By Steve Habel/Associate Editor
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The list of people who doubted the fast-forward direction of the Texas football team is a lot shorter after the Longhorns plastered Oklahoma State 28-7 on Saturday night in the chill of north-central Oklahoma.
The win was Texas’ sixth of the season and fourth in the past five contests. The victory also granted the surging Longhorns a spot in a bowl game — the specifics of which will be determined at the end of the regular season — for the 53rd time in school history.
All of that is pretty heady stuff for a team that began the season with four losses in its first six games.
But the Texas team that dominated Oklahoma State — as well as West Virginia[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)] and Texas Tech in the two weeks before the win in Stillwater — has become a clutch, hard-nosed squad. This is the type of team head coach Charlie Strong envisioned when he began to put his stamp on the Longhorns when he was hired in January to replace Mack Brown.
“A few weeks ago nobody thought we would be here — everybody wrote us off,” Strong said. “I tell our players all the time not to let outside forces control this football team. I’m happy for the seniors to get to a bowl game. ”
Texas (6-4 overall and 5-3 in Big 12 play) took charge of the Cowboys from the beginning, scoring on four of its five possessions in the first half on the way to a 19-0 lead at the half. Then the Longhorns, as they did in their win against West Virginia Nov. 8, became a little more conservative in the third quarter and pulled back on the offensive throttle.
But the Texas defense was like a rock, stymieing the Cowboys for 51 minutes before allowing a fourth-quarter scoring drive that ended up being little more than window dressing.
“To come on the road and get the victory we got here was really special,” Strong said. “There was so much individual effort, but it was also a team effort. To just watch how hard they played [is exciting], and defensively we had a shutout going for a long time.”
The Longhorns moved 57 yards in 10 plays on their first possession and lit the scoreboard with a picture-perfect 19-yard touchdown pass from Tyrone Swoopes to John Harris. Holder William Russ mishandled the snap on the extra-point kick leaving Texas ahead, 6-0, before most of the 52,495 fans had settled into their seats at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Texas added to its lead on its next opportunity, marching 81 yards in nine plays to Johnathan Gray’s 6-yard touchdown run around left end.
Nick Rose ripped a wind-aided, career-long 51-yard field goal on the Longhorns’ next possession to move the lead to 16-0 at the 9:33 mark of the second quarter. He then clanged a chip-shot 21-yard attempt off the right upright that ended Texas’ ensuing drive.
Rose made some amends by nailing a 34-yard kick in the waning seconds of the first half that was completely controlled by the Longhorns. Texas had 262 total yards in the first half while Oklahoma State had just 51 — with 25 of those yards coming on a pass in garbage time at the end of the half — as the Longhorns led 19-0 as the bands hit the field.
Texas gained just 69 yards on three possessions in the third quarter. Fifty-three of those yards came on an eight-play drive that ended with a 44-yard Rose field goal, his third of the game and a 22-0 Texas lead at the 7:37 mark.
Oklahoma State (5-5, 3-4 in Big 12 play) fashioned its only sustained drive early in the fourth quarter when it moved 61 yards on 10 plays to James Washington’s 8-yard touchdown pass from Daxx Garman, cutting the Longhorns’ lead to 22-7 and creating a small scare in the Texas faithful.
But the Longhorns’ victory was assured on their next possession as Swoopes directed a sterling 91-yard, eight-play march that culminated in a flawless 45-yard touchdown pass to Armanti Foreman.
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said it was simple to explain how the Longhorns dominated his squad, which has now lost four games in a row, all in conference play.
“[Texas’ defensive] front is really good right now and it’s not a good matchup for us,” Gundy said. “When you get whipped, you can’t run the ball and you struggle in pass protection — it’s really hard to identify things. We tried to move the ball around with some different formations, but Texas was able to contain us.”
Cornerback Quandre Diggs said he was proud of his teammates and how they’ve responded after their tough first half of the season.
“We’ve been resilient all year — we could’ve easily packed it in three games ago,” Diggs said. “These guys have continued to fight, and we’ve worked our way into a great opportunity to build on something that will get us going in the right direction next year.”
1. What was the key to Texas’ win?
The key was Swoopes’ play. The quarterback made all the right plays in throwing for 305 yards and two touchdowns.
“It feels great to be able to make an important contribution to a big win for the team,” Swoopes said. “I know the way I play has an impact on the team’s success and I have to keep focused and take things play by play because sometimes my mind can wander a bit.”
We’ve stated before that Swoopes is great when he has the time to throw the ball. Against Oklahoma State he even played proficiently when under duress — an indication that he’s becoming more confident in his role and with the Texas offense.
Part of that confidence built up from starting 10 games — including six against ranked teams. But the light really came on for Swoopes when he spent an individual coaching session with Texas offensive coordinator Shawn Watson earlier this week.
“Tyrone is so eager to please and the fact that he’s so coachable makes it fun to come to work every morning,” Watson said. “He took some major steps in our session this week and then was able to bring some of the things we discussed to the field. He played well but he can certainly play better.”
