Sports Roundup: Closing the Gap

By Chris O'Connell in Sports on September 21, 2018 at 3:25 pm | No Comments

Stadium news! Micaya fever! Futbol! But first…

Football

The Three Words Every Girl Wants to Hear

TEXAS. IS. BACK.

Folks, if 34 straight points to demolish USC isn’t enough to convince you that Texas is going to win nine straight, cream Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game, and bulldoze through the College Football Playoff, I can’t help you.

But seriously, back to Earth. Any way you slice it, this was a very nice win for Texas, a team that hasn’t fared well against Power 5 and other upper-echelon non-conference competition in the past decade; the Longhorns went 3-9 against UCLA, Ole Miss, Cal, Maryland, and USC, and 1-3 against BYU and Notre Dame from 2010-present. A win against USC is always a little bit extra fun for Texas fans, especially considering the Trojans have tried to vacate its loss to the Longhorns in the 2006 Rose Bowl. That’s … not how that works.

After falling behind 14-3, Texas executed on all facets. On offense, Tre Watson and Daniel Young ran the ball efficiently, both averaging over 4 yards per carry, and quarterback Sam Ehlinger finished with a pair of touchdowns in the air and one on the ground, and, importantly, didn’t turn the ball over all game. The Longhorn defense racked up three sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, and an interception by Kris Boyd, all the while holding USC scoreless throughout the second half. On special teams, Anthony Wheeler scooped up a blocked field goal by freshman Caden Sterns and took it to the house, and freshman kicker Cameron Dicker added five touchbacks to his three field goals, including two from 46 yards out. That’s very good.

For his efforts—six tackles (four for loss), a sack, a forced fumble, and a quarterback hurry—Gary Johnson was named Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week

In less-than-good news, B.J. Foster was ejected from the game for targeting, and will subsequently miss the first half of the TCU game this Saturday afternoon. Speaking of…

T-C-Who?

Texas takes on No. 17 TCU to round out a three-game homestand at 3:30 on Saturday. Here’s the bad news: Gary Patterson and the Horned Frogs have absolutely owned the Longhorns since the Mack Brown era ended. In the last four meetings, TCU has outscored Texas 153-33. Yikes. Tom Herman and crew will look to break double digits against TCU for the first time since 2014, when the Horned Frogs beat the Longhorns 48-10 in Austin.

In music news, Aloe Blacc will headline Longhorn City Limits on the LBJ Lawn. Blues guitarist Jackie Venson is also playing.

It’s All About Timing

For those into making plans, game times have been declared for two upcoming Texas games. The Sept. 29 game against Kansas State kicks off at 2:30 p.m. in Manhattan, Kansas, and the Red River Showdown will begin at 11 a.m. at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

Vox Populous

The long-discussed DRK south end zone project has an architect. The Kansas City-based firm Populous, which has completed four similar projects for college football stadiums in the last three years, will create a design that will fully enclose the stadium for the first time in its 95 year history. The $175 million project breaks ground next summer and will be done by the home opener in 2021. In a press release, AD Chris Del Conte said, “The new south end zone will provide our student-athletes, staff and fans with the finest facility in the country and one that we all can be extremely proud of. It will feature the best of the best when it comes to student-athlete amenities and training needs, first-rate coaching staff offices and meeting rooms along with state-of-the-art opportunities and experiences for our many fans and supporters.”

That includes a Longhorn-shaped balcony that will be visible from the air, a first, according to the press release, plus concessions-equipped towers, a renovation of the Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletic Center, new premium seating, and a stage next to the student section for Longhorn Network to broadcast from.

The Other Football

Still Perfect(ish)

Soccer is still unbeaten (8-0-1) after taking down UTRGV 2-1 on Friday and Northern Colorado 3-0 on Sunday. Junior forward Cyera Hintzen finished the weekend with five points—two goals and an assist—which helped earn her the title of Big 12 Player of the Week and Top Drawer Soccer National Team honorable mention. Hintzen, named to the preseason watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy watch (equivalent to football’s Heisman Trophy) has eight goals and two assists so far in 2018.

With Honors

Midfielder Katie Glenn was named as one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award, given annually to the NCAA Division I senior who achieves highly in community, classroom, character, and competition. Glenn currently leads the Big 12 Conference in assists with 12, and maintains a 3.31 GPA.

Volleyball

Killer Queen

After dropping two straight at Stanford last week, No. 5 Texas opened the Big 12 season at home with a 3-2 over Kansas State. Leading the charge was—guess who?—junior Micaya White. She had 21 kills, 13 digs, and a block. Texas has a bye this weekend, and resume play next Wednesday against No. 19 Baylor at Gregory.

 

Women’s Basketball

Empress-ive

Former Alvik Basket player and Longhorn women’s hooper Empress Davenport has been named an assistant coach at Lamar University. She played in 131 games in four years on the Forty Acres, leading the Longhorns to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including making the Elite Eight in 2015-16, her senior season.

TV party

FOX Sports released its women’s basketball TV schedule this week, revealing that Texas will make four appearances on its networks, including three national appearances on FS1 during 2018-19. FS1 will carry the opener against NCAA runner-up Mississippi State on Dec. 2 at 1 p.m., West Virginia at Texas on the evening of Jan. 28, and Texas at Baylor on the night of Feb. 25.

Women’s Tennis

Bianca Turati is a Lucky Loser

Bianca Turati lost to Eudice Chong on Monday in the final round of qualifying at the ITF pro circuit event Lubbock. Through a quirk of the rules, Turati—considered the “lucky loser”—was allowed to compete in a Round of 32 singles match in the tournament’s main draw anyway. She won that match against Tara Moore, and her Round of 16 one against Jennifer Elle, but fell to Robin Anderson on Thursday afternoon.

Turati is No. 1 in the Oracle/ITA preseason women’s collegiate national singles ranking, and was the 2018 Big 12 Conference Player of the year after finishing 28-4 in singles matches.

What to Watch This Weekend

Friday

Soccer: Baylor at Texas, 7 p.m. TV: Longhorn Network, or streaming here.

Saturday

Football: TCU at Texas, 3:30 p.m. TV: FOX; Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network.

Sunday

Nothing!