Securing signature victories, victories that define a season or redefine a program, don’t require perfect performances. But such games against teams of equal or slightly superior talent, what typically must happen is the seizure of opportunity.
Twice opportunity knocked for Texas in the first quarter Saturday night against LSU. Both times the Longhorns didn’t answer the door.
“Crucial,” said UT quarterback Sam Ehlinger, who threw for a career-high 401 yards and four touchdowns. “The ball inside the 5-yard line twice and came away with no points. It’s unacceptable.”
The 45-38 victory by the sixth-ranked Tigers was a second-guessers’ delight, a game filled with what-ifs and coulda-beens for the ninth-ranked Longhorns. While the loss was bitterly disappointing for Texas, it shouldn’t be a result that leaves a lingering hangover. A 10-point blitz late in the first half put the Horns in position to be on the wrong end of a blowout but they pulled within two points twice in the second half.
A day of energy and anticipation, ramped up by the presence of ESPN’s College GameDay and ginned up by the Minister of Culture (Matthew McConaughey) ended with LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson dancing in the end zone following his game-clinching TD and quarterback Joe Burrow parade-waving goodbye to Longhorn fans.
College football season in a nutshell: pic.twitter.com/ju6xmBKWuW
— Bleacher Report CFB (@BR_CFB) September 8, 2019
Tom Herman, who pissed off the LSU administration in 2016 when he left the Tigers at the altar and instead became the Texas coach, made three first-half decisions that cost his team six to 14 points and helped the visitors score a lead-stretching TD.
Trailing 3-0, UT’s first effective drive produced a first-and-goal at the LSU 8. On fourth and goal from the 2, Texas went for it and had a beautiful play call that turned into a Roger Staubach to Jackie Smith in Super Bowl XIII moment. Sophomore running back Keaontay Ingram was wide open but dropped Ehlinger’s pass.
The Texas defense then produced the game’s only turnover, a tipped pass interception that gave the Longhorns first and goal at the 4. Four running plays, three by Ehlinger, produced two yards. Eight plays inside the LSU 10 produced eight yards and zero points.
“We don’t stop them on the goal line, we’re dead,” LSU’s Ed Orgeron said. “That’s the difference in the ballgame.”
Herman called two timeouts nine seconds apart, the last coming with 1:45 to play following a sack of Burrow. LSU was in position to kick a field goal to extend its lead to 13-7 and Herman was hoping to leave time for an answer. Hope is not a strategy when your offense responds with a three-play 18-second “drive” and the opponent needs just 26 seconds and three plays to cover 58 yards for a TD and 20-7 advantage.
“Listen, we came in this game to play to win,” Herman said. “That’s why we went for it early on the goal line. Our whole mantra in this game was to empty the chamber, play to win, and we weren’t going to back away from that.”
Playing to win is not the same as winning (thanks, Captain Obvious). But as Texas A&M learned in its loss to Clemson, if you’re gonna come at the king, you best not miss. For both teams, if the hard lessons learned Saturday are learned, it’s part of the process of climbing the ladder.
Burrow, who transferred to LSU from Ohio State two years ago and was recruited to Columbus when Herman was the offensive coordinator there, was sensational. He completed 31 of 39 for 471 yards and four TDs. Three LSU receivers topped 100 yards in receiving; a first in program history. LSU’s five TD drives in plays, yards and time – 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:59; 3 plays, 56 yards, 0:59; 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:44; 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:11; 6 plays, 75 yards, 1:32.
Maybe those t-shirts proclaiming “There’s Only One DBU” needed to be folded and stored. Senior safety Brandon Jones asked Herman for permission for the fashion statement.
DBU? Only if those letters stand for Dallas Baptist University. The Texas secondary couldn’t cover LSU’s receivers who ran and caught with impunity; perhaps LSU is about to open WRU. To be fair, LSU’s modernized offense combined with Burrow’s throwing to talented receivers will strike fear throughout the Southeastern Conference. As long as Burrow has time to throw, he’ll find an open receiver. Few defenses can limit such offenses.
The Longhorns claim fired up the LSU secondary, which believes the only branch of DBU is based in Baton Rouge. Based on both quarterbacks throwing for 400 yards, there were no diplomas handed out for pass coverage. Three of LSU’s six penalties came for defensive pass interference. Texas had no DPIs and the cynics would say that’s because UT defensive backs never got close enough to interfere.
Herbie on Texas claiming to be DB U : "I didn't know they were in the discussion." Yeah, me neither.
— Medium Happy (@jdubs88) September 8, 2019
“Everything that happened today is fixable on our part, as a defense and especially the DBs,” Jones said. “I think it’s, you know, just a shot of reality.”
In his review of Saturday’s games, Pat Forde of Yahoo!Sports wrote this about LSU-Texas:
“The Longhorns showed they have ground to cover, especially defensively, to get where they want to go. Giving up 573 yards, 45 points and eight scoring drives of more than 50 yards illustrates the work that rebuilt unit has in front of it after replacing eight starters from 2018.
“But here’s the good news: Losing a competitive game against a Top 10 opponent isn’t a playoff killer. Fourteen of the 20 teams to make the CFP had a loss, with just six teams undefeated. Texas can still build a credible playoff résumé by beating Oklahoma (perhaps twice) and winning the Big 12 championship. This was a loss, but not a terrible loss in which the Longhorns failed to measure up.”
LSU proved that it might be better than its ranking. Texas will no doubt drop in the polls but its performance showed that it’s worthy of top 10 consideration.
“I think we did prove to ourselves that when we play our best, we can be really dangerous,” Ehlinger said.
“This is game two of a marathon,” Herman said. “We wanted to win this game, certainly, very badly. Obviously, it hurts. It hurts a lot, but I think they all realize that all of our long-term goals are still out there.”
