Texas Football: 3 overreactions from wretched loss to Iowa State

2) Overreactions from Texas football loss to ISU

Sam Ehlinger and Tom Herman can’t deliver in a huge spot

This isn’t so much of an overreaction as it is a building frustration with the Longhorns fan base and around the media landscape so far this fall. Texas just hasn’t been able to put their opponents away, especially in Big 12 play, over the course of the last two or three seasons. But the way that Texas is allowing their opponents to hang around until literally the final minute of games is something that Herman’s team is taking to a new extreme this year.

While we can’t put too much stock into the way that the Longhorns play game in and game out this fall in terms of keeping games close just because this is a weird year in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, this is still something that has to change. Ehlinger’s play started to wane after the first few games of the regular season, and his clutch factor didn’t show up in this loss to Iowa State.

In this game alone, Ehlinger registered 17 completions on 29 passing attempts (58.6 completion percentage), 298 passing yards, one passing touchdown, no interceptions, 11.0 adjusted yards per passing attempt, and a 156.3 passer efficiency rating. He also added 65 rushing yards on 15 attempts (just over four yards per carry) and one rushing score.

Ehlinger had a chance on the final drive of this game to get Texas in a position to either tie the game or take the lead. But he took a bad sack on the final offensive play of the game for the Longhorns, putting junior kicker Cameron Dicker in a really difficult position to tie it up. Dicker had to nail a 57-yard field goal attempt just to send the game into overtime. That’s a lot to ask of any kicker.