Tag: Three reasons

Three reasons Texas beats Louisiana on Saturday

Three reasons Texas gets the win over Louisiana in the season opener on Saturday.

Now more than ever, getting to double-digit wins is incredibly important for Texas. Even with a first-year head coach in Steve Sarkisian, this is a pivotal season for the program.

Before getting to the win total goal, winning the season opener is the first priority.

Louisiana will roll to Austin as the No. 23 team in the country. Coming off one of the best seasons in their history, confidence will not be an issue on the opposing sideline. Beating Big 12 schools is not a daunting task either after Iowa State last season.

Sarkisian will have his team fired up and ready to go as well. Since he took over, there has been a sense of inner confidence from players and coaches. You can tell just from press conferences leading into the season. It’s going to be a fun battle two days from now.

Here are three reasons Texas gets the win over Louisiana on Saturday.

First, the Heisman longshot

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Texas Longhorns Basketball: Three reasons for the win over Kansas State

Texas responded from their first Big 12 loss of the season with a resounding victory over Kansas State. Here are three reasons for the win.

Texas responded from their first Big 12 loss of the season with a resounding victory over Kansas State. Coming off of the Longhorns’ two losses on the 2020-2021 season, they have bounced back by winning the next two games by an average of 18.0 points.

Without the likes of Greg Brown, Kai Jones, and Brock Cunninghman available due to COVID-19 protocols, Kamaka Hepa had to step up in their absence. He finished with 15 points and was the team’s second-leading scorer.

Three other Longhorns were in double figures. They are now back on the right track in Big 12 play, currently in second place with a 5-1 record. Here are three reasons for Texas’ win over Kansas State on Saturday night.

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Three reasons Texas will beat Texas Tech

Texas has a very important game to close out the season against Texas Tech. Here are three reasons the Longhorns will beat the Red Raiders.

Texas has a very important game to close out the season against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Currently sitting at 6-5, Texas needs a win to guarantee another winning season under Tom Herman. Needing a walk-off win from Lil’ Jordan Humphrey to win in Lubbock last season, the Longhorns should be able to win by a greater margin this year.

Here are three reasons Texas will beat Texas Tech:

Texas Tech’s pass defense

Going into this week, the Red Raiders have the worst passing defense in the entire conference. Opponents have thrown for an average of 369.4 yards per game against Texas Tech, including three 400 yard games for Oklahoma, Kansas, and West Virginia.

Quarterback Sam Ehlinger and the Longhorn passing game has been this team’s strong throughout the season. Ehlinger has thrown for 3,114 yards, the third-most in the Big 12. He has also found the endzone 27 times in the air, only trailing Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts.

While the passing game is coming off a rough game against Baylor, Texas should be able to throw all over this Texas Tech defense. Wide receiver Devin Duvernay will be important, but other receivers like Brennan Eagles and Malcolm Epps need to step up for the Longhorns. If they can, Texas should be able to win easily.

Home field advantage

Even though the road team has won the last four matchups, Texas should benefit from playing in Austin this year. Overall, Texas is 4-1 at home with its only loss coming to No. 2 LSU. In the Big 12, Texas has yet to lose at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium with wins over No. 21 Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Kansas State. Texas Tech, on the other hand, is 1-4 on the road.

The Longhorn offense, in particular, has soared at home, averaging 39 points a game. The defense has struggled, but playing in a close shootout is nothing Texas has not seen this season. In the Big 12, the three wins have come by an average of 3.7 points, with the largest margin being the six-point victory against Oklahoma State.

The Red Raiders have done a little of everything on the road. To start their Big 12 season, they got blown out 55-16 to Oklahoma, but also only lost by three to Baylor and Kansas. Their defense has allowed 34 points a game on the road and the Texas offense must take advantage.

The Longhorns have more to play for

This is a crucial game for Texas as they need a win to guarantee their third straight winning season. If they do not, a loss in their bowl game would give the Longhorns their fourth seven loss season in six years. Texas Tech, on the other hand, is 4-7 and cannot reach a bowl game.

Not only will a win give Texas a winning season, but it will improve what bowl game they play in. Getting to 7-5 could see the Longhorns as high as fourth in the pecking order. A loss would drop them as low as sixth, which could be the last Big 12 team available.

Not only are bowl game scenarios on the line, but possible coaching jobs are on the line. While Head Coach Tom Herman may not be in any danger, his staff on both the offensive and defensive staff may be. Texas players have told the media that the coaches still have the locker room’s respect. If they can come out and prove they some promise, it may save some coaching jobs.

Texas will face Texas Tech at 11:00 a.m. CST on Fox.

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Three reasons Texas lost to Iowa State

A disappointing loss against Iowa State, a lot went wrong for the Longhorns. The offense struggled and two mental errors cost Texas.

For the fourth time this year, Texas is on the losing side in frustrating fashion. Suffering a soul-crushing defeat to Iowa State on Saturday, a lot went wrong for the Longhorns. Offensively struggling all game and a couple of mental errors is the difference between a disappointing season and one with potential still in sight.

Here are three reasons Texas lost to Iowa State:

The offense’s poor play

Throughout the season, the Texas offense has been a strong suit for the team and the defense was the reason for the losses. Against Iowa State, the script was flipped. The Longhorns punted the ball a total of nine times and eight of them were after the offense went three-and-out. The inability to move the ball was something Texas had not shown all season.

Running backs Roschon Johnson and Keaontay Ingram struggled, combining for 14 carries and 27 yards. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger had the same amount of rushing yards as the two combined but on 12 carries. Even when designed plays were called for Ehlinger to run it, he got stuffed.

Throwing the ball, Ehlinger only completed 55% of his passes. In the first half, he was only able to get out 12 attempts due to the constant three-and-outs. He has been the glue to this offense all year and when he does not play well, the entire offense suffers. That was evident in Saturday’s loss.

Deshaunte Jones’ 75-yard touchdown

Going into halftime, Texas finally got some momentum, scoring a touchdown in 30 seconds to cut the Iowa State lead to three before the break. Texas kicked the ball off to start the second half and ruined all the momentum they had built up. On the first play of the third quarter, Purdy escaped pressure by scrambling to his left, launched the ball downfield, and found a wide-open Deshaunte Jones.

Without this total collapse in the secondary, Iowa State is going for a game-winning touchdown instead of a field goal in their final drive. The Cyclone offense struggled the rest of the second half, kicking two field goals, punting the ball four times, and turning it over on downs once. If the Longhorn defense does not allow that touchdown, the game could have been different.

Jumping offsides on the field goal attempt

After scoring touchdowns on two straight offensive possessions, the Texas offense went three-and-out (again), giving Iowa State the ball back with three minutes left in the game. After a couple of big plays from Brock Purdy and a pass interference call against Caden Sterns, Texas stopped the Cyclone offense and forced a field goal with two minutes and 16 seconds left in the game. Theoretically, that would have been enough time for Ehlinger to go win the game for himself.

However, Joseph Ossai jumped offsides on the field goal attempt, giving Iowa State a fresh set of downs from the Texas 20. Using their timeouts on the previous three plays, the Longhorns had no way of stopping the clock to give themselves an opportunity to win the game. The Cyclones were able to drain the clock down to four seconds before Connor Assalley hit the game-winning field goal from 36 yards.

This loss was a detrimental one to the Longhorns who are nearly out of the Big 12 Championship discussion. A miracle would be required and is looking more and more unlikely. Beating Iowa State would have allowed the Longhorns to control their own destiny, but now can only play the role of spoiler to Baylor.

Texas will face Baylor on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CST on FS1.