Texas Football: 3 takeaways from win over Iowa State

Texas football got its biggest win of the season so far in the Longhorns’ Big 12 opener against the Iowa State Cyclones in Ames.

First-year head coach Tom Herman showed why the Texas Longhorns are a much improved team under him in 2017. It really started with the Texas win over the San Jose State Spartans in Week 2. Since then, the Horns competed with and nearly defeated the No. 5 ranked USC Trojans and had a convincing victory over the Iowa State Cyclones.

In a somewhat surprising move, Herman started sophomore quarterback Shane Buechele, who returned from a shoulder injury, over true freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger. Considering how clutch Ehlinger was against USC, nearly leading the Horns to victory at The Coliseum, many supposed he would be the starter in Week 5.

With how much uncertainty there is at the top of the Big 12 right now, the emergence of Texas could be a storyline to watch within the next few weeks. Iowa State was a tough out for the Horns for the last three seasons and that might not continue anymore.

Jack Trice Stadium did not seem to phase Texas as the offense applied steady pressure to an Iowa State defense fighting to stay in the game all night. Any time the Cyclones looked to be gaining some momentum, the Texas defense would halt them in their steps.

The 17-7 victory for the Horns signifies something bigger than just the first conference win of the season. It shows that they’re able to win on the road against quality conference opponents in the national spotlight. That was something they had a lot of trouble with under Charlie Strong.

Now, let’s take a look at three takeaways from the Texas Longhorns win over the Iowa State Cyclones in Week 5.