The Longhorns had to gut it out in Fayetteville, but came away with a win.
It wasn’t the prettiest game of the year, but the No. 3 Texas Longhorns are in “win and you’re in” mode for the SEC Championship game and did just that against the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville on Saturday. After getting ran off of the field the last time they went on the road to face the Hogs, an ugly win in which they iced it late is a result the players and coaches can live with.
The offense has it in them to respond and finish games
Arkansas was building momentum and it looked like Texas would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, surrendering 10 unanswered points in the second half and leading by just a field goal after the Razorbacks kicked a field goal with 12:48 remaining in the fourth quarter.
However, the offense came out and answered the call for what felt like the first time in the second half, putting together an eight-play, 75-yard drive that ate up 3:36 and extended the lead to 10 points on a one-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Matthew Golden, giving Texas some breathing room and sapping Arkansas’ momentum.
The Longhorns defense responded by forcing a turnover thanks to safety Michael Taaffe recovering a fumble forced by defensive tackle Alfred Collins on a screen pass, putting the Texas offense back on the field. With 6:55 left on the clock, the Horns held onto the football for the remainder of the game. That drive included a perfectly-executed screen pass to beat a blitz on 3rd and 13 and a fourth-down keeper by Quinn Ewers on a zone read to send the Arkansas fans to the parking lot.
The defense continues to be the engine for the team
Outside of one drive in the third quarter, in which they were visibly gassed due to a lack of complementary offense, the Longhorns defense had an answer for everything the Razorbacks did on Saturday. The defense once again held the opponent to less than 300 yards surrendering just 82 rushing yards on a 2.4 yards per carry clip to an offense that averaged 191 yards per game entering the contest.
Texas played in the Arkansas backfield for most of the game, bringing them down for a loss nine times and sacking quarterback Taylen Green six times in the contest. Collins and cornerback Jahdae Barron showed that they were among the elite players at their positions in the country, both having career games and forcing a pair of turnovers that set the pace for the game.
Quinn Ewers doesn’t need to be perfect for Texas to win
Coming off of a season-best performance a week ago against Florida, the Razorbacks managed to keep Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers off of his game and force him into some errors. While the quarterback got lucky with a few passes bouncing off of defenders’ hands, he did enough with the game on the line for Texas to come out with a win.
On the dagger drive for Texas, Ewers was 3-of-3 for 29 yards and a touchdown, converting all three throws going for a first down or a score. He finished the game completing 63 percent of his passes for 176 yards and two scores, finding eight different receivers in the process.
It wasn’t impressive, but it was enough.