Daniel Seahorn
On the 40
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
- Messages
- 8,458
I’ve never been a fan of preseason polls or making record predictions before actual football is ever played. I feel like it’s an easy way to get expectations out of whack and for people to get their hopes up too high before actually knowing how their team will actually play when the spotlight is on them and everyone is actually keeping score.
I didn’t think Texas should have been ranked coming into the season. In my opinion they hadn’t done anything to warrant a preseason Top 25 ranking and they lost a good bit of talent to graduation after last year. On top of that, this Texas program still had a lot to prove to solidify they were on the rise. That they were actually BACK and not just a similar team that we’ve seen wandering lost in the wilderness over the past several years.
Then the Maryland game happened. We saw a team that started slow, looked sluggish and unprepared, but managed to fight and battle through some adversity. Then the turnover bug struck three times over and foiled the late comeback attempt or the Longhorns. For the second year in a row the Terps stunned the Longhorns and had the entire country wondering if things were actually getting better in Austin. Then the Tulsa game happened. The Golden Hurricane were clearly an inferior opponent that the Longhorns should have ran out of DKR, but the Longhorns let them hang around the entire game and had to manufacture a late drive and run the clock out. Not an ideal start to the season.
The Longhorns limped into the toughest stretch of their schedule that included three ranked opponents and a road test in Manhattan, Kansas where they hadn’t won since 2002. This was a stretch of games where we were going to find out everything we needed to know about the 2018 Texas Longhorns.
So what did Tom Herman’s Longhorns do during that stretch? They beat up then ranked USC 37-14, then followed that up by snapping their loss streak to TCU who was also ranked, and then they proceeded to grind out their first win in Manhattan since 2002. The Longhorns entered the Cotton Bowl for the Red River Rivalry 3-0 over that brutal stretch with a chance to make it four straight with a statement win over their rival from Norman.
The Sooners entered the matchup boasting arguably the best offense in the country and most certainly one of the most explosive with Kyler Murray at the helm. While the Texas defense had played well coming into the RRR, I was still a bit uneasy about how they matched up against the Sooner wide receivers who are big plays waiting to happen each snap. On top of that, they had to worry about containing Murray in the pocket, which is a very tall task because of elusiveness and ability to play backyard football.
It felt like a game that was going to take at least 40 points to come out victorious and that held true this past Saturday. The Texas offense has shown the ability to put together long methodical scoring drives this year and that was exactly what it was going to need against Oklahoma so that they could limit the amount of possessions that the Sooner offense would get. You don’t want to try to get into a shootout with the Sooners, but that’s exactly what we ended up getting in Dallas.
It felt like it could be a long day when the Sooners came right out and marched down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive, but the Longhorns gathered themselves and went on the offensive. Sam Ehlinger and the Texas marched down the field in five plays and answered immediately with a touchdown of their own and sent the message that they were not going to back down. The Texas offense scored on each possession of the first half and didn’t have to punt until their second possession of the second half. Along the way they forced Murray into an errant pass that was picked off by Brandon Jones and it was turned into points as well. Murray would also put the ball on the ground later in the contest that would later turn into a Texas touchdown. Two turnovers by the Heisman contending quarterback that turned into 10 points for Texas.
Texas was going to need some things to bounce their way in Dallas if they wanted to pull off the upset and those turnovers by Murray are an excellent example. The Longhorns were in control of this game right up until the point in the 4th quarter where the defense seemed to run out of gas and the offense couldn’t sustain drives and get points like they had all game long. Adversity struck in the form a Sooner rally that resulted in the game being tied up, but the Longhorns had one more shot to put the game away in regulation.
Enter Dicker the Kicker. The Texas offense put together a nine play, 52 yard drive and setup the freshman kicker from Lake Travis for a 40 yard field goal that would make him a legend overnight in Austin. The young man didn’t disappoint, as he stepped and drained the biggest kick of his life to date and sent half of the Cotton Bowl into a frenzy. The upset of the 7th ranked Sooners was complete and the Longhorns completed a brutal stretch of their early season schedule at 4-0. Something many (myself included) didn’t think was possible just a few weeks ago.
Texas now sits at 5-1 on the year and is ranked 9th and 14th in the AP and Coaches Polls respectively. Texas is undefeated in Big 12 play and controls their destiny on a chance to play for the Big 12 title. But is Texas back like many were quick to say after the Notre Dame win a couple years ago? Maybe.
Here’s why I say maybe. Saying Texas was back after one game back then proved to be premature back then for several reasons and that could very well happen again after 6 games if this Texas team shows it hasn’t learned from the past. One of the mantras for this team has been about finishing. And while they’ve shown so far they can finish games, they now must finish the bigger task of finishing the season and showing they can hoist the Big 12 championship trophy. Texas is showing progress on the field and that can’t be debated, but we all know that a program like Texas needs to be competing for a conference title and a playoff spot each year. If they show they can do that then we say for certain that they are back in my opinion.
The 2018 are half way to their goal, but there is still a lot of season left and they have to show they can truly finish. I’m as optimistic as I have been about a Texas team as I have been in a while and that’s mainly due to the quality play from Ehlinger at the quarterback position. Aside from the Maryland game, Ehlinger has taken very good care of the football and he is showing the progress you want to see from a sophomore who is in his second year in a system. The offense as a whole is in a much better place this year and that’s a tremendous sign for this team as a whole after it basically lacked an identity last year.
