Told you we would win. But seriously folks, I’ve never been in a stadium and witnessed such a muted response to a field goal to take the lead with seven seconds left from the winning team’s fans.  It seemed that 46,000 or so Texas fans were as scared as I was that Kyler Murray would somehow score again. Before the eight-minute stretch of the fourth quarter when Oklahoma scored three touchdowns, the Texas fans were as loud and raucous a crowd as I’ve been a part of since 1974 when I started attending games on a regular basis—certainly the loudest since the 2008 OU game.

More than just because of the excitement of the moment, from my perspective as a Longhorn Football critic, the Longhorns on Saturday were a team worthy of being excited about, admired, and respected which made my cheering and the afterglow of victory all the more satisfying.  I like this team. I like what Tom Herman is developing.  I don’t think this string of wins is the fool’s gold of the OU win in 2015 or the Notre Dame win in 2016.  That doesn’t mean the Horns won’t skin their knee once or twice before the season is over, but I think it’s safe to have higher expectations for this team than we’ve had for the last several years.

What I liked about Texas on Saturday

1. Hanging out at the fair after the game Saturday, I heard a Texas fan say game balls go to Lil Jordan Humphrey and Colin Johnson. I agree they were great but if there was only one game ball to give, it goes to Sam Ehlinger. Before the season I was far from sold on Ehlinger. I thought he was a game-losing turnover waiting to happen but now he has four straight games without a turnover and has the longest interception free streak in Longhorn history. He’s become a real pocket passer to go along with his running ability which was monumentally huge on Saturday with three touchdown runs.
2. I wanted to strangle whoever the Texas offensive linemen were (I didn’t know who they were during the game) flagged for holding three times on two crucial fourth quarter possessions. Overall though, the offensive line played another good game allowing only one sack and creating enough space for Ehlinger, Ingram, and Watson to average 4.7 yards per carry.
3. Cameron Dicker, wow.
4. The offensive game plan and play calling were the best I can recall in a long, long time. Several people who watched on television thought they could tell that Herman was calling the plays. Maybe so, but play calling is as much or more about the plays that are included in the game plan going in as the play calls themselves. Hats off to the offensive staff.
5. As shell-shocked as I was when Oklahoma tied the game with 2:38 left in the fourth quarter, I was reasonably confident that Ehlinger could drive the team down the field for the winning score. Of course I didn’t dare utter that to my seatmates at the time. Maybe this should be #1 instead of #5.

Cause for concern going forward

1. Todd Orlando, what the hell was the problem with your defense in the fourth quarter? From an Xs and Os standpoint, I have no clue what was going on but it looked like the defense was tired and was choking to death. I didn’t see it from my seat in the upper deck but I read today that P.J. Locke was adjusting his equipment when the ball was snapped on the 77-yard touchdown he gave up during OU’s fourth quarter run. I told my son Bob during the first half I didn’t understand why he plays at all. He misses lots of tackles and assignments. Isn’t it time to see if the next man up can play better?
2. The punter Ryan Bujcevski isn’t cutting it. Again, isn’t it time to see if the next man up can do better?

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Most importantly, on to Baylor.

HooK ‘Em,

W.E.

OU Over/Under Results

It was another hotly contested Over/Under with a big field befitting of the occasion. Helen Frink and Mark Adams tied for first with nine correct answers. Helen won in the tiebreaker for picking both winners (Wisconsin and Florida) against the line. Mark had Wisconsin but faltered with his pick of LSU.  It turned out not to be a factor but Helen deserves further props for predicting the final score of Texas-OU would 42-38 Texas.

David Bergstrom and David Frink tied for second with seven correct.