Defense not enough as Texas football falls to No. 10 Oklahoma State in overtime, 13-10

By Steve Habel, Senior Editor

AUSTIN, Texas – Make no mistake; the Texas football team is much improved and appears to be taking the steps it needs to return to the top of the college football heap. But moral victories are getting really stale, and the latest example — a 13-10 loss Saturday afternoon to No. 10 Oklahoma State — illustrates that the Longhorns, no matter how much they have progressed, can’t get out of their own way long enough to get over the hump.

UT’s defense did its part against the Cowboys before a crowd of 92,506 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, holding the high-powered, nation-leading offense at bay with a smash-mouth, bend-but-don’t-break performance that had Oklahoma State on its heels all game.

Cue Oklahoma State safety Ramon Richards, who intercepted a [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]pass from Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger in the end zone in overtime to grant the Cowboys the win. The loss dropped the Longhorns’ record to 3-4 overall and 2-2 against Big 12 opponents.

Oklahoma State took the lead in overtime with a 34-yard field goal by Matt Ammendola, who had missed late in regulation from 29 yards. Texas, in field goal range to tie the game at the OSU 6, got greedy as Ehlinger tried to lob a pass to Jerrod Heard, who had been bumped off his route and out of bounds, leaving Richards in position to haul in the interception.

The Cowboys (6-1 overall, 3-1 in Big 12 games) entered the game atop the FBS rankings for total offense, averaging almost 611 yards and 49 points per outing, but they were stymied by a Texas defense that was hell-bent on stopping the pass, especially the deep strike — the tactic that has pushed Oklahoma State into the upper echelon of college football.

Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph, who led the nation before Saturday with a 394.7-yard per game passing average, managed just 282 in the win, 66 of which came on a pass to Marcell Ateman early in the fourth quarter when Texas defender Brandon Jones tripped over his own feet in coverage.

“A monumental effort by our defense — to hold the No. 1 (offensive) team in the country to 10 points in regulation is something to be proud of,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “We gotta help them more on offense. We’ve got to fix what’s wrong. We have flashes but we are not consistent enough.”

It was UT’s third overtime game this season. The Longhorns lost, 27-24, Sept. 16 at USC and beat Kansas State at home Oct. 7, 40-34.

Oklahoma State outgained the Longhorns, 428-283, including a 146-42 edge in rushing. Texas got 90 of its total yards on one pass or things would have been much more lopsided in the statistics, if not the scoreboard.

The Cowboys got the scoring started with a 7-yard run by J.D. King at the 4:51 mark of the first quarter that culminated a 96-yard march in 10 plays.

A fumble by running back Justice Hill at the UT 14 early in the second quarter denied the Cowboys another scoring chance; Texas quickly took advantage. Ehlinger (who completed 22 of 36 passes for 241 yards) hit John Burt on a 90-yard catch-and-run against the right sideline that moved the Longhorns to the OSU 2. Ehlinger powered his way into the end zone on the following snap to tie the game at 7-7 with 13:59 to play before halftime.

Ehlinger fumbled while he was being sacked by the Cowboys’ Trey Carter at the seven-minute minute mark of the second quarter but got off the ground and ran down the loose ball, falling on it for a 34-yard loss but avoiding real disaster for the Longhorns on the play.

Texas took the second-half kickoff and drove 71 yards in 13 plays but had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Joshua Rowland and a 10-7 lead.

The Cowboys countered with a 12-play, 74-yard drive that ended with Ammendola’s 19-yard field goal with 12:31 to play in the fourth quarter that tied the game at 10. But even that score was tempered by the fact that Oklahoma State had a first-and-goal situation from the Texas 1-yard line and was pushed back a yard in three subsequent snaps.

The 66-yard pass from Rudolph to Ateman set up the Cowboys for a 29-yard field goal attempt with 4:15 remaining in the fourth quarter but Ammendola pushed the kick wide right, setting the table for overtime — and, ultimately, heartbreak for the Longhorns.

“We’re not really worried about our record,” Texas cornerback Holton Hill said. “We will focus on our next opponent and going into them 100 percent, full-speed and working on execute our jobs.”

Texas returns to play with a road game at Baylor next Saturday in Waco. Kickoff is at 11 a.m. CDT at McLane Stadium.

This and that: UT’s youth has shined through in the starting lineup. The Longhorns’ last two recruiting classes (true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and true sophomores) have combined to make 41 starts this season, including 34 on the offensive side of the ball. … Saturday’s game was third time in five contests that Texas played an opponent ranked inside the top 12 in the polls. … Oklahoma State’s Rudolph entered the game with 24 completions of more than 30 yards, and led the nation in that category. … The Texas defense continued its recent stingy streak. In its past five games entering play Saturday, the UT defense allowed an average of 19.4 points, 361.4 total yards and 87.4 rushing yards per game.

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