The quarterback got hurt, the coach got a little “too cute”, and Texas barely survived a tougher than expected grudge match, 31-24, against Houston. The Longhorns turned in another inconsistent performance against the Houston Cougars and that’s putting it mildly. Texas dominated at the start and seemed poised to run away with it before Houston gave the visitors a scare.
The game was the first action for Texas (5-1, 3-1) after its loss to Oklahoma two weeks ago. The Longhorns seemed ready to unleash all the angst from that painful defeat against Houston. That was until the Cougars flipped the script and took the game down to the wire.
The Longhorns appeared to shake off the malaise that plagued them throughout the first half of the season. They seemed on the verge of a blowout win before Houston clawed its way back. Texas struggled to eke out a victory over a heavy underdog. The win kept hopes alive for a conference title, which Texas fans will surely cling to as they look forward to next week’s home game with BYU.
Texas Wins Grudge Match Over Houston
Make It Make Sense
The Longhorns were favored by three touchdowns coming into the game and appeared ready to prove the oddsmakers correct. The offense was hitting on all cylinders and the defense smothered Houston from the beginning. Texas overwhelmed the Cougars and led by three touchdowns before the game was 18 minutes old. The Longhorns were about to exorcise the demons from the Oklahoma game and cruise to victory against Houston.
Flash forward to how it ended. Quinn Ewers finished the game wearing a sling after sustaining an injury. He was one of several Longhorns who got hurt. Backup Maalik Murphy came into the game and attempted two passes while Texas leaned on the running attack to salvage the win. Texas was underwhelming on defense for the second game in a row. Head Coach Steve Sarkisian called a trick play on special teams that Houston stuffed, then went down the field on offense and got back into the game. Sarkisian’s trick play didn’t cost the Longhorns the game, but his decision to go with a gimmick when his team was in control may raise eyebrows among Texas fans. One of the few bright spots of the day was Oklahoma’s lackluster performance in a 31-29 win against UCF, giving Texas fans hope for a rematch with the Sooners down the road.
How It All Went Left
The Longhorns started the game like they were still angry over the Oklahoma game and took it out on Houston. Ewers completed 7 of 8 passes for 61 yards including a 14-yard strike to Adonai Mitchell. The march was on from that moment and Texas raced to a 21-0 lead.
Then the game turned into a grudge match. Houston quarterback Donovan Smith revived the Cougars in a way that may have had Texas experiencing a brooding sense of déjà vu. Smith played for Texas Tech last season when he led the Red Raiders to a win over the Longhorns. The game changed once he started clicking. Smith finished with 378 yards on 32 of 46 passing, hitting nine different receivers in the process.
However, the turning point of the game came before halftime when Sarkisian called a fake field goal that bombed and gave Houston a spark. Ahead 21-7 with 2:33 before the half, placeholder Ryan Sanborn took the snap and threw a pass to kicker Bert Auburn that failed to get a first down. Houston took over on downs and scored less than two minutes later to draw within 21-14 and set the stage for a nailbiter in the second half.
Ewers Gets Injured
Things went from bad to worse when Ewers came out of the game with an apparent collarbone injury early in the fourth quarter. He finished 23 of 29 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns, but none of that matters anymore. The sophomore has been a big part of the Longhorns’ success this year despite committing three turnovers against Oklahoma. Ewers can ease a lot of concerns by returning to health this week.
Ewers wasn’t the only Longhorn to suffer an injury. Linebacker Jett Bush got hurt early in the second quarter and did not return. Elsewhere on defense, edge rusher Ethan Burke left the game with an injured knee, lineman Alfred Collins was hurt, and cornerback Gavin Holmes went out.
Was It Really That Bad?
This question is a redux from the Oklahoma loss two weeks ago. The answer, unlike before, is an unequivocal YES! The Longhorns are in trouble and better play the rest of the season at DEFCON 1 if they entertain any hopes of making it to the Big 12 Championship in December. They can’t afford to look past anybody as they return home to host BYU next week.
The defense that imploded at the end of the Oklahoma game was on full display for much of the day against Houston. Ewers’ health is a major concern going forward. Murphy may have to shoulder the workload after barely seeing any action all season. The coaching staff has opened itself to criticism based on everything from having the team prepared to play calling to game management.
At the top of the list of concerns is the defense. It’s a unit that padded its statistics against backup quarterbacks but looked frail in the last two games. BYU quarterback Kedon Slovis and the Cougars’ coaching staff must be licking their chops as they look ahead to next weekend. And with Texas warming up its own backup quarterback the next few days, the situation for the Longhorns seems precarious at best. The BYU game is suddenly shaping up to be the turning point of the season one way or the other.
The Natives Are Getting Restless
At the risk of saying ‘we told you so’, the college football world was notified over the summer about the Houston grudge match. Texas fans have gone from circling the wagons to setting them on fire. They lit up the social media landscape before their beloved Longhorns even stepped off the field. Among the prime targets of their ire was a defensive secondary that got torched yet again.
It wasn’t as if they haven’t seen this before. Smith picked apart the Texas defense for 331 yards and two scores last year when he led Texas Tech to a win over the Longhorns. The defensive secondary didn’t get much help from the team’s front seven despite Burke, Collins, and Anthony Hill Jr. each recording a sack. Every aspect of the Texas program was taking heat in the aftermath of the Houston game. That is including how Sarkisian is being viewed in his third season in charge. It all adds up to what should be an interesting week ahead in Austin.
