University of Texas (UT) head coach Steve Sarkisian senses a pattern with his current group of Longhorns.
According to Austin NBC affiliate KXAN, UT – for the second time this season – responded to a tough loss with a resounding win, bouncing back from a 37-34 overtime loss to Texas Tech in Lubbock the week before by easily defeating West Virginia 38-20 at home on Saturday.
“I loved the way we played after coming back from a tough loss,” Sarkisian told KXAN. “It’s never easy to get back on the horse and start riding again when you fall off, and last week we clearly did. But our guys really responded and it showed a great deal of perseverance and resiliency.”
The station reported that sophomore quarterback Hudson Card recorded a 303-yard, three-touchdown performance against the Mountaineers.
Card, a Lake Travis graduate, and the offense generated at least eight yards a play overall throughout the contest, per KXAN.
It was Card’s third start under center for UT after Quinn Ewers went down with an injury in the near upset of second-ranked Alabama almost a month ago.
The Longhorns rebounded from that loss with a 41-20 victory over the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA).
An Associated Press (AP) report that was ran by Austin ABC affiliate KVUE said that the 6-foot-2, 201-pound Card tossed a pair of touchdown passes to sophomore wide receiver Xavier Worthy.
Worthy, who hails from Fresno, California, snagged a 15-yarder from Card for the score after the field general was drilled in the midsection and his second touchdown haul was the result of a failed interception attempt by a West Virginia defender, the AP reported.
Sophomore tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders was the other Longhorns player to take a Card pass into the end zone.
Above the .500 mark again with a 3-2 overall record, unranked UT now turns its focus to the highly anticipated Red River Showdown against the No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners in Dallas on Saturday, Oct. 8.
The enormous gravity of the longtime rivalry isn’t lost on Sarkisian.
"Last time I checked this morning when I walked in our building, the Golden Hat wasn't there,” the second-year Longhorns coach said, per the Horn Sports Twitter account. “We've got plenty to get ourselves prepared for.”