Welcome to the Extra Points, our weekly college wrap-up at Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. This is your one stop to quickly get up to date with all the most important FBS happenings in the state from Week 4.
Texas passes another test
AUSTIN -- For the first time since the 2015 season, Texas has a winning streak against ranked opponents.
No. 17 TCU had won five of the last six games against Texas, and held the Longhorns to 10 or fewer points each year since 2014. But on Saturday, Texas took control in a 31-16 victory over the Horned Frogs in Austin.
“It was a great team win,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “Our defense carried us when we needed them to. It was tough sledding. We knew this was not going to be a 45-7 game, it was going to be an ugly, hard-fought, physical game.”
For a half, it was very much that. Neither Texas nor TCU could get much going with any consistency offensively. Both teams sold out to stop the run, and the quarterbacks weren’t capitalizing with much consistency.
But in the second half, Texas’ offense got going. The defense forcing four TCU turnovers sure didn’t hurt either. By the end, Texas’ depth and freshness stood apart in one of the biggest home conference wins in half a decade.
“Managing success is something we talked a lot about last Sunday,” Herman said. “Our family, the guys that sit in the team media room – our coaches, players, strength staff – those are the opinions that solely matter."
The Longhorns were fresh off an energetic win against No. 22 USC a week ago. TCU was just a few plays away from beating No. 4 Ohio State in Arlington. Regardless, TCU was adamant that it was not an emotional letdown. Texas just outplayed them.
“I think you guys got to give Texas credit,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “They’re doing what they need to do on offense to win ballgames, and they’re letting their defense win the ballgame for them. It’s a good game plan. We know that game plan very well. That’s how we’ve been here 21 years sometimes.”
Before the season, a four-game stretch on Texas’ schedule stood apart: vs. USC, vs. TCU, at Kansas State, vs. Oklahoma in Dallas.
The Longhorns had beaten TCU just once since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12. Same with the Wildcats in Manhattan, Kan., though that streak dates back to 2002. Texas has been more frisky against Oklahoma, but the Longhorns have still lost six out of the last eight games since Colt McCoy graduated.
“We have to take it week by week,” Texas offensive guard Patrick Vahe said. “You can’t overlook any other opponent because it’s college football and anything can happen. Really, it just takes a humbling experience. We’re preparing to make sure that we take care of business and go 1-0 each week.”
Two games into the streak, Texas is off to a tremendous start. Both wins against USC and TCU weren’t particularly close by the end. But now, it’s about not getting lost.
“Winning week in and week out in this program is extremely hard,” Herman said. “I thought our guys handled it extremely well.”
Sign In