Texas football, surprisingly, is being carried by its defense

By Steve Habel/Senior Editor

AUSTIN, Texas — A third of the way into the 2017 season, the Texas football team has become a defensive force, a situation no one could have predicted after the Longhorns returned basically the same defensive players who suffered through, statistically, the worst two years in the program’s history.

Stranger things have happened, but not much stranger.

The Longhorns’ defense is getting it done by flying [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]to the ball and playing with reckless abandon … and having fun. That attitude and execution have allowed Texas rebound from an abysmal start to the year to a team that has made its own opportunities the past three games.

No one is saying the Longhorns’ 17-7 win Sept. 28 over Iowa State was pretty, but a victory on the road against one of the Big 12 Conference’s rising teams was something to savor.

The Longhorns’ defense dominated, holding a Cyclones offense that had had scored at least 41 points in each of its first three games to one touchdown and just 10 yards rushing on 15 carries.

The Longhorns finished with a 312-256 advantage in total offense — nothing to crow about, but enough to get the job done.

“I’m really proud of the way that our defense has played the last three weeks,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “They’re playing at a level that we can certainly win with. We will continue to try to develop an identity offensively.”

The difficulty Texas (2-2 overall, 1-0 in Big 12 games) is having on offense hinges on its ability bounce back from injuries.

Sophomore quarterback Shane Buechele, who started the season-opening loss to Maryland, missed the San Jose State and USC games with a bruised throwing shoulder. He returned against Iowa State and passed for 171 yards, but suffered a sprained ankle that has him in a walking boot but not missing practice.

The Longhorns also have had two offensive tackles go down with injuries — most notably All-America Connor Williams, who suffered a left knee sprain and torn meniscus in the USC game — and lost starting tight end Andrew Beck to a broken foot in preseason drills.

Most of UT’s issues have come from its inability to mount a consistent running game. Among Iowa State’s varied defensive scheme was one that had just three players rushing the quarterback.

“Given the injuries we’ve had, you’ve got to change your expectations a little bit,” Herman said. “Here’s where there’s a caveat to that, though: if they’re dropping eight into coverage and not supporting the run with their safeties and only playing a three-man front, we have to run the football. There’s no other alternative, and we did it at times. We had 13 plays (all runs), (on a) seven-and-a-half-minute drive to end the game.”

The Longhorns expect a tough, physical game this Saturday when they host Kansas State (3-1, 1-0 in Big 12), a team that is nearly their mirror image. Herman lauded Wildcats quarterback Jason Ertz, who will be the first option-run threat that Texas has seen since week 1.

“Kansas State recruits tough guys at (quarterback),” Herman explained, “and they play tough guys at that position. And there’s a lot of single wing principles to their offense, when the quarterback is the main ball carrier, and when you’re tough you don’t go down easy, you turn what might be a four- or five-yard gain into a 12-yard gain, or you step through that last arm tackle and turn it into a 25-yard gain.”

This and that:

• The team announced that Williams has decided he would not have surgery on his injured left knee, opting instead for a rehab regimen that could allow him to come back to the team by the end of this season.

• Quarterback Shane Buechele is wearing a walking boot off the field this week to protect a sprained ankle but is practicing with the team and is expected to start against Kansas State.

• Herman said that backup quarterback and erstwhile wide receiver Jerrod Heard suffered a gash in his hand last week when he was stepped on in practice that needed 19 stitches to close.

• Safety DeShon Elliott was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for the second straight week while punter Michael Dickson earned the nod for conference Special Teams Player of the Week.

• Kansas State coach Bill Snyder will turn 78 Saturday.

[/s2If] [s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] [article-offer] [/s2If]