Tag: longhorns recruiting

Texas DB Jalen Green returns from suspension for 2nd half of ISU game

Texas Longhorns defensive back Jalen Green returns in the second half of the Iowa State game following suspension

In the second half of the Longhorns’ matchup with Kansas State, Jalen Green was ejected for targeting, which kept him out the remainder of that game in addition to the first half of Texas’ current matchup with Iowa State. Green is set to return from his short suspension and return to play in the second half against the Cyclones.

This was an avoidable hit that is quite reckless, and Green deserved the ejection. The Longhorns need to tighten up and play more disciplined on defense to avoid hits like this.
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Texas vs Iowa State: First half recap

An ugly first half for the Longhorns got saved by a Brennan Eagles touchdown. If Texas wants to win, the offense must step up and convert.

Until the final drive of the first half, it was an ugly start to the day for the Longhorns. Punting the ball five times, Texas went three-and-out four times and added a turnover on downs deep in Iowa State territory.

Luckily for the Longhorns, they were able to find some rhythm with under a minute to go in the first half, scoring on five plays in 30 seconds. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger found Brennan Eagles on a spectacular 14-yard touchdown.

Texas has really struggled running the ball, only gaining 33 yards on 17 attempts. Ehlinger was not throwing the ball downfield as he was 3/7 with 26 yards before the last drive in the half. The entire offense must step it up in the second half if the Longhorns want to win this game.

Besides the Iowa State touchdown, the Texas defense has an interception, forced two three-and-outs, and held the Cyclone offense to a field goal. Iowa State Brock Purdy is 16/23 with 116 yards and a touchdown. Iowa State has been decent running the ball, having 85 yards on 17 carries. The defense has not been the problem for the Longhorns and needs to continue what they have been doing.

Texas has a great opportunity to win against Iowa State if the offense is able to step up and make some plays. Texas’ defense was able to contain the Iowa State offense and keep them to 10 points. If they can do the same in the second half, they will set the Longhorn offense up to win the game and control their destiny in the Big 12.

Texas is facing Iowa State on FS1.

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WATCH: Brennan Eagles makes outstanding touchdown catch

Watch as the Texas Longhorns score their first points of the game against Iowa State with a TD catch from Brennan Eagles

With Texas held scoreless and down by 10 against Iowa State with just under 20 seconds to play in the first half, Brennan Eagles make a huge play for the Longhorns.

Quarterback Sam Ehlinger found Eagles from 14 yards out to get their first points of the game. It wasn’t an easy catch for Eagles however. He had to lead up to grab the ball and get his foot down before being pushed out of bounds.

The call on the field originally had Texas down short of the goal-line, but after further review, it was reversed to a touchdown.

Texas will receive the ball to begin the second half.

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WATCH: D’Shawn Jamison intercepts Brock Purdy

Texas has struggled early but was able to force an interception off of Brock Purdy. Texas is still losing to Iowa State in the 2nd quarter.

Early in the game, Texas has had a tough time moving the ball with the offense, but the defense has played well since letting up an early Iowa State touchdown.

On 1st and 10 from the Iowa State 31, D’Shawn Jamison was able to intercept Cyclone quarterback Brock Purdy to force the first turnover of the game.

Here is the highlight below:

Texas is still down to Iowa State, 7-0, in the middle of the second quarter.

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Twitter prepares for the matchup against Iowa State

Texas travels to face Iowa State in a huge game for the Longhorns. Here is how Twitter is preparing for this afternoon’s matchup vs ISU.

Texas has a huge game this afternoon as they travel to Ames, Iowa to face Iowa State. Today is a must-win for the Longhorns as they must win out to make it to the Big 12 championship game. Coming in as underdogs, Texas has a lot to prove against the Cyclones.

Here is how Twitter is preparing for the matchup against Iowa State:

Texas faces Iowa State at 2:30 P.M. on FS1.

ESPN bowl projections: Matchups against historical programs

Currently at 9-3, Texas could end up anywhere this bowl season. ESPN projects the Camping World Bowl and the Alamo Bowl for the Longhorns.

Currently sitting at 9-3, which bowl game the Longhorns will make is still up in the air. They could go as high as the Allstate Sugar Bowl or they could end up as low as the Texas Bowl. According to ESPN’s bowl projections, Texas is somewhere in between there.

Here is a look at where ESPN thinks the Longhorns will be bowling:

First, Kyle Bonagura projects Texas to participate in the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, FL. Since 2015, it has been a bowl game between Big 12 and ACC teams. If the Longhorns were to play in the Camping World Bowl, it would be the first time they would participate in it. What sticks out is their opponent, Notre Dame. Two of the most historic programs of all time, both schools are in the top 10 in all-time wins in NCAA history.

Playing as recent as 2015 and 2016, the Fighting Irish and the Longhorns have played a total of 12 times, with Notre Dame leading the series 9-3. The latest game in 2016 is the infamous “Texas is back folks!” game when Tyrone Swoopes scored a touchdown to beat the No. 10 ranked Irish in Austin, 50-47.

