Photo via AP
Tom Herman has been on the sidelines for several big games throughout his career as a head coach.
There was the victory against Louisville during his first season as Houston’s coach in 2015. The monumental Peach Bowl victory against Florida State occurred that same season. Herman’s Houston team smacked Oklahoma and Baker Mayfield in the mouth during the 2016 season opener. Houston sacked Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, the eventual Heisman Trophy winner, 11 times during a regular season upset. Those performances led Texas to hire him after the 2016 season.
At Texas, Herman’s 6-6 team recorded a major victory against Missouri in the Texas Bowl during the 2017 season. Last year, Texas knocked off fourth-ranked Oklahoma and Kyler Murray during the regular season, a victory many outsiders did not believe could occur. That huge victory was followed by two regular season setbacks. However, once again, Herman led his team to another major win, and that was against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Remember, Georgia was a team many college football observers believed should have been in the playoffs, but Texas owned the Bulldogs for three quarters before eventually holding on for the win.
As big as those wins were, the stakes are much higher this weekend in the Red River Showdown.
Simply put, beat OU.
Yes, Texas always wants to beat OU. This is a real rivalry game, unlike West Virginia, the little brother who is always trying to challenge big brother, but gets thrown across the room whenever the older sibling decides to get serious. This is the biggest regular season game on each team’s schedule. The hatred is real. Loser has to live in misery for 364 days.
Texas fans, get your Longhorn gear ready.
OU fans, get ready to strap those overalls over your hairy chest.
Same goes for you, OU guys.
I know every game against Oklahoma is huge, but this arguably the biggest game of Herman’s tenure at Texas – until the next biggest game.
The last time Oklahoma and Texas were ranked this high heading into the Red River Showdown was in the 2008 season. Texas was ranked fifth and Oklahoma was No. 1
Texas 45, Oklahoma 35.
Here is a trip down memory lane for my Longhorn fans from an AP story after that win.
“Trailing the No. 1 Sooners nearly all game, Colt McCoy and the No. 5 Longhorns grabbed control in the fourth quarter and refused to let go, pulling away for a 45-35 victory Saturday in one of the greatest games in the storied series between these Red River rivals.
“Texas trailed by 11 twice in the first half and by eight in the third quarter before spoiling a fake punt and turning it into a go-ahead field goal. It was the first time all season the mighty Sooners were behind, and they answered by regaining the lead.
“Then McCoy came right back with another go-ahead score - and his defense kept Oklahoma's Sam Bradford from finding an answer. When Chris Ogbannaya turned a play seemingly headed nowhere into a 62-yard gain, the Longhorns were headed to their biggest victory since knocking off Southern California in the January 2006 Rose Bowl, much to the delight of their half of the record crowd of 92,182 at the Cotton Bowl.”
A victory against Oklahoma this weekend is significant for several reasons.
If Texas knocks off Oklahoma, there is a chance Texas jumps into the top six. Sure, I know you might say Texas defeated Oklahoma during the regular season last year, but the Sooners were still ranked ahead of the Longhorns. Remember, Texas was ranked 19, while Oklahoma was seventh, prior to the victory. Nobody should have expected Oklahoma to fall dramatically in the rankings after a three-point loss.
Not only would a win against Oklahoma on Saturday make Texas the Big 12 front runner, Herman’s team is instantly in the college football playoff conversation with a victory. Scoreboard watching would become a thing again. Oh, and considering how impressive LSU is this season, Texas’ loss against the Tigers does not look that bad.
Oklahoma enters this contest with all the hype, fanfare, and pressure.
The Sooners also enter this contest without facing any real competition this season.
Oklahoma is 5-0, and the combined record for its opponents this season is 10-17. Oklahoma has faced only one team that currently has a winning record.
Oklahoma opponents
Houston 2-3
South Dakota 2-3
UCLA 1-5
Texas Tech 3-2
Kansas 2-4
Record: 10-17
Meanwhile, the combined record for Texas’ opponents is 16-11. Texas is 4-1, and four of those wins are against teams that currently have a winning record.
Texas opponents
Louisiana Tech 4-1
LSU 5-0
Rice 0-6
Oklahoma State 4-2
West Virginia 3-2
Record: 16-11
Oklahoma deserves credit for curb-stomping the weak opponents on its schedule. However, it does not negate that this weekend will be the first true test for Oklahoma this season.
