By Steve Habel/Senior Editor
AUSTIN, Texas — A slap in the face usually serves as a stern wake-up call for a struggling football team like Texas, so the hope is that a second one — the Longhorns lost on a late special teams gaffe for the second week in a row, this time suffering a 30-27 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium against No. 24 Oklahoma State — has sent the alarm bells ringing.
Saturday’s Big 12 Conference-opening matchup between the Cowboys and Texas was billed as a potential offensive shootout, but it actually was decided by which team made the fewest mistakes — or, more importantly, the last mistake.
For the second straight week, Texas [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]was the team that stumbled at the finish line.
Against Cal last week, kicker Nick Rose missed an extra point that would have tied the game but cost the Longhorns a chance to get into overtime and Texas lost, 45-44. This week, punter Michael Dickson, working at his 24-yard line with 42 seconds left, dropped a snap and corralled it just long enough to get off a kick that never even made it back to the line of scrimmage, giving Oklahoma State a final game-winning opportunity for OSU kicker Ben Grogan’s winning field goal.
Grogan nailed a 40-yard field goal with six seconds left to lift the struggling and mistake-prone Cowboys to the victory, sending the 87,073 fans home disappointed for the second straight week.
“It’s a tough lesson to endure two weeks in a row, but we just have to learn to finish,” Texas coach Charlie Strong said. “We have some plays here today, but we didn’t make them when we needed to the most. There are a lot of concerns about this team, but we will go back to work because that’s what we do.”
Texas (1-3 overall, 0-1 against Big 12 opponents) forced three turnovers, two of which were returned for touchdowns — a 34-yard fumble return by defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway and a 41-yard interception by defensive back Holton Hill.
But the Longhorns had a hard time getting out of their own way, as well, as penalties nullified two touchdowns and erased an interception deep in Oklahoma State territory — all in the first 32 minutes. Texas committed 16 penalties for 128 yards; even Strong picked one up in the fourth quarter on a drive that allowed Oklahoma State to kick the tying field goal.
“We just have to pay more attention to the details, the little things that makes a difference in a win or a loss,” Ridgeway said. “The only way we can get this bad taste out of our mouths is to win a game and we’ll keep fighting to get there.”
The Longhorns are 1-3 for the first time since 1956, the year before legendary coach Darrell Royal was hired at Texas.
Oklahoma State (4-0, 1-0) rolled to touchdowns on its first two possessions, culminating its drives with a 17-yard pass from quarterback Mason Rudolph to wide receiver Brandon Sheperd and a 4-yard keeper by backup quarterback J.W. Walsh.
Texas answered with a pair of field goals by Rose, from 41 and 46 yards, the first of which came when senior receiver Marcus Johnson, who was injured in the season opener against Notre Dame, caught his first pass of the season when quarterback Jerrod Heard hit him with a 47-yard bomb on Texas’ second possession.
But then the game turned toward the Longhorns with a huge gaffe by Rudolph. Working at his 45-yard line early in the second quarter, Rudolph dropped the football while setting up to pass and without getting hit. The loose ball bounced straight to Ridgeway, who stepped through a tackle attempt by Rudolph and rumbled to a 34-yard touchdown return that brought the Longhorns to within 14-13.
After a 34-yard field goal from Grogan pushed the Oklahoma State lead back to 17-13, the Longhorns took possession at their 3-yard line.
Texas drove the 97 yards on 12 plays and took a 20-17 lead on a 7-yard keeper by former starting quarterback Tyrone Swoopes, who swept around left end while being escorted by three blockers. The Longhorns ran on nine of the march’s 12 plays and went to the second half with a 158-45 advantage in rushing yardage.
Both teams added touchdowns in a rough-and-tumble third quarter. Oklahoma State took a 24-20 advantage on a touchdown pass from a yard out from Walsh to fullback Jeremy Seaton at the 8:12 mark. The Longhorns reassumed the lead when Hill intercepted Rudolph’s pass and returned the pick 41 yards for a score.
The Cowboys tied the game with Grogan’s 41-yard field goal with 2:30 left, setting the table for the end game.
Texas had just 48 yards of total offense in the second half as the Oklahoma State defense clamped down on Heard and his magical scrambling ability.
The Longhorns return to the field Oct. 5 when they face No. 3 TCU, a 55-52 last-second winner against Texas Tech Saturday, in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs will be the fifth consecutive undefeated team Texas will play in 2015.
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