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Texas defensive back Kris Boyd, right, breaks up a pass intended for Iowa State wide receiver Matthew Eaton, left, during the first half of the Longhorns’ 24-10 win Saturday.
Photo: Eric Gay, STF / Associated Press

AUSTIN — Mention what happened in Lawrence, Kan., two years ago to any Longhorn who was there and they cringe.

Even the ones who weren’t there for Jayhawks 24, Longhorns 21, grimace at its mention, like they picked up their teammates’ pain by osmosis.

That loss on Nov. 19, 2016, signaled the end of Charlie Strong, a well-liked coach and quality recruiter who could never quite get a handle on the Longhorns and their pro-style corporate culture. His greatest sin, falling to KU in overtime, was too much for the school to bear.

On Friday, 15th-ranked Texas (8-3, 6-2 Big 12) will return to the scene of what many consider program’s most embarrassing moment. And after beating 16th-ranked Iowa State, 24-10, Saturday at Royal-Memorial Stadium, UT can earn a spot in the Big 12 championship game with a win over the Jayhawks.

KU (3-8, 1-7) has been more competitive this year. It defeated TCU, led Kansas State on the road in the fourth quarter before losing by four points, and most recently hung 40 on sixth-ranked Oklahoma.

The Jayhawks, who on Sunday officially announced the hiring of Les Miles as its next head coach, are still the conference punching bag. That bit of information won’t make it into any of coach Tom Herman’s lectures and speeches.

“We're 0-0 against Kansas,” Herman said, repackaging an oft-used team adage. “A team that is going to give us their best shot.

“We are at the stage of our program right now where we're overachieving a little bit. We're winning on grit, we're winning on toughness we're winning on physicality, we're winning on -winning the turnover battle, we're winning on love and genuine care for the guy next to you. So we understand that to win any game in this conference we need to give that opponent our best effort.”

For Texas, the “grit” was apparent during its win over Iowa State.

The defense played with a fire not seen in weeks. It of course benefited from not facing an offense as explosive after facing Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Texas Tech in consecutive weeks.

Still, it limited Iowa State to just 210 total yards. It recorded six sacks, three by seniors and three by freshmen. It hounded and pummeled phenomenal freshman quarterback Brock Purdy, who was removed from the game in the second half after completing 10 of 23 passes for 130 yards and one interception.

In their last game at Royal-Memorial Stadium, defensive backs P.J. Locke, Davante Davis, and Kris Boyd all recorded a pass breakup. Boyd’s may have been the most impressive.

With Texas ahead 7-3 late in the first quarter, Purdy lofted a high-arcing ball down the right sideline toward receiver Matthew Eaton. He clasped the ball in his hands while tumbling to the ground in the red zone, but Boyd managed to jar it loose before Eaton could complete the catch.

And the Longhorns finally showed some resistance on third down, allowing ISU to convert only 5 of 15 opportunities.

“A lot of people thought we had forgotten how to play defense or how to coach defense,” Herman said. “And they were banged up, they had gone four out of the last five weeks of playing

elite offenses in the country, a couple of those on the road, and I can't credit them enough for the way that they responded.”

The health of sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger will be the key story to monitor as Texas chases a Big 12 crown.

Ehlinger re-injured his right shoulder in the second quarter and did not play in the second half. He was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Sunday after X-rays showed no signs of a fracture.

Junior Shane Buechele closed out the game, completing 10 of 10 passes for 89 yards and one touchdown.

The Longhorns didn’t seem too concerned about who would start under center on Black Friday at Kansas Memorial Stadium.

Senior defensive end Breckyn Hager looked like he was cutting WWE promos after the game. A pair of blonde, braided pigtails tumbled out from underneath the white cowboy hat perched atop his head. Black-lensed aviator shades covered his eyes. A mound of chewing tobacco was barely visible behind his left cheek.

“It's a good story,” Hager said of UT’s shot at redemption on Lawrence. “Aristotle - that's why I'm a philosophy major. Tragedy. Tragedy in Kansas. I lost a father to me. Got a new one. And now we're going to have some triumph.

“I'm gonna do everything I can as a captain to make sure these young guys understand how important this is because we can't let one detail slip because we are this close and the only thing that matters is beating Kansas.”



