Forty Acres Insider: October 18

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Longhorn Nation,

Together, we celebrated the big plays and rode the rollercoaster of emotions, while cheering our lungs out as our Horns continued to dig deep and rally to the finish on Saturday. The final several heart-pumping minutes took place deep in Iowa State territory on a spectacular fourth & goal beauty when our mighty Quinn connected with the X-Man to put us back on top of the Cyclones, 24-21, with less than five minutes to go. Then, nearly 58 minutes into a physical, hard-fought and gritty struggle against the Big 12's top-ranked defensive squad, it was our Longhorns saving the day with a sensational play on defense.

Let's call it the crunch and thump heard around DKR as hard-hitting safety Anthony Cook made the big hit on the ball, jarring it loose, and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week Jaylan Ford pounced on the pigskin as the stadium erupted. After some anxious moments of reviews and enjoying the awesomeness of the great play on many a big-screen replay, the ruling on the field stood and a raucous round of applause and Hook 'Em, Horns ensued once again. From there, it was on the ever-dependable shoulders and feet of the dynamic duo of Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson that pounded out one final first down to tick off the clock's final two minutes and ice the game for an exhilarating third-straight Texas Triumph. Coach Sark said it best in a rightfully exuberant and electrifying lockerroom scene, "that was a culture win!"

It wasn't always pretty and far from perfect, but our Longhorns put forward an all-in, relentless round of Texas Fight to put over one more win! And we can't thank y'all enough for showin' up, showin' out and keepin' the stadium and our Longhorns rockin' & rollin' all the livelong day! Now it's on to No. 11 Oklahoma State for a critical top-25 road tilt in Stillwater as Coach Sark and our No. 20 Horns look to keep the good times rolling!

Football wasn't alone in the Longhorn victory tour last week as our top-ranked Volleyball squad treated y'all to a sweep of Kansas State at Gregory Gym before traveling to Waco to knock off No. 18 Baylor in a top-25 matchup. Soccer extended its regular season unbeaten streak to 15 with a 2-1 win at West Virginia, as well. They'll look to keep on keepin' on with trips to Iowa State Thursday (6 p.m. CT) and Oklahoma State Sunday (1 p.m. CT) this week. With a perfect 14-0 record (6-0 in the Big 12) on the line, Volleyball heads to Iowa State Wednesday (6:30 p.m. CT) before returning to The Greg Saturday versus West Virginia (7 p.m. CT).

Football rallies to 24-21 win over Iowa State
I tell you what, when thinking about that down-to-the-wire 24-21 victory over Iowa State on Saturday, one word keeps coming to mind – gutsy. With the game on the line our men found a way to get it done on both sides of the ball, first on offense to retake the lead, then on defense to keep it, and then by the offense again to put it away. And make no mistake, that Iowa State team is as good as anyone in the Big 12. All four of their losses have been by one possession and that was the third by three points or less. Despite not quite having things clicking on all cylinders throughout the game like we did the week before, the offense still came through when they needed to against one of the best defenses in the nation and became just the second team to score more than 14 points against them in their seven games. Although it was the first time he didn't find his way into the end zone this season (came up just one-yard short on one of his attempts), Bijan was still Bijan and produced 171 yards of offense with 135 on the ground, along with another absolutely spectacular catch that came just before the half that set up our resident Bevo whisperer J-Whit for his first TD grab of the year. Seriously, how fun was that? Speaking of TD grabs, our man X had not one, but two, and I challenge you to find a DB alive today who could have covered the route he ran on the second one to give us back the lead for good. And Quinn was ready to put it right on the money for his third TD toss. And back to Mr. Whittington for a moment, it came up in the press conference this week, but I'd like to echo what so many of his coaches and teammates said – what a joy it is to see the joy and effort he plays with. He epitomizes the culture Coach Sark is building, and when he came flying in to tackle Roschon forward and make sure we had the first down we needed to run out the clock, I mean, it just made your heart glow with pride. And it was so appropriate that it was Ro he helped push forward, the consummate team leader whose self-described favorite play of the game was a TACKLE on kickoff coverage. That just says it all. Shoutout also to a heck of job by the offensive line who paved the way for Bijan and Ro to run for 206 yards, including 59 on the game-winning drive against that stout Cyclones defense that was allowing only 91 rushing yards per game coming in. On the subject of stout defenses, the one on the Burnt Orange side made clutch play after clutch play with none bigger than the ones by our newly-crowned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week Jaylan Ford who got his first career interception and first career fumble recovery. Not only did they both stop potential scores by Iowa State, but the interception in the end zone led to a TD by the offense to tie the game at 7-7, and the fumble recovery led to the game-sealing first down. Of course, there can't be a fumble recovery without a fumble, and it was Anthony Cook who put his shoulder on the ball to knock it out just when we needed it most. Overall, it was the third time this year our D has held an opponent under 100 yards rushing, giving up just 74. They truly play with and for each other, and it's a beautiful thing to watch. I also want to give a SPECIAL Hook 'Em to Keilan Robinson for blocking his second punt of the season! Now it's time to hit the road once again as we head up to Stillwater for a ranked match-up with the 11th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT/ABC) – so let's bring that Burnt Orange to Boone Pickens Stadium, or if you can't make it in person, where it with pride and cheer on the Horns from wherever you are!

