Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Entering into the final three weeks of the Big 12 Conference’s season we hand out disappointments, surprises and the title game prediction.
With the final three weeks in the Big 12 Conference underway, we are looking at surprises, disappointments and the title game. Continue reading “Big 12 Conference surprises, disappointments and title prediction”
Tom Herman provided an injury update after the win against West Virginia. Going into a bye week, the Longhorns will have time to heal up.
[jwplayer 7ctGj9T2]
Texas scraped by West Virginia on Saturday and will now enter its third bye week of the season. The week off could not be coming at a better time for the Longhorns, as their final three games are going to be the most important stretch in Tom Herman’s tenure.
Luckily, Texas will be dealing with very few injuries before playing Kansas on Nov. 21. Starting with defensive tackle Keondre Coburn who suffered an injury during the first quarter of the West Virginia game.
Herman says Coburn’s has “pretty mild high ankle sprain” and will be in a walking boot for a couple more days. The redshirt sophomore has recorded 17 tackles this season, 2.0 which were for a loss.
The Longhorns’ wide receiver group could get a big boost as Joshua Moore and Jordan Whittington are expected to play against Kansas. Both could return to practice as soon as Sunday.
Moore is currently in a sling after spraining his shoulder on Saturday. He is the team’s leading receiver in catches, yards, and touchdowns.
As for Whittington, the true freshman has not played since the Red River Shootout. He had ten receptions and 65 yards in the loss to Oklahoma.
Finally, there were reports that punter Ryan Bujcevski had torn his ACL and would be out for the season. Herman confirmed those reports and said Cameron Dicker will take over the punting duties for the rest of the season.
Bujcevski was “literally just running down there to be a safety on the punt coverage team and planted wrong on the turf. Knee buckled on him.”
Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.
Download the USA TODAY SportsWire app to follow Longhorns Wire and your other favorite teams in the Apple Store for iPhones and Google Play for Android devices.
The ultimate game preview for the Texas Longhorns-West Virginia Mountaineers matchup that kicks off Saturday at 11:00 CST.
[After losing two games in a row, the Texas Longhorns followed that up with a win over Baylor and the upset win over Oklahoma State. After jumping back into the Big 12 Conference race, the Longhorns face off with West Virginia at home. This game will feature The top scoring offense in the Big 12 against the No. 2 scoring defense in the conference.
Texas head coach Tom Herman is trying to follow up a huge win with another win as they try to march back to the Big 12 Championship. They are currently tied with the Oklahoma Sooners and WVU for fourth in the conference. Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Kansas State all ahead of them. Which could all change this weekend.
As far as the West Virginia Mountaineers are concerned, we break down the full matchup in the ultimate game preview.
[listicle id=26437]
[listicle id=26172]
For the Texas Longhorns to stay on track to challenge for a Big 12 Championship, they will need these three players to guide them Saturday.
The Texas Longhorns offense has quite the test after facing the No. 1 scoring defense in the conference last Saturday. They were able to put up 41 points against that defense with a little help from their own defense. This week it doesn’t get much better against the No. 1 total defense in the conference in the West Virginia Mountaineers.
That same defense held the high powered Oklahoma State offense to 20 first downs, 342 yards of offense and 27 points. You can make the argument that they had an easier task than Texas did since they didn’t face the starting quarterback in Spencer Sanders who was out with the high ankle sprain. Can they rise to the challenge of the Texas offense after they completely shut down Kansas State at home?
The road hasn’t been kind to the Mountaineers this year going 0-2. They have been outscored 61-40 in those two games. At home it is a much different story where they have outscored opponents 158-58. You can make the case that it is a bit of fools gold with a game against Kansas, Eastern Kentucky and Baylor mixed in there. So how can Texas prove their worth against a defense that has looked good?
We take a look at three key offensive players in this game.
In the final leg of the offensive tale of the tape, we look at the Texas Longhorns and West Virginia Mountaineers WR groups.
The final leg of the offensive tale of the tape series features the wide receivers for the Texas Longhorns-West Virginia Mountaineers matchup. Both teams coming off wins over ranked opponents as they prepare for a must-win game. The WVU duo caught seven passes for 135 yards and one touchdown. The Longhorns duo accounted for four receptions, 70 yards and two touchdowns. One being the game winner.
