Texas uses strong defensive performance to power over #11 Utah

Home-field advantage? Finally healthy team? Maybe. Domination? No doubt.

Behind a strong performance from a pair of defensive underclassmen, Texas finishes a roller coaster of a season on a high note with a 38-10 win over #11 Utah in the Alamo Bowl for their third consecutive bowl win.

Since filling in for injured starters in the secondary, true freshman Chris Adimora has proved his worth from the safety position as the Horns used a strong performance from the 2019 four-star recruit to limit the Utes to just 126 passing yards.

Joseph Ossai rounded out a phenomenal sophomore campaign with a 9 tackle (6 for loss), 3 sack performance as the front seven played arguably its best game of the season in limiting Utah’s stellar rushing attack to just 128 yards, over 100 yards under its average.

Texas got on the board first out of the gate with a Cameron Dicker 29-yard field goal on the opening drive of the game to go up 3-0.

The defense held firm in the first half as they kept the Utes scoreless through the first two frames, Utah’s second such occasion in a row after also putting up a goose egg in the Pac-12 Championship Game against Oregon.

Sam Ehlinger fired his 30th touchdown of the season at the start of the second quarter to Collin Johnson from five yards out after a 71-yard punt return inside the 10 by D’Shawn Jamison to power Texas to a 10-0 halftime lead.

The Longhorn offense stayed hot out of the locker room though as Ehlinger found the end zone again, this time to Keaontay Ingram from 11 yards out.

After Utah got on the scoreboard with a 32-yard field goal, Texas led a 7-play 75-yard drive over nearly five minutes and capped it off with a six yard rushing score to go up 24-3.

The Utes followed that up with their first touchdown of the night on a controversial pitch-and-catch from Tyler Huntley to Demari Simpkins from four yards out to cut the deficit to 24-10.

However, the Texas defense held firm down the stretch as the offense tacked on two more scores to secure the rout and their biggest win over a ranked opponent since their 52-17 win over #10 Texas Tech in 2005.

Sam Ehlinger finished with 201 passing yards along with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. The junior quarterback also rushed for 73 yards on one score. Keaontay Ingram tacked on his fourth 100-yard performance with 108 yards and 1 score.

Texas finishes the season with a 8-5 record as they eclipse the eight win mark for back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2011-2013.

The Longhorns will open the 2020 season on September 5, 2020 against South Florida at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.