Texas Football: 3 takeaways from excruciating 3-point loss to Iowa St

1) Texas football takeaways from Iowa St loss

Sam Ehlinger wasn’t good enough when it was needed the most

For the first time in a quite a while this season, Ehlinger didn’t come through when the Longhorns needed it the most. He was put in the position that he dreamed of for most of his life, getting the opportunity to take this Texas offense on a game-winning drive that would help to get a good push to earning a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game.

The decision by Ehlinger to take a sack on that final offensive play of the game was not a good one obviously. For the game in total, Ehlinger registered 17 completions on 29 passing attempts for 298 passing yards, one passing touchdown, no picks, and he added one rushing score.

Moreover, the third down efficiency wasn’t horrible for Texas on the day (4-11). But the fourth down efficiency did cost the Longhorns in a big way as they weren’t able to convert either of their two attempts.

And while Ehlinger didn’t get a whole lot of support from the ground game in this loss, he did get a lot of help from his receiving corps. Junior wide receiver Brennan Eagles mustered five catches for 142 receiving yards, and no touchdown catches. The longest catch on the day for Eagles was 59 yards, but he didn’t get what he deserved here with a touchdown catch.

This was a case where Ehlinger didn’t really put up huge numbers, his offensive line and ground game let him down, and he wasn’t clutch when his team needed it most. Iowa State shut out Texas to the tune of 10-0 in the fourth quarter, which is very much unlike Herman and Ehlinger teams in the past two years.