Texas (4-2 overall, 3-2 in Big 12 play) clinched the win when Joseph Ossai sacked Cowboys quarterback Spencer Sanders on fourth down on the game’s final play. That was one of 12 tackles (six of them for a loss) for Ossai, who also had three sacks, one caused fumble and one recovered fumble in a crazy, back-and-forth, who-wants-it-more tussle.
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“This win is great. We had a phenomenal week of practice,” said Ossai, who played with a sprained left shoulder that kept him out of practice for two days this week. “This is great for our confidence, just the icing on the cake for all the hard work we’ve been doing. What helped us this week was the way we prepared in practice.”
Ehlinger had, by far, his worst performance of the season statistically, passing for just 169 yards and three touchdowns and enduring five sacks. But the Heisman Trophy candidate made the plays and the throws for the Longhorns when it counted the most, cementing UT’s first road win against a top-10 opponent since 2010 (at No. 5 Nebraska).
It was the Longhorns’ third overtime game this year; they now have won two, in double overtime at Texas Tech and this one, and lost in four overtimes in Dallas to Oklahoma.
“We are confident in the moment. We know we are comfortable in the situation and know we can go and execute in those situations,” Ehlinger said.
The Longhorns has played seven overtime periods this year, and they had to score in the final seconds to even play in the first two of those games. Talk about living on the edge.
“It’s not the way you want to live (the three overtime games this season),” Herman explained. “We know if we stay in it long enough, we have a chance to win. This was not pretty, not pretty, but you know when you take the ball away four times and you don’t turn it over at all, you give yourself a chance to win, and that’s what we did.”
Oklahoma State’s Alex Hale drilled a 34-yard field goal with five seconds to play in regulation to send the game into overtime as the Cowboys (4-1 overall, 3-1 in Big 12 play) moved into scoring range with just 1:13 to play and with no time outs.
Ehlinger found Jake Smith for a 12-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass with 4:27 to play in fourth quarter to give the as Longhorns a 34-31 lead.
Sanders passed for 400 yards and four touchdowns, with Tylan Wallace hauling in 11 catches for 187 yards and two of the touchdowns. Chuba Hubbard, the Cowboys’ bellcow running threat, was held to 72 yards on 25 carries, but did have a 12-yard touchdown catch.
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