With Mark Schlabach projecting both Oklahoma and Baylor to get spots in a New Year’s Six Bowl game, that would leave the second-best Big 12 bowl game, the Valero Alamo Bowl, open for the Longhorns. Texas has not played in the Alamo Bowl since doing it in back to back seasons in 2012 and 2013 when they played Oregon State and Oregon respectively. Playing Pac 12 opponents, Schlabach says Texas will face the Trojans of USC.

These two teams have a lot of recent history and if they met, would be playing each other for the third year in a row. The Longhorns lost a heartbreaker on the road in 2017, while they beat the Trojans by 23 at home last season.

As usual when talking about Texas and USC, you have to mention the 2006 Rose Bowl game for the National Championship. Widely considered the greatest college football game of all time, Texas fans will be remembering this game for the rest of their lives.

Even if the Longhorns are not able to make the most prestigious bowl game this season, these matchups could still be some fun ones. Especially when you are playing against historical blue blood programs like Notre Dame and USC.

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Can Texas still make the Big 12 championship?

Even with losing twice, Texas is still alive for the Big 12 championship game. They’ll need to win out and get some help from other teams.

Despite losing the Red River Shootout to Oklahoma and losing on the road to TCU, Texas is still alive for the Big 12 championship. It has come down to three teams: Baylor, Oklahoma, and Texas. Here is a look at those three teams, how they have done this season, and what games they have remaining.

Baylor Bears 9-0 (6-0) Remaining games: Oklahoma, Texas, @Kansas

Baylor started the season out 3-0 in the nonconference, sneaking past Rice in their third game of the season, 21-13. In Big 12 play, the Bears have gone to double overtime with Texas Tech and triple overtime with TCU. Their impressive win of the season was a 31-12 road victory against Kansas State. All but two of their conference games have come down to one possession and have yet to make a statement. They can make that statement with a win against Oklahoma that would no doubt put them in the Big 12 championship game.

Oklahoma Sooners 8-1 (5-1) Remaining games: @Baylor, TCU, @Oklahoma State

After wrecking their way through Houston, South Dakota, and UCLA, Oklahoma came out firing in the Big 12, winning their first four games by an average of 28 points. That included a huge 34-27 win against Texas that seemed to put them in the driver’s seat in the conference. Then, a 48-41 loss on the road to Kansas State opened the doors up for teams like Texas to sneak back in. If the Sooners win out, not only are they still in contention for the Big 12 but the College Football playoff.

Texas Longhorns 6-3 (4-2) Remaining games: @Iowa State, @Baylor, Texas Tech

Starting the season out with now No. 1 LSU, Texas began the year 4-1 before coming across Oklahoma. The Sooners were able to take care of business in Dallas and the Longhorns have been struggling ever since. Losing to TCU and needing a game-winning field goal to get past Kansas and Kansas State is not what was envisioned for Texas this season. Despite all the struggles, the Longhorns are still in the race for the Big 12 championship game, they just need a little help.

That help will be determined based off of Saturday’s Baylor-Oklahoma matchup. One path is easier than the other for the Longhorns, but it may come at a cost. Here are the scenarios for Texas making the Big 12 championship:

Texas must win out

This is first and foremost the most important thing the Longhorns must do. If Texas loses any of its last three games against Iowa State, Baylor, or Texas Tech, they are more than likely done. It would still mathematically be possible, but odds are it will not happen. Texas’ schedule is the most difficult out of the three and faces an uphill battle.  Let’s assume the Longhorns are able to win against Iowa State so the other scenarios can play out.

If Oklahoma beats Baylor…

Then the Longhorns control their own destiny for the rest of the season. The Sooners would be in the driver’s seat to wear the home colored jerseys in the Big 12 championship game, but who they play would come down to Texas’ matchup against Baylor in Waco next week. It would become the most important matchup this season in the Big 12 for a couple reasons. If Texas were to win, a shot at a rematch against Oklahoma could save their season and propel them into another New Year’s Six Bowl. If Baylor were to win, they could avenge their loss against the Sooners and jump into the College Football Playoff. For any of that to happen though, Oklahoma must win in Waco Saturday night.

If Baylor beats Oklahoma…

Then the road becomes a lot more difficult. Baylor would become a lock to participate in the Big 12 championship, even if the Longhorns found a way to beat them next week. It would become a competition between Texas and Oklahoma. Each with two conference losses, if both teams are able to win out, the Sooners would get a rematch with Baylor at AT&T Stadium. Since Oklahoma beat the Longhorns back in October, they have the tiebreaker to get into the Big 12 championship. In order for Texas to get into the championship game, they would need to beat Baylor and Texas Tech, plus have Oklahoma lose one of their final two games against TCU and Oklahoma State.

Can they do it?

