How does Texas football get a killer instinct?
In three of their last four games, the Longhorns have made things more interesting than they would have liked by letting second-half leads slip.
AUSTIN (KXAN) - Nine wins and just one (close) loss sets the Texas Longhorns up in pretty good position with two games to go. The Longhorns are alone atop the Big 12 before their bout with Iowa State this weekend.
In three of their last four games, the Longhorns have made things more interesting than they would have liked by letting second-half leads slip.
Texas was up 26-6 heading into the fourth quarter Saturday at TCU and had to hang on for a thrilling 29-26 victory. The previous week saw the Longhorns up 27-7 late in the third quarter against Kansas State before having the game go into overtime.
After the game in Fort Worth on Saturday, Longhorns wide receiver Adonai Mitchell noted how learning to close doesn't just happen on gamedays. It takes work during the week. Here's what other members of the Longhorns said about how they go about getting a killer instinct.
Head Coach Steve Sarkisian
"I do think us having those competitive settings in practice - sudden changes, the third-down competitions, the good-on-good team runs, the good-on-good 7-on-7 periods - allows our players to feel comfortable in those moments when they have to make a play."
Senior Offensive Lineman Christian Jones
"Later on in practice will be the harder periods of practice. The team periods, the competitive periods. Going through that and feeling how you're going to feel in the game. It's the fourth quarter, everyone is tired. It's no different. Just got to dig a little deeper."
Junior Wide Receiver Xavier Worthy
"It just starts with practice, not getting lackadaisical towards the end of practice. Like [Adonai Mitchell] said, it doesn't come on Saturdays. It comes on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, whenever you're tired at the end of practice just continuing to work."
Senior Defensive Back Jahdae Barron
"We do a lot of drills that simulate game realities and real things. Real, live situations like two-minute drill. We do that all the time...Just us as players we have to handle that when it comes time."