What about the West Virginia game?
Texas did not dominate, gave up over 400 yards on defense, and nearly 12 yards per pass play. Sam Ehlinger did not have his best game. The lack of a pass rush remains an issue. Texas’ offensive line was challenged.
In addition, Texas won the game, generated four turnovers, D’Shawn Jamison should be a starter, and Roschon Johnson is the team’s best running back.
By the way, Ehlinger is not going to struggle two weeks in a row, and his competitive juices flow when playing against elite quarterbacks.
Even if they do not want to shake hands after he outperforms them.
Herman has been a head coach in several big games.
This weekend is the biggest game of his tenure.
Simply put, beat OU.
Photo via UT
TEAM NOTES
(from UT)
• Texas improves to 4-1 overall, and 2-0 in the Big 12 Conference for the second-straight year.
• The Longhorns win improved them to 19-5 (.792) all-time in Big 12 road openers.
• With Saturday’s victory, Texas is now 3-1 all-time against West Virginia in Morgantown.
• UT improved to 7-2 in true Big 12 road games during Tom Herman’s tenure as head coach.
• Texas has won nine of its last 11 Big 12 Conference games, dating back to the start of the 2018 conference slate.
• Saturday’s triumph pushed UT’s record to 15-4 against unranked opponents during Tom Herman’s tenure as head coach.
• The Longhorns’ four interceptions marked the first time that UT has picked off four passes in a game since the Horns did so at Kansas on Sept. 27, 2014 (64 games).
• Texas converted four West Virginia turnovers into 21 points on Saturday. Since the start of the 2017 season, UT has scored 208 points off 56 forced turnovers.
• UT limited West Virginia to 96 yards rushing, marking the third time this season that the Horns have held their opponent under 100 yards. Texas has kept its opponents under 100 yards rushing 14 times since the start of the 2017 season.
• Texas outrushed West Virginia, 216-96, on Saturday. The Horns are now 17-2 under Tom Herman, and have won 11 of their last 12, when outrushing their opponent.
• Texas was 10-for-18 (55.6%) on third-down conversions Saturday. The Longhorns entered the game ranked No. 2 nationally in third down conversions at 56.9% (33-of-58).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
QB Sam Ehlinger
• Finished 18-of-33 for 211 yards and and threw two touchdowns. He also carried the ball nine times for 45 yards and two touchdowns.
• It is the eighth time in his career he has accounted for at least four touchdowns in a game, and the fourth time in five outings this season.
• His two rushing touchdowns were the 20th and 21st of his career. He is the fifth Texas quarterback to rush for at least 20 TDs.
• Has passed for a touchdown and rushed for a touchdown in 11 of his last 18 games.
• Has passed for at least 200 yards 15 times in his last 18 games.
• Has thrown 40 touchdowns to only five interceptions over his last 18 games. Texas is 14-4 during that stretch, with five wins over ranked opponents.
• Through five games, he has thrown for 1,448 yards and 17 touchdowns, and accounted for 1,684 yards of total offense (1,448 pass/236 rush). All of those rank as the best five-game start to a season by a Texas QB in school history.
• The first Texas QB since Shane Buechele (2016) to throw multiple touchdowns in five consecutive games.
• Matched James Brown (1994-97) for fourth in Texas history with 53 career passing touchdowns.
WR Devin Duvernay
• Caught six passes for 86 yards. Has caught at least six passes in all five games this season.
• Scored a 13-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. It was the longest rush of his career.
WR Malcolm Epps
• Made his third-straight start.
• Caught his first career touchdown on a 22-yard pass from QB Sam Ehlinger.
WR John Burt
• Caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from QB Sam Ehlinger. It was his first TD of the season, and the fifth of his career.
TE Cade Brewer
• Matched his career-long with a 25-yard reception in the second quarter. He also recorded a 25-yard catch in Texas’ win over Oklahoma State two weeks ago.
RB/QB Roschon Johnson
• Recorded the first 100-yard game of his career, as he finished with career highs in carries (21) and rushing yards (121).
RB Kirk Johnson
• Made his season debut after missing the first month of the season with an injury.
OL Samuel Cosmi
• Scored a 12-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter - the first TD of his career.
