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Texas Football: Takeaways from narrow 23-17 win over Baylor Bears

By Tarik LaCour

AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 13: Shane Buechele #7 of the Texas Longhorns runs with the ball defened by Jordan Williams #38 of the Baylor Bears in the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 13: Shane Buechele #7 of the Texas Longhorns runs with the ball defened by Jordan Williams #38 of the Baylor Bears in the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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The Baylor Bears drove Texas football to the brink in Week 7 with a narrow victory coming down to the final drive and with a final score of 23-17.

After the Maryland game where Texas football lost it’s opener in back-to-back seasons, many Texas fans were ready to mail the season in; if you can’t beat a team that was missing their head coach and was nowhere near the top 25 during the pre-season, how would Tom Herman lead the Longhorns to victories over USC, TCU, and an Oklahoma team that looked like they would not miss a beat after losing a Heisman trophy winner in Baker Mayfield?

However bleak it looked after week one, Herman managed to get his team re-focused and amassed wins over Tulsa, USC (ranked 22 at the time), TCU (ranked 17 at the time), Oklahoma (ranked 7 at the time), and Baylor. The Longhorns will now head into the bye week with a 6 game winning steak, a top ten ranking, and appear poised to make the Big 12 Championship game and have the potential to make the College Football Playoff. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination.

However, there were certain things that we learned about this team after their 23-17 victory over the Baylor Bears. Here are the takeaways:

  • This offense needs Sam Ehlingher– This is not a shot at back-up Shane Buechele, who performed more than adequately when he was needed to fill in. But, there is a reason that he lost the quarterback competition this fall. He may be a slightly better passer than Ehlinger, but he is nowhere near the runner that Ehlingher is. With the way that Herman likes to run his offense, the quarterback must be a running threat so that the opposing defense cannot simply crash down on the running back. While Keontay Ingram was able to go over 100 yards on the ground (more on him later), Buechele was no threat to run and that made 3rd and short situations very difficult for the Longhorns. It is not clear if Ehlingher will be out for a lengthy amount of time, but if he is the offense will be in real trouble.

    • Keontay Ingram needs to be the starter

    – Tre Watson, a senior transfer from Cal, has been the starter so far this season. This makes sense; Ingram has been hurt since training camp so going with the healthy back is what just about any head coach would do. But now that he is healthy, Ingram should be the starter. A unique combination of strength, speed, toughness, with soft hands to boot, Ingram has the potential to be the next great Texas running back. Just as Herman’s offense requires a running quarterback, it cannot function at top form without a quality running back, and Ingram is more than quality. The kid will be special, no doubt about it.

    Next. Midseason report card for Texas football. dark

  • Texas needs this bye week– The Longhorns have played seven straight games without a bye. That can take its toll, and the team needs to rest before the upcoming stretch of games. This is especially true with Ehlinger hurt, Ingram not 100 percent, and the offensive line beginning to get a little banged up. Tom Herman’s team needs to rest, but they also need to fix the little errors that have nearly cost them games in the end. Working on two minute drills in particular, and finding a solid third receiving option to compliment Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Collin Johnson.
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