Yes, they can do it. As painful and weird as it may sound, Texas will most likely be cheering for Oklahoma to be beating Baylor Saturday night. Controlling your own destiny is easier than relying on TCU or Oklahoma State to beat Oklahoma. This would then set up a rematch of this year’s Red River Shootout. It would be the second year in a row these two teams met in the Big 12 championship game and would have College Football Playoff/Sugar Bowl implications on the line.

Texas will play Iowa State on Saturday at 2:30 P.M. CST on FS1, while Baylor and Oklahoma will play at 6:30 P.M on ABC.

Texas’ series history against Iowa State

Only meeting 16 times, Texas has dominated Iowa State. With ISU only winning twice, the stakes have been raised the past two years.

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Texas plays a crucial road game against Iowa State and must win if they want to stay alive in the Big 12 championship picture. These two teams have a short history as they have only met a total of 16 times. The Longhorns dominated the begging of the series, winning seven straight. Even after an Iowa State win in 2010, Texas continued to win, beating the Cyclones seven out of the last eight.

Here is the series record between the Longhorns and Cyclones:

All-time series record: Texas leads 14-2-0

Largest wins: Texas 56-3 in 2007, Iowa State 24-0 in 2015

Latest Texas win: Nov. 17, 2018

Last season’s matchup with Iowa State was a ranked matchup as No. 13 Texas played host to the 18th ranked Cyclones. This was a strange game for the Longhorns, as both Sam Ehlinger and Shane Buechele got snaps.

Ehlinger was only able to play in the first half as he picked up a shoulder injury. Before he was forced to leave the game, he was able to get the Longhorns off to a strong start, scoring 17 points on five drives. He went 12-15 with 137 yards and a touchdown. He was also effective on the ground, having 32 yards and a touchdown.

Without Ehlinger, the Longhorns struggled, punting on four out of their six second-half drives. The other two ended with a Daniel Young fumble and a Shane Buechele 27 yards touchdown to Lil’ Jordan Humphrey. On the other hand, the Texas defense was outstanding, stopping an Iowa State offense that was averaging 427.2 yards over their five-game winning streak, to 210 yards. David Montgomery only ran for 33 yards as the Cyclones struggled running the ball.

The 24-10 win ended up being huge for the Longhorns as it was the reason they made it into the Big 12 championship game. Had Iowa State won the game, the Cyclones’ win against Kansas State the next week would have propelled them into the title game. Instead, Texas went on to beat Kansas and played in its first Big 12 championship game since 2009.

Latest Iowa State win: Oct. 31, 2015

2015 was a miserable year for the Longhorns and the matchup against Iowa State was no different. Going into the game, the Cyclones were 2-5, on a three-game losing streak, and allowing nearly 34 points a game on that streak.

Naturally, a Texas offense being led by Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard at quarterback put up a goose egg. Swoopes and Heard threw for 85 yards on 12-22 passing. The running game was not much better, as they averaged 3.7 yards per carry. Swoopes led the team in that category, rushing for 58 yards on 10 carries.

Iowa State’s offense pounded the ball on the ground, as they had 54 rushing attempts. They got 238 yards on those 54 attempts and added on two touchdowns. Running back Mike Warren had a career-high 32 carries with 157 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Joel Lanning was a mediocre 19-37 with 188 yards and a touchdown.

After defeating the Cyclones four years in a row, Texas shut out on the road, 24-0. It was their second time being shut out in two years after going a decade without it. Texas ended the season at 5-7, the first of back to back Charlie Strong 5-7 seasons.

Texas will play Iowa State on Saturday at 2:30 PM CST on FS1.

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Former Longhorn Malik Jefferson waived by Cleveland Browns

Former Texas Longhorns linebacker Malik Jefferson was waived by the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday

On Tuesday, former Texas Longhorns linebacker Malik Jefferson was waived by the Cleveland Browns.

Jefferson is in just his second year as a pro. He was drafted in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

With the Browns in 2019, Jefferson only made an appearance in one game, and that game came in week one against the Titans. In that game, Jefferson recorded just one tackle.

Hopefully, we see Malik find a new home soon. After all, he was a third-round pick last year for a reason.

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WATCH: Quandre Diggs gets first interception with Seahawks

Watch as Seattle Seahawks defensive back Quandre Diggs gets his first interception with his new team

A few weeks ago, former Texas Longhorn defensive back Quandre Diggs was traded from the Detroit Lions to the Seattle Seahawks. Last night, Diggs saw his first action with Seattle in a clash between the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers went into this Monday Night Football matchup as the only remaining undefeated team in the NFL. The Seahawks were able to stun the 49ers in San Francisco, winning in overtime by a score of 27-24.

About midway through the 3rd quarter, Diggs was able to intercept 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo with the score being 10-7 in favor of San Francisco. This interception led to a Seahawks touchdown, giving them the lead.

On the night, Diggs was able to tally two tackles, one of which was solo, a pass defense, and this interception.

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