Texas Hangs On, Downs Kansas State 19-14

Whew. After jumping out to a 19-0 lead in the first half, Texas came back down to Earth and let Kansas State creep back into the game. During the second half Bill Snyder decided to roll with quarterback Skylar Thompson — and it paid dividends. Although the Longhorns gave up 14 unanswered points, they were able to come up with some key stops and come away with its first win in Manhattan since 2002.

On the Texas offense’s first drive of the game, Sam Ehlinger missed a wide open Devin Duvernay that would have resulted in a touchdown. After the Texas offense began moving the ball, tight end Andrew Beck was called for a block in the back penalty that stalled the drive. On the Wildcats opening drive, not much was going right for Alex Delton, and a punt ensued.

And then D’Shawn Jamison received the punt. After making a man miss, Jamison was off to the races and sped down the sidelines for a 90-yard touchdown. Texas took an early lead over Kansas State, 7-0. On the next Kansas State drive the Wildcats moved the ball down the field thanks to several Texas penalties, but stalled when Alex Delton made an errant throw.

The Texas offense then relied on some trickery inside of Wildcat territory, when Tre Watson lobbed a pass to Sam Ehlinger to get inside the Wildcat 5-yard line. Then, Ehlinger found Johnson on a jump ball in the end zone. Texas took a 14-0 lead. Kansas State was backed up against its own goal line thanks to a Charles Omenihu sack when Omenihu broke through the line again to sack Alex Delton for a safety. Texas took a commanding 16-0. On the next Texas drive, the offense stalled in the red zone and Cameron Dicker nailed a 28-yard field goal. Texas led 19-0 near the end of the half.

The Wildcats started their last drive of the half at the Texas 37-yard line thanks to a 14-yard loss on a reverse by D’Shawn Jamison and a strip sack of Sam Ehlinger. The Wildcats drove all the way to the goal line, and failed to garner any points after a dropped pass on 4th and goal.

The beginning of the second half is when Kansas State’s luck began to turn — in large part due to the insertion of Skylar Thompson at quarterback. The Wildcats drove right down the field and punched it in on a 7-yard run from Thompson. The Texas lead was cut to 12 points, 19-7. After a promising drive, the Texas offense stalled and Cameron Dicker missed it wide right, giving Kansas State great field position.

Once again, Thompson led the Wildcats right down the field. The Texas defense began to make a stand at the goal line, but Alex Barnes leapt over the line on 4th and goal for the score. Kansas State trailed 19-14 with 9:04 left in the 4th quarter. After the Texas offense failed to convert, Kansas State received the ball with a chance to take the lead. On a big third down, Breckyn Hager tipped a Skylar Thompson pass at the line of scrimmage, forcing Kansas State to punt.

Sam Ehlinger and Keaontay Ingram took over the ensuing drive with a couple of first downs on the ground, and Kansas State was not able to stop the clock. Texas hung on to win its first game in Manhattan since 2002, 19-14.

Next week, the Longhorns travel to Dallas to take on Oklahoma in the annual Red River Showdown. This will be the first time in several years that both teams will be ranked in the Top 25 heading into the matchup. In order for Texas to truly “be back” and earn a quality victory over the Sooners, the Longhorns must clean up several things on both sides of the ball. Todd Orlando has his hands full with trying to contain Kyler Murray, and Tom Herman needs to work with Sam Ehlinger on reducing missed opportunities through the air. A game by the Longhorns not resulting in 100 yards worth of penalties would be nice, too.

All in all, Texas earned a win in a very tough place to play. It may not have been pretty, but this team battled through adversity and finished when it normally wouldn’t have. Now all eyes move to the Sooners, who would love nothing more than to end Texas’ winning streak.