In need of a bounce-back win, the Texas Longhorns got just that on Saturday afternoon as they convincingly crossed the West Virginia Mountaineers, 38-20.
Here are some first thoughts of Texas’ first conference win of the season.
Texas closed. Better yet, they didn’t budge, which in turn eliminated the need for the Longhorns to close in crunch time as they enjoyed a comfortable lead in the stretch. And that was the troubling theme for Steve Sarkisian’s show: building remarkable leads to wipe them out. The flow of the game fluctuated a bit in the second half, limiting the number of scoring runs the offense had any chance of, but aside from the hesitation given Texas’ recent woes with blowing leads, the outcome was never really in doubt given how quickly opened. .
Hudson Card continues to grow every time. In his third start of the season and in what felt like a must-win for 2-2 Texas, the junior put in the best performance of his career, scoring 21-of-27 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. There were a few throws he would love to have back, but for the most part he played his game, remained calm under pressure and found his playmakers were constantly moving the chain and putting points up, giving him five straight touchdown drives. led (save for the incomplete swell to end the first half) to put Texas in control, 35-7 early in the third. Going forward, Texas may welcome freshman Quinn Ewers to his role as QB1, but in his absence, Card will stand his ground, proving that Texas can win games with him behind center.
Hi, Xavier Worthy. The Texas star receiver has had a pretty slow start to the first third season, but he was nothing short of a game-changer on Saturday. He netted the first score of the game, then reversed his role and threw a 33-yard touchdown to Ja’Tavion Sanders on the next drive. Later, Worthy picked up a 44-yarder from Card to give Texas an impressive 28-0 lead and deliver another touchdown after the break, using incredible focus and body control to secure a tipped 45-yard touchdown pass . All in all, Worthy looked like himself, helping the Horns flash their explosive uplift by taking seven catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns, along with his touchdown pass.
This is the kind of gig Texas needed to get into the Red River Showdown. After arguably their worst game of the season last week, the Longhorns looked arguably the best they’ve had yet. Sure there will be a few chances they’ll want back on both sides of the ball and especially in the secondary, but in general the defense flew around playing aggressive and disciplined, and the attack was executed and almost scored points. out every time. In addition, Texas looked like the confident couple we saw against Alabama, and this time it resulted in a double-digit conference win. Build on it now and go beat OU.
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