No. 12 Horns riding wave of confidence

Texas preps for Big 12 opener against talented Oklahoma State

By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer

AUSTIN, Texas – If you break the Texas football season into four parts – the preseason, the nonconference portion of the schedule, the Big 12 gauntlet, and the postseason – the Longhorns are already into the second half of the 2019 campaign.

It would be easy to say 12th-ranked Texas has won the first two portions even though they’ve lost once in three games. It’s what the Longhorns take forward from the first half of the season that matters the most.

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Over that time, and with the combination of winning seasons in both 2017 and 2018, the Longhorns have gone from a team that hopes to win to one that truly expects to win every week.

Texas head coach Tom Herman said Monday he’s happy at the production and performance of his team as it heads into league play on Saturday at home against unbeaten and powerful Oklahoma State.

“The confidence level is as high as it’s been and should be, because of how hard and how well these guys have trained,” Herman said. “I think the first couple years there was “I think we’re going to win” instead of, ‘Hey, we put in the work. We’ve had a great week of preparation, we go out and play our best, we’re going to win.’”

The Longhorns shellacked Rice 48-13 last Saturday in Houston, producing a nearly-complete game through the first three quarters in building a 38-0 lead.

The dominating fashion in which Texas won led to, Herman said, some lighter than usual moments from the team as it watched film of the game on Sunday, but the coach was quick to point out that there was plenty to be learned from that viewing.

“You don’t always have to learn from mistakes; you can learn from things that you did well,” Herman explained. “You know, if you’re good at something, enhance it, if you’re not good at something, figure out a way to fix it. I was proud of the defense, just how physical we were, and then how disruptive the front three guys were.

“Every experience is a learning experience. No player is a finished product, ever,” Herman added. “The good thing is I haven’t seen the same mistake over and over again; we just need to keep coaching every technique and scenario.”

The Longhorns will have their hands full with Oklahoma State this week, but Herman said his players are ready for the challenge.

With the nation’s leading rusher in Chuba Hubbard (521 yards in three games, 256 of which came last week in a win at Tulsa), a preseason All-America wide receiver in Tylan Wallace (the only wide out in the nation with three catches for 60 yards or more this season) and dual threat quarterback Spencer Sanders, the Cowboys (3-0) are locked and loaded.

Herman, with a grin, compared dealing with Oklahoma State’s offense to the dire situation in the movie ‘Armageddon.’

“Scariest environment imaginable,’” Herman said. “That’s all you have to say: ‘Scariest environment imaginable.’ It’s going to be a challenge, for sure, but you can’t sell your soul, I guess, to stop one, because they’re so proficient in the other that you’ve got to be sound.”

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