Texas-Iowa State pregame notes and quotes

Compiled by Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer

AUSTIN, Texas — No. 19 Texas heads north to Ames, Iowa to face dangerous and talented Iowa State Saturday, with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. CST at Jack Trice Stadium. The Longhorns (6-3 overall, 4-2 in Big 12 play) still have hope for a spot in the Big 12 Championship game, but the margin for error is minuscule with three regular-season games to play.

Iowa State (5-4 overall, 3-3 in Big 12 play) nearly upset No. 10 Oklahoma last week after [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]entering the fourth quarter down by 21 points. The Cyclones scored 20 unanswered points, but had their potential game-winning two-point conversion pass intercepted with 24 seconds remaining.

Here are some notes and quotes from the preparation for Saturday’s game:

• Texas is 14-2 all-time against the Cyclones and 2-0 against ISU under coach Tom Herman. The Longhorns hold a 6-1 record when competing in Ames, including a 17-7 win in 2017 in Herman’s first year on the 40 Acres.

• Herman has been on both sides of the Texas-Iowa State series. He was the Cyclones’ offensive coordinator from 2009-11 and helped Iowa State earn its first victory over the Longhorns in 2010. That game still stands as Iowa State’s lone victory in Austin.

• The two schools first met in 1979, when UT defeated Iowa State, 17-9, in Austin. They did not face off again until 1998, two years after the formation of the Big 12 Conference.

• Texas won its first seven matchups against the Cyclones, including a 56-3 victory in 2007 that stands as the largest margin of victory in the series by either side.

• Iowa State’s four losses this year were decided by one possession and by a combined 11 points, all to teams ranked in the first College Football Playoff poll: Iowa (18-17), Baylor (23-21), Oklahoma State (34-27), Oklahoma (42-41).

• Texas has had a 95-yard rusher in five of its last six outings, the best stretch for a Longhorn team since 2016. The Longhorns are 18-2 under Herman when outrushing their opponents, and have won 12 of the last 13 games in which they have had the more productive rushing attack.

• Iowa State has outgained its opponents in total yardage in seven of nine games this season (Baylor and Oklahoma were the exceptions). The Cyclones are outgaining their opponents by an average of 119.4 yards per game.

• Herman’s Texas teams are 9-0 when forcing at least three turnovers and are 16-4 when turning the ball over fewer than three times.

• Junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger has thrown for a touchdown and rushed for a touchdown in 11 of his last 22 games. He has rushed for at least one touchdown in nine of UT’s 10 games against ranked opponents since the start of the 2018 season and has thrown for at least 200 yards in all nine game this season.

• Senior wide receiver Devin Duvernay has made at least six catches in every game this season.

• The Longhorns have been ranked in at least one of the two major national polls in 25 of the last 26 weeks. That is the team’s best stretch in the polls since a school record-setting string of 191 straight weeks that ended in 2010.

• Iowa State is outscoring its opponents, 116-43, in the fourth quarter this season to rank second nationally in fourth quarter scoring differential (plus-73). The top four: Florida (plus-84), Iowa State, Ohio State (plus-64), Georgia (plus-60).

• The Cyclones’ defense has allowed just one team (Oklahoma) to score more than 30 offensive points this season, tying for third in the Big 12 in scoring defense (25.0).

• Iowa State sophomore quarterback Brock Purdy ranks fifth nationally in total offense at 344.4 yards per game. He leads the Big 12 and ranks sixth in the nation in passing yardage, averaging 316.6 yards per game through the air. He 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 for in a game (6) and completions in a game (39).

• Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando about Purdy: “His progression in terms of where he’s at is very similar to Sam (Ehlinger)’s. He really has command of what’s going on right now. They’ve done a really good job in his development.”
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