Texas got another shot at Maryland after last year's disastrous loss. But in Tom Herman's second attempt against Maryland in the season opener, the Terrapins handed Texas another loss. The Longhorns fell 34-29 at FedEx Field on Sunday. 

Sparking flashbacks of last year’s matchup, Maryland got out to a hot start and never looked back, as the No. 23 Longhorns will start out 0-1 for the second straight year.

Here are three takeaways from the game. 

Fourth quarter miscues continue to dismantle offense

As the Longhorns tried to turn over a new leaf to begin the 2018 season, deja vu struck late. Three turnovers in the final seven minutes of the game derailed a comeback attempt, mirroring many of Texas’ losses from a season ago.

With sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger another year more experienced, the hope was that the mistakes he made in his freshman campaign would be minimized as he continued to grow as a passer. Yet it was Ehlinger that threw two interceptions on the last three Longhorn drives, the second one just a lob into triple coverage.

If Texas is going to make strides as a team, it must come first from the quarterback position. The inability to finish games took a toll a year ago, as five of the six losses came by less than 10 points. Whether it’s Ehlinger or otherwise, the Longhorns are simply going to have to find a way to stop these late blunders.

Slow start digs hole early

It wasn’t just the finish of the race that Texas tripped up. Despite head coach DJ Durkin being on administrative leave, Maryland shot out to a fast start, shredding the Longhorn defense for 24 points in the first 20 minutes of play.

The youth in the secondary shone through in the first half, as the Terrapins were able to capitalize off several miscommunications and pass interference calls. Several players had solid individual performances, including Brandon Jones, who was all over the field in pass protection and in run defense. Yet early on, while the Texas offense failed to get in any sort of rhythm, the Maryland offensive attack moved the ball at ease.

After digging themselves into a 24-7 hole, the Longhorns were able to claw back to the lead late in the third quarter, but the damage was already done. The sluggish start would be too much to overcome in the end.

When the run game finds footing, offense ignites

The old football-ism “establish the run” began to ring true on Saturday. The only problem for Texas was that it took nearly 25 minutes of gameplay to begin to run the ball effectively. As soon as the Longhorns began to pound the football between the tackles, utilize the speed option, and just try to run the ball down the throats of the smaller Terrapin defense, the offense was immediately sparked.

On the first methodical touchdown drive of the year, the Longhorns ran the ball five out of the six plays, capped by freshman Keaontay Ingram’s first touchdown of his college career. Yet they were forced to abandon the rushing attack late, and the drives stalled. The small sample of a solid run game is promising, but it simply wasn’t enough with the deficit faced.