Things can get wacky on Thursday night football, as we’ve seen giants slayed over and over and over again. This time, there were no giants, just a Texas team led by a coach delusional enough to see an 11-2 BCS bowl winner out there facing off against a scrappy bunch led by a coach who will one day be at a major school commensurate with his tactical and leadership abilities.
Texas opened by doing exactly what they needed to, getting a three and out on Iowa State’s first possession and then establishing the run. On his third carry of the game, Johnathan Gray, doing a ton of work on his own, broke free for a 45 yard touchdown run to put Texas ahead early.
On the following drive, Iowa State began a steady diet of Texas killing run plays, but the series died as an illegal block by ISU stopped led to a punt which was fumbled and recovered by Jaxon Shipley. From there the Longhorns drove 36 yards and punted, which ISU gave back on a fumble two plays later. The Longhorns could do nothing inside the ISU 20 and settled for a 29 yard FG by Anthony Fera to go ahead 10-0.
ISU drove down the field but after the Longhorns defense stiffened, the Cyclones hit a field goal to close the gap to 10-3. A short Longhorns drive stalled out after 5 plays, and a beautiful Anthony Fera punt pinned the Cyclones 92 yards away. At this point, you really felt like the Longhorns could put this to bed early if they got the ball back and scored. Instead, the defense of old reared its ugly head. Iowa State drove 92 yards in 15 plays, taking 7:36 off the clock and ending on an 11 yard touchdown pass from Sam Richardson to Aaron Wimberly.
Tied at 10, all the momentum was in the Cyclones corner, as they forced a Texas three and out and drove for a field goal to go up 13-10. The Cyclones defense appeared to have held Texas, leaving the Longhorns with just four seconds on the clock until the half. From the Iowa State 44, QB Case McCoy threw a desperation heave into the end zone which was caught by John Harris for a Texas touchdown and a 17-13 lead at the half.
The third quarter saw Texas and ISU go punt, punt, punt, the last of which pinned the Cyclones just outside their own endzone. After two misses at getting a safety and the ball back, the Cyclones hit the dreaded inside slant with accompanied missed tackles. Quenton Bundrage took the pass 97 yards for a touchdown, the longest pass play in Iowa State history, and ISU went back on top 20-17. The Longhorns answered by driving 78 yards largely on the back of Iowa State penalties. going back ahead 24-20 on a Joe Bergeron touchdown.
Things settled down as the teams went punt, punt, punt as Texas inexplicably abandoned its running game. When  Texas did return to the ground game, Joe Bergeron fumbled the ball to ISU at the Texas 37. Three plays later Aaron Wimberly scored again to go up 27-24. Texas and Iowa State traded three and outs, then Texas drove nowhere in six plays and punted to Iowa State who drove down deep in Texas territory. Facing a 4th and three at the Texas six yard line with 3:40 to go, Rhoads faced the choice of going to for the kill or playing it safe. Rhoads chose to play it safe and kick a field goal to go up 30-24, a decision which was immediately questioned and one which proved costly.
The Longhorns took over with about 3:35 left, needing a touchdown. The Longhorns moved inside the Iowa State five yard line with the aid of several penalties, which set up a wild and controversial finish to what was at that point a very bad game for the Longhorns filled with lucky breaks.
On First and Goal at the Cyclones two yard line, inside two minutes, Johnathan Grey went up the middle and was clearly stripped by an Iowa State linebacker, who took off for a  touchdown as the play was whistled dead. The majority of objective people who watched the replay clearly saw Gray fumble, but Texas retained possession. Gray again fumbled on second and goal, and again Texas retained possession. On third down, McCoy called his own number and scored the go ahead touchdown to put Texas ahead 31-30. Iowa State’s last chance was intercepted by Jackson Jeffcoat, and Texas survived to move to (3-2, 2-0).
If you watched the game, I don’t need to tell you just how bad things looked in the win. The offense left at least 14 points out there because McCoy cant hit all the throws. There was no Swoopes sighting, and once again a ton of luck was needed to beat a bad opponent.
No time to concentrate on this one, as next Saturday, the Horns face their greatest enemy in the Oklahoma Sooners. We’ll have coverage all week right here at HornSports.com
