Longhorns begin season 1-0 with 45-14 victory over Louisiana Tech

AUSTIN, TX — Despite the reverberating chatter from Terry Bradshaw’s remarks about the quality of Sam Ehlinger’s game and the Texas program earlier this month, the Longhorns stayed focused and took care of business on Saturday night at home.

Sam Ehlinger threw for 4 touchdowns, including three in the first half to propel #10 Texas to a 45-14 victory over Louisiana Tech. Sophomore wide receiver Brennan Eagles caught 3 passes for 59 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Longhorns to their first season-opening victory since 2016.

The Longhorns scored on their first possession, marching 57 yards in 2:20 to take a 7-0 lead. Devin Duvernay’s 4 yard reception from Ehlinger put the first points of the game on the board and the only score of the first quarter.

Collin Johnson’s six yard touchdown reception within minutes of the start of the second quarter made the score 14-0.  Sophmore Brennan Eagles caught the first of two touchdown passes on the night at the 10:26 mark, extending the Texas lead to 21-0.  Cameron Dicker’s 43 yard field goal with 2:56 left before the half gave the Longhorns a 24-0 advantage as they headed into the locker room.

Texas defensive back Chris Brown stopped Louisiana Tech short on 4th & 1 with 12:01 left in the third quarter, setting the stage for Eagles’ second touchdown on the next drive.  Ehlinger found Eagles from 25 yards out, making the score 31-0 in favor of the Longhorns. Sophomore tailback Keaontay Ingram punched it in from a yard out to close the quarter with the Longhorns holding a 38-0 lead.

The Bulldogs scored their first points of the game at 13:31 in the fourth quarter, with Tech quarterback J’Mar Smith finding Malik Stanley for 5 yards and a touchdown. Smith struck again, this time to Griffin Hebert for a 12 yard touchdown. Texas held a 38-14 lead with 3:52 left.

Backup quarterback Casey Thompson, who replaced Sam Ehlinger early in the fourth quarter scored his first points under center with 1:09 left in the game on a keeper from two yards out. As the game clock expired, Texas defeated Louisiana Tech 45-14.

The win marks the first season-opening victory for head Coach Tom Herman as head coach at Texas, and the 40th of his career. Neither of these milestones overshadow the 1-0 mentality Herman ingrains in his team each week.

“We were 1-0 ten times last year, or last year’s team was 1-0 ten times last year. You know, it’s a bit irrelevant when those came. I think just the preparation of our guys was really, really impressive, the way they handled their business and the energy and confidence they played with.”

With LSU looming next week, the Longhorns won’t dwell too much on the win over Louisiana Tech.

“But these night games you don’t have a whole lot of time to celebrate. We’re going to celebrate for an hour and — now just one hour, 60 minutes — and then we’re moving on to Sunday’s preparation for next week’s ballgame,” said Herman.

#10 Texas will host #6 LSU next Saturday night at 6:30 PM.

GAME NOTES

• Running Back Keaontay Ingram led the team with 78 rushing yards
• Linebacker Joseph Ossai notched his first career interception and had five solo tackles
• Defensive Back DeMarvion Overshown recorded his first career interception
• Safety Caden Sterns and Linebacker Jeffrey McCulloch each had eight total tackles
• QB Roschon Johnson rushed the ball 7 times for 26 yards
• OL Junior Angilau, OL Parker Braun, DL Keondre Coburn, LB Ayodele Adeoye and CB Jalen Green each made their first career starts against Louisiana Tech

INJURY UPDATES

• RB Jordan Whittington aggravated his groin in the first half of the game and is day-to-day, according to Tom Herman.
• WR Collin Johnson tweaked his hamstring in the third quarter and is probable for next week.