Texas Football: 4 overreactions from Horns tenacious win vs. Iowa State

No team rushes for over 100 yards against Texas for the rest of the season

Texas flexed its muscles up front on defense again in this big road win over Iowa State this weekend. Texas continued its streak of games allowing fewer than 100 rushing yards against Iowa State, which now sits at five.

This was the most impressive effort of the season in run defense for the Longhorns. Texas allowed just nine rushing yards from the Iowa State offense. That is the fewest rushing yards in a game for Iowa State since 2010. And it is the fewest rushing yards in a Big 12 game in the last five years.

Another impressive stat that shows just how dominant Texas’ run defense was in this game was the fact that they didn’t allow a single first down on a rushing attempt by the Cyclones.

Texas’ dominance up front was largely thanks to the play of senior defensive lineman T’Vondre Sweat and junior Byron Murphy II. Senior linebackers David Gbenda and Jaylan Ford were also stout in run defense for the Longhorns.

Sweat and Murphy were clogging up the running lanes in the A and B gaps consistently, allowing Gbenda and Ford to clean up the plays around the line of scrimmage. Gbenda, in particular, had one of his best days in run defense this season, coming up with four run stops and the third-best run defense grade in the Big 12 in Week 12.

Texas’ run defense will be tested in the regular season finale next week against standout running back Tahj Brooks and the Red Raiders. Most of Texas Tech’s recent success during this three-game winning streak can be attributed to Brooks having the most productive stretch of his collegiate career. He has over 450 rushing yards and three touchdowns during Texas Tech’s winning streak.

Brooks ranks third in the nation in rushing yards this season and has rushed for over 100 yards in four straight games coming out of Week 12.