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Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian is doing exactly was he was hired to do.
TCU coach Gary Patterson had previously won six of the past seven meetings against Texas before Saturday’s game. Patterson also won seven of 10 games against Texas in the last decade. Many of you reading this column remember the days when TCU was an automatic win. Some of you might remember Texas winning 24 straight games against TCU from 1968 to 1991. Losing to elite programs is tough, but listening to Patterson joke about solidifying his job security after wins against Texas was a gut punch to many Longhorn fans. Well, Sarkisian made sure his Longhorns were the only team smiling after a 32-27 victory against TCU on Saturday.
Texas Tech gave Texas problems before Sarkisian's arrival. Texas needed an improbable come-from-behind effort to defeat Texas Tech last season. Texas Tech knocked off Texas in 2015 and 2017. Again, Longhorn fans had to endure nail biters against a program it should dominate. Sarkisian did something Longhorn fans have not witnessed in years- beating Texas Tech into submission during a 70-35 victory this season. If Sarkisian’s role model was Steve Spurrier, Texas could have scored more points.
A win against Oklahoma will put Texas in the Big 12’s catbird seat.
Anyone who reads this column knows I have Longhorn PTSD. I started covering Texas in 2014 and have not experienced anything close to the glory years you enjoyed. The biggest victory I have covered at Texas was the win against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. You are well aware of the forgettable moments over the past eight seasons.
You also know I was lukewarm about Texas before the season. I thought eight wins was the realistic number. I expected Texas to struggle against Louisiana because of this program’s recent challenges in non-conference games. I believed Texas would defeat an Arkansas team that finished 3-7 last season. My predictions were wrong. My concerns were accurate.
Sarkisian is making it easier to believe in him.
We can nitpick the win against TCU. Casey Thompson was not impressive during the victory. The offensive line struggled in the first half. The Big 12 referees were awful but Texas committed multiple bad penalties. There were the dropped passes. Longhorn observers consistently questioned Sarkisian’s play-calls.
The win was not pretty, but at least you did not wake up this morning wondering why your program cannot defeat TCU.
“Well, you know, I'll say this,” Sarkisian said. “I'd much rather win ugly than lose pretty, and this was an ugly one. We created, I think, three turnovers, and we got three field goals out of it. That's not what we're looking for. We were spotty at best in the red area. I think we had opportunities to kind of capitalize and extend the lead in the game, and we didn't do that. We missed on a couple of opportunities down the field in the passing game that could have had an impact on the game. But you got to find a way and different aspects of the team need to pick each other up and you got to be able to play complementary football.
“The turnovers were big. We had a couple of really cool long drives. One from our own 1-yard line. Another one there, into the late third into the fourth quarter, that was another. We hit Whitt [Jordan Whittington] for the touchdown. And then the run game had to step up. We leaned on number five, and kind of found a way to get a win on the road which is tough to do against good teams.”
Texas is undefeated in the conference heading into the Red Rivalry Shootout for the first time since 2018. Former Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger led the Longhorns to a victory against Kyler Murray’s Sooners that year.
(Insert “Take the loss … “gif here).
Now, allow me to say something that will shock every Longhorn fan who thinks I have a picture of Lincoln Riley as the screensaver on my phone.
Oklahoma has not been impressive this season.
The Sooners barely defeated Tulane, Nebraska, and West Virginia. If West Virginia limited its mistakes, the Mountaineers win that game. Oklahoma was very fortunate to pull off a win against Kansas State on Saturday.
Oklahoma has been very fortunate.
It seems like a matter of time before that luck runs out.
And it could occur on Saturday.
A win against Oklahoma would give Texas a huge cushion in the Big 12. After Oklahoma, Texas should be favored in every remaining game this season. The games will be competitive but we know no team after Oklahoma can defeat the Texas team that played at a high level against Texas Tech or Louisiana.
Heck, Texas played at a C or D-level against TCU and still won.
“I've been talking a lot here in the last three or four months about the resolve of our football team,” Sarkisian said. “These guys have been through a lot and they continue to bounce back. I thought today was a great example of that on a few occasions. The opening kickoff for them to take it down and take the lead, I don't think our team really blinked. It didn't send us into a tailspin. We missed a few opportunities in the passing game down the field. We didn't panic. We kept grinding away.
