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The Reheat: Texas is back in rhythm after Sam Houston State

by: RT Young13 hours ago
Danny-Kanell-calls-out-Arch-Manning-over-TD-taunt-vs-Sam-Houston-State
© Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Welcome to The Reheat, a weekly recap of the previous day’s game, just popped out of the microwave. Look for it every Sunday, rain or shine.

I’ve never experienced another Texas football season with a more offbeat opening rhythm than this one. The only year which comes close is 2018, where Texas lost to Maryland (again), escaped against Tulsa and then pounded USC in such a quick despair-rage-hope succession it made me feel like I had whiplash.

But this year takes the cake.

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A would-be revenge match against Ohio State spent eight months baking in the oven just under the rack where the Arch Manning hype had been heating up for years. The starting of a season with a massive game followed by what was essentially a preseason in the next three games made it really strange. Layer on the fact Texas was number one and that the Arch-imania of it all was out of control and the recipe for a freak-out was there.

Starting a season with a loss will always do a number on a team and fanbase, especially this one. But the Arch-and-offense-inspired drama of the past few weeks created a five-alarm fire.

Now, after a 55-0 shutout against Sam Houston State and a five-touchdown Arch performance where he went 18-21, most Longhorn fans are feeling like Michael Corleone:

“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”

When I saw the Bearkats on the schedule a few years ago I was cynical. When I remembered Texas was playing them a few months ago I was annoyed. Never did I think it would be the Longhorns’ “get-right game.”

Fans who swan-dived off the edge are now clawing their way back up to the roof, fingernails and all. Eric Nahlin wrote this morning how if last night’s win had been a home opener, Texas fans would be completely insufferable today. The fact it feels like an opener underscores yet again the awkward beat to the season.

The renewed optimism and hope in Steve Sarkisian’s squad is just another shock to the fans’ senses in what has been a jarring first four games. Now Texas goes into an off week before a two-week stretch at Florida and against Oklahoma that will really define the Longhorns’ season. And at this point, what’s another shift in rhythm?

Fire The Cannon for: Arch Manning, five touchdowns and full of vinegar.

Horns Up on Offense for: Ryan Wingo and his two-touchdown performance. Also, DeAndre Moore Jr.’s diving catch on the first drive of the game on an underthrown Manning ball was big. The catch was the veteran wide receiver seemingly telling his quarterback: “I got you.” The offense never looked back and scored on every single drive until the very end of the fourth.

Horns Up on Defense for: This defense is special and didn’t allow a first down until the very end of the first half. Additionally, Ty’Anthony Smith, Trey Moore and Brad Spence popped constantly.

Sarkometer (grading Steve Sarkisian): Kudos to Sark for not playing it so conservatively that Arch couldn’t try anything out. Credit to Pete Kwiatkowski for showing a lot of fun new looks, which exemplifies how versatile this defense is.

Bevo’s Bucket for: Taunt-gate blowing up on Twitter today after Manning got in the face of #6 on the Bearkats after a touchdown. 1) The Texas Homer showed the trash talk came from a back-and-forth which started earlier in the game. 2) Many great athletes (see Jordan, Michael) have fueled their careers off of it. If Arch wants to cook with a little spite in his recipe for success, Longhorn fans will gladly eat it up.

Schadenfreude of the Week: No Country for (40 58 Year-Old) Men. The game has passed Mike Gundy by.

This Piping Hot Take Burned the Roof of My Mouth: Arch has 14 total touchdowns through four games (in what will be the worst stretch of his season)… is my Bad Take Tuesday prediction of 50.

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Hype Train Level: Give me an angry team and a locker room that’s pissed off about being dismissed and I’m a believer. I love that Texas fell in the AP Poll to #10 behind several eventual opponents and rivals. Let’s Bye Week and then watch Texas raise hell in October.

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