Texas Football: Did Tom Herman save his job with win over Baylor?

What will the hot seat situation look like for Texas football head coach Tom Herman after knocking off the Baylor Bears in a must win on Oct. 24?

There was a critical game on tap for fourth-year Texas football head coach Tom Herman this weekend, taking on an inconsistent and ravaged Baylor Bears team led by first-year head coach (and former LSU Tigers defensive coordinator) Dave Aranda. Texas came into this game with a record of 2-2 (1-2 Big 12).

Meanwhile, Aranda’s Bears entered this game with a record of 1-1 (1-1 Big 12). Baylor hadn’t played in any game since Oct. 3, in their Big 12 road opener, when they traveled to Morgantown and lost to the West Virginia Mountaineers in overtime. The lone win for Baylor on the season so far came over the Kansas Jayhawks in their Big 12 opener at home back on Sep. 26.

In a game that did cause some anxiety for Longhorns fans against a stingy Baylor team, Herman’s squad did manage to come up with the win. They controlled the game most of the way, which is unusual for his tenure on the Forty Acres against a decent Big 12 team.

What did Texas football HC Tom Herman need to do this weekend

In one regard, this game was fine in terms of the way that Herman’s Longhorns team showed out. But on another note, Texas had a clear opportunity to put away a struggling Baylor team about halfway through the second half, but was once again unable to get this job done. Texas really hasn’t been able to put away any Big 12 opponent since last season.

This was their best chance to do so during the 2020 campaign, at least up to this point.

At one point, Texas held a lead of 27-3 over Baylor and had all of the momentum. Baylor tried to storm back by rattling of 13-straight points in the second half. One final drive from star senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger helped to officially put the game away for the Longhorns. Since they didn’t score on that last drive, Texas got the win by the final score of 27-16.

At least the Longhorns were able to lock in one double-digit point victory through the first four games of the Big 12 schedule. This was clearly a big one for the Longhorns to get to get back on track in the Big 12.

The first step to Herman keeping the heat off, at least compared to what it was during the bye week, was taking care of business in convincing fashion against Baylor. And you’d have to consider that’s what Herman and the Longhorns were able to do this weekend.

Where Texas football must go from here

Herman and the Longhorns really need to get through the next two games of the season with no more than one loss. The next two games for the Longhorns come against the Oklahoma State Cowboys and West Virginia. Neither of those two games will come easy for Texas, but they could win both given the talent and experience on the roster.

Texas ranked higher than Oklahoma State entering the 2020 college football season. If Herman can get this group to finally rally around Ehlinger (who had another solid day leading this offense), then they could get two victories against Oklahoma State and West Virginia.

The next road trip up for the Longhorns is set for next weekend, on Oct. 31, against No. 6 ranked Oklahoma State and longtime head coach Mike Gundy. Oklahoma State got a close win over the No. 17 ranked Iowa State Cyclones at home on Oct. 24.

Texas now carries a record of 3-2 (2-2 Big 12), with wins over Baylor, Texas Tech, and UTEP. This was the first home Big 12 win of the season to date for Herman. They won’t return home again until Nov. 7, when they take on head coach Neal Brown and the Mountaineers at DKR.