Longhorns survive the Cyclones, extend winning streak with a 24-21 victory

(Photo: USA Today)

Following their Red River Showdown win against Oklahoma last weekend, the Longhorns sought to extend their winning streak to three-games with a potential win over the Iowa State Cyclones. Despite of their shaky start to conference play, starting off 0-3 with several close losses, the Cyclones came ready to play and nearly pulled off the road upset, falling just short in Texas’s 24-21 victory.

Against Iowa State, the Longhorns offense ebbed and flowed as Quinn Ewers found himself in and out of rhythm in a game in which he threw for 172 yards and three touchdowns, completing 65% of his passes. However, despite of the less-than-staggering passing numbers (yardage-wise), Ewers stepped up when he needed to and delivered the final punch of the game with a three-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy which gave the Longhorns a 24-21 lead with 4:43 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Following the Worthy touchdown, his second of the game, Texas linebacker Jaylan Ford and defensive back Anthony Cook forced a huge fumble on Cyclones quarterback Hunter Dekkers, who had marched his team to the doorstep of Texas’s end zone. Ultimately, this fumble sealed the game as the Longhorns were able to line up in victory formation after picking up a first down on offense.

Defensively, the Longhorns struggled on Saturday to stop the Cyclones on third downs, allowing Iowa State to convert on 9/15 tries. As a result, Dekkers had a solid performance as the redshirt sophomore quarterback was able to pass for 329 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for a score as well. Prior to the game, Steve Sarkisian noted that the Longhorns had to limit the damage from Cyclones wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson. However, Dekkers was able to find Hutchinson often on third-and-long as he tallied 154 receiving yards on 10 catches regardless.

However, while Hutchinson certainly was a consistent threat throughout the day, sophomore wideout Jaylin Noel also mightily contributed to Iowa State’s offense with two touchdown receptions. Despite of the production from these two wide receivers, the Texas defense came up big when it needed to. This was illustrative on plays such as Jaylan Ford’s second quarter interception of Dekkers, which set up the Longhorns with the chance to march down the field with a touchdown drive when they were already trailing.

Meanwhile, while Texas running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson were kept out of the touchdown column, they made a definite impact on Saturday as the two served as the motor for Texas offense. In fact, these two running backs accounted for 242 all-purpose yards against the Cyclones.

Additionally, another unsung hero in Saturday’s contest would be Longhorns wide receiver Jordan Whittington, who scored his first touchdown of the season on a 5-yard pass from Quinn Ewers at the end of the second quarter. This touchdown proved to be critical as it provided the Longhorns with a 14-7 lead entering halftime, following a rather sloppy and lethargic first half.

After the game, Steve Sarkisian expressed pleasure in regards to his team’s win and stated that: “A year ago, I don’t know if we win this game.” While Texas’s culture seems to be slowly improving under Sarkisian, he and his team would be the first to agree that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

Next weekend, the Longhorns will travel to Stillwater, OK to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Kickoff is set for 2:30 P.M. (CT) and the game will be televised on ABC.

Game Stats:

• QB Quinn Ewers: 17/26, 172 passing yards & 3 TDs
• RB Bijan Robinson: 28 carries, 135 rushing yards
• WR Xavier Worthy: 8 receptions, 72 receiving yards & 2 TDs
• LB Jaylan Ford: 8 tackles, 1 INT