[lawrence-related id=26350,26335]
This year without question Joshua Moore has been the Longhorns best wide out. Many expected the top guy to be Brennan Eagles or Jake Smith. Moore has been a solid outlet for quarterback Sam Ehlinger but in three games this year he has two receptions or less. He needs a better output against West Virginia than just one reception like Moore put out against Oklahoma State. This defense will test the entire WR group.
The West Virginia wideouts are more of the complimentary role. While yes they do have two receivers with over 300 yards receiving, this team likes to run the football and play defense. Last week Texas was able to limit Chuba Hubbard to just 2.5 yards per carry. Can Bryce Ford-Wheaton and Winston Wright take advantage of PFF’s 80th ranked pass defense in terms of coverage? If they do it could be another long day for Chris Ash’s unit.
[lawrence-related id=26384,26376]
| Joshua Moore | vs | Bryce Ford-Wheaton |
| 6-1 | Ht | 6-3 |
| 169 | Wt | 218 |
| Redshirt Sophomore | Class | Sophomore |
| 22 | Rec | 16 |
| 343 | Yards | 301 |
| 15.6 | Yards/Rec | 18.8 |
| 7 | TDs | 3 |
| 23 | Touches | 16 |
| 342 | Yards | 301 |
| Brennan Eagles | vs | Winston Wright |
| 6-4 | Ht | 5-10 |
| 229 | Wt | 180 |
| Junior | Class | Sophomore |
| 15 | Rec | 32 |
| 243 | Yards | 391 |
| 16.2 | Yards/Rec | 12.2 |
| 4 | TDs | 2 |
| 15 | Touches | 34 |
| 243 | Yards | 395 |
The wide receiver duo of Moore and Eagles gets the slight edge over Ford-Wheaton and Wright. With the lack of a consistent rushing attack the Longhorn have to rely on their passing game to do the bulk of the damage. Also factor in that Jake Smith is starting to come on after dealing with a hamstring injury that has lingered. How will they do against the number one pass defense in the league?
[listicle id=26172]
The Texas Longhorns were able to escape Stillwater with an upset of the No. 6 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys.
After four quarters wasn’t enough between these two teams, the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma State Cowboys would need overtime. Texas would be playing in their third overtime game in just five conference appearances. After not having a catch all game, Joshua Moore catches the touchdown to give the Longhorns a lead in the overtime session. The play was set up after the Longhorns were gifted a pass interference call.
The Longhorns defense would force a fourth down with a game on the line for Oklahoma State. Joseph Ossai seals the game with a sack of Spencer Sanders to end the game 41-34. The win gave the Longhorns their first road win over a top 10 team since 2010. With all of the turmoil surrounding the Longhorns, they desperately needed the win.
It was a back and forth game between Texas and Oklahoma State like many expected. Maybe not the way it unfolded, but it was a Big 12 slugfest that needed more than four quarters to decide the game. The Longhorns defense was able to create four turnovers that gave this offense life. Despite putting up a total of 41 points, the offense had no consistency as a unit.
Defensively they gave up plenty of yards but the turnovers were able to level the playing field. With the game on the line, the Longhorns were able to drive the field and Sam Ehlinger found Jake Smith to take the lead, a two-point conversion would give them the three point lead that came in handy. With no timeouts and less than 90 seconds on the clock, Oklahoma State drove for the tying field goal.
Ehlinger would finish 18/34 passing for 169 yards and three touchdown passes. He found Brennan Eagles, Smith and Moore for the three scores. He was able to give the Longhorns leads to ultimately win this game but it was Ossai who was the closer in this game.
It was a wild game where if you look at the stats, it is hard to fathom how the Longhorns won this game. It boiled down to the turnovers and Ehlinger rising to the occasion.
Stats:
| Stat | Texas | Oklahoma State |
| 3rd down | 2-15 | 3-12 |
| Rushing Yards | 118 | 127 |
| Passing Yards | 169 | 400 |
| Total Yards | 287 | 527 |
| Penalties | 13-142 | 8-79 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 4 |
The Texas Longhorns continue to trail to the Oklahoma State as the Cowboys got the offense rolling in the third quarter.
