Longhorns look to reverse morning woes

The Texas Longhorns haven't played their best football at 11 a.m. 

No. 19 Texas (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) has been outscored 80-42 in two games this season that began before noon. UT came out flat against Oklahoma on Oct. 6 and fell behind 36-2 in the first half of a 63-21 loss. Against lowly Kansas on Oct. 27, the Longhorns appeared sluggish and scraped out a 21-17 victory thanks to a pair of late touchdowns. 

"It's always difficult to get up and get yourself ready to play," cornerback Carrington Byndon said. "It's something you have to do. We're not always going to have late games. We just have to find a way to get ourselves motivated and ready to go by 11 a.m. You just have to get up a little earlier and get your routine going faster."

The Longhorns will need to correct that trend Saturday with another early kickoff scheduled against Iowa State (5-4, 2-4) at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. 

"Hopefully, the third time is a charm," offensive lineman Mason Walters said. "We need to get up earlier to get the blood flowing and be ready to go play football."

UT is 6-1 in games that kicked off at 2:30 p.m. or later. Texas averages nearly 46 points per game in those contests. 

How can the Longhorns avoid a slow start Saturday morning against the Cyclones?

"I think you just have to get focused and ready to play," quarterback David Ash said. "I don't think the secret for getting ready to play at 11 a.m. is anything different than getting ready to play at 7 p.m. You just have to do it earlier." 

The last time Texas hosted Iowa State for an 11 a.m. game, the Cyclones stunned the Longhorns 28-21 in 2010. 

By Austin Laymance/Special to the Star-Telegram