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The usual Tom Herman play week press conference on Monday consisted mainly of a 30-minute discussion of Texas, not Baylor: what works, what does not work, how to maintain energy and series of victories, etc.
There is something to be happy this week. No new injuries to report. The Longhorns are 5-1, 9th in the country and 3-0 in the Big 12. These three conference wins are pretty big: 31-16 against TCU, 19-14 at Kansas State and 48-45 against Oklahoma. in Dallas. They had their best start after six games since the 2009 season, which ended with the program's last appearance in the national championship.
And the horizon is bright. The last half of Texas' regular season is against Baylor at DKR, Oklahoma State, against West Virginia at home, at Texas Tech, against Iowa State at home and then Kansas the day after Thanksgiving.
The Longhorns have won three straight games against Baylor, have always been successful at Stillwater, beat West Virginia at Morgantown last year, have held up better at Texas Tech in Lubbock than in Austin in recent years, have the Cyclones at home and, beyond this famous 2016 Outlier in Lawrence, have not had any problems with Kansas.
So Herman was asked, with all this newfound prosperity, he was curious to see how his team was reacting to success. After all, it's been a while in Texas.
He responded by comparing the state of the team after Maryland's defeat to Oklahoma's victory.
"Yes," Herman said. "I hope that less curious than the week (continues) and more sure of the way they go (meet). I told them that when we lost the first game, I said that this game would not define us; how we respond to it, and I told them about this Oklahoma game. This game will not define us; how we respond to it This is not the ultimate goal. It's not a hard concept for our guys to understand, which is necessary week after week to win.
"You respond to different things," he continued. "The first game, you answer to a defeat. This one, you answer to a great victory. But none of these games will define us, and should not do it either. But our answer will be. "
Kirk Bohls of the statesman asked: Does Texas have the look and feel of a top-10 football team, and where did Herman vote for the Longhorns? during the vote of his coach?
Texas, No. 9, is in the Top 10 for the first time since September 18, 2010.
"I think we voted 11," said Herman. "And I do not know. I watch so little college football, so I do not know. I can really hear Alabama (there was laughter in the room). I came home in time to watch the end of Notre Dame 's match and they look like they are really good. But I have not looked enough to know what I'm comparing against and I think there are times too, mostly as coaches – we see all our warts in practice, every day in film study. & # 39; Look at this error we made, look at this error we made, look at this error we made. & # 39; So it's a hard thing to answer, but I'll say this: I know it's fun for people to describe fights, I know (polls) have been around for a hundred or so years, but the only thing that matters is the end. The mid-season polls are great because our kids have earned that recognition, but we have to win and win every week to make it count. "
That was a similar answer that he had given earlier in the press when he was asked to reach the point of the program where earnings were expected.
Herman's answer to that one?
"I do not think we're in a place right now where we can say that victory is expected. And I think it's okay, "he said. "… Winning is extremely difficult and must be celebrated. I believe that the standard and the expectation are two different things. … We do not expect to win. We have a standard, we expect to play our best. It's good to know for the most part that if we play our best, our best is enough. There may be some arrogance in wanting to win that I do not know what I really want our guys to have. I want them to understand that every week is a terrible battle.
Translation: Do not look for a boastback from Texas, essentially.
"You have to divide these long-term goals into specific weeks where you spend 1-0 every week, you celebrate that victory and then you erase it," he said. "And still, hoping to win – just that word," wait "in my mind breeds the right, breeds arrogance. We expect nothing more than what we have won. "
Texas and Baylor start at 2:30 pm Saturday at the Royal Memorial Stadium. The Bears beat Kansas State 37-34 on Saturday. The last five Texas-Baylor meetings:
2013: Baylor, 30-10 (Waco)
2014: Baylor, 28-7 (Austin)
2015: Texas, 23-17 (Waco)
2016: Texas, 35-34 (Austin)
2017: Texas, 38-7 (Waco)
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