The Oklahoma State offense started the half out with the ball. The Longhorns kickoff taken for a touchback to start at the 25-yard line. After three runs, the Texas defense forcing a fourth down after they stopped Chuba Hubbard just short of the line to gain. The Longhorns get the ball back on a punt from the Cowboys to get Sam Ehlinger and the offense back on the field down four.
On second down after a short run by the quarterback, Ehlinger finds Cade Brewer for the first down. The quarterback just not able to get anything on the ground. After a snap infraction by Derek Kerstetter, Ehlinger takes a deep shot to Brewer but it falls incomplete. On the next down he misses Roschon Johnson on the wheel route. The Longhorns give the ball right back to OSU.
Texas announced just prior to the kickoff of the second half that Keaontay Ingram would not return.
Texas RB Keaontay Ingram (ankle) is out the rest of the game, per UT.
— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) October 31, 2020
On a pass to Chuba Hubbard, Juwan Mitchell and Josh Thompson collided on the tackle attempt and would need assistance to get off the field. Oklahoma State keeps the drive rolling with a first down conversion by LD Brown. Spencer Sanders keeps finding Tylan Wallace to torch the secondary in this game. He finds Wallace again to extend the lead to 31-20.
The Longhorns were able to respond immediately with a kickoff return that went 100-yards by D’Shawn Jamison. He would end up getting flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Cameron Dicker would miss the extra point and OSU led 31-26.
HE GONE ✌️@D_JAMISON5 takes the kick return TO THE HOUSE for @TexasFootball 🏡 pic.twitter.com/hkquNdfCMe
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 31, 2020
The Texas Longhorns grabbed a hold of the momentum as they force a three and out. The offense started out getting the ball to Bijan Robinson for a nine-yard gain and then a first down on a pass to Brennan Eagles. Facing a third and one, the Longhorns would induce an offsides penalty for the easy first down.
The Longhorns would face a third and six that became a third and 11 after a false start with the clock winding down. Ehlinger would overthrow his targeted receiver in Jake Smith. The Longhorns would punt the ball away again. Oklahoma State with the ball, under four minutes left in the third.
The Longhorns finished the third down 31-26
Stats:
Ehlinger 11-25 117 yards 1 TD
Robinson 8 carries, 56 yards
Eagles 3 receptions, 55 yards, 1 TD
Who were the best and worst performers in Texas’ win over Baylor?
Texas was fortunately able to get back into the win column after defeating Baylor 27-16. Continue reading “Texas Football: Studs an Duds from the victory over Baylor”
It was a frustrating game for the Texas Longhorns as they fell to their rivals 53-45 in an overtime thriller. Our three reason for the loss.
There is a lot to unpack from the Texas Longhorns 53-45 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday. Despite falling down by double-digits twice against Oklahoma, Texas was able to fight and claw back into the game. The Longhorns needed this game but ultimately fell short to their rivals to the north.
Early on in this game, it didn’t look much like a shootout given that the game went into halftime tied at 17. Then again tied at 31 as the fourth quarter came to an end. It looked like the Sooners would win the game with under five minutes remaining and a two touchdown lead. However, quarterback Sam Ehlinger and the Longhorns had other ideas.
Clinging to a lead late, the Sooners had an opportunity to put the game away as Texas had no timeouts left. All Oklahoma needed was a first down or two to milk the clock. On third down Lincoln Riley dialed up a pass that fell incomplete. With two minutes remaining, they gave Sam Ehlinger all the time he needed to force overtime in this game.
In the extra session the Longhorns weren’t able to do enough and some mistakes cost them dearly. Texas tried to mount a comeback again in the fourth overtime, they fell short once gain. We breakdown three reasons why the Longhorns lost to Oklahoma.
The Texas Longhorns made a ferocious comeback to get back into the game. The Longhorns just couldn’t make enough plays as they fall 53-45.
The final quarter opened with the Texas Longhorns defense forcing the Oklahoma Sooners into a punt to get the offense back on the field. After Sam Ehlinger missed Tarik Black for a deep shot down the seam, the Longhorns would hand the ball right back to Lincoln Riley and his offense down 14.
