In what would ultimately be the highest total scoring game in the history of the Red River Showdown, the game lived up to its name in historic fashion. Dicker the Kicker of Austin Lake Travis nailed a 40-yard go-ahead field goal with seconds left in the game Saturday a the Cotton Bowl.
No. 19 Longhorns get a huge victory for Tom Herman’s young team with a 48-45 win on Saturday over No. 7 Oklahoma after a heart racing 4th quarter push by the Sooners late at the Red River Showdown. The Longhorns had a lead 45-24 into the fourth quarter but offensively looked rattled through a series of conservative calls. For a the top half of the 4th quarter it looked like Texas was self destructing. However, Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger, looked good all day, put a final game winning drive with about 2:38 left to get the Horns into field goal range. Texas has won five straight on the season and the first over Oklahoma since 2015.
Is Texas Back in the race for a Big 12 Title?
The season is a third of the way into its games and the Horns are looking good at this point with big wins this season over top ranked USC, TCU and now Oklahoma.
Herman has a history for being an underdog. He’s now 10-4 overall and 13-1 versus the spread in similar games. Texas will likely be the favorite for its remaining match ups .
The Horns will host Baylor at DKR next week on Oct 13th where they are so far undefeated at home in 2018.
Texas will get a chance to execute some much needed revenge against its 2006 National Title rival USC at DKR in Austin this weekend. Texas who was an underdog in last years contest at the Trojans came up just three points short in a double overtime thriller loosing 27-24 when freshman Chase McGrath hit a walk-off field goal to end the game.
Things are different this season as the music has changed song and to another venue for this renewed rivalry of recent years. Vince Young and Matt Leinart danced to their own tune with Texas’ 41-38 victory in that famous Rose Bowl match-up 13 years ago.
This year we get to witness the trilogy conclusion in this exciting match-up this weekend.
Sam Ehlinger’s turnovers last season as a freshman were key in the Trojans victory.
However, last year the game in Los Angeles was scoreless until 2:40 before halftime. The Longhorns tied the game shortly after when Darnold’s pass was tipped off receiver Jalen Greene’s hands and DeShon Elliott caught it for a 38-yard TD interception return.
The Trojans this year are coming off a loss as QB JT Daniels went 16-34 for 215 yards and threw two late 4th quarter interceptions against Stanford last week. It was far from his performance against UNLV in week 1 in the 2nd half.
While Texas’ defense has beefed up some despite loosing some big names like Elliot and Conner Williams, the horns escaped with a W at home last week hosting the Golden Hurricane. Unlike the Maryland game in week 1 the Longhorns took a 21-0 lead into half and coming out with a quick start at DKR against Tulsa. Both these teams sputtered offensively in the 2nd half of last weeks games. I think both teams will come out throwing the ball and being aggressive.
I’m not sure what the music will play out like this Saturday Night on the 40 acres, but If I had to guess, we are going to be tuned in for a good one. I expect this game to be a shootout with the edge slightly going to the Texas defense.
Horns enact some much needed revenge this week against the Trojans.
Texas Sports Monthly is predicting that it will be week 6 of the 2018 NFL Season before Austin Texas’ very own Westlake Chaparral Drew Brees will be the NFL’s All-Time Passing leader. Brees will pass Hall of Fame QB Brett Farve the week before in Week 5 likely. Brees was 37-of 45 in week one this season putting up 439 yards and 3 TD’s in the loss against Tampa Bay.
Given the age of the competition, it is unlikely that anyone in Drew’s generation will catch up to the future Hall of Fame QB in passing yards.
We believe that Drew will ultimately be on top for many years to come with NFL passing. Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers are currently at 8th and 9th on the list while Eli Manning is amazingly only 5 short from his older brother Peyton. While Manning may be on top for the next few weeks, Drew will reclaim the passing title this October. Yet Tom Brady, who is older than Brees, is closing in on #9’s numbers. The biggest challenge for the GOAT (if he is indeed the greatest of all time), is can Tom Brady continue to play and stay on the field longer than Drew Brees?
Only time will tell and it is likely that Brady will be 2nd to the one time Westlake Chap of west Austin Texas. TSM believes that while some believe Brady may be one of the greatest QB to every play the game on Sundays, # 9 will edge out the GOAT as the # 1 all time passing leader in NFL History.
Go Drew!
