowland to try again from the right hash-mark.
9. Without Ehlinger's contributions, the Texas running game continued to be a disaster, as the running backs collected a mere two runs of more than six yards. T-W-O. The longest run of the game by a Texas running back was nine yards.
10. Toneil Carter actually averaged 5.2 yards per carry and had the longest run by any running back on the roster, but somehow he disappeared off the face of the earth in the second quarter. That's one of the only things that could explain the coaches quitting on him.
11. Chris Warren didn't run the ball well, but he might have blocked, caught passes and recovered key fumbles better than I have ever seen him. He gets an attaboy from me.
12. Kansas State has to stop bringing Jordy Nelsons to Austin. Once was enough. If P.J. Locke never sees Dalton Schoen again, it'll be too soon. That guy basically produced an entire season's worth of production in his match-up with Locke.
13. DeShaun Elliott's all-America campaign picked up even more steam with another interception on the biggest play of the game for the defense.
14. Teams don't really throw at Holton Hill. Ever.
15. Man, what a play that "was it or wasn't it" accidental touch-back turned out to be in the third quarter. That play ended the Texas offensive series before it ever started and by the time the Wildcats got the ball back, they were 15 yards away from the red zone. It's a game of inches and Texas was on the wrong end of lady luck at that moment, as it totally changed the complexion of the game.
16. That play clearly burned Michael "The Punter" Dickson because his 67-yard banger on his following attempt represented its own game-changing moment in terms of switching field position. Well, it would have been the case if the defense could have stopped the back-up quarterback from running down the field with one or two plays at his disposal.
17. What a play by Malik Jefferson on third and one in Kansas State's opening drive of the second half. That sideline pursuit and finish is why NFL teams covet his upside. Normal dudes can't come close to making that play. I thought he was absolutely terrific until Kansas State's first possession in overtime and then he got caught peeking/cheating a couple of times, which helped lead to KSU's game-tying touchdown. He then responded on KSU's next possession like a man possessed.
18. I thought Anthony Wheeler had a rough night. Too many times he got pinned into traffic and wasn't able to get anywhere close to the football.
19. KSU cornerback Duke Shelley can play on my team.
20. I'm old enough to remember the Longhorns having juice back in kickoff returns. Man, that unit has struggled in the last few years.
21. The Longhorns had three penalties for 30 yards. That's far and away the cleanest game this team has played all season. That mattered. Penalties killed Kansas State all night.
22. Reggie Hemphill-Mapps: 12 catches for 120 yards. The numbers scream his importance.
23. Lil'Jordan Humphrey is going to be quite a player before he leaves Austin.
24. The old wizard had his team prepared tonight. It took a quality performance for the Longhorns to win this game.
25. Go have fun. Tonight was fun. Enjoy it.
p.s. - Give a game-ball to the offensive line. I had real concerns about Terrell Cuney and Denzel Okafor starting in this game and this unit played a very strong game, all things considered. Attaboy, big fellas.
Against one of the best Big 12 defenses and without the aid of any kind of running game, true freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger put the team on his back, delivered a near 500-yard night of offense and led the Longhorns to a win that might have saved their season.
Ehlinger made this team his on Saturday and he rewarded the trust that was given him in a big, big way.
The win is huge, but the importance of what Ehlinger's emergence means can't be stressed enough.
Tom Herman has his guy and it took only five games for it to becomes crystal clear.
(Other game thoughts...)
1. Ehlinger: 30 of 50 for 380 yards and two touchdowns as a passer and 107 yards on 20 carries as a runner. Against a Bill Snyder-led defense. Wow.
2. The kid made one bad throw all night and outside of that, he was nothing short of sensational. His ability to make plays and buy time with his feet gave this team a chance tonight.
3. After that interception on his first throw of the game, Ehlinger went 15 of 20 for 189 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for a team-best 59 yards in the first half. That's what you call a big-time response.
