Longhorns Lead Iowa State at Half Despite Sluggish Start
The No. 22 Texas Longhorns entered Saturday's home matchup with the Iowa State Cyclones riding some unmatched momentum after a 49-0 shutout win over the Oklahoma Sooners at the Red River Showdown.
And against the Cyclones, an early blocked punt by running back Keilan Robinson made it seem like Texas had easily carried over momentum from the win over Oklahoma.
That was hardly the case. A late second-quarter surge gave Texas a 14-7 lead at halftime, but a first half filled with mistakes surely leaves coach Steve Sarkisian with plenty to adjust during the break.
A missed field goal by kicker Bert Auburn after the blocked punt was then followed up with another strong defensive stop, forcing the Cyclones into another three-and-out.
However, this hardly mattered with the Texas offense all out of sorts. Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers tried to throw the ball away at the feet of tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders, but the pass went backwards and resulted in a 16-yard loss as Ewers fell back on the ball. Faced with a 3rd and 40, the Longhorns had to punt.
It was effortless work from Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers and the Cyclones offense from there, as they used an 11-play, 84-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead after quickly going three-and-out on the first two possessions.
An offsides penalty in the red zone on third-and-short by Texas nose tackle Keondre Coburn kept the drive going before Dekkers found receiver Jaylin Noel alone in the end zone for a five-yard touchdown on a busted coverage.
Fortunately for a rattled Ewers and Texas offense - which failed to convert on fourth down at the ISU 40-yard line - the defense continued to bail the offense out.
Dekkers led the Cyclones on a nine-play, 53-yard drive down to the Texas seven-yard line. But linebacker Jaylan Ford continued his incredible season, he extended vertically to pick off Dekkers' pass in the end zone to prevent any further bleeding.
Despite the momentum swing, the Texas offense still showed that it was lacking any kind of rhythm. After Ford's pick, Ewers targeted receiver Casey Cain deep the field for the second time of the half, but Cain appeared to let up on his route. Had he kept running, the pass likely would've hit him in stride behind the secondary.
Luckily, for the Longhorns they have Xavier Worthy.
A few positive runs from Bijan Robinson preceded the Longhorns using just two plays in the red zone before Ewers found Worthy for a cross-field, 15-yard touchdown to tie things up at 7-7, giving the Longhorns the offensive juice they needed.
After Iowa State punted, Texas got the ball back with a final shot at points before the half.
And behind a spectacular triple-cut run from and tough in-air catch from Bijan, the Longhorns made their way to the goal line where Ewers found receiver Jordan Whittington for an easy five-yard touchdown. Texas led 14-7 in the closing seconds.
The Longhorns will receive the second-half kickoff.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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