2023 Football season ticket deposits now available!
For those looking to join us at DKR next season, season ticket deposits are now on sale! For $199 per seat, you'll get the first chance to select seats after current season ticket holders. If you've ever wanted to lock in your spot, now is the time!

Volleyball picks up wins against Kansas State, Baylor
Our No. 1-ranked Volleyball team swept K-State in Gregory Gym and took care of Baylor on the road this week. The win over Kansas State was the fourth-straight sweep for our Longhorns as they hit a season-high .380 against the Wildcats. Logan Eggleston became our school record holder in aces as she reached 188 to surpass the previous record of 186. Logan also hit .684 in the match with 13 kills, while against Baylor, she registered 20 kills and was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. Asjia O'Neal also had a great match with 12 kills and a season-high eight total blocks and was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. Congrats to both Logan and Asjia! This week it's back on the road at Iowa State on Oct. 19 and then home to host West Virginia on Oct. 22 at The Greg.

Women's Soccer takes care of business at West Virginia
Get this, our Soccer squad hasn't lost a Big 12 regular-season match in 706 days! They continued their winning ways with a 2-1 victory on the road at West Virginia and improved to 11-1-3 for the season, their best start since 2017! Big 12-leading goal scorer Trinity Byars tied her career single-season high with her 12th goal of the season. Our Horns continue their road swing at Iowa State (Oct. 20) and Oklahoma State (Oct. 23) this week!

Men's Basketball ranked No. 12 in AP preseason poll
The Men's Basketball team is ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press' Preseason Top 25. That's now 19 appearances in school history in The AP preseason poll. Our Horns were one of five Big 12 Conference teams selected and we have four opponents in the non-conference slate ranked, too.

Women's Basketball ranked No. 3 in AP preseason poll
The Women's Basketball team is ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25. This is the 18th time our Longhorns have been ranked in the top-10 of the preseason poll and it's their highest start since being ranked No. 2 prior to the 2017-18 season. We've got the third-most appearances all-time in the AP poll with 590 and are seventh in total appearances in the all-time top-five with 179!

Rori Harmon selected to Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List
Women's Basketball's Rori Harmon has been selected to the Nancy Lieberman Award 20 player watch list! The award recognizes the top point guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. Rori earned All-America Honorable Mention honors from the Associated Press and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association last season, becoming the first freshman in our program's storied history to earn those honors. Our Horns will play a charity exhibition game against DePaul on Oct. 30!

Cross Country competes at 2023 Panorama Farms Invitational
The Men's and Women's Cross Country teams competed in their fourth meet of the season this week. The Men's third-place finish was led by Isaac Alonzo, who completed the 8K course in a personal-best time of 23:21.2 to finish in seventh place. On the Women's side, Beth Ramos finished 16th as she crossed the finish line in 17:13.6 for the 5K race. Up next are the Big 12 Championships Oct. 28 in Lubbock.

Sara Kouskova earns LET Card
Our former women's golfer Sara Kouskova earned her Ladies European Tour card for the 2023 season by finishing atop of the ranking on the LET Access Series. She earned Rookie of the Year honors and won three tournaments in her 10 starts to go along with eight total top-10 finishes. Way to go, Sara!

Peyton Stearns wins ITF 25K Florence (S.C.) singles title
Our reigning Women's Tennis singles national champ and former star Peyton Stearns captured the singles title at the International Tennis Federation pro circuit 25K tournament on Sunday. It was the third career ITF singles title for Peyton and second in the last three weeks! She won four of her five matches in straight sets on the way to the singles title. Now that's impressive!

This Week's Longhorns action on The 40 and beyond

Monday

• Men's Golf at Big 12 Match Play Championship (Hockley, Texas)

Tuesday:

• Men's Golf at Big 12 Match Play Championship (Hockley, Texas)

Wednesday:

• Men's Golf at Big 12 Matchplay Tournament (Hockley, Texas)

• Volleyball at Iowa State (6:30 p.m. CT/ESPN+)

Thursday

• Soccer at Iowa State (6 p.m. CT/ESPN+)

Friday

• Women's Golf at Stanford Intercollegiate (Palo Alto, Calif.)

• Softball vs. Odessa College (6 p.m. CT/LHN)

• Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving vs. Texas A&M/Indiana

Saturday

• Football at Oklahoma State (2:30 p.m. CT/ABC)

• Women's Golf at Stanford Intercollegiate (Palo Alto, Calif.)

• Volleyball vs. West Virginia (7 p.m. CT/LHN) — WEAR PINK!

Sunday

• Baseball vs. Houston (Noon CT)

• Women's Golf at Stanford Intercollegiate (Palo Alto, Calif.)

• Soccer at Oklahoma State (1 p.m. CT/ESPN+)

We, not Me
Oh, and while I've got you, Coach Sark's team mantra for the season is "We, not Me." Jordan Whittington absolutely exemplifies that, and here's two and a half minutes of pure joy that will make your day. Thank you to our local sports guy Tyler Feldman from KVUE-TV for sharing this wonderful story. It's well worth a watch!

Hook 'Em Horns,

Chris Del Conte

Chris Del Conte signature
Chris Del Conte