“We get stopped on 4th-and-1 down there in the fourth quarter. They go 99 yards for a touchdown. We get the ball back. They know we're going to run it. We know we're going to run it and to run the clock out, I think it speaks to our team didn't panic. Our team continued to respond. This wasn't a pretty game by any means. There's a bunch to work on and to get better at for individuals, collectively as a team and for us as coaches. In the end, we fought, we battled, we competed. I think No. 5 (Robinson) kind of epitomizes our football team. The grit. He was exhausted. Thirty-five carries later, the last one was the most important one. To get the first down and seal the win. Overall, I'm proud of our team and it was a good win on the road against a really good football team."
A win against Oklahoma will put Texas in the Big 12’s catbird seat.
Individual and Team Notes
(Provided by UT)
CASEY THOMPSON, QB
• Completed 12-of-22 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown.
• Had a career-long run of 41 yards.
• Also carried the ball eight times for 35 yards.
• Since entering at halftime of the 2020 Valero Alamo Bowl, Thompson has guided Texas
to a score on 31of the last 39 drives he has led, including 8 of 9 today.
• In those drives, Texas has scored 22 touchdowns (13 passing, 12 rushing) and seven field goals.
• This season, Thompson has led 34 drives with Texas scoring 26 times, including 21 touchdowns (nine passing and 12 rushing) and five field goal.
BIJAN ROBINSON, RB
• Established career highs with 35 carries and 216 yards (6.2 ypc), scoring two touchdowns and catching two passes for 22 yards.
• He is the first Longhorn to rush for over 200 yards since D'Onta Foreman in 2016.
• Had a 27-yard touchdown run, giving him seven plays of 20 or more yards this season and 21 in his career.
• Has scored 15 touchdowns (11 rushing and four receiving) in his last seven games.
• Has scored a touchdown in seven straight games.
• With two touchdowns today, has scored multiple touchdowns in five the last seven games.
• Scored rushed for two or more touchdowns in three of the last seven games.
• Has rushed for at least 100 yards in three-straight games.
• Has surpassed 100 yards rushing in seven of the last nine games.
• The Longhorns are 7-0 when Robinson rushes for 100 yards or more.
• Over his last nine games, Robinson has totaled 1,174 on 152 carries (7.72 ypc) with 11 touchdowns, while hauling in 18 receptions for 286 yards (15.89 ypc) and scoring four touchdowns. All told, he has 1,460 yards on 170 plays for 8.59 yards per play and 15 touchdowns.
JORDAN WHITTINGTON, WR
• Had three receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown.
• Hauled in two passes of over 30 yards, with a 37-yard grab in the third quarter and a
32-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
DEMARVION OVERSHOWN, LB
• Had a team-high 10 tackles (eight solo).
• It was his second game of the season with 10 or more tackles.
ANTHONY COOK, DB
• Had eight tackles (six solo), two TFLs, one sack and one forced fumble.
• Two tackles for loss are a single-game high.
• Equaled his career-high with one sack.
D'SHAWN JAMISON, DB - KR/PR
• His 38-yard kick return in the first quarter moved him into fourth place on UT's all-time kick return yardage list with 217 career yards.
• Finished with 76 kickoff return yards bringing his career total to 1,155.
• Recovered a fumble in the first quarter, the second fumble recovery of his career, and first since 2019 against Oklahoma.
CAMERON DICKER, K
• Established a single-game career-high with four successful field goal attempts.
• His four field goals were one shy of the UT single-game record.
• Was 4-for-4 on field goals.
• Was 1-for-1 on PATs, extending his streak of successful PATs to 45 straight.
Team Notes
STARTING THINGS OFF
• Junior QB Casey Thompson is the first Texas quarterback to win his first three career starts since Garrett Gilbert in 2010.
• With the win, Texas improves to 4-1 to start a season for the third time in the last four seasons.
• Texas started conference play 2-0 for the fourth time in five years.
SARK'S START
• With four wins in his first five games, Coach Steve Sarkisian is the first Texas head coach to win four of his first five games since Fred Akers started 4-0 in 1977.