Drew Brees #9 QB New Orleans Saints | Official Team SiteHeight: 6-0 Weight: 209 Age: 39 Born: 1/15/1979 Austin , TX College: Purdue Experience: 18th season High School: Westlake HS [Austin, TX]
The Longhorns will have a chance to play for a Big 12 Championship this season and possibly boast a 9-2 Record overall. At least that is the hope for this Texas Fan. But, the Horns will be better by a few wins this year due to an improved offense and a defense that is young and building a foundation. As Hunter Cooke pointed out the other day on this site, the Big 12 is the weakest conference out of the Power 5 in 2018.
Herman’s young team needs to improve on the offensive side of the ball this year if they are to get to double digit wins and his pair of young QBs will have to settle down sand have some composure in the pocket for this to happen this fall. The Texas class this spring was #3 in the nation and Herman’s quote from national signing day gave hope for the fan base on the 40 acres.
Key Quote: “There’s going to be a lot of competition on the defensive side. On both sides of the ball really. But I think we all can see, whoa, that side of the ball just got real in a hurry,” Herman said of the defensive outlook on National Signing Day. “To sign the three best safeties in the country (Caden Sterns and B.J. Foster), as well as what we think are the two best corners in the country, Jalen Green and D’Shawn Jamison, then the two best defensive tackles in the state in Moro Ojomo and Keondre Coburn, then the best pass-rusher in the state with Joseph Ossai, then Mike Williams and Daniel Carson as well.”
The defense led by Todd Orlando should be the a nice surprise in 2018. Brandon Jones is a big factor since the loss of DeShon Elliot to the NFL. DBU boast seniors Davante Davis, PJ Locke , & Kris Boyd, along with a several freshman defensive backs in Jalen Green, Anthony Cook, and Caden Sterns, along with Turner Symonds & BJ Foster. While we are optimistic this year after Herman’s first season going 7-6 with a bowl win, Horns fans are hungry for more than a mediocre season after some hard years under Charlie Strong. We think that the record will vastly improve this season and the record in 2018 will go up a few wins.
Our prediction is that Herman’s sophomore year will earn a few more wins in 2018 and gain back fans loyalty at Texas. The Horns should improve to a 9-2 record based on conference strength and a better looking offense and a young defense with several players returning.
Despite much of the headlines on Maryland following the recent death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair. Practice sessions have been shortened to less than two hours, with time for breaks. “The focus of our player’s health and safety is No. 1, and our players are feeling that and understanding that,” Canada said before leading the team onto the field.
Back home here in Austin Texas freshmen Ayodele Adeoye and DeMarvion Overshown will not play against Maryland as both players are diagnosis with respective knee injuries, UT trainers announced Wednesday. Both these injures will slow the linebacker spot for the Horns this week, even though Overshown is listed as defensive back he’s been practicing the LB position.
It is still unclear if these Freshman will perform against Maryland two and a half weeks from today.
TSM: I know as a coach, you all like taking it one game at a time, but how sweet would it be to bring Westlake its first state championship since Drew Brees was quarterbacking back in 1996?
Coach Dodge: Oh gosh, it would be awesome. It would be something that obviously this entire student body would carry for the rest of their lives, not only the football team. We were basically 15 seconds away two years ago and that was a heartbreaker. To miss a field goal to win it with about 15 seconds left in the game, that’s how close we were to getting the second one. But now you got to start all over again. But it absolutely would be a thrill and something we’re always striving for. Our goals our to win a district championship, and then to be playing Thanksgiving. That means you made it to the final 16 in the state, and once you get there, you can really just let everything fly and see if you can’t go make a run at it.
What can you say about the job Eanes Independent School District does in giving you the resources you need to run a successful high school football program?
I think that we get everything that we need, between our budget from our school district and obviously the great facilities that we have. Our school district has really dedicated itself to turf fields. That’s a big plus. We have four 100-yard turf fields on campus, so that’s a real benefit to us, all of our sports. And then we got a tremendous booster club, a lot of hard-working parents that really support us. I’m very, very pleased.
Rivalries are one of the funnest aspects of sports. Y’all got a pretty good one with this Westlake/Lake Travis deal, which many consider the biggest game in Central Texas. What are the benefits of having a rival like Lake Travis?
Oh, I just think it’s just special for high school football players in schools. It’s part of the whole high school experience. I mean, I think everybody can remember back to their high school days what the big rival was. It’s just part of the great history of Texas High School football. There’s always a lot of memories that are surrounding those, so I think it’s really good for the kids.
