By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer
AUSTIN, Texas — Some folks took a look at the way Texas played defense in its win over Kansas State last week and proclaimed that the Longhorns were back on track and able to stop the opposition’s offense from running (and throwing) wild.
No so fast there, partner.
While UT certainly bottled up the Wildcats and dominated in some parts of the game, Saturday’s road contest [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]against Iowa State actually will be a more telling indicators of just where the Longhorns’ defense is.
“Anytime you go through the few weeks that we that we went through, you start to wonder, you know, ‘are we as good as we think we are?’” Texas coach Tom Herman said Thursday. “’Can we do the things that we had hoped to do, and set out to do during the season and sort of be able to put together the three quarters that we did after the first quarter on both sides of the ball (last week)?’
“A lot of guys breathed a sigh of relief like ‘OK, yeah, this is us this this is who we can be, and there was a lot of confidence and energy this week.”
If the Cyclones, quarterbacked by sophomore sensation Brock Purdy, light up the Texas defense, it won’t be a surprise. After all, Purdy ranks fifth nationally in total offense with an average of 344.4 yards per game and leads the Big 12 and ranks sixth in the nation in passing yardage (316.6 yards per game).
Purdy has set or tied the following school marks this year: 300-yard passing games in a season (4), career 300-yard passing games (7), touchdown passes in a season (20), touchdown passes in a game (5) total offense in a game (510 yards), touchdowns responsible in a game (6) and completions in a game (39).
Many people, including Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, favorably compare Purdy to Texas junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger.
“The thing that’s similar about both of them is that they’re ferocious competitors,” Orlando said. “They never get rattled, they’re always trying to make a play and then (Purdy has) got accuracy. He gets the ball out of his hands really quick. So it’s hard to get to him.”
Texas doesn’t want to get into a shootout with the Cyclones, but has plenty of offensive firepower to do so if it has to.
Vegas has Iowa State favored by a touchdown, which, by the way, is a first. Texas has been the odds-on favorite to win each of the 16 games in this series by spreads ranging from 25 points in 2006 to just one point last season. ISU head coach Matt Campbell has beaten every Big 12 team except the Longhorns.
“No. 1, they’re pretty darn good, right?,” Campbell said this week. “You turn the film on, and you talk about a team that oozes excellence.”
Time will tell if that oozing translates into a win.
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