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You do not have to say that Texas is back. But it's O.K. admit that Tom Herman's team is better after defeating TCU 31-16 in Austin on Saturday, ending four years of frustration. The Horned Frogs were on a four-game winning streak against the Longhorns, outscoring the 153-33.
Now the Longhorns are on their own streak of wins – their first run of three straight wins since 2014, which includes compelling double-digit wins over the top 25 teams from the USC and now TCU. This one against the Horned Frogs is undoubtedly more significant considering the landscape of the Big 12 and the power in the state of Texas. TCU is a rival of the league and was a tough opponent under Gary Patterson, and the Texas victory now puts in place a much more exciting and exciting Big 12 race with the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma on October 6th.
The Texas defense was dominant and despite its mediocre ranking in the Big 12 (fifth in yards allowed per game with 359), it forced four turnovers and was strong in the third, limiting the TCU to six conversions over 16 tries.
Dynamics finally took off for the Longhorns during the period of 2: 55 minutes at the end of the third quarter, when two takeaways quickly turned into 14 points. It began when TCU quarterback Shawn Robinson, who frustrated the miserable Ohio State defense last week, failed after a 16-yard run on his own 45-yard line. Texas recovered and scored eight times later when quarterback Sam Ehlinger found Collin Johnson for a 31-yard touchdown to give the advantage to UT 17-16. At the next takeover of the Frogs, Robinson was intercepted by Caden Sterns. His electrifying return for a touchdown was canceled after he was off the track at the 2-yard line, but Ehlinger managed to score a goal in the first play of the next possession.
The Longhorns sealed the win with a score of 10, 76 yards in the fourth quarter after TCU missed a 41-yard field goal.
"We are different, we learn to finish each week," coach Tom Herman said after the match. "We took a big step last week and took another one this week. But we are far from a finished product. "
Same for TCU (albeit in a different trajectory), whose self-inflicted injuries were postponed from his loss to the Ohio State last week. The Horned Frogs have returned the ball more than three times against the Buckeyes, which helped to tip the match against them.
Texas has many areas to improve, ideally, he hopes, before facing Kyler Murray and Oklahoma in two weeks. The offensive proved ineffective in third place, just 5 out of 15, and the racing game was not as productive, amassing only 112 yards. There were positives, such as forcing four shipments and taking advantage of them, and Ehlinger's growing confidence. The sophomore quarter went 22 of 32 for 255 yards with two touchdowns.
It may be too early to say that Texas is back or even a Big 12 candidate, but that does not really sound like the same team that lost 34-29 to Maryland to start the season.
"Belief," said Herman about what has changed within the team. "We never give up, we stayed positive. We understood that the first week was not us. We trained very hard and the players responded to this coaching. "
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