Texas Football: 5 overreactions from thrilling Red River win

2 of 6

DALLAS, TX – OCTOBER 06: Sam Ehlinger #11 of the Texas Longhorns smiles as he runs into the endzone for a touchdown against the Oklahoma Sooners in the second quarter of the 2018 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 6, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

5. The ground game rests in the hands of Sam Ehlinger

The effectiveness of the ground game all around seems to be shrinking for the Horns. Against Oklahoma, only two players were even close to being consistently productive on the ground. One being true freshman running back Keaontay Ingram and the other sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger.

The leading rusher in terms of yards in this game was Ingram, but he didn’t get over the 100-yard mark. That 100-yard rushing game has eluded Ingram for the entire season up to this point. Yet, it was still a career-high in rushing yards in an individual game and he averaged 6.6 yards per carry in the huge win over the Sooners.

Although Ingram did not get in the end zone at all against the Sooners, Ehlinger did three times. Those three rushing touchdowns for Ehlinger were part of a massive five total touchdown and nearly 400 total yard performance. This could easily be considered the best individual game of Ehlinger’s career to date.

On the season now, Ehlinger has nearly 300 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. Meanwhile, Ingram has 293 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The bulk of the touchdowns to running backs this year has gone to senior Tre Watson. The highlight of the game for Watson came on a 28-yard touchdown catch. However, this game did prove that Ingram and Ehlinger are taking over complete control of the ground game for the Horns.

Home/Texas Football