Texas Football: 3 overreactions from momentum-shifting win over Baylor

3) Overreactions from Texas football’s win over Baylor: Sam Ehlinger doesn’t need to put up huge stats to get wins

Just saying that senior star Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger doesn’t need to put up huge stat lines for the Longhorns to consistently win is a loaded statement. But what made this game more unique for Ehlinger compared to his last few outings was the fact that his efficiency was more evenly distributed across the four quarters of this game.

The way that Ehlinger managed this win over Baylor felt more like the way he was leading the Texas offense back during the 2018 season. Ehlinger did still have a few ups and downs (including tossing his fifth pick of the season so far), but he came through when it mattered most for the Longhorns and didn’t put his team in a position where they needed to make a massive comeback late.

There were a few problems in this game of Ehlinger coming under too much pressure (11 times for just a 40.0 adjusted completion percentage and one of his worst passing grades under duress of the season so far). That’s not necessarily the fault of Ehlinger, who still managed one passing touchdown on no picks on six passing attempts while under pressure. But there were moments where he needed to make quicker decisions than he did out of the pocket.

In total, Ehlinger registered 270 passing yards, one passing touchdown, one interception, 169.5 passer efficiency rating (second best in any game this season), 51 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns. That now makes it more than 160 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns in the last two games for Ehlinger.

While this was the lowest amount of passing attempts and total touchdowns in any game he’s played in this season thus far, Ehlinger was good and efficient most of the way. That’s all they needed to beat Baylor.