Texas Football: Sam Ehlinger issues challenge for the Longhorns

The annual Red River Rivalry game lies ahead for the Texas football program for Oct. 10, and senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger appears ready mentally.

The way that Texas football showed out in their Oct. 3 loss in the Big 12 home opener to the TCU Horned Frogs did not help this team’s case at all in the race for a conference title or for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Texas wound up falling short as a double-digit point favorite against TCU last weekend by the final score of 33-31.

It’s up to the Longhorns leaders, like senior star quarterback Sam Ehlinger and junior safety Caden Sterns, to right the ship heading into a really important rivalry game next weekend. Texas takes on the slipping Oklahoma Sooners in the annual Red River Rivalry game at the original Cotton Bowl at the Texas State Fairgrounds in Dallas, on Oct. 10 with kick off set for 11 a.m. CT.

Holding this team accountable could help fix a lot of the mistakes that the Longhorns made under the direction of fourth-year head coach Tom Herman. Ehlinger apparently made sure his teammates knew how bad he wants to win and how to hold them accountable in practice this week. He reportedly (Horns247) helped to reflect on the team’s faults in the loss to TCU with the “brutal truth” day at practice this week.

Here’s more on what this “brutal truth” challenge entailed in the Horns247 piece.

"“I just let them know that I want to win,” Ehlinger said before heading off to UT’s  “Bloody Tuesday” practice as the 22nd-ranked Longhorns (2-1, 1-1 Big 12) prepare for Saturday’s Red River Shootout with Oklahoma (1-2, 0-2).Sources told Horns247 Ehlinger’s “brutal truth” challenge to teammates on Sunday included details of how mistakes, including his own, cost Texas the TCU game and nearly cost the Longhorns the Texas Tech game. He also said he was done having “friendly conversations” with teammates about mistakes that could’ve been avoided with more attention to detail. “We have the talent,” Ehlinger said. “That’s not the issue. We get in our own way, and we can eliminate that by being disciplined in every single thing that we do. Discipline is not a switch you flip on Saturdays. Discipline is something that you work on every single day, and it starts with how you get out of bed in the morning."

Ehlinger definitely had his own faults over the weekend in the loss to head coach Gary Patterson and the Horned Frogs. He registered more than 250 total yards, four passing touchdowns, and one interception. But it was also likely the worst and least efficient performance so far this season for the star signal caller.

He also didn’t get the support he needed at key times from the skill positions or the defense. Texas posted a season-high three drops in the loss to TCU, and junior running back Keaontay Ingram essentially fumbled the game away in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter right on the goal line.

Texas needs a real bounce back performance against Oklahoma. And both teams are likely to head in with a big chip on their shoulder. Texas holds a record of 2-1 (1-1 Big 12) after falling short against TCU at home on Oct. 3.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma comes into this game with a record of 1-2 (0-2 Big 12). They now have losses to the Kansas State Wildcats (from Sep. 26 Big 12 opener) and the Iowa State Cyclones (from Oct. 3 Big 12 road opener).