LB Ayodele Adeoye
• Made his third start of the season (vs. Louisiana Tech, at Rice)
• Registered his first career interception and returned it 13 yards to the WVU 27 to set up a Texas touchdown.
LB Joseph Ossai
• Matched his career high with eight tackles, seven of which were solo stops.
DB D’Shawn Jamison
• Logged his first two career interceptions, both of which came in the second half.
• The first Longhorn to intercept two passes in a game since Caden Sterns against TCU on Sept. 22, 2018.
DB B.J. Foster
• Returned to the starting lineup after missing the last two games with an injury.
• Recorded his first interception of the season, and the second of his career. His first was against Tulsa on Sept. 8, 2018.
Funniest Things You Will See This Week
Grandpa’s version of Pimp Game 101 (bad language alert)
Wait until he gets older and starts fights at the bar
Everyone screams, but you can hear one devious laugh at the end
If you love dogs and gospel music, this is the perfect blend
Sports On A Dime
1. Texas football coach Tom Herman on forcing four turnovers: “Like you said, you never want to give up 463 yards and 367 in the air, but when you have an 18-point lead at one point, you make them one dimensional. We were doing a great job against the run. Obviously, we have to figure out how to do both, but I thought the turnovers were great. We were flying to the football. (Junior defensive back) Chris Brown went out early, which was certainly not very advantageous in the back end. I thought that the troops rallied well, at least from my vantage point. I thought the corners played pretty well. We have to sure up some issues in our zone coverage, but I thought for the most part, they certainly provided some sparks for the entire team.”
2. Herman on the way his defense played in the red zone: “Elite. I think we take a lot of pride in that. I think that’s a testament to our 1-0 culture. You never want them to get down there, but good offenses, especially in the Big 12, are going to get down there. We have to bow our backs and hold them to a field goal attempt. They missed two and made one. Those are huge, especially after the turnover. That could have been a huge momentum swing if we’d let them score a touchdown, but we held them to a field goal. That was a really important stop in the game.”
3. West Virginia coach Neal Brown on Texas’ defense: “I think they’re pretty good. They’re big upfront. They really changed what they were doing in the second half. They made some good adjustments so credit to their staff. We didn’t do a good job handling their penetration. They started blitzing more, and they caught us on some negative plays in the run game, which was really where we struggled in the first two games of the season. Two of those drives there when we were struggling - we had four drives in a row where we struggled, but two of them, we ran the ball on run plays that we hit in the first half, and we went minus six, minus five. Really, we just lost one-on-one battles. This game, in a lot of ways, came down to how I thought it would. It’s a one-on-one game, and we lost some of those. Some of that’s on us as coaches. We’ve got to do a better job of putting our guys in positions where they can be successful. But we needed to run the ball better, especially in the third quarter. I thought we did. I thought we were successful in the first half. We knew that it was going to be a game where we had to throw. There’s a reason why they have one of the better run defenses in the country. We’ve got to do a better job, but some of that is them and the size and length and the quality of player they have on defense.”
4. This will never get old. Never …
5. USF beat UConn. Cool, my alma mater is not good, but better than UConn. Hooray?
6. This might be the best troll job in college football history
7. Props to former Texas quarterback Shane Buechele. He found the perfect fit. It is great to see enjoying success on the college level. He deserves it. Plus, that was hell of a pass-and-catch to seal the win against Tulsa on Saturday night.
8. Having Snoop Dogg perform on your campus is one thing. Having strippers on a pole and spraying cash out of money gun is totally different. Yet, the University of Kansas wants everyone to believe that former head coach David Beaty was a bad apple. Am I the only one who thinks this administration has serious issues?
9. Imagine Dominique Wilkins playing in this soft NBA era. It would be unfair. Enjoy this 80s flashback (pay attention to the guys he is dunking on).
10. By the time I wrapped up work and drove from Morgantown back Pittsburgh, the GGG fight was over. I will have to lean on my boxing audience for advice, but everything I read last night made it seem like GGG did not earn the decision. If true, that definitely means there is a handshake agreement that Canelo will fight GGG next year. I remember when Oscar De La Hoya was clearly defeated by Felix Sturm, but was given the decision because his next fight was going to be against Bernard Hopkins. Hopefully, we see GGG vs. Canelo next year.
Last edited by a moderator:
