Left guard Ethan Piper and Billy Kemp each suffered knee injuries, NU coach Matt Rhule said, just before halftime. Kemp left the field under
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said the loss of running back Jonathon Brooks will impact the Longhorns in more ways than just on the field.
“Losing Jonathon (Brooks) is a tough blow for us,” Sarkisian said. “You know I’ve said this about a couple other backs that were here before him, but I think the one thing that probably stings most for us as a team is the teammate that Jonathon Brooks is. He’s a better person than he is a football player and he is a heck of a football player.”
Brooks, who had rushed for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 25 passes for 286 yards and another score, tore his right ACL in Saturday’s 29-26 win over TCU.
Although losing Brooks for the rest of the season makes Texas’ journey to the Big 12 title game tougher, his absence will open up opportunities for the Longhorns’ younger running backs to make a big impact.
“I know those other backs are going to need (Brooks’) support and that’s where our culture has got to shine through,” Sarkisian said. “But obviously it creates opportunities for CJ Baxter, Jaydon Blue, Keilan Robinson (and) Savion Red. And those guys are more than capable of doing a great job.”
The Longhorns got off to a solid start against TCU on Saturday, leading 26-6 at halftime, but only scored three points in the second half.
“I was really impressed with the way we played for about three quarters,” Sarkisian said.
Texas’ sizable lead quickly unraveled in the fourth quarter when TCU closed the lead to 29-26 with 3:38 to pay.
“We were giving up chunk plays defensively, they were scoring quickly and then we didn’t operate very (well) on special teams,” he said. “We didn’t punt the ball like we’ve been punting all year. We didn’t cover on our punt unit like we’ve accustomed to covering, we get an uncharacteristic unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the play that finishes out of bounds. So we did things out of character.”
Savion Red was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after an 18-yard punt return by JP Richardson to give TCU the ball at the Texas 36. The Horned Frogs scored in two plays to get within three points.
“I know Savion (Red) as a person,” defensive back Michael Taaffe said on Monday. “I know that it was just a fluke mistake and that it wasn’t intentional. He’s a great guy and I (have) all the confidence in him.”
Texas is on the road again on Saturday at Iowa State and has not won in Ames since 2017. In Sarkisian’s first year at Texas, the Longhorns were blown out 30-7 in Ames.
Iowa State (6-4, 5-2) earned bowl eligibility last weekend after a 45-13 win at BYU. Iowa State leads the Big 12 in total defense (first against the pass and thid against the run).
“I think they do a great job of playing complimentary football,” Sarkisian said. “They believe in running the ball, they believe in a ball control style offense. And so because they make you earn it offensively, and then they possess the ball on offense they don’t turn it over, they start to limit your possessions and so you have to be really efficient offensively and there’s real value in those possessions
“We may get 50 (to) 55 plays Saturday night, so we need to make sure that we make the most of those opportunities and make them count.”
Leave a Reply