On Saturday against Oklahoma State, the Texas Longhorns faced a second-and-10.
By one play later, things had really devolved:
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That is a THIRD-AND-44 for the Longhorns, and it had nothing to do with penalties. The Horns lost 34 yards on that second-and-10, when Oklahoma State’s Trey Carter sacked Sam Ehlinger, forced a fumble, and started a downfield race that looked like it’d never end. By the time it did end, Texas was 34 yards behind where it started.
It’s hard for any fumble to be truly shocking anymore. After Louisiana Tech lost 87 yards on one to bring up a third-and-freaking 93 against Mississippi State back in September, no fumble is going to touch anyone’s imagination quite like that ever again.
This play resulted in a loss of almost 90 yards.
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) September 10, 2017
HOW IS THIS EVEN REAL? pic.twitter.com/gsD9GulNaF
The Texas fumble isn’t as fun as that one. But just because nothing will ever be that good again doesn’t mean teams shouldn’t be lauded for trying, just like nobody should get knocked for still trying to make music after Michael Jackson did it.
This will go down as one of the five or so best fumbles and down-and-distance combinations of the 2017 season, even if it exists in Louisiana Tech’s shadow.