• Sarkisian has started the season 4-1 for the third time as a head coach.
PUTTING UP POINTS
• Texas has scored at least 32 points in four of five games this season.
• It is the sixth time in the last seven games the Longhorns have scored 32 or more points.
Funniest Things You Will See This Week
He is becoming one of my favorites on Twitter
The moment he realized it was time to find another job …
This is for the dog lovers
Scott Seis is a savage
Sports On A Dime
1. Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian on Casey Thompson’s performance against TCU: “I thought Casey had a gritty game. He had a couple of critical runs for us where he tucked it and ran. The touchdown pass to Whit [Jordan Whittington] off of an RPO was a huge play there in the fourth quarter. The deep ball to Whitt was another big play. I think he's going to look back and for whatever reason, we got to find a way to hit the first play of the game to Josh or hit the deep ball to X. That aspect of the game when we get there is going to make us so much better. But I thought all and all, Casey fought, he competed, he managed. I'm proud of him. Not every game you're going to go out and have six touchdowns. That's not a reality. It's finding a way to win when you're a quarterback and he was able to do it today.”
2. Sarkisian on his defensive players running to the end zone and posing, which resulted in a penalty: “We'll fix that. That one is fixable. We'll get that one fixed before I get on the bus. We'll get that taken care of. We're not in the National Football League. I know we all want to be, but we're not, so we'll take care of that one."
3. Texas running back Bijan Robinson on trusting the coaching staff: "Trust is huge, especially in Coach Sark and how he calls my number. I just know that I have to put my head down and do the best I can for the offense and team. It was awesome to see Coach Sark trust me in getting that first down and get that big run so we could end the game."
4. Zach Edwards was the holder on kicks for Texas instead of Hudson Card on Saturday. Card has appeared in four games this season and the next time he plays, it will burn his redshirt season. Remember, last season did not count against a player’s eligibility due to covid. Redshirting Card will create depth in the quarterback room when Malik Murphy arrives in Austin.
5. Jordan Whittington with the catch of the day
6. The biggest story of this week will be Casey Thompson leading his team into the Cotton Bowl to face his father’s former team. It will be mentioned more than this week than the announcers who reminded you every five minutes that former Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer never received an offer from Texas.
7. Props to former Longhorn defensive lineman Cory Redding for being inducted into the 2020 Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame. The enshrinement ceremony is taking place on Tuesday, 17 months after initially being scheduled due to postponements caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
40 CORY REDDING, TEXAS
Ht. 6-5 Wt. 270 Class: Senior
Position: Defensive End
Hometown: Houston, Texas
2003 Classic: Texas 35, LSU 20
Defensive Statistics: 8 tackles, 5 unassisted
Tackles for Loss: 4 tackles for minus-23 yards
Quarterback Sacks: 1 sack for minus-18 yards
Texas defensive end Cory Redding accomplished some amazing things in his career, on and off the football field. The All-America selection collected eight tackles in a 35-20 victory over LSU. Five of them were solo stops and four resulted in 23 yards in losses, including a sack of minus-18 yards. Quarterbacks and running backs tried to avoid him at all costs but rarely succeeded. Redding was an inspirational figure, one who motivated his teammates to meet the challenge on every play and leave nothing on the field. His leadership qualities translated perfectly into community service where he utilized the game of football as a platform to mentor youth and lend a helping hand to many. Redding is the ultimate team player, one who lives life and played the game of football at an extremely high level.
8. I take the retirement announcements by boxers very lightly because they usually rarely walk away. A few have, but most boxers come out of retirement a few years later. Heck, Evander Holyfield is still fighting. Manny Pacquiao is one of the greatest fighters of our era and I give him credit for never ducking opponents. I covered Mike Tyson’s fight against Lennox Lewis in 2002 and Pacquiao was on the undercard. He defeated Jorge Eliecer Julio by technical knockout, but I had no clue Pacquiao would emerge into a superstar. Pacquiao is an automatic first-ballot Hall of Famer.
9. Dana White’s willingness to rip Oscar De La Hoya at any moment will always provide a memorable highlight.
10. Enjoy your Sunday
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