Tom Herman Teams Highly Successful Versus Ranked Opponents
Scott Morris | September 14, 2017
Tom Herman will lead the Texas Longhorns onto the field Saturday night on the road against the USC Trojans. Herman is seen by many as the savoir for the Longhorns football program, as the offensive genius came to Texas following two highly successful seasons with the Houston Cougars.
The Longhorns head coach has much work still to do with the program, but his run of success with Houston against top competition is unparalleled.
During the two seasons he was on the Houston sidelines, the Cougars under his tutelage were 6-0 straight up against ranked opponents. The Cougars were not playing fringe teams in the Top 25 as they defeated the likes of Florida State, Louisville and Oklahoma during that period.
Even more noteworthy was in the four games that saw the Cougars under Herman close as the dog, the team won and owned a plus-17.8 points per game average scoring margin.
The game this weekend will be Herman’s toughest test to date, as Texas is going against the No. 4 ranked Trojans that have Sam Darnold under center and Ronald Jones II in the backfield.
After just two games to open the season, the offense for USC is ranked No. 11 in scoring at 45.5 points per game and No. 9 in total yards per game at 572.
Herman and Todd Orlando the Longhorns defensive coordinator need to make big fixes on the defensive side of the ball after struggling in an opening season loss to Maryland.
During his years as a head coach, Herman received the underdog role with open arms, and there is something special about how he is able to bring out the best in his players during the times the spotlight is shining most on them.
Texas is currently a 15.5-point dog for Saturday’s showdown in southern California, but do not be surprised when the Longhorns cover and possibly even pull a huge upset over the highly favored Trojans.
