Texas Football: Takeaways from instant Big 12 classic loss to West Virginia

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AUSTIN, TX – OCTOBER 13: Breckyn Hager #44 of the Texas Longhorns and Charles Omenihu #90 apply pressure to Charlie Brewer #12 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) /

4. Injuries mounting

Up until this game, Texas football was able to stay pretty healthy on both sides of the ball after a tough start to the year in fall camp. Aside from a few setbacks in the early part of the regular season, the Horns had most of its starters making every start in every game. That changed starting in the first quarter for the team in burnt orange.

It started with an injury to senior cornerback Davante Davis with a banged up shoulder early in the first quarter. That put the potent true freshman cornerback Anthony Cook in a key spot against the very deep and talented West Virginia receiving corps. Cook getting this type of action could be good for him in the long-term, but the Horns love to have the physical presence of Davis on the field.

The injuries continued to trouble the Horns when senior defensive end Breckyn Hager went down with an elbow injury that took him to the locker room also in the first quarter. The experienced starters for the Horns starting to fall like flies early on against West Virginia with some younger players getting thrust into action.

Having the injury report grow lengthy is something that Texas cannot afford moving forward. With a promising season still in line for the Horns, injuries are one of the prominent factors that could derail the success. Even coming into the game, the Horns were missing senior defensive tackle Chris Nelson due to an ankle sprain suffered in practice a few days prior to kick-off.

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