4. Speaking of big-time response, you can't say enough about the entire offense and the way it bounced back after failing to convert fourth and goal at the two-yard line, only to see KSU go 98 yards in the blink of an eye to take a 10-0 lead. At that exact moment, the season felt like it was on the brink and this much-maligned group responded with three consecutive long scoring drives to take the lead going into halftime. That was unexpected.
5. Hot damn, that was a total team victory that required a lot of guts. This team wouldn't have won this game a year ago. You can feel Tom Herman's presence in this program with the way this team plays.
6. Oh, I totally agreed with going for it on 4th and two in the first quarter. I'm okay with going for seven when a fourth-down field goal is less than 20 yards, especially at that spot in the game, playing at home. It backfired, but I totally agreed with the decision, with all due respect to taking points to give the team confidence.
7. All off-season, Texas fans worried that the team would lose a game because of its place-kicking. Well, that fear was much-deserved.
8. My Monday Morning Quarterback Moment of the Day on Saturday Night: Texas should have called a quarterback draw and positioned the possible game-winning kick in the middle of the field instead of asking Justin Rowland to try again from the right hash-mark.
9. Without Ehlinger's contributions, the Texas running game continued to be a disaster, as the running backs collected a mere two runs of more than six yards. T-W-O. The longest run of the game by a Texas running back was nine yards.
10. Toneil Carter actually averaged 5.2 yards per carry and had the longest run by any running back on the roster, but somehow he disappeared off the face of the earth in the second quarter. That's one of the only things that could explain the coaches quitting on him.
11. Chris Warren didn't run the ball well, but he might have blocked, caught passes and recovered key fumbles better than I have ever seen him. He gets an attaboy from me.
12. Kansas State has to stop bringing Jordy Nelsons to Austin. Once was enough. If P.J. Locke never sees Dalton Schoen again, it'll be too soon. That guy basically produced an entire season's worth of production in his match-up with Locke.
13. DeShaun Elliott's all-America campaign picked up even more steam with another interception on the biggest play of the game for the defense.
14. Teams don't really throw at Holton Hill. Ever.
15. Man, what a play that "was it or wasn't it" accidental touch-back turned out to be in the third quarter. That play ended the Texas offensive series before it ever started and by the time the Wildcats got the ball back, they were 15 yards away from the red zone. It's a game of inches and Texas was on the wrong end of lady luck at that moment, as it totally changed the complexion of the game.
16. That play clearly burned Michael "The Punter" Dickson because his 67-yard banger on his following attempt represented its own game-changing moment in terms of switching field position. Well, it would have been the case if the defense could have stopped the back-up quarterback from running down the field with one or two plays at his disposal.
17. What a play by Malik Jefferson on third and one in Kansas State's opening drive of the second half. That sideline pursuit and finish is why NFL teams covet his upside. Normal dudes can't come close to making that play. I thought he was absolutely terrific until Kansas State's first possession in overtime and then he got caught peeking/cheating a couple of times, which helped lead to KSU's game-tying touchdown. He then responded on KSU's next possession like a man possessed.
18. I thought Anthony Wheeler had a rough night. Too many times he got pinned into traffic and wasn't able to get anywhere close to the football.
19. KSU cornerback Duke Shelley can play on my team.
20. I'm old enough to remember the Longhorns having juice back in kickoff returns. Man, that unit has struggled in the last few years.
21. The Longhorns had three penalties for 30 yards. That's far and away the cleanest game this team has played all season. That mattered. Penalties killed Kansas State all night.
22. Reggie Hemphill-Mapps: 12 catches for 120 yards. The numbers scream his importance.
23. Lil'Jordan Humphrey is going to be quite a player before he leaves Austin.
24. The old wizard had his team prepared tonight. It took a quality performance for the Longhorns to win this game.
25. Go have fun. Tonight was fun. Enjoy it.
p.s. - Give a game-ball to the offensive line. I had real concerns about Terrell Cuney and Denzel Okafor starting in this game and this unit played a very strong game, all things considered. Attaboy, big fellas.
