The Worlds Record Has Been Broken Plus Dicker Kicks Winning Field Goal

Veterans Day - November 11, 2019
Thank You For Your Service

Let's start by saying "Thank You" to all those men and women in uniform.  We are blessed

We live in such a great country - thank you for your service!

World Record

The oldest living couple in the world according to the Guinness World Records lives right here in Austin, Texas.

John Henderson and wife, Charlotte will be married 80 years in December.  John is 106 and Charlotte is 105.

To make this story even better, John was a guard on the longhorns back in 1934.  He is also the oldest living former UT football player.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Henderson - Hook'em!

Highlights For The Week

The University of Texas at Austin was the place to be this past week.

• Texas beat Kansas State
• Dicker kicks a field goal to win the game
• Keaontay Ingram comes alive
• Jimmy Fallon aired The Tonight Show at UT

Five Questions: Kansas State

By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer

What was the most important part of the Texas Longhorns’ win over Kansas State?

The Longhorns have shown all season long that they are a never-say-die bunch, but they showed particular resilience Saturday in the face of some serious adversity. They trailed, 14-0, after two Wildcat possessions but never seemed to panic, eventually tying the game on their first possession of the second half, and outside of allowing a 98-yard kickoff return, dominating the final two and a half quarters.

Texas coach Tom Herman was quick to point out during his postgame press conference that plenty of negative “misinformation” about his team had been reported about his team in the two weeks between its Oct. 26 loss at TCU and the win Saturday.

He also said that some of the things that were reported, about a disconnect between the team’s older and younger players in the locker room and finger-pointing and blame between teammates, could not have been possible on a team that played so well and worked hard together to win Saturday against the Wildcats.

“Teams that are all those things (that were reported), they splinter, and it turns into a blowout,” Herman said. “They wave the white flag, and it could have been a really, really bad scene in DKR. The things that this crew has been through these last few weeks, to overcome what they overcame, it was special.

“I'm really proud of them. The win is obviously very important for us.”

What was the biggest series of the game?

Texas took over the ball in a game tied at 24 with 6:45 to play and never gave it back to the Wildcats, driving 67 yards in 13 plays to Cameron Dicker’s game-winning 26-yard field goal at the final gun.

“We pride ourselves on our clock management,” Herman said. “You've seen that time and time again. To take possession with 6:45 in a tie ballgame and then get a win and with double zeros on the clock 13 plays and 67 yards later, that's pretty impressive.”

Two plays and 36 yards on the drive were gained with passes to Devin Duvernay, who had nine catches for 110 yards in the win. A 9-yard run by Keaontay Ingram set the table for the Horns to try to get into the end zone but eventually settle for Dicker’s deciding field goal.

“You just gotta keep fighting,” Duvernay said. “That’s been the mindset these past two weeks. Like Coach Herman said, just keep fighting, keep fighting, keep fighting.”

And that’s what the Longhorns did … and will have to keep doing.

What was the biggest play of the game?

A no-brainer here: it was Dicker’s game-winning kick. For the second time in three games, the sophomore kicker’s right foot was the difference (he also hit the deciding kick Oct. 19 against Kansas), and he strode on to the field and executed like it was just another day at the park.

Dicker was photographed before the game in the team parade into the football complex with his shirt completely unbuttoned under his sport jacket and his burnt orange tie pulled loose and hanging, giving off the carefree vibe of a college kid who couldn’t wait to shed the formal clothes as quickly as possible.

He explained afterward that getting to that look is his normal routine each week in preparation for his pre-game warmup.

“After Bevo Boulevard,” Dicker explained. “I walk through, do everything. As I go past everybody and walk up the ramp where nobody else can see me — nobody except Longhorn Network, I guess — I just start unbuttoning and leave my tie loose so I can get in the locker room, change and go warm up.”

Whatever works, young man. It was Dicker’s third game-winning kick in his 22 games on the Forty Acres over the past two seasons.

“Everybody's really happy. They're celebrating this win tonight but we all know we need to come in and get to work,” Dicker said. “I'm just happy to go out there and kick it through so everybody can celebrate.”

Has the real Keaontay Ingram come to life?

Ingram rushed for a career-high 139 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, averaging 8.7 yards per tote, all against one of the toughest defenses to run against in the Big 12.

It was his third game this season in which he has run for at least 100 yards, and his 34-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was his longest rush of the season. Ingram now has 633 yards rushing in nine games.

One of Herman’s concerns about Ingram is that he needs to run with more patience, an aspect of a running back’s game that comes with experience and trust. The sophomore ballcarrier took a huge step forward in that aspect Saturday against Kansas State.

“We knew how explosive Ingram is when he accelerates, but you've got to let the things develop,” Herman said. “As a running back, you've got to make a decision and you've got to live with it at full freaking speed, and there were times in the past where he'd make a decision that wasn't exactly what I thought it was, and then it was try to bounce around and make something else happen.

“He didn't do that tonight. He made a decision, and once you make that first decision, it's your job to make it right, and he did that.”

Herman said Ingram is playing at 230 pounds and with plenty of confidence.  As the final quarter of the season approaches, Ingram is playing at his best. "I feel I approach every game angry,” Ingram said. “I had a good game today, but I feel like there’s still plenty more in the tank.”

It was not that long ago when many were thinking Roschon Johnson, the backup-quarterback-turned-running-back might be the best option for the majority of the carries from the ballcarriers, but that talk has died.

“He’s a lot more confident in his strength and his power,” Herman said about Ingram. “The last few weeks, he’s been playing at a really good level.”

What’s next for the Longhorns?

Two of the final three games of the regular season are on the road, beginning with next Saturday in Ames against an Iowa State team that fell a two-point conversion short of beating No. 6 Oklahoma in its most recent game.

Then comes a road game against undefeated Baylor, and a final Black Friday contest against Texas Tech, a team that can go toe-to-toe with anyone, anytime.

The good news is that with the win over Kansas State, it is certain the Longhorns will have at least a 13th game this year because they are bowl-eligible.

“Obviously we put ourselves on the ropes, and we took a step towards swinging and clawing and scratching our way off,” Herman said about the win over Kansas State. “We know we've got to go on the road this week and continue to try to get off the ropes, but doing it with this level of confidence helps.

But there could be even a 14th contest, the Big 12 Championship game, if Texas keeps winning and it gets a little help from Oklahoma, which travels to Baylor this Saturday.

NEW YORK CITY

Jimmy Fallon of The Tonight Show came to Austin, Texas last week and everyone had a blast.  Thank you Jimmy Fallon and the entire Tonight Show cast and crew.