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Texas Football: 10 reasons to be excited for the Big 12 Championship Game

By Andrew Miller

DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 06: Sam Ehlinger #11 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Oklahoma Sooners in the third quarter of the 2018 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 6, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 06: Sam Ehlinger #11 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Oklahoma Sooners in the third quarter of the 2018 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 6, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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AUSTIN, TX – SEPTEMBER 22: Charles Omenihu #90 of the Texas Longhorns pressures Michael Collins #10 of the TCU Horned Frogs in the fourth quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX – SEPTEMBER 22: Charles Omenihu #90 of the Texas Longhorns pressures Michael Collins #10 of the TCU Horned Frogs in the fourth quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

6. Charles Omenihu tries for 10 sacks

You don’t have to look too far to find the breakout player on the defensive side of the ball for Texas football. The defensive line has mostly been a letdown for the Horns, aside from one player. There’s only one lineman sparking the Texas pass rush this year with the down season from defensive end Breckyn Hager.

Senior defensive end Charles Omenihu blew most of his previous career highs out of the water this year. He has 8.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss. Both of those numbers more than double his previous career highs that he posted last year. He’s also not too far away from doubling his previous career high in total tackles.

With Omenihu sitting at 8.5 sacks heading into the Big 12 Title Game, he needs just one good outing to reach double digits for the first time in his career. Omenihu is one of the Big 12 leaders in sacks and leads the team by a good margin. Senior linebacker Gary Johnson is the next best on the team in terms of sacks, with 5.5.

The sack numbers go down pretty far on the list for the team lead behind Omenihu and Johnson. Hager is tied with true freshman safety B.J. Foster in third place with 2.5. Omenihu should spearhead the Texas pass rush again this week. In the previous matchup against Oklahoma, he posted one sack and two tackles for loss.

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