Week 8 Snapshot: No. 6 Texas at enigmatic OK State

By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas travels to play the ‘Pokes’ Saturday with a whole lot at stake.

The No. 6 Longhorns (6-1, 4-0 in Big 12 Conference play) will take on Oklahoma State (4-4, 1-3 in Big 12) in a crucial conference clash at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla. with a chance at a seventh straight win. The game takes on added significance as Texas comes off a bye trying not to have a let down, especially with a huge showdown against No. 13 West Virginia looming in Week 9.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on ABC. Here are a few things to watch for Saturday:

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Notes, Quotes and Players to Watch

♦  QB Sam Ehlinger, a sophomore, had taken every snap at the position this year until suffering a sprained shoulder early in the Longhorns’ win over Baylor on Oct. 13. He was replaced by junior Shane Buechele — the duo split the starting position last season. Ehlinger was 4 of 5 passing for 35 yards in limited play in the win, and has now attempted a school-record 168 consecutive passes without throwing an interception, besting Major Applewhite’s previous school record of 156 set in 1999. Texas coach Tom Herman said Thursday that Ehlinger would play, and start, against Oklahoma State

♦  WR Collin Johnson, a junior, had 11 catches for 132 yards against Baylor, including a 44-yard TD pass from Buechele. With every game Johnson is continuing his role as the go-to receiver that the Longhorns have been looking for. Johnson is the huge, intermediate target that the Texas needs to help open up the offense because he can be either a deep threat or a possession outlet for the Longhorns. He can go over or through most of the defensive backs that are covering him. He now has 42 catches for 563 yards and five TDs combined in the first seven games.

♦  LB Gary Johnson, a senior who came to Texas last year after playing in junior college, continues to assert himself as the Longhorns’ do-everything linebacker and one of the team’s leaders. Johnson registered a team-high 11 tackles, 1½ of them for a loss, in the win over Baylor. At 6-foot and 230 pounds, Johnson might be a little undersized to be a constant run stuffer, but he plays bigger than his size and hits as hard as anyone in college football. Johnson will make some plays this season where he will come from the far side of the field to force a turnover.

♦  CB Kris Boyd. No player on the Longhorns has been harder to predict over the past three seasons than Boyd, who has the skills to be a true shutdown corner – as long as he can keep his emotions in check. At 6-foot and 195 pounds, Boyd has the size to take on and stop most of the receivers that will line up across from him. Boyd had five tackles in the win against Baylor and was not tested by the Bears’ downfield game plan. He has 26 stops, a sack, a tackle for a loss, an interception, and nine pass breakups for the season. Boyd will miss at least the first series of the game after breaking team rules by being late to a team function.

♦  SERIES HISTORY: The Longhorns and Cowboys meet for the 33rd time on Saturday night in Stillwater. Texas owns an all-time record of 24-8 against OSU. Oklahoma State has won three straight in the series, including last season’s 13-10 overtime victory in Austin. Texas owns an all-time record of 8-2 in Stillwater against the Cowboys.

♦  QUOTE TO NOTE:

“Any animal with ears can hear. It is a very unique human condition whether we choose to listen or not. And so that’s a big teaching point each and every week.

You have the choice whether you want to listen to this or not. Our job as coaches is to eliminate human nature, is to be so focused on a singleness of purpose and a love and an accountability to each other that it’s almost impossible not to listen.” – Texas coach Tom Herman on how he gets the Longhorns to focus on each game each week.

Cowboys’ Strategy and Personnel

♦  KEY MATCHUP No. 1: The Texas offensive line versus Oklahoma State’s pass rush. The Cowboys’ Jordan Brailford is tied for seventh in the nation with eight sacks and spurs an Oklahoma State pass rush that can be, at the least, disruptive and, at times, dominating. Whether Ehlinger or Buechele is at quarterback for Texas, the Longhorns will likely not run from that position as much as in earlier games, making the pass protection that much more important.

♦  KEY MATCHUP No. 2: After recently setting the Big 12 record with 12 consecutive games rushing for at least 100 yards and a touchdown, Cowboys RB Justice Hill will keep the Longhorns busy. The Doak Walker Award candidate saw that streak snapped against Iowa State two weeks ago and had another subpar performance last week against Kansas State, but Hill remains lethal at any moment with seven scores and 684 rushing yards this season. Not to mention, his 3,293 career rush yards is first among Power Five non-seniors.

♦  KEY MATCHUP No. 3: Starting QB Taylor Cornelius ranks No. 12 in passing yards through seven games with 2,014 yards so far. He has 36 completions of more than 20 yards on the year to rank seventh in the nation in that category while also coming in at No. 7 in yards per completion at 15.03. On top of that, Cornelius also among the top 10 in the country when it comes to points responsible for per game (17.1) and total offense per game (314.9).

Roster Report

♦  CBs Boyd and Davante Davis and WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey will not start against the Oklahoma State after breaking team rules by being late to a function. Don’t expect the trio, especially the cornerbacks, to miss more than a series on Saturday. Freshmen Anthony Cook and Jalen Green or redshirt freshman Kobe Boyce will get the start for Davis and Boyd at the corners, while Texas has a bevy of receivers antsy to get on the field in Humphrey’s stead, even if it’s just for a series or two.

♦  LB Jeffrey McCullough practiced this week and will be ready on Saturday after a one-car accident last week left him with a sore neck. McCulloch’s vehicle hydroplaned off the road during a rain storm.

♦  DB Josh Thompson hyperextended his knee last week in practice and had been on the shelf during the open week but is at near-full speed and will play on Saturday.

♦  Freshman WR Joshua Moore will be out a significant amount of time with a shoulder sprain that he re-injured in practice on Wednesday.

♦  DBs Boyd and Caden Sterns were named semifinalists for the 2018 the Jim Thorpe Award, it was announced Monday. The award is presented to college football’s top defensive back. Michael Huff and Aaron Ross won it in back-to-back seasons (2005-06) for Texas and three others have been named finalists for the award (Quentin Jammer, Earl Thomas, DeShon Elliott).

♦  Herman has been named to the 2018 Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award watch list, which recognizes the country’s top college football coaches for their contributions both on and off the field. The watch list includes 20 coaches.

Draft Slant

♦  WR Collin Johnson has the size (6-foot-6, 215 pounds), athleticism and speed that the NFL loves, and has thrived as he’s become more aggressive. Texas coach Tom Herman has ordered his quarterbacks to go to the go-route to Johnson anytime and every time he draws single coverage, and that strategy worked for a 22-yard TD in the loss to Maryland. He now has 42 catches for 533 yards and five TDs combined in the first seven games.

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