INSIDER: E-Newsletter Game 5 Texas At Iowa State

 

Texas Longhorns  …………………………………………………….31

Iowa State Cylcones………………………………………………….30

 

Jack Trice Stadium,    Oct. 3, 2013     Attendance: 52,762

5 Questions Iowa State

BY STEVE HABEL

After the game against Iowa State, the collective Texas fan base likely needed time to sit down and collect their emotions. The football team, on the other hand, thanked its lucky stars for the referees’ quick whistles and the abundance of yellow flags. One day later, all parties can stand back and evaluate exactly what happened as Texas defeated Iowa State, 31-30, on Oct. 3 at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames.

[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]

First of all, let’s congratulate the Longhorns for pulling a victory away from a determined Iowa State. Texas utilized a last-gasp 12-play, 75-yard drive to earn the winning points, with the final yard coming on a Case McCoy lunge into the end zone with 51 seconds to play. The Longhorns sent the game ball to the Street family, who lost former Texas quarterback James Street on Sept. 30. The team honored the Street by placing stickers with the initials “JS” on their helmets.

Second, we need to acknowledge that the defense stopped the Cyclones on the ensuing possession. Iowa State drove to the Texas 42-yard line without a timeout and was one more quick 10-yard pass from attempting a long field goal to win the game. The Longhorns’ bookend defensive ends — Cedric Reed and Jackson Jeffcoat — put an end to that final threat, with Reed deflecting a pass from Iowa State quarterback Sam B. Richardson into Jeffcoat’s waiting hands with 15 seconds to play.

Third, the nation has finally recognized Texas’ will to win has to be recognized. The win —although not the prettiest or the most dominating— at least showed that the Longhorns refusal to quit.

Speculation about the future of Mack Brown will continue, but at least with this victory continues the team on the winning path.

Asked after the game about his team’s resolve, Brown said his team overcame the odds and a great overall effort by Iowa State.

“One of the trademarks of this team has been comeback wins, especially in games like this,” Brown said. “After 30 years as a head coach, all you want to do is win. You don’t care about how many points you get. We knew that this would be a tough game.”

With the victory, Texas moves to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 Conference play. Iowa State fell to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in league play.

“Our team played hard and never backed down,” Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said. “You could argue that both teams deserved to win the football game. So many things went against us but we still had our chances at the end; we needed just a few more plays.”

McCoy, starting for the second time this season because of  David Ash’s lingering head injury, passed for 244 yards and made a stunning, 44-yard Hail Mary touchdown to John Harris on the final play of the second quarter.

Plenty of folks support the claim that McCoy can throw the ball 50 yards, but clearly the Iowa State secondary wasn’t a part of that group. Two players let Harris sneak behind them in the end zone, while another pair of Cyclones stayed behind Harris, effectively shielding off their teammates from making a play in the wobbly pass.

As amazing as that pass was, it pales in comparison to the one thrown by Richardson to Quenton Bundrage midway through the third quarter. On third down and 8 from his own 3-yard line, Bundrage whipped inside of Texas cornerback Duke Thomas on a quick slant and caught Richardson’s pass in full stride. He outraced the rest of the Longhorn defense for a 97-yard touchdown. The play was the longest pass in Iowa State history and the longest play from scrimmage for the Cyclones in 70 years.

Texas got on the board on its first possession, converting a third down via an Iowa State pass interference penalty two plays before a 45-yard touchdown run by Johnathan Gray. Later in the first quarter, the Longhorns tacked on a 29-yard field goal by Anthony Fera to establish a 10-0 lead.

The second quarter, save for one huge play, belonged to the Cyclones. Cole Netten kicked a 37-yard field goal at the 14:21 mark to pull Iowa State to within 10-3. On their next possession, the Cyclones used almost eight minutes of possession time to march 92 yards in 15 plays, leading to an 11-yard screen pass touchdown from Richardson to Aaron Wimberly that tied the game 10-10.

Iowa State grabbed the lead with Netten’s second field goal of the period, this one from 41 yards out with 33 seconds to play in the half. The Cyclones looked to have all the momentum going into halftime.

The Longhorns changed that outlook with the McCoy-to-Harris miracle hookup. The play sent the team to a 17-13 advantage at intermission.

Following the Cyclones’ own sensational play (the 97-yard touchdown pass), Texas — aided by back-to-back defensive pass interference calls on Iowa State’s Nigel Tribune — calmly drove the field in nine plays to a 6-yard touchdown run by Joe Bergeron. The score put the Longhorns back on top, 24-20.

But a Bergeron fumble at the Texas 37-yard line early in the fourth quarter set the table for the Cyclones. Three plays later, on a 20-yard scoring run by Wimberly, Iowa State took a 27-24 lead.

Texas forced the Cyclones to settle for a 29-yard field goal from Netten with 3:40 to play after a short Iowa State drive. That stop kept the game to a one-score margin and made all the difference for the Longhorns, who received two gift penalties (one for a personal foul and the other for a pass interference in the end zone). The winning drive ended with McCoy’s quarterback sneak touchdown from the 1-yard line.

