Ehlinger-to-Humphrey connection helps Texas avoid comeback loss to TTU, 41-34

Down Collin Johnson for its game against Texas Tech, Texas knew the Red Raiders would pay close attention to Lil’Jordan Humphrey. They got a front row seat to his game-winning performance.

After the defense surrendered 24 fourth quarter points,Texas received the ball with 1:45 remaining and the score tied at 34. Sam Ehlinger drove Texas to the Red Raider 29, well within field goal range. But Ehlinger gave Humphrey the opportunity to make one more play, one he took in the form of a touchdown reception over a defender to earn a 41-34 victory.

Humphrey caught eight passes for a career-high 159 yards and two scores. He became the first Longhorn with back-to-back 100-yard games since Mike Davis in 2012. He also made his own history in the exact same spot as Michael Crabtree’s game-winning catch ten years ago.

“It’s the LJ corner now,” he said when asked if he knew that was the location of the 2008 catch.

Humphrey would expand on the final score.

“We’ve been working on it since spring and fall camp,” Humphrey said. “It’s just a testament to how hard we work during the off-season.”

The final drive was a result of several second-half miscues by the Longhorns. The offense had its problems, including a three-and-out on the drive prior to TTU’s tying score, but the defense made the final result much closer than what the results of the first three quarters would suggest.

TTU quarterback Jett Duffey had three turnovers attributed to him through the first 45 minutes. He took available yardage, but struggled with ball security when the Red Raiders had opportunities to score.

He took off in the fourth. Duffey was 13-for-19 for 229 yards and three scores in the final fifteen minutes. He found Antoine Wesley four times for 123 yards and two scores, and found T.J. Vasher for the other touchdown pass. His performance came against a defense battling injuries, including ailments that took Davante Davis (ankle/knee), Caden Sterns (head), and Josh Thompson (ankle) out of the game.

It started with an onside kick with 6:23 left and a 14-point difference. Clayton Hatfield kicked the ball directly at P.J. Locke, who couldn’t come up with the deflection before a Red Raider got to it. With the help of a fourth down pass interference penalty, Duffey drove Texas Tech down the field to cut it to a seven-point game.

They kicked it deep on the next kickoff, but Texas went three-and-out. Multiple completions to Wesley, including a nine-yarder for the score, tied it at 34.

“You’ve got to put 11 guys on the field, and one of the pillars of the program is competitive focus,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said. “Which means to perform and be ready when you number’s called. Now that being said, we were down to not just second team guys but third team guys that probably get maybe zero reps in practice and have to rely completely on mental reps.”

Some of those second and third team guys getting extended play included Chris Brown and Donovan Duvernay.

That quick scoring drive gave Ehlinger an opportunity to get Texas into position to win. It looked inevitable, as Ehlinger had performed all night against the Red Raider defense. He finished 22-for-34 for 312 yards and four scores, but none were more important than those he picked up in the final minute.

He rushed for 21 yards before finding Tre Watson and Jerrod Heard. He rushed again for 12 more yards before setting up the final play.

Despite his big night, Humphrey constantly was left alone in one-on-one coverage. With Demarcus Fields covering him one-on-one, the burnt orange duo made Texas Tech pay.

“We maximum protected and gave him a chance,” Ehlinger said. “We knew that. We’ve been doing that with Collin and LJ and Devin as well, giving them a chance and let them go win. That’s what he did.”

The result comes on the heels of back-to-back Big 12 games in which Texas could not squeak out victories from games decided by a combined total of four points. The close call Herman probably would have wanted to avoid keeps Texas in the hunt to reach the conference title game in December.

It also comes as the result of a phenomenal offensive performance with a lacking response from the defense. Despite mixing and matching secondary personnel without several starters, plays not made by those left on the field let the Red Raiders back into the game.

Even with the defensive issues, Ehlinger had faith his unit would earn the victory for Texas.

“I really, really would like to not have to be in those situations where we have a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter, but I do love those situations,” Ehlinger said. “I do love having the game on the line and the ball being in our hands because we have so much confidence in ourselves and we knew that was going to happen.”

The four turnovers created by the Texas defense were a bright spot, but despite the 270 yards given up in the fourth quarter and 595 total, Herman made sure to praise his defense postgame by noting how proud he was of them. “I can’t thank them enough for continuing to battle when things seemed pretty bleak there and the energy was certainly with the other team,” he said.

The defense was praised, but it was evident the offense won the game. Not only did Humphrey and Ehlinger have big days, but other receivers got involved too. Jerrod Heard had six catches for 54 yards, and Devin Duvernay had four catches for 66 yards and two scores. On the ground, Keaontay Ingram led all rushers with 83 yards and a score, but had to leave the game with a re-aggravation of a hip pointer.

Texas now sits at 7-3, the first time the Longhorns have achieved seven regular season wins since 2013. Herman’s team is also 5-2 in conference, tied with Iowa State for second behind Oklahoma and West Virginia.

The Cyclones visit Austin this weekend, and Herman knows what’s on the way to town.

“That’s going to be a dog fight as well and I think winning this game gives your team a little boost of confidence,” Herman said. “Maybe we had taken some pretty good blows the last couple weeks, three point loss and then obviously the heart-breaking two point conversion loss, and to battle back after that especially I think will certainly pay dividends in the overall confidence of this team moving forward.”