Harris said Swoopes and he had never practiced the deep-out pass to the back corner of the end zone that they hit for the Longhorns’ first touchdown against Oklahoma State.
“He keeps proving y’all wrong,” Harris said. “Keep doubting him.”
2. Who is the Longhorns’ most valuable contributor?
Surprise — it’s a coach, not a player. And it’s an assistant, not Strong.
The nod here goes to Joe Wickline, Texas’ assistant offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.
For nine seasons prior to 2014, Wickline mentored the Oklahoma State offensive line and helped turn the Cowboys’ offense into a yard-gaining and points-scoring machine.
This season, he has done perhaps his best work, finding a way to turn the Longhorns’ ragtag bunch of offensive linemen into a cohesive and sometimes dominating unit.
The comparison between the Texas and Oklahoma State offensive lines is palpable. Both units had played sparingly as a unit prior to the season and are blocking for inexperienced quarterbacks.
Against Oklahoma State, the Longhorns had 125 rushing yards while Swoopes took advantage of suitable time in the pocket, completing 24 of his 33 passes.
“Our running backs have gained confidence in the offensive line,” Strong said. “That’s why they’re running so well. Even the quarterback is gaining confidence now because he can sit back in the pocket and have time to release the ball.”
Oklahoma State was lethargic on offense, mostly because it couldn’t block the Texas defense. The Longhorns finished with seven sacks and held the Cowboys to just 34 rushing yards on 23 carries.
“We got manhandled up front,” Gundy said.
“Joe has a lot of fond memories here,” Watson said about Wickline’s time in Stillwater. “He speaks of it often. I know it was an important game for him. I can’t even begin to imagine the emotions that he might have felt.”
Given the situation and the results, the Longhorns are happy to have Wickline on their sideline rather than Oklahoma State’s.
3. What do the Longhorns have to do better?
Problems in the kicking game were likely the only source of concern for Strong and his staff.
Rose missed a field goal he needed to make and had an extra point blocked. And the Longhorns botched a hold on PAT after their first touchdown.
Those points weren’t needed to beat the Cowboys but will be crucial if Texas plays in a close game.
The Longhorns also surrendered an average of 27 yards on four kickoff returns. The figure was aided by a penalty on a long return by Oklahoma State’s Tyreek Hill that was later negated because of a penalty.
“The coverage has to be better,” Strong said. “We knew that [Hill] was going to be an issue for us but we were getting down the field making sure we had guys around the ball.”
“We have to have all three phases of the game working together to be successful as a team and we saw [against Oklahoma State] that we need more consistency from our special teams,” Strong added.
The only other area of concern that comes out of the Oklahoma State game is the health status of receiver Jaxon Shipley. Shipley pulled himself out the game right before halftime and spent the second half on the sideline in street clothes.
Shipley crashed hard into the protective pad just yards outside the field’s boundary while trying to catch a pass from Swoopes and twisted his neck. He also tweaked his left hamstring — an injury he’s had since fall camp — and Watson said the leg was what kept Shipley out of the game.
4. Who is the next star player for the Longhorns?
Two players — wide receiver Foreman and defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway — showed that they’re lightning and thunder in a bottle.
Foreman’s catch on Swoopes’ bomb in the third quarter, as well as his prowess running end-arounds this season, illustrate how he can jump-start the offense and stretch the field, both vertically and horizontally.
“We’ve told the young guys — like Armanti — all season to stay ready because you just never know,” Swoopes said. “It was great seeing Armanti come in and have a big part in the win.”
Ridgeway had two solo tackles and a sack against the Cowboys, and is the Longhorns’ best interior lineman besides Malcom Brown. The two cause complete havoc in the middle of the defense, forcing the opposition’s runners to bounce outside to the Texas linebackers and safeties.
Strong nicknamed Ridgeway “The Green Mile” because he looks like late actor Michael Clarke Duncan, who played the role of John Coffey in the fantasy drama film adapted from a novel by Stephen King.
“In the spring, Ridgeway would do one or two plays then be done,” Strong explained. “Now he has a completely different attitude and he’s loving it. He never stops.”
5. What’s next for Texas?
The Longhorns hit a 12-day window before their Thanksgiving night battle with No. 4 TCU. The team will come into the game on a real high and hungry to continue the success they have forged these past three weeks.
“TCU is a great team and I cannot express how well we need to play just to stay in the ballgame with them,” Strong said. “We’ve come a long way and just to get bowl eligible speaks volumes of the hard work that our team has put in.”
Even if Texas loses to the Horned Frogs, they’ll head into the postseason, either to Memphis for the AutoZone Liberty Bowl or to Houston for the AdvoCare 100 Texas Bowl, both of which take place on Dec. 29.
Rumors abound about the Texas Bowl wanting to matchup the Longhorns with Texas A&M but that’s likely just a pipe dream. Wherever Texas gets to play, it’s already a winner because of the added practices a bowl game gives to a team.
“It’s exciting to be going to a bowl,” defensive end Cedric Reed said. “It’s definitely a proud moment for all of us. Going into the season we had goals and we’ve reached one of them.”
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