It was quite the scene in Austin, Texas as the Longhorns prepared to take on the Iowa State Cyclones in a game they couldn’t lose. They lost.
The game started out about as well as one could have hoped. The Longhorns jumped out to a 10-0 lead early in the first quarter. With 7:30 remaining in the third quarter, they built the lead back to 20-10. The offense wouldn’t score again as the Cyclones outscored them 13-0 the rest of the way to win their seventh conference game of the season. Iowa State now one step closer to playing for the conference championship.
For the Longhorns, it marked their third conference loss of the year. Their second such loss at home. On senior day, they weren’t able to send their guys out on a high note. Texas has two trips to the state of Kansas left on the schedule. In eight days they will play the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan.
Sam Ehlinger had one of his better games in recent memory. He threw for 298 yards and one touchdown. He would add another 65 yards on the ground and another score. However, what people will remember is the sack he took on third down with the game on the line. That set up a 57-yard field goal attempt by Cameron Dicker that went left at the last possible moment. Texas would lose the game but how did we get here?
We look at three reasons the Longhorns lost the game.