 

1. Did Texas get lucky at the end or did the officials get it right?

On the Longhorns’ game-winning drive, the final three plays started at the Iowa State 2-yard line after the referees called the past interference in the end zone. On the first snap, Gray plowed into the line and was met by three Cyclones’ defenders. As he pushed forward toward the goal line, Iowa State’s Jeremiah George ripped the ball out of his hands and headed the other direction.

The officials called him back, saying that Iowa State stopped Gray’s forward momentum and the whistle had been blown. Subsequent replays showed that Gray actually moved forward after the initial contact and that George had the ball before the whistle blew. Fortunately for Texas, the officials in the replay booth confirmed the call on the field, allowing the Longhorns to keep possession of the ball.

“I have pretty good eyesight and I could see from the big screen in the north end zone that their player was not down before our guy had the football,” Rhoads said.

Gray clearly fumbled on the next play, but as the ball laid between him and the goal line, he snatched it back to his body.

 

2. Which stat made the biggest difference in this game?

Iowa State, who entered the game averaging just three penalties a game, had 10 penalties for 118 yards. Five of those penalties were either for pass interference or defensive holding, while three turned into scoring drives for Texas.

“There seemed to be a lot of hankies on the field tonight,” Rhoads said.

The fact is that Texas took advantage of those opportunities. Twice, in a crucial third quarter drive, the Longhorns went back to the same play with receiver Mike Davis working a double move along the sideline against Tribune. Both times Tribune interfered with Davis running his route. Texas made a smart move going after Tribune, who was obviously overmatched and afraid to get burned.

 

3. Has the Texas defense improved?

Yes and no. One can’t say all is well on defensive coordinator Greg Robinson’s unit as long as it surrenders 463 yards of total offense to a team that’s won just one game this season.

“We had to keep fighting hard until the end,” defensive tackle Malcom Brown said. “Everybody scores, but we had to keep our heads up. You can’t put your head down and say the game is over — you have to keep playing. It means a lot to win. We have a big game next week and winning this week gives us momentum to move forward.”

In a game that featured big plays by both teams, Texas’ goal-line stand that forced the Cyclones to kick a field goal with 3:40 left proved to be the difference. And the final possession that ended with the ball in Jeffcoat’s arms set off a wild celebration on the Texas sideline — and a big sigh of relief across the 40 Acres.

Texas needs to play better on both sides of the ball to continue its success. The defense cannot allow teams to rush for more than 200 yards (the Cyclones had 201, with Wimberly gaining 117 on 29 carries and Richardson with another 83 yards on 17 totes). Iowa State was also able to convert 10 of its 20 third-down opportunities and possessed the ball almost 10 minutes more than the Longhorns.

Texas still has plenty of work to do.

 

4. Can Texas continue to win with McCoy at quarterback?

The team might have to keep winning with McCoy as its signal caller.  If Ash wasn’t able to play against the likes of Mississippi and Iowa State, does Brown want to throw him to the wolves (uh, the Sooners) in the Cotton Bowl next Saturday?

McCoy managed the game well but made some mistakes. He missed a sure first-quarter touchdown to Davis when he tried to lob a pass over a linebacker and overthrew the receiver. When McCoy pulls down the ball to run, the Texas offensive staff has to worry. Although he’s scrappy and tough, one good shot could result in the beginning of the Jalen Overstreet or Tyrone Swoopes era at quarterback.

“Adversity has already struck this team plenty of times,” McCoy said. “We keep finding a way to keep battling and sticking together. Hats off to Iowa State; their defense schemed some things on us that worked for them. Hats off to us too; we battled and fought, and we got a score in the end.”

McCoy has a knack for bringing out the fight in the Longhorns during the toughest situations. Remember in 2011 at College Station and last year at Kansas? As long as he stays focused and healthy, the team could still have a shot at a winning season.

 

5.Can Texas beat Oklahoma?

That is the ultimate question heading into next week. The Longhorns have underperformed the past two seasons against Oklahoma and basically run out of the Cotton Bowl before halftime.

In the first five games of the season, Texas’ performance has been underwhelming. The Longhorns beat teams they were expected to (a truly overmatched New Mexico State team, a rebuilding K-State squad and Iowa State), but had a surprising loss to BYU.

The Sooners have strengths in all the places Texas has weaknesses. OU has a great running quarterback and a defense that knows how to stop teams searching for their identity and consistent playmakers (like Notre Dane and Texas).

All those factors can usually be thrown out the window at the Texas-OU game. Instead, the win will go to the team that wants it more, the one that makes the most big plays and the least mistakes.

“Anytime you win, you’re going to be confident,” Jeffcoat said. “Iowa State was a lot better than I think many people thought, so we’re excited [that we beat them]. I think it’s time to look ahead to OU.”

Is Texas ready to beat a team like Oklahoma? The Longhorns will have to improve significantly across the board to have a fighting chance in the Big D.

[/s2If]
[s2If current_user_is_not(s2member_level2) OR current_user_is_not(s2member_level3) OR current_user_is_not(s2member_level5) OR current_user_is_not(s2member_level6)OR current_user_is_not(s2member_level7)]

The rest of this article is available to Digital Subscribers only. Login or Subscribe to continue reading.
[/s2If]

#HookEm