I rarely feel sorry for Texas players after a loss. This is one of those rare occasions. From midway through the third quarter until Texas’ last possession that started with 4:01 left in the game, this Longhorn team played with a grit I didn’t know they had. The sputtering offense scored touchdowns on consecutive drives of 10 plays for 80 yards and 15 plays of 89 yards between the end of the third quarter and 5:37 left in the fourth to take the lead. From Iowa State’s second possession of the second half, the defense held Iowa State to a field goal, three punts, and a turnover on downs to keep Texas in the game. In my opinion, the players did what they needed to do to win. That disastrous offside penalty on Iowa State’s field goal should have never happened because Iowa State should not have been in position for the winning kick.
If only Tom Herman had put the ball in Sam Ehlinger’s hands when Texas had a chance to ice the win. I wrote on Friday that I feared an impending disaster because of the way Herman handled end of game situations. For all of “Mensa Boy’s” intelligence and arrogance, he seems to have no instinctive feel for situational football. Especially end of game situations. I’ve wondered for years in football and basketball what would happen if the players just played with no coaches. What if Ehlinger was calling the plays on Texas’ last possession? I think Texas wins. It’s a shame when the coaches get in the way.
In a column I wrote 10 days ago, I questioned whether Herman and his staff sold out during the season and prioritized winning now over recruiting for the future. After the Iowa State loss, there’s not much left to play for this season. So I’m changing my tune; Herman and his staff should prioritize recruiting right now so hopefully in the future he will have such an overwhelming talent advantage that his deficiencies as an in-game coach don’t matter.
Hook ‘Em,
W.E.
Over/Under Results
When the average score was 4.6, Reed Ramlow turned in a dominating performance with nine correct answers to win the Iowa State Over/Under. David Frink also performed well above the average with seven correct answers to take sole possession of second place.
Mike Frank and Mark Stephan tied for third with six correct answers.
W.E.
