Texas Tech Football: Furious late rally comes up short against Texas

1. Texas still has a long way to go

There’s been some improvement in Austin this season, and Tom Herman has found his answer at quarterback in Sam Ehlinger, but the Longhorns still have a long way to go to get back to national prominence.

They rebounded from back-to-back close losses at Oklahoma State and at home to West Virginia by staving off a late Texas Tech rally, but their win had more to do with Texas Tech’s miscues than anything else. Jett Duffey’s three brutal mistakes in Texas territory proved to be the difference in this game, and while you have to give Texas credit for taking advantage of them, this game would have been a lot different without the plethora of Red Raiders mistakes.

The Texas defense, in particular, remains a real problem for Herman. The Longhorns entered the game with the 71st ranked defense in the country, and were mostly torched by Duffey and company on Saturday night as they gave up 600-plus yards of offense.

With games left against Iowa State and Kansas, 9-3 is a distinct possibility, which would be a sizable jump from last season’s 6-6 record. There’s still an outside shot that Texas could make it to the Big 12 Championship game if West Virginia knocks off Oklahoma on the last weekend of the regular season.

Regardless of what happens, there’s work to be done if Herman wants to lead Texas back to the upper echelon of the college football world.