Texas has a chance to truly put itself back on the national stage, but they still have to show they can finish the race. They have to take it a week at a time and not get ahead of themselves and so far Herman and his staff seem to be keeping them focused on the task at hand and is not allowing them to get too full of themselves. That will be the key I they want to take the next step as a team and as a program.
I didn’t think Texas should have been ranked coming into the season. In my opinion they hadn’t done anything to warrant a preseason Top 25 ranking and they lost a good bit of talent to graduation after last year. On top of that, this Texas program still had a lot to prove to solidify they were on the rise. That they were actually BACK and not just a similar team that we’ve seen wandering lost in the wilderness over the past several years.
Then the Maryland game happened. We saw a team that started slow, looked sluggish and unprepared, but managed to fight and battle through some adversity. Then the turnover bug struck three times over and foiled the late comeback attempt or the Longhorns. For the second year in a row the Terps stunned the Longhorns and had the entire country wondering if things were actually getting better in Austin. Then the Tulsa game happened. The Golden Hurricane were clearly an inferior opponent that the Longhorns should have ran out of DKR, but the Longhorns let them hang around the entire game and had to manufacture a late drive and run the clock out. Not an ideal start to the season.
The Longhorns limped into the toughest stretch of their schedule that included three ranked opponents and a road test in Manhattan, Kansas where they hadn’t won since 2002. This was a stretch of games where we were going to find out everything we needed to know about the 2018 Texas Longhorns.
So what did Tom Herman’s Longhorns do during that stretch? They beat up then ranked USC 37-14, then followed that up by snapping their loss streak to TCU who was also ranked, and then they proceeded to grind out their first win in Manhattan since 2002. The Longhorns entered the Cotton Bowl for the Red River Rivalry 3-0 over that brutal stretch with a chance to make it four straight with a statement win over their rival from Norman.
The Sooners entered the matchup boasting arguably the best offense in the country and most certainly one of the most explosive with Kyler Murray at the helm. While the Texas defense had played well coming into the RRR, I was still a bit uneasy about how they matched up against the Sooner wide receivers who are big plays waiting to happen each snap. On top of that, they had to worry about containing Murray in the pocket, which is a very tall task because of elusiveness and ability to play backyard football.
It felt like a game that was going to take at least 40 points to come out victorious and that held true this past Saturday. The Texas offense has shown the ability to put together long methodical scoring drives this year and that was exactly what it was going to need against Oklahoma so that they could limit the amount of possessions that the Sooner offense would get. You don’t want to try to get into a shootout with the Sooners, but that’s exactly what we ended up getting in Dallas.
It felt like it could be a long day when the Sooners came right out and marched down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive, but the Longhorns gathered themselves and went on the offensive. Sam Ehlinger and the Texas marched down the field in five plays and answered immediately with a touchdown of their own and sent the message that they were not going to back down. The Texas offense scored on each possession of the first half and didn’t have to punt until their second possession of the second half. Along the way they forced Murray into an errant pass that was picked off by Brandon Jones and it was turned into points as well. Murray would also put the ball on the ground later in the contest that would later turn into a Texas touchdown. Two turnovers by the Heisman contending quarterback that turned into 10 points for Texas.
Texas was going to need some things to bounce their way in Dallas if they wanted to pull off the upset and those turnovers by Murray are an excellent example. The Longhorns were in control of this game right up until the point in the 4th quarter where the defense seemed to run out of gas and the offense couldn’t sustain drives and get points like they had all game long. Adversity struck in the form a Sooner rally that resulted in the game being tied up, but the Longhorns had one more shot to put the game away in regulation.
Enter Dicker the Kicker. The Texas offense put together a nine play, 52 yard drive and setup the freshman kicker from Lake Travis for a 40 yard field goal that would make him a legend overnight in Austin. The young man didn’t disappoint, as he stepped and drained the biggest kick of his life to date and sent half of the Cotton Bowl into a frenzy. The upset of the 7th ranked Sooners was complete and the Longhorns completed a brutal stretch of their early season schedule at 4-0. Something many (myself included) didn’t think was possible just a few weeks ago.
Texas now sits at 5-1 on the year and is ranked 9th and 14th in the AP and Coaches Polls respectively. Texas is undefeated in Big 12 play and controls their destiny on a chance to play for the Big 12 title. But is Texas back like many were quick to say after the Notre Dame win a couple years ago? Maybe.
Here’s why I say maybe. Saying Texas was back after one game back then proved to be premature back then for several reasons and that could very well happen again after 6 games if this Texas team shows it hasn’t learned from the past. One of the mantras for this team has been about finishing. And while they’ve shown so far they can finish games, they now must finish the bigger task of finishing the season and showing they can hoist the Big 12 championship trophy. Texas is showing progress on the field and that can’t be debated, but we all know that a program like Texas needs to be competing for a conference title and a playoff spot each year. If they show they can do that then we say for certain that they are back in my opinion.
The 2018 are half way to their goal, but there is still a lot of season left and they have to show they can truly finish. I’m as optimistic as I have been about a Texas team as I have been in a while and that’s mainly due to the quality play from Ehlinger at the quarterback position. Aside from the Maryland game, Ehlinger has taken very good care of the football and he is showing the progress you want to see from a sophomore who is in his second year in a system. The offense as a whole is in a much better place this year and that’s a tremendous sign for this team as a whole after it basically lacked an identity last year.
Texas has a chance to truly put itself back on the national stage, but they still have to show they can finish the race. They have to take it a week at a time and not get ahead of themselves and so far Herman and his staff seem to be keeping them focused on the task at hand and is not allowing them to get too full of themselves. That will be the key I they want to take the next step as a team and as a program.
