Texas Football: Five Questions — USC

 

By Steve Habel

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — If there was any question as to how this year’s Texas football program differs in virtually every aspect of the game when compared to the past three campaigns — heck, even compared to the first game of this season — then the Longhorns’ 27-24 double overtime loss to No. 4 USC on Sept. 16 should convince even the most skeptical of Doubting Thomases. [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]

Texas left the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum without a win, but the effort by the Longhorns elicited a standing ovation from the mostly-pro-Trojan crowd of 84,714 on a glorious evening.

The Longhorns couldn’t produce the feel-good ending the nearby movie studios love to market, but anyone who saw this game, in person or via the national television broadcast, knows they got their money’s worth.

The game came down to the foot of USC kicker Chase McGrath, a freshman walk-on, who nailed a 43-yard field goal. The score proved the difference in a game that swung back and forth and back again in the two overtime periods.

McGrath was able to win the game because teammate Christian Rector pulled the ball away from Texas freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger as he strained for extra yards near the goal line in the Longhorns’ possession in second overtime. The play denied Texas a chance at a touchdown or a field goal.

Both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime, with USC’s Sam Darnold (28-of-49 for 397 yards) hitting Deontay Burnett for a 25-yard score before Ehlinger passed 3 yards to fellow freshman Cade Brewer in Texas’ turn on offense.

“It’s amazing how many mistakes you can overcome with attitude and effort,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said. “We made our fair share. There are no moral victories in college football. They don’t put a loss in parentheses. But we can hold our head high and learn from all of the good that came from this game. It says a lot about how much we’ve grown up as a team in the last two weeks.”

Texas falls to 1-2 on the season, but might be the best two-loss team in the nation right now. Ehlinger finished 21-of-40 for 298 yards but had two interceptions and two lost fumbles.

“We’re finally understanding that we need to play every game like a championship game,” Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson said. “We needed to find that out and go out and find our identity. We preached that last week and we proved to ourselves how to work hard for each other.”

USC improves to 3-0 and won its 12^th consecutive game — its longest since winning 12 straight games in 2008-09. The Trojans have also won 12 consecutive home games, their longest home winning streak since 2007-09.

The Trojans’ win was their fifth in six meetings against Texas. USC’s loss to the Longhorns in the 2006 BCS title game was later vacated (as were 14 wins) due to NCAA penalties, by direction of NCAA policy.

The Texas defense did its part — and more — in the first half, holding the potent USC offense to 14 points. That total would’ve been even less except for a mind-numbing breakdown on the final play before halftime.

The Longhorns denied USC on two fourth down conversions in the first quarter and didn’t allow any points on two other possessions that started inside Texas territory, including when McGrath yanked a 46-yard field goal attempt wide left.

But a third chance for USC started at the Texas 37-yard line when an uncharacteristically bad punt from All-America Michael Dickson led to the first points of the game. Darnold, buying time in the pocket as the Texas defense clawed toward him, stood tall and found Burnett running on the back line of the end zone and hit him with a 15-yard touchdown pass with 2:40 to play in the half, giving the Trojans a 7-0 lead.

As was the case for most of the first half, the Texas offense could do little on its ensuing possession, as Ehlinger was sacked on three straight downs after hitting Collin Johnson on a remarkable, back-shoulder 28-yard pass.

USC wanted more, but the Longhorns’ defense — with DeShon Elliott leading the charge — made the Trojans pay. Elliott snatched a tipped Darnold pass just before it hit the turf and returned it 38 yards for the tying touchdown, leaving just 19 seconds in the half.

That’s when the Longhorns made their only real mistake on defense in the half. Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando sent three defensive backs almost to the other end of the field, a full 40 yards off the line of scrimmage, as Darnold took the snap and went back to pass from his own 44 on the half’s final play. He hit a wide-open Ronald Jones II in stride as he raced across the field without a defender within 10 yards of him.

Jones picked up a picket fence of blockers as he sped to the near corner of the end zone and beat Elliott to the pylon for a stunning 56-yard touchdown that handed the Trojans a 14-7 lead at intermission.

USC outgained Texas, 239-90, in the first half, with 76 of the Longhorns’ yards coming on two passes to Johnson — a 48-yard hookup of UT’s first offensive snap and the aforementioned 28-yard connection near the end of the half. The Longhorns gained just 15 yards combined on its other 25 plays in the half, had 17 rushes for 1 yard and suffered four sacks and six tackles for a loss.

Given those statistics, it was a miracle that the Longhorns were even still in the game.

Texas mounted its best offensive drive of the game on the opening possession of the third quarter, using a 24-yard pass from Ehlinger to Johnson to set the table for a 39-yard field goal by Joshua Rowland to cut the USC lead to 14-10 with 9:30 to play in the quarter.