The offense for Sooners began to pound the Longhorns defense by running the ball. T.J. Pledger and Spencer Rattler combining to get the Oklahoma offense into Texas territory. The defense was finally able to get to the quarterback on their first pass attempt, Alfred Collins was able to get to Rattler for the sack.
Following a punt downed inside the 10-yard line, it was up to Ehlinger to get this football team back in the game with under eight minutes to go down by 14. Facing a third down, Ehlinger had to use his legs to keep the drive going for the Longhorns. After a review, the moved the ball back for a forth and short. With the game on the line Ehlinger runs up the middle for a first down.
Facing another third down and short, Ehlinger finds Bijan Robinson out of the backfield for a long catch and run. After finding some success going up tempo, Ehlinger throws a deep shot in the end zone that was picked off. Woody Washington climbed the ladder to take it away from Joshua Moore. With 5:02 left in the game, the chances for Texas were running low.
After holding Oklahoma on offense, the Longhorns got the ball back with a short field. Ehlinger led the team back down the field and found Joshua Moore to get this game within one score 31-24. With no timeouts left, Cameron Dicker onside kick was perfect but the Longhorns couldn’t get the ball before it went out of bounds.
Ehlinger to Moore. pic.twitter.com/i5aJqFxzX9
— Longhorns Wire (@LonghornsWire) October 10, 2020
Facing a third down and nine, Spencer Rattler needed a first down seal this game. An incompletion gives the Longhorns the ball with about two minutes left in the game down a touchdown. The Sooners helped Texas by throwing the ball with no timeouts.
With 1:52 and no timeouts, Ehlinger looking to bring Texas back in this game. After a holding penalty gave the Longhorns a first down, Ehlinger used his legs on a 18-yard run to get close to midfield. A hold on Christian Jones put Texas on first and 20. After a 19-yard catch by Moore, the Longhorns get a first on a Keaontay Ingram run.
Sam Ehlinger found Ingram in the flat all alone for a touchdown. Texas ties the game with 14 seconds left on the clock.
WHOA! pic.twitter.com/iU5oiDhpUN
— Longhorns Wire (@LonghornsWire) October 10, 2020
For the second time this year, Texas forces overtime after trailing late in the fourth quarter. Texas would get the ball first in overtime. On third down to extend the drive, Ehlinger finds Jordan Whittington on a 13-yard reception to extend their initial drive of overtime. Ehlinger converted a first down on a run then on the next play runs it in for the lead.
Who else? Sam Ehlinger pic.twitter.com/tDJ7NnCCJa
— Longhorns Wire (@LonghornsWire) October 10, 2020
Rattler did his best Sam Ehlinger as he ran the ball on back to back plays to extend their drive. Oklahoma needing a touchdown to force a second overtime against Texas. The Sooners were able to answer when Rattler found Austin Stogner in the endzone. These two teams would head to yet another overtime.
After a big catch and run from Stogner, the Sooners were inside the five. After two incompletions, it was third and goal for Oklahoma. Rattler ran it up the middle for touchdown that would require a review. He was ruled down short of the goal line. On fourth down Rattler punches it in for the 45-38 lead. Ehlinger answers right back on a long run to tie it again.
What a performance by QB1 pic.twitter.com/b6VSbDlQnj
— Longhorns Wire (@LonghornsWire) October 10, 2020
It would go to a third overtime. Ehlinger faced a third and 10 on their possession. He would get taken down before reaching the line of scrimmage. Cameron Dicker’s attempt would be blocked. All Oklahoma needed was a field goal to win it.
The Sooners knowing they didn’t need much, were able to run the ball on the Longhorns defense. After a first down run, the Sooners sent their kicker Gabe Brkic onto the field for the game winner. He shanked the kick wide left to force another overtime.
On the opening play of the forth overtime, Rattler finds Drake Stoops for the go ahead touchdown. Sooners would have to go for two which was converted. The Texas offense would need to answer in order to get to a fifth overtime.
After finding Whittington, Bijan powers through the line for a first down run. Another penalty on the offensive line pushes Texas back to the 19-yard line on first and goal. After an incomplete pass, on the second down throws an interception to end the game.
Final Game Stats:
Ehinger 30/53 287 yards 2 TDs 2 INTs
Ehlinger 23 carries 112 yards 4 TDs
Joshua Moore 8 receptions 83 yards 1 TD
