By Steve Habel/Senior Editor
WACO, Texas — Winning is tough in college football. Winning on the road, no matter the opponent, is even tougher.
Given those parameters, there was a lot to like about Texas’ walk-in-the-park 38-7 victory Saturday over hapless (and winless) Baylor on a cool and sunny afternoon at McLane Stadium.
A crowd of 45,656 was on hand as the Longhorn defense continued to [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]impress, allowing Baylor just 249 yards of total offense (only 31 of those on the ground), only five conversions of its 23 combined third and fourth downs while matching the Bears’ point total with yet another interception return for a touchdown.
“Our defense is carrying us right now, and if there’s one side of the ball I would like to carry us, it’s that side,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “It’s a bit of a badge of honor for them right now, knowing that we’re going to need them to play great in order for us to have a chance to win and they relish that.”
UT’s offense was efficient if not overpowering, taking what Baylor gave while racking up 427 total yards and averaging 6 yards per snap in 71 plays. Shane Buechele passed for 256 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score, and the Longhorns’ two freshman running backs, Toneil Carter (70 yards on 15 carries) and Daniel Young (60 yards on seven carries) each scored a touchdown against a worn-down and undermanned Bears defense.
“We matched up well with Baylor,” Herman said. “We saw enough (from the offense) that we are confident that we will get (where we need to be). Are we there yet? I would hesitate to say that.”
Three turnovers and an ineffective offense doomed Baylor (0-8 overall, 0-5 in Big 12), which crossed into Texas territory just three times in 17 possessions. The Bears, led by freshman quarterback Charlie Brewer’s 181 passing yards, failed on fourth down on five of six tries in the game, including once at their own 28 in the third quarter.
DeShon Elliott put Texas (4-4, 3-2 in Big 12 play) on the scoreboard early via 43-yard interception return touchdown on Baylor’s initial possession. It was Elliott’s nation-leading sixth interception of the season and his second pick-six of the year.
Buechele, who was named Texas’ starter at quarterback this week after Sam Ehlinger suffered a concussion in the Longhorns’ 13-10 overtime loss to Oklahoma State last week, started for the third time this season and hit on 27 of his 34 throws while completing passes to 10 different receivers.
“It felt good to be out there with my guys again and helping to make plays that allowed us to win a game,” Buechele said. “The defense did a good job of getting us good field position and getting us in places where we could make some things happen.”
The Longhorns added to their lead with an 11-play, 90-yard drive that culminated in a 15-yard scoring strike from Buechele to Lil’Jordan Humphrey at the 9:42 mark of the second quarter.
Baylor got back into the game on the ensuing possession thanks to a 52-yard catch and run from Brewer to Blake Lynch. Two plays later the Bears’ John Lovett crashed into the end zone from two yards out to cut the Texas lead to 14-7 with 8:38 to play in the second quarter.
The Longhorns pushed their advantage back to 14 points later in the quarter on a 28-yard scoring keeper by Buechele. The touchdown came one play after Baylor punter Connor Martin had to fall on a bad snap, granting Texas possession deep in BU territory.
Texas outgained the Bears, 231-131, in the first half, with most of the difference in the Longhorns’ 77-12 advantage in rushing. The Longhorns were just 3-of-11 on third- and fourth-down conversions while Baylor was even worse (1-for-9).
Another Baylor miscue — a fumble by Lovett that was recovered by UT’s John Bonney at the BU 16-yard line — set the table for an 18-yard field goal by Texas kicker Joshua Rowland that pushed the lead to 24-7 with 5:55 to play in the third quarter.
Carter added a 19-yard touchdown run for the Longhorns on the first snap of the fourth quarter to push the lead to 31-7. Later in the quarter Young rumbled through the weary Baylor defense for a 31-yard touchdown run to finish the scoring.
So, at the two-thirds mark of the season, the Longhorns are 4-4, with games remaining at No. 4 TCU next week, at home Nov. 11 against Kansas, Nov. 18 at West Virginia and at home against Texas Tech on Black Friday. Two wins in those four games get Texas eligible for a bowl.
“We are more focused on going 1-0 this week than looking back to how we got here,” Herman said. “The big picture is irrelevant if we lose sight of the of our goal of winning the game in front of us each week.
“I’m really proud of our players and how they responded because we talked all week about how this game was our most important one of the year because it was the next one.”
[/s2If] [s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] [article-offer] [/s2If]
Discover more from Horns Illustrated
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.