Texas Longhorns come up short in first road test against Cal

The No. 11 ranked Texas Longhorns fell to 2-1 in its first road test against the California Golden Bears.

The Texas Longhorns headed into Berkeley with a 2-0 start for the first time since 2012. With true freshman quarterback Shane Buechele recording two games with 200-plus passing yards, the Longhorns went into California Memorial with a mission to separate itself from the rest of the Big 12 collectively heading into conference play.

We expected a shootout given the ties Cal coaches have to the Air Raid. So it was no surprise to open the game when Cal quarterback Davis Webb hit WR Jordan Veasy with a 29-yard touchdown reception on the team’s first possession. Texas fired back, as Longhorns’ running back Chris Warren bulldozed his way into the endzone on a four-yard run.

On 4th & 1 Coach Dykes rolled the dice, lost a challenge, went for it, and came up short. This was a very risky play, and almost acted as a turnover with Texas so far deep in Cal’s territory.

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There was a scary moment for true freshmen quarterback Shane Buechele, who was taken back into the Longhorns’ locker room after taking some hits. The medical staff took his helmet which made people think it could be a concussion, but later reports confirmed he was taken back for a chest examination.

In true Texas fashion this season, backup quarterback Tyrone Swoopes led the Longhorns into the red zone, where Chris Warren clawed into the endzone after the reception with several defenders holding on.

The Bears were driving, and just yards before the endzone, the Texas defense knocked the football out after contact. Texas DB Kevin Vaccaro scooped the up the football and crossed midfield, but the ruling on the field as a fumble was reversed, as Richardson’s elbow was down. Cal finally scored with just :07 seconds before the end of the first quarter.

Shane Buechele returned to the sidelines with his helmet, which was great news for offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert. But with Buechele taken back for the second time, it changed the defensive game plan for Cal, as Texas’ ability to stretch the field shrunk.

Just as quickly as the Longhorns were expected to create some major separation, Swoopes threw an interception. Cal responded with a 1-yard touchdown run by running back, Vic Enwere, to narrow Texas lead to 24-21. And with Buechele back in the game a little later, he hit receiver Jacorey Warrick in stride for a touchdown.

There were over 100 plays and 68 points scored before the half between California and Texas, which is why conditioning is so important, especially for late games.

Texas head coach Charlie Strong stressed pass defense at the half, and with good reason as Cal quarterback Davis Webb gashed the Texas secondary in the air through the first 30-minutes.

In the fourth quarter, D’Onta Foreman showed his athleticism as he went untouched on a 47-yard tuchdown run. Webb came back to score on a designed run into the end zone, and added a 2-point conversion to give Cal a 43-40 lead with 10:45 in the fourth.

This game looked to be the true return of vintage Texas Football on offense. But on the defensive side of the ball, the trend we’ve seen throughout the Big 12 as a whole reigned true: spurts of discipline and follow through, but far too inconsistent to dominate the game.

With #Pac12AfterDark reaching its peak as the game resumed at around 10:00pm PST, the Cal Bears came back with defensive discipline, which limited the dual threat momentum Buechele and Swoopes established in the first half.

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The Texas defense allowed the UTEP Miners to pass for just 73-yards– the second-fewest passing yards allowed in the Charlie Strong era. Against Cal, the Longhorns allowed 508 total yards of offense.

Despite the game sealing goal line fumble (and live ball recovered by Texas), the call went Cal’s way to end the game, 50-43, Bears.

Cal improves to 2-1, but the Longhorns drop to 2-1 headed into a bye before opening Big 12 play on Oct. 1 at Oklahoma State.