By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer
AUSTIN, Texas — If the rest of the Big 12 Conference season is going to be anything like the back-and-forth dustup Saturday between No. 12 Texas and Oklahoma State, it’s going to be an absolute grind. But that’s no surprise.
The Longhorns’ gritty 36-30 victory over Oklahoma State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium affirmed, without a doubt, that Texas is more than capable of slugging it out with any opponent, and is buoyed by[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] the talent and overall depth that hasn’t been seen on the 40 Acres in a decade of mostly mediocre returns.
“We’ve been telling our players since we got here that our best was good enough, but less than our best probably wasn’t,” Texas coach Tom Herman said after the win. “Tonight we took a step, in my opinion, because we played less than our best and still beat a really, really good football team.”
As usual, Texas was led by quarterback Sam Ehlinger, who passed for 281 yards and four touchdowns. This time around, Ehlinger was aided by running back Keaontay Ingram, who ran for a career-high 114 yards on 21 carries. The Longhorns’ defense also deserves a lion’s share of the credit, forging two stops on fourth down and intercepting two passes.
Ehlinger’s 29-yard scramble of third down with 1:02 to play cemented the game for Texas. He had 70 yards on the ground on 10 carries.
“It showed a lot about who we were as a team, you know. We never gave up,” Ehlinger said. “It showed the fight in us. Obviously, we have to clean up a lot of mistakes that we made in order to do the things that we want to do, but to make those mistakes and still come out victorious is big.”
Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders matched Ehlinger until the end, throwing for 268 yards and rushing for 109 more. Cowboys running back Chuba Hubbard, who entered the game as the nation’s leading runner, managed 121 on 37 carries, and wideout Tylan Wallace, the nation’s leading receiver, was held to 83 yards on five catches.
“We never had doubt, because we know we’re going to make big plays in times we needed to,” Texas defensive end Malcolm Roach said. “We’ve been in dogfights before, you know, like LSU. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted (against the Tigers), so, you know, just not trying to have that result again, not trying to have that feeling again.”
Oklahoma State converted two of its third downs on the game’s opening drive that covered 78 yards in 13 plays. But the Longhorns’ defense refused to let the Cowboys in the end zone, surrendering a 26-yard field goal by Matt Ammendola that garnered Oklahoma State a 3-0 lead with 9:12 to play in the first quarter.
Texas moved to the lead on the first snap of the second quarter as Ehlinger found Devin Duvernay in the back corner of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown pass. The scoring play capped a 66-yard march that used nine plays.
After an interception by UT’s Montrell Estell, Ehlinger looped a pass to receiver Jake Smith on a post play for a 17-yard touchdown that put the Longhorns up, 14-3. Ehlinger’s first two passed of the second quarter were for touchdowns.
Ammendola added a 42-yard field goal on the ensuing Oklahoma State possession to bring the Cowboys to within 14-6.
Oklahoma State stopped the Longhorns on fourth-and-3 at the Cowboys’ 29 and then stuck again, using a perfectly thrown 55-yard bomb from Sanders to Braydon Johnson to set the table for Sanders’ 7-yard scoring run three snaps hence that cut the Texas lead to 14-3.
Ehlinger answered with a lightning strike of his own, hitting Brennan Eagles for a 73-yard touchdown pass and a 21-13 Longhorns advantage with 2:09 to play until intermission.
A punt dropped by the Longhorns’ Smith gave Oklahoma State the ball at the Texas 15-yard line, with Hubbard pounding in from the 1 four snaps later make it 21-20 at halftime.
Oklahoma State moved in front at 23-21 with a 27-yard Ammendola field goal at the 8:02 mark of the third quarter. The scoring kick capped an 11-play, 74-yard drive.
Texas used a double-reverse fleaflicker that ended in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Ehlinger to tight end Cade Brewer to regain a 28-23 lead with 5:30 to play in the third quarter.
After the Longhorns stopped Oklahoma State on a fake field goal, Texas drove the 73 yards in six plays to a 2-yard touchdown run by Roschon Johnson. Ehlinger then hit Johnson for a pass for a two-point conversion and a 36-23 advantage.
Hubbard rolled around left in with 1:37 to play brought the Cowboys to within 36-30, but Ehlinger used his feet in the final drive to assure Texas’s win.
“You’ve got to give Texas credit,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “They executed. They made the plays. They took care of business.”
Texas will enjoy an open week next Saturday before travelling to Morgantown to battle West Virginia Oct. 5.
“Man, winning is hard,” Herman said. “We been playing football for eight straight weeks now, and we need this bye week in the worst way. Hopefully get some guys healthy. We need it.”
[/s2If] [s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] [habeabk] [/s2If]
Discover more from Horns Illustrated
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.