Longhorns Football Must Keep Its Train A-Rolling

Habe on the Horns

By Steve Habel/Associate Editor

There’s a general feeling around the Texas football program that the tide has turned, and that the Longhorns are on an upswing after struggling to learn to win tough games earlier in the season in the first year of the Charlie Strong regime.

That positive vibe comes from winning two games in a row – both in dominating fashion – and climbing to the break-even mark and into potential eligibility for a bowl game with two contests left on the regular-season schedule.

Now the key is for the [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]Longhorns Football team to keep the train a-rolling, the first step of which will be Saturday against Oklahoma State in frosty Stillwater.

“It’s always about our focus and it’s all about our preparation,” Strong said. “We understand that we’re going into a hostile environment and that we have to play well as a team. It’s going to [take] great team chemistry, it’s going to [take] great focus. But we know the job we have to go get done, and we have to get it done.”

Don’t expect Texas (5-5 overall and 4-3 in Big 12 play) to look past the Cowboys, even after its latest string of success.

“We can’t get complacent,” Strong said. “We’ve still got to stay the course. We still haven’t finished our work. We still have work to get done. One of the worst things that can happen is all of a sudden we start thinking that we’re better than what we are.”

Expect the weather in Stillwater to be as cold as the reception from Oklahoma State (5-4 overall and 3-3 in Big 12 play) and its fans.

“That weather is the same on both sides of the ball, so there’s nothing much we can do, Strong said. “It may be cold, but (the players will) be okay. It’s only three and a half hours out there, three and a half to four hours.”

Texas will have to have a good balance on offense, an aspect that helped it build a 24-3 lead at halftime Nov. 8 against West Virginia on the way to a 33-16 victory.

“We’re going to have to move people out of the way and we’re going to have to run the football,” Strong said. “When we can balance the run with the pass, then we’re pretty good on offense. But it has to work together, and the run game is very important because when you can run the football, then it’s going to be a physical ball game, and that’s the statement we want to make.”

Texas will end a stretch of three of four games on the road Saturday when it plays at Oklahoma State. The Longhorns moved into a tie for fourth place in the Big 12 standings with the win against West Virginia and sit within one victory of bowl eligibility.

The Cowboys had a bye last week after dropping three straight games, though all were to top 25 teams.

“Oklahoma State had some injuries in the quarterback situation early on and had some key guys nicked up,” Texas defensive coordinator Vance Bedford said. “That’s been a big part of the four games they’ve lost. They’ve had two weeks to get ready for us. They’ve had a chance for certain guys to get healthy. We expect to see their best on Saturday.”

Texas and Oklahoma State have met 28 times with the Longhorns winning 23 of those games. The two teams’ first-ever meeting, a 14-7 UT win in 1916, was played in San Antonio. The Cowboys beat Texas 38-13 last season in Austin.

If the Longhorns can get the balanced offense they need – which means a passable, well-managed game from quarterback Tyrone Swoopes – they will beat Oklahoma State and book a postseason ticket to either Memphis (for the AutoZone Liberty Bowl) or to Houston (for the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl).

The pick here is that Horns get it done. Then they will have 12 days to figure out how to beat TCU on Thanksgiving night.

Just sayin’, ya’ know?

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