The Longhorns’ defense kept USC in check throughout the third and most of the fourth quarter. Texas took over at its own 9-yard line with 5:14 to play and drove the length of the field in 14 plays, taking a 17-14 lead with Ehlinger’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Armanti Foreman with 45 seconds to play. Ehlinger had three key plays on the march before the scoring hookup that gave Texas the lead — a 2-yard keeper to convert a fourth down, a 47-yard pass to Johnson to move the Longhorns to the USC 28 and an 11-yard pass to Foreman to convert another fourth down.

All that stood between the Longhorns and the biggest upset since the Oklahoma game two years ago was 45 seconds and a few more defensive stops, but the end of the halves is when Texas had the most difficulty in this game. Darnold was at his best in those final seconds as well, and led the Trojans to the Texas 13 in seven plays before USC settled for a 31-yard field goal by McGrath on the final play of regulation to send the game into overtime.

That’s when things got really good, but even in Tinsel Town the heroes can’t win every time.

 

What was this game’s biggest play?

Two come to mind — one from each team.

First, USC’s final-second touchdown in the first half was a gut punch to the Texas defense that had all but dominated the first 30 minutes of play under a fabulous game plan concocted by Herman and Orlando, and while that play and its results might have broken previous Longhorn teams, it seemed to steel this one, as Texas allowed Darnold and company next to nothing in the second half until the final, game-tying drive.

The second one may have slipped past some watchers, but was just as critical in the game and in UT’s charge to the lead in the final minute of regulation.

The Longhorns faced fourth down and 10 with 1:19 to play from the USC 28 after Ehlinger was harassed into three straight incompletions. With the game on the line, the freshman quarterback went over the middle to Foreman, who caught the ball three yards short of the line to gain but somehow shrugged away enough from USC defender Chris Hawkins to push ahead of the stakes for a first down. Ehlinger and Foreman connected again two plays later to take the lead.

 

Who was this game’s most important player?

While Ehlinger and Jefferson (11 tackles, nine of them solo, two for a loss) would be good choices, the Longhorns wouldn’t have had a chance if not for Johnson’s performance against the best defensive backs in the country.

Johnson produced his breakout game by hauling in seven catches for 191 yards, with at least four of those receptions worthy of the highlight reel. His 191 yards were the fourth-highest single-game total in school history, and he was as close to an unstoppable force as there could be on a field full of top-notch athletes playing at their highest level.

“Collin Johnson’s a Hall-of-Famer, there’s no question about that,” Ehlinger said. “He’ll be a first-round draft pick. It’s good to know he’s over there against one of the best corners in the nation, but he’s still beating him on press coverage, one-on-one. That shows a lot. He deserves a pat of the back.”

It’s hard to argue about Ehlinger’s comments. Johnson will give the Longhorns a top-receiving target for as long as he stays in Austin.

 

What was the worst thing that happened in this game?

Well losing is bad, but losing All-America left tackle Connor Williams might be even worse.

Williams, who is the one player the Longhorns couldn’t afford to get seriously hurt, injured his left knee late in the second quarter on a Jerrod Heard running play. He was on crutches after the game and the prognosis doesn’t look good.

With Williams out, Tristan Nickelson moved to left tackle and Denzel Okafor took over on the right side. The results were disastrous at first — Texas allowed back-to-back sacks on one series late in the first half — but the group came together in the second half. The offensive line will need to improve, with or without Williams, as the ready-to-rush defenses of the Big 12 are on the immediate horizon.

 

What does Texas need to do better? 

Three little words: run the ball. While the words may be little, the task is not.

The Longhorns managed just 24 yards on nine carries from their running backs in this game, ridiculous numbers for a team that needed to take pressure off Ehlinger, to use the clock to shorten the game against one of the top offensive teams in the nation and to show some semblance of balance to keep defenses honest.

Chris Warren III led Texas with 15 yards on four carries; Herman said afterward that Warren had an eye laceration and was ineffective in the game.

“We have to figure out ways to give him the ball,” Herman said. “They did a good job defending us.”

No team wins major college football games without running the ball. The Longhorns must get to work if they plan to grow from what they’ve learned the last three games.

 

What’s next for Texas? 

The Longhorns are off next Saturday before traveling Sept. 28 to Iowa State to open Big 12 play. But don’t think for a minute that the Cyclones — whose only loss was to rival Iowa in overtime — are going to roll over for Texas in their season showcase.

So has Texas turned the corner?

Only time will tell.

“It’s amazing — the power of playing hard, never giving up and the power of resiliency,” Herman said. “It’s something our guys learned a huge lesson on tonight and hopefully this will be a turning point in our season. If we play every team in the Big 12 as hard and physical as we played this team, home or road, we’ll have a shot at winning games.” [/s2If] [s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] [article-offer] [/s2If]