How do you feel about what y’all return on offense going into the season?
Well, right now I have a lot of confidence in our four returning starters on our offensive line, so we got some guys up there, and that’s not the norm. You usually don’t have that many coming back in an offensive line, and then, obviously, our running back, Nakia Watson, those are the proven factors in our offense. Everybody else, all the other skill position people, I’ve really been pleased and excited about what this group can be. We’re just really, really young and inexperienced in a lot of places. We’re not alone. There’s a whole lot of people who are like that, but I’m very, very optimistic about our young receiving core.
How do you feel about the state of the defense with the season-opener right around the corner?
That’s got to be the strength of our team right now, is our defense, because of all of the veterans that we have on that side of the ball. We got seven bonafide returning starters. We got probably four or five other guys that have played quite a bit. So that’s really, really going to have to be our strength. We expect our defense to play well. We’ve played really good defense since we’ve been here, and we expect for it to continue.
If you could challenge Coach Carter to a game of anything not football-related for a charity of your choice, what game would you choose and what charity would you like the funds donated to?
I would challenge him to a game of washers. Either washers or horseshoes, either one. The charity that I would send the money to would be the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Austin, that organization. I think that’s awesome to be mentors for young kids.
When it comes down to the big question, who will start at quarterback for Texas, the answer is as clear as day. It’s Sam Ehlinger, full stop.
Look, Shane Buechele isn’t a bad guy, or even a bad quarterback. Tom Herman is in a great position here, he has to pick between two solid quarterbacks.
Sam is more than a statline, but his statline is great. He threw for 380 yards on a Bill Snyder coached Kansas State team. That doesn’t happen every day. And in the same game, he rushed for 107 yards, and had a highlight moment truck of a K-State DB.
He nearly led the Longhorns to victory in overtime against USC, and he finally accomplished the overtime win. Statistically, by wins and losses, Ehlinger leads Buechele on the season, 2-1 vs. 1-2.
It’s not merely a statline though…Ehlinger has “it”.
It’s the it you talk about with a capital I, the it that stands for pure moxie, swagger, whatever you want to call it. He’s simply a leader on the field, in a way that comes naturally. With Shane Buechele at the helm, it feels possible that Texas comes back. With Sam Ehlinger leading the charge, it feels inevitable that Texas returns to glory.
And that’s all it will take, is time. The Longhorns are insanely young, the two young men we’re talking about aren’t juniors yet.
It’s not a hard call for Herman. You play the hot hand, the guy that gives you the best chance to win, the chance to finally make it back to the limelight. That man is Sam Ehlinger, and he’ll prove it time and time again.
The Longhorns have Oklahoma next, and if Sam Ehlinger doesn’t trot out to take the first snap, it’ll be a colossal mistake on Herman’s part. He’s got the stats and he’s got the guts. The only thing missing is the go-ahead from the boss.
What did the USC game teach us about Tom Herman’s Young team?
By Hunter Cooke
Texas very nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season when they traveled to USC and lost to the Trojans in double overtime. With everything that went on, what did we learn about this Texas team?
They have a good situation at quarterback – Tom Herman has a good decision ahead of him. Does he start Sam Ehlinger, the young freshman who dazzled in California? Or, does he go with the veteran, Shane Buechele, who was solid for them last season?
It’s a good problem to have, even if he makes the wrong call he knows he has a quarterback that can fill in adequately. Herman just has to make sure he doesn’t platoon them, he’ll need to clearly define those roles, and know that he can change it if things go south.
Todd Orlando’s defense is for real – Orlando’s defense fought hard against Sam Darnold and the Trojans. They had some very impressive plays against USC, and it started with the resurgence of Malik Jefferson, the wunderkind linebacker.
Texas has long had the talent to compete on a national level, but that talent has finally metastasized into a team, something that has long been missing on the 40 Acres. Texas will still have to play Baker Mayfield and Mason Rudolph, so there’s a major chance that they can steal a few games here and there if this defense can keep the pace they’re on.
Collin Johnson can absolutely ball – Texas desperately needs to start force-feeding Johnson the ball, because he can do incredible things when he actually gets his hands on it. The sophomore is on track to have a breakout season, and there’s little doubt in anyone’s mind that he can do serious damage in the open field.
Give him the ball more, Tim Beck, and do it sooner rather than later.
