Texas Football: What we learned from win over Iowa State

Shane Buechele is a very capable backup

The worst fear for Texas football after sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger went down with a shoulder sprain earlier this year happened over the weekend. A 23-17 win over the Baylor Bears was the first time this year that Ehlinger had injury issues. Texas at least claimed another victory in his absence under center.

As a result of Ehlinger’s shoulder sprain, backup junior quarterback Shane Buechele was tossed into action. Both team’s backup quarterbacks got action in one way or another here. Buechele and Kempt saw different levels of success, though. Each also got thrown in for much different reasons.

You could tell there were some growing pains for Buechele in his season debut against Baylor. However, he got much more comfortable in this game. He completed every single one of his 10 passing attempts for 89 yards and one touchdown. Buechele has some natural chemistry with the top two receivers for the Horns.

The issue for the Texas offense with Buechele starting is the lack of versatility. Defenses can play off the line more and keep less men in the box. Buechele can run when need be, but he’s not even close to the same threat with his legs as Ehlinger. That was evident when Buechele rushed for -3 rushing yards on five attempts, including sacks.