Texas Football: 3 takeaways from the loss to Maryland

Texas football jumped out to an early lead on Maryland, but they crumbled down the stretch. What did we learn about the Longhorns and Terps on Saturday?

When the season began, the Texas Longhorns defense was expected to be their biggest strength. The defense looked to be just that on the opening drive of the game. Cornerback Holton Hill returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown on the Maryland Terrapins opening drive of the game. After the Longhorns went up 7-0, they forced a three-and-out and a punt.

Then things took a turn. Quarterback Shane Buechele threw an interception on their next drive. Then after an 11-play, 55-yard drive, kicker Joshua Rowland missed a 42-yard field goal. Maryland would block the Longhorns next field goal attempt and return 71 yards for another touchdown to go up 21-7 and essentially never look back.

The Longhorns trailed 30-14 at halftime in Austin.

The ball started in the hands of the Texas Longhorns in the second half. They drove the ball 70 yards down the field in 12 plays before going for it on fourth down and turning it over on downs.

Texas was 0-for-3 on fourth downs in the game. The Longhorns still put up 20 points in the third quarter, but the defense couldn’t stop the Terrapins when it mattered. Whether it was Tyrrell Pigrome or Kasim Hill, the Texas Longhorns defense had a hard time stopping the Terrapins offense all game long.

It didn’t help that the Texas offense had three turnovers in the game, either. Here are three things we learned from the Longhorns 51-41 loss to the Terrapins.