Herman: Loss at Kansas in 2016 in rearview mirror
Texas is thisclose to earning a berth in the Big 12 championship game, with a road win on Friday over hapless — but improved — Kansas the only thing standing in the way of the Longhorns and trip to Arlington.
But there was plenty on the line the last time Texas traveled to Lawrence, as well — mainly the continued employment on the 40 Acres for coach Charlie Strong. Things didn’t go as planned for the Longhorns that blustery and cold day, as the Jayhawks won in overtime and Strong– after a season-ending loss at home to TCU six days later — was sent packing.
Fast forward to today, when the Longhorns (8-3, 6-2 in Big 12 play) have already won more games than they have since 2013.
Despite being an overwhelming favorite to clobber Kansas (3-8, 1-7 in Big 12 play), the Ghost of Lawrence Past hangs over the Longhorns as an example of a situation when everything that could go wrong did.
Texas coach Tom Herman said Monday that he has not even considered using that loss to Kansas in 2016 as a motivational tool to make sure there’s not a repeat performance this season.
“I feel like that was 50 years ago, not two years ago,” Herman said during his regularly scheduled Monday media availability. “We’re so far past that point in our program that, no, there is no hidden significance of it.
“Win or lose, regardless of opponent and regardless of venue, you have to move on,” Herman added. “It requires a skill to make sure that you do it properly. There is no need for ‘closure.’ We’ve played a lot of football since then, and we’ve grown up a lot as a team.”
Herman said that the shoulder injury suffered by quarterback Sam Ehlinger on Saturday was a re-aggravation of the injury Ehlinger had about a month ago in the Baylor game and was not as severe as the original.
“The MRI showed no broken bones, no separation, no ridiculous amount of damage,” Herman said. “It’s angry. It’s upset. The joint, the shoulder is inflamed.”
Herman fully expects Ehlinger to start and play most of the game on Friday against Kansas.
“We’re going to play the best players, the players that give us the best chance to win, regardless of opponent,” Herman said. “Sam has earned the right that if he is healthy to start the game, he will. He’s proven that he can win really big ball games for us and perform that way, and we’re going to need our best to win.
