Notes, quotes from Tom Herman’s K-State week press conference

Compiled by Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Longhorns will host No. 20 Kansas State Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, after an open date last week. Here are a handful of notes and quotes from coach Tom Herman’s Monday press conference and the Texas media relations staff:

• Texas is[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] 9-10 all-time against the Wildcats, including 2-0 under Herman. The Longhorns bested K-State, 19-14, last year in Manhattan. Kansas State is one of only two Big 12 schools with a winning record against Texas, but the Longhorns hold a 7-3 advantage on games played in Austin.

• Herman said Monday that he spent the open week meeting with the freshmen from this year’s recruiting class. They watched 10-play cutups, spent 30-40 minutes with each to judge how they’re doing individually. “All of them are in great spirits in terms of moving forward,” Herman said about the true freshmen: “My relationships with the guys in that class (were) solidified a bit” by the time spent during the open week.

• Herman said he does not have any issues with quarterback Sam Ehlinger’s career-high four interceptions against TCU. He said Monday that Ehlinger only had one bad throw, and that two of the interceptions were because of errors by receivers. The final pick, he said, was on a pass that had to be thrown since it was fourth down.

• The first matchup between Texas and Kansas State was in 1913, when the Longhorns defeated the Wildcats, 46-0, in Austin. The schools competed three more times (1926, 1927, 1942) before becoming frequent foes when both programs joined the Big 12 Conference. Texas and K-State’s first meeting as Big 12 members came in 1998.

• Texas owns the largest victory by either school in the series with a 64-0 victory in 1942.

• In four games at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium this season, the Longhorns have averaged 42.25 points per game and 530.0 yards per game. UT is 3-1 on its home turf in 2019, falling only in a shootout against now- No. 1 (and then-No. 6) LSU, 45-38.

• Texas is 8-2 overall at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium since the start of the 2018 season. The Horns have posted a 3-1 record against top-25 foes when competing in Austin during that stretch.

• The Longhorns are 6-8 against top-25 foes during Herman’s first two seasons, but are coming off a 5-2 record against ranked opponents in 2018 after going just 1-4 against top-25 foes in 2017.

• Texas is 10-2 in games following losses in three seasons under Herman. That includes a 48-13 victory over Rice following a heartbreaking seven-point loss to LSU earlier this year, as well as a 50-48 win over Kansas after falling to then-No. 6/5 Oklahoma in the 2019 AT&T Red River Showdown.

• The 2019 season is the first time in school history that UT has had a 2,000-yard passer and two 400-yard rushers after seven games. The Horns never had achieved that feat in fewer than nine games prior to this season.

• The Longhorns have converted 54.1 percent of their third downs this season, and rank fourth nationally in that category. Texas is the only Big 12 program converting at better than 50 percent.
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