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AMES, Iowa – Tom Herman wasted no time in letting the world know during his postgame press conference how he and his Longhorns were going to treat a 17-7 win for Texas in the program’s Big 12 opener against Iowa State on Thursday night.

“We’re going to celebrate this win,” Herman said. “Winning college football games is really hard. Winning on the road in conference on a Thursday night is even harder, and we’re going to celebrate it tonight.”

While Herman and Co. celebrate the win, we’re breaking down the Longhorns starting off Big 12 play with a 1-0 mark.

How the Longhorns (2-2, 1-0 in the Big 12) won: It’s time to stop wondering if the Texas defense is legit. While it’s unrealistic to expect the defense to travel every week and be up to the challenge of slowing down every offense they’ll face in the Big 12, the effort over the last three games is exceptional. An Iowa State offense that entered the game having only allowed one sack through three games gave up four, the Cyclones managed just 10 rushing yards on 15 attempts and Jacob Park was intercepted three times, two of which led to Texas points. The coaches couldn’t ask the defense to do more than what that side of the ball is doing of late.

How the Cyclones (2-2, 0-1 in the Big 12) lost: When an apparent three-and-out resulted in Texas keeping the ball because of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Cyclones, the drive continuing and ending in a Texas touchdown summed up a frustrating night for Iowa State. Even with a defensive game plan that befuddled the Texas offense, Iowa State couldn’t get anything going on offense because the Longhorns kept slamming the door shut virtually every time it seemed like the Cyclones were about to string something together.

Game MVP: Goes to DeShon Elliott for a two-interception performance that paced a torrid night for the Texas defense. Elliott’s two interceptions set up 10 points for the Longhorns, including his first theft that eventually led to a touchdown pass by Shane Buechele that put the Longhorns out in front by two scores at intermission. Elliott finished the game with six tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, two interceptions and a pass breakup.

It was over when: Malik Jefferson sacked Park for a 12-yard loss in fourth-and-4 at midfield in the fourth quarter. That was the last gasp for Iowa State as Texas took back possession of the ball with 12:07 remaining in the fourth quarter. The pressure the Longhorns were able to get on Park from start to finish was the difference in the game and Jefferson burying Park when he did proved to be the exclamation point.

Horns Up: To Toneil Carter, who turned in his most productive outing as a Longhorn. The true freshman and one-time Georgia commit carried the ball four times for 14 yards, a 3.5 yards per attempt average that led all Texas rushers. Carter also caught two passes for 23 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown that gave the Longhorns a 14-0 lead at halftime.

Horns Down: To the offensive line. This might sound harsh considering the Longhorns have what they have. That said, the group collectively wasn’t very good against the Cyclones. An 11-yard touchdown run by Chris Warren III and two separate runs by Buechele of 12 and 13 yards respectively were the only three explosive runs the Longhorns mustered on a night when the team averaged just 2.7 yards per carry on 52 official attempts. There’s a whole lot wrong with the offense right now and the offensive line’s ability to get a push or avoid costly mistakes like penalties and losing too many one-on-one battles might be atop the list right now.

The game’s biggest surprise: Was how easy it was for the Longhorns to defend the Iowa State offense because the Cyclones became a one-dimensional offense. Iowa State only recorded 11 official rushing attempts (taking out the four sacks). That means for the second time in as many games, Todd Orlando was able to see his defense tee off on a one-dimensional opponent. For the third game in a row the Longhorns were outstanding at fitting the run, which considering the trend might be something the coaches can bank on going forward.

The game’s biggest disappointment: Was how the offense once again lacked flow, consistency and an identity during the course of the game. Whether it was using more “20” and “21” personnel groupings, draws that have been seen through the first three games or an assortment of other wrinkles, there were some noticeable implementations offensively that could be seen clearly early in the game. Unfortunately, like things reverted to against Maryland and USC, there were times where it felt like the offense staff was throwing things at the wall to see what would stick. For an assortment of reasons, Texas has faced three Power Five foes and bogged down offensively for long stretches in each of those games.

Drive of the Night: Was a 13-play, 40-yard drive the offense put together that burned the final 7:35 off of the clock in regulation. Buechele’s 13-yard scamper on third-and-11 from the Texas 33 was one of three times during the march when the Longhorns moved the chains on either third or fourth down. Buechele never threw a pass during the series that allowed the Longhorns to bleed the clock after the defense’s second and final fourth-down stop of the fourth quarter.

Run of the Night: Goes to Buechele for a 5-yard run on a third-and-9 early in the fourth quarter. So what if it didn’t get the first down? Joshua Rowland needed every one of those five yards in order to step up on fourth down and drive home a 49-yard field goal that put the Longhorns back in front by two scores. Buechele’s run was definitely nothing to write home about, but it was critical on a night when the offense needed every yard it could muster.

Catch of the Night: Goes to Collin Johnson for doing his part to move the sticks on a third-and-17 in the third quarter. With the Longhorns backed up near their own goal line, Buechele scrambled for what seemed like forever before sticking a foot in the ground and firing a ball to Johnson in front of the Texas bench. Johnson made a tremendous sliding catch, putting himself between the ball and Kamari Cotton-Moya to keep the drive going. The drive, unfortunately, ended with a Buechele interception, but that doesn’t take away from the effort Johnson made to complete an off-schedule play.

Block of the Night: Goes to Derek Kerstetter for caving in the right side of the Iowa State defense on Warren’s 11-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The true freshman made his first career start in what was his collegiate debut. There’s a lot the former U.S. Army All-American will have to work on moving forward, but the Longhorns have to feel they found a gem late in the 2017 recruiting cycle who can be a key piece of the offensive line.

Hit of the Night: Goes to Elliott, who put a bone-jarring thump on Iowa State’s Hakeem Butler to break up a touchdown in the end zone in the third quarter. The Cyclones wound up pulling to within 14-7 at the end of the drive on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Park to Matthew Eaton. Nevertheless, Elliott’s hit two plays earlier was a sign of the junior safety continuing to play at an elite level and being someone who can be counted on to come up with a big play on defense when the Longhorns need one.

Stat(s) of the Night: Texas is now 17-5 in both Big 12 openers and conference road openers… Herman’s winning percentage after 30 games as a collegiate head coach is now .800… Herman is now 5-0 when having 12 or more days between games… For the first time since 2010, Texas has held three opponents in a row to under 100 yards rushing… Since giving up 263 rushing yards to Maryland, the Longhorns have allowed a total of 123 rushing yards (1.6 yards per rush)... Over the last three games, the Texas defense has recorded 16 tackles for loss, eight sacks and six interceptions… Against Power Five opponents this season the Longhorns are averaging 102.3 rushing yards per game and 20.3 points per game (season averages are 178.3 yards and 34.5 points per game respectively)... The four sacks recorded by the Longhorns were tallied by four different players (Elliott, Jefferson, Naashon Hughes and Breckyn Hager).

Story of the Night: I mentioned it earlier in the week, and Thursday night felt like I was watching the 2014 squad all over again. That Texas team had a tremendous defense and an offense that sputtered along the way without ever really finding an identity or any real consistency. Herman chalked up the offensive struggles to Iowa State throwing looks at the Longhorns that they weren’t prepared to see. The coaches are coming to the end of the line of reasons why the offense isn’t working and even with the offensive line being in less-than-ideal shape, it feels like the coaches are leaving some meat on the bone when it comes to finding ways to move the football and manufacture offense. Whatever the case, this might be the only instance the rest of the way when scoring 17 points winds up being more than enough to win a game.

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