The game is never won or lost on a single play, but one snap can decide the outcome. And for the Texas Longhorns, their Big 12 title and College Football Playoff aspirations depended on stopping Kansas State on a fourth and goal attempt in overtime. 

Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman could've kicked a chip-shot field goal to extend the game. Instead, he tried to steal victory in a contest his team had no business winning. Because if Texas would've allowed Kansas State to score, that wouldn't have been why they lost. It would've been because of the blocked punt, two interceptions, one fumble and numerous false start penalties that administered CPR to a lifeless K-State offense.

But with one play remaining, the front seven that Steve Sarkisian's staff has spent three seasons molding saved their season. Byron Murphy pressured Kansas State quarterback Will Howard into the grasp of edge Barryn Sorrell, and Howard's prayer fell harmlessly to the turf. Texas stormed for the field, 8–1 for the first time since the 2009 national championship run, knowing they still had a chance to reach those heights.

"To sit here 8–1 sure feels a heck of a lot better than sitting here 7–2," Sarkisian said.

Three Thoughts

The most Texas game of all the Texas games: Once again Texas looked like the best team in the nation for a chunk of the game.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Maalik Murphy was dealing, tossing for 152 yards in the first quarter alone off two deep shots to receiver Adonai Mitchell. Sarkisian called a fake-QB sneak toss to Cedric Baxter on fourth-and-one from his own 46-yard-line that went to the house and opened up a 17-0 lead. Kansas State's offense, which had put up 82 points combined in the previous two games, hadn't even crossed midfield.

Then Texas busted on punt formation and surrendered a blocked kick with 1:35 left in the half that Kansas State later scored off of. To their credