Five questions: Texas football gears up for TCU

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.”

 

Did Buechele’s performance propel him to the forefront of the back-and-forth quarterback competition?

Let’s view this Buechele-Ehlinger battle in a different light. In the Baylor game, Buechele was the only option, and in the past three games Ehlinger was the best choice because of an injury to Buechele.

Buechele played well enough and made few mistakes, allowing the Longhorns to dominate a defense that, stat-wise, is one of the worst in the nation.

Ehlinger wasn’t available, so throwing Buechele back into the fray was the only option Texas had, save from reverting to a wildcat-based attack with third-stringer Jerrod Heard behind center.

Buechele still is playing with a sprained right ankle that likely will not be 100 percent healthy this season, and that had to affect the way Texas attacked the Bears.

“From a stability standpoint, he’s as close as he is going to be the rest of the year,” Herman said. “Having to wear that brace limits him just a hair. From a pain and stability standpoint, he’s pretty good.”

Taking that limitation into account, Buechele did what he could as Texas played conservatively — the Longhorns’ biggest gains through the air were two 25-yard hookups — and let field position dictate the mode of attack.

Buechele was at his best against Baylor when the offense was in tempo, moving quickly in between plays and allowing him to develop some rhythm.

“We were going fast and completing balls,” Buechele said. “It always helps when you can get quick completions and keep rolling.”

With Buechele as the starter, Texas is 2-1, while Ehlinger has two wins and three losses. If Ehlinger is healthy, expect him to regain the starting spot but, if not, Herman knows he has another viable option.

 

What was the biggest play?

There are two candidates here, both produced by the Texas defense.

First is Elliott’s pick-six on Baylor’s first possession of the game, which gave the Longhorns an early lead and set the tone for the afternoon.

Second, and this one gets our vote, was a defensive stop by Holton Hill on a perfectly-designed and near-perfectly executed screen pass to the Bears’ Trestan Ebner early in the second quarter. Hill found a way to elude four Baylor blockers and got Ebner on the ground after a six-yard gain. If he doesn’t make that tackle, the Bears likely get a touchdown on the play and would’ve gained huge momentum.

“That play was a great example of the day,” Baylor head coach Matt Ruhle said. “That ball should be a touchdown. It’s four lead blockers and one defender out there, and their kid made the play and we weren’t able to. That’s a credit to their kid. I want to make sure I say that. Opportunities were there. We have to take advantage of them.”

 

Did the Longhorns find an answer for their rushing woes?

It’s easy to be encouraged by the performances of Carter (who banged his head on the turf in the fourth quarter and was placed in concussion protocol Sunday) and Young, but let’s temper that enthusiasm by the fact the two freshman backs ran against a woeful Baylor defense.

“They broke tackles, which was encouraging to see, and they slithered around in there when things weren’t perfectly blocked,” Herman said. “They found creases and threw their bodies through the creases. I was proud of them. They protected the football, which is always a concern when you’re playing true freshman running backs. I liked what I saw, and those guys need to continue to practice the way they have.”

Still, any sign of success in this part of the game is welcome. This week’s showing should be considered a step forward.

“They were good,” Buechele said about Carter and Young. “They ran the ball hard, which is good to see, and they’re fast. They can hit and bounce it outside, whatever they want to do. But it was good to see Danny and Toneil do what they did.”

 

Is this win the one that pushes Texas over the hump?

That may be a little presumptuous. The Longhorns, even with all their injuries and continued question marks, are a much better team than Baylor and they showed that in their victory. Losing to the Bears would have been a real kick in the stomach, but beating a team like the one Baylor fielded Saturday used to be a given for the Longhorns.

There were, of course, signs of improvement. First of all, the defense continues to dominate, punter Michael Dickson’s continued efforts helped Texas win the field position battle, and the offense showed some semblance of life, which will be needed sorely through the rest of the year.

“Both sides just go out there and do their thing,” Texas defensive end Charles Omenihu said. “I don’t necessarily think we have a formula — just going out there and both sides playing hard.

“Winning feels good. It’s always good to win. We need to continue this feeling, so we’ll get back to work and move on to the next opponent.”

 

What’s next for Texas?

The road ahead is a daunting one, but with the opponents they’ve played so far, the Longhorns should not be overwhelmed.

At the two-third mark of the season, the Longhorns are 4-4, with contests remaining at No. 10 TCU next week, at home Nov. 11 against Kansas, at West Virginia on Nov. 18 and at home against Texas Tech on Black Friday. Two wins in those four games should get Texas into a bowl.

“We’re 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 was proud of our guys’ approach this week.” Herman added. “The fact that we were able to do what we did, having that approach lends confidence. That’s the approach we’re going to need to take each and every week.”

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