



LANDOVER, Md. — Some sequels are better than others. Godfather II? Money. Caddyshack II? Not so much.

So where does that leave us with Maryland Flop II: This time at FedEx Field on the heels of Maryland Flop I: No Pixie Dust?

Well, it leaves Tom Herman getting taken apart like a piñata by pundits for becoming the first coach in Texas history to open back-to-back seasons with losses to an unranked team …

… or for losing to a team without its head coach …

… or for not producing an offense anywhere close to those of rivals Lincoln Riley and Jimbo Fisher in Week 1 …

… (you get the point).

On days like Saturday, Herman gets paid $5 million a year to make sure he and his players tune out the noise.

Just like at this time last year, after the debut of Maryland Flop I: No Pixie Dust.

So it’s time for Herman to head off Razzie voters and make one of those $5 million decisions, which really shouldn't be that hard: Give junior quarterback Shane Buechele the start next Saturday against Tulsa.

And if Buechele struggles, use one of freshman quarterback Cameron Rising’s four “redshirt” games to see if he can consistently move the offense.

Before Longhorn Nation melts down at the thought or thinks this is some knee-jerk reaction to yet another banana-in-the-tailpipe, upset loss by Texas to an "inferior," double-digit dog (see BYU and Cal before Maryland), hear me out.

This is about competition. It's about the great fall camps of Buechele and Rising, by Herman's own admission, and the fact Ehlinger is a football-playing warrior who could move to H-back or linebacker tomorrow and become a starter, because he's that much of a football player.

Here's the bottom line: Unlike last year’s belly flop in Austin against the Terrapins (Maryland Flop I: No Pixie Dust), when Buechele played the whole game, this year’s season-opening, Razzie magnet - Maryland Flop II: This time at FedEx Field, including a 1 hour, 26-minute weather delay just to string out the drama/misery, wasn’t the fault of the offensive line.

Maryland’s defense had just one sack, and Texas’ Tre Watson (12 carries, 52 yards, 4.3 ypc) and freshman Keaontay Ingram (six carries, 37 yards, 6.2 ypc, and a TD) had room to run thanks to the big fellas up front.

The backs weren’t the problem (with the exception of Kyle Porter’s huge dropped pass on second-and-10 from the Maryland 33 on UT’s final drive … more on that in a second).

And the receivers, who were often open but unspotted, weren’t the problem.

Just a bad game for Ehlinger? Who was often slightly off target even on his completions?

Or a lack-of-field awareness that tends to be at its ugliest late in close games, leading to poor decisions/turnovers that could keep this Texas team from growing into what it’s supposed to become? Or maybe it's not that complicated. Maybe Ehlinger just needs a little time to watch from the sideline.

At this point, Herman, offensive guru-turned-piñata or not, Razzie nominee or not, can’t afford to guess.

As Herman said after Maryland Flop II: This time at FedEx Field, Texas’ primary goal of competing for a Big 12 title is still on the table. And it is … for now. Conference play doesn't start until Sept. 22 against TCU (the last team Texas had a weather delay against — in 2013 — which also happens to be the last time the Horns beat the Horny Toads).

Because of the strong fall camps of Buechele and Rising, Herman has a relatively straightforward decision.

Let me interrupt this movie review to say I don’t worry about Ehlinger as a football player, because he’s just that - a football player.

Ehlinger plays quarterback with a linebacker’s mentality. Heck, if you moved him to H-back or linebacker (a la Iowa State's Joel Lanning last season), Ehlinger would be on the field, thriving as a starter at one of those positions, in no time. Football player!

Here are the facts — despite all the negatives in Saturday's Maryland Flop II: This Time At FedEx Field (here are just a few):



- The offense converting just 3 of 15 third downs …

- Kris Boyd dropping a sure interception right before Maryland scored on a 65-yard pass in the first quarter, helping turn Terps' true freshman Jeshaun Jones into the first college football player to run, catch and throw for a touchdown in a single game since Dak Prescott …

- Porter inexplicably playing in the second half instead of Ingram …

- Critical penalties by veteran defensive players, including the first-half ejection of star linebacker Gary Johnson for targeting, extending Maryland scoring drives …

Despite all of those negatives (and more), Texas played stellar sudden-change defense late in the game (including a huge stop by star defensive player Brandon Jones — announced after the game as having a high-ankle sprain — on second-and-goal from the 1), and gave the offense three straight chances to take the lead/win at the end of the game. Instead, the offense turned it over three straight times, twice on Ehlinger interceptions.

Now, when a defense knows Ehlinger has to throw, it drops eight into coverage like Texas Tech did last year in the final minutes, picking him off twice.

Maryland dropped eight with Texas facing third-and-10 from the Maryland 33 on UT’s final drive, with just more than a minute left, and the Terps clinging to a 34-29 lead. Ehlinger threw it up for grabs. Interception. Game over.

After the game, Ehlinger said you’re going to have to “take chances” in a situation like that, adding he simply overthrew his target.

Asked if Buechele would be back in the starting picture after Maryland Flop II: This Time at FedEx Field, Herman said, “I’m not ready to answer that.”

If Buechele had the camp Herman said he did (and Rising did, too, from enough people who would know), then Herman owes it to Buechele and the team to give the junior a chance to jumpstart the offense next Saturday.

If Buechele struggles, then it will be time to get Rising on the field.

Again, I don’t say this to incite a riot. From multiple sources, Rising has a football IQ and presence in the pocket beyond his years, commands the offense and runs better than you think at 230 pounds. In addition to my own eyes, there are a number of people I trust who say Rising is going to be a star quarterback at Texas. Who knows? You have to see it on the field to find out.

USC is starting a quarterback who should be a senior in high school (J.T. Daniels). So, let’s not get into glass ceilings for a true freshman quarterback possibly having to face the difficulty of Texas' schedule ahead.

With solid coaching and a good plan of attack, star quarterbacks, whether a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior — reveal themselves quickly.

See Alabama’s Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, Georgia’s Jake Fromm, Tim Tebow at Florida, Jamelle Holieway at OU … the list goes on.

Give the start next week against Tulsa to Buechele.

If naming Ehlinger the starter over Buechele was Herman’s hardest quarterback decision as a coach or coordinator, then Herman owes it to Buechele — and the rest of the team — to start him next week.

If the offense hums and Texas wins next week, you give Buechele the start at home against USC on Sept. 15.

If Buechele handles business, you stay with the “hot hand,” the term used by Herman when talking about why — shaking my head — Texas played Watson and Porter in the second half at running back instead of Ingram, who had the team’s best yards-per-carry average (6.2).

(Really shaking my head at why Herman didn't play Ingram instead of Porter in the second half, if you haven't noticed.)

If Buechele struggles next week, it'll be time to look at Rising. It's called competition. Every position has it. Only Jerry Jones believes his starting quarterback shouldn't be surrounded by another quarterback who could come in and beat the competition.

While Ehlinger showed, at times, he can step up in the pocket on Saturday, he still struggles with accuracy and seeing the entire field.

Even on one of Ehlinger’s touchdown passes, to Devin Duvernay, who was wide open, Duvernay had to lay out to make a 39-yard reception in the end zone.

Ehlinger had time to throw Saturday, but most of his passes, even the completions, were just off target.

A 17-yard pass to Jerrod Heard on first-and-20 late in the second quarter was so low, Heard had to go to the ground to catch it, costing him yards after the catch.

If Ehlinger hits Lil'Jordan Humphrey in stride on a deep crossing route to start the third quarter, instead of behind him (still a ball that probably should’ve been caught), it goes for a huge gain — if not a touchdown.

Two plays later, on third-and-6 from the UT 31, Ehlinger overthrew a wide-open Joshua Moore, leading to a 23-yard punt by Ryan Bujcevski.

Maryland’s defense wasn’t as good as Texas' 3-of-15 conversions on third down.

As much as I, Herman and his teammates love the grit, toughness and passion of Ehlinger, and we all do, this was a winnable game if the quarterback play was there.

Just like Herman left Ehlinger on the sideline last year during Maryland Flop I: No Pixie Dust, Herman left Buechele on the sideline and stuck with Ehlinger until the bitter end of Maryland Flop II: This Time At FedEx Field, and it was, just that, a bitter end.

I’ve said since the middle of fall camp, Texas has two — maybe three — quarterbacks it can win with. One didn’t pass the season-opening test. On to the next two. Competition. If Buechele had started and had a game like Saturday, Ehlinger would be spitting blood for the right to start next week. Competition.

According to Herman, every position has to be won every day in practice and in every game.

The solution may not sound pleasant to fans, who abhor the idea of a quarterback rotation or controversy or whatever lazy critics call competition at that position these days.

But Herman gets paid $5 million a year to make sure the best quarterback is on the field.

So, it’s time to make sure the best quarterback is on the field ... and that we never have a Razzie-loving movie and sequel like ... nevermind.