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Big 12 Football: ‘Eers surge as Longhorns plummet

By Patrick Mayhorn

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 1: Patrick Vahe #77 of the Texas Longhorns sits on the bench in the fourth quarter of the Longhorns 34-29 loss to the Maryland Terrapins at FedExField on September 1, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 1: Patrick Vahe #77 of the Texas Longhorns sits on the bench in the fourth quarter of the Longhorns 34-29 loss to the Maryland Terrapins at FedExField on September 1, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Texas is back (to the bottom of the conference)! The Longhorns, after once again swindling the entire country before the season, kicked off 2018 in the funniest way possible, as they lost to a Maryland team without a coach, finishing their series with the Terrapins 0-2. It was a dreadful showing for pretty much the entire team, but we’ll start with the offense.

I think at this point, we know what Sam Ehlinger is as a quarterback. He’s a decent game manager, that makes some pretty dumb mistakes, and doesn’t exactly thrive in late game situations. None of that is ideal, but I don’t think there’s a better answer on this offense. Tim Beck is a bad coach, and as long as he’s in Austin, this offense is probably going to stink.

The defense, which was dominant at times last year, looked very beatable against a Maryland offense that I’m not very high on. They struggled in coverage, and made way too many mistakes in crucial moments. Todd Orlando’s group has a long way to go before they’re ready to take on USC in two weeks, and the Big 12 schedule this season.

This was not an all an encouraging start for a Kansas State team that I was very high on coming into the season. Just like their rivals in Lawrence, Kansas State took on an FCS team, and was pushed to the very brink, though unlike Kansas, they were able to stage a late comeback and avoid a huge upset at the hands of South Dakota.

As you would imagine, Kansas State did not put on a very good performance. Both quarterbacks struggled to really get going, running back Alex Barnes fumbled three times, and the defense, while generally solid, still gave up 24 points to an FCS team before clamping down in the second half. In the future, Kansas State will have to look more like they did in the second half of this game if they want to compete, especially as they’re set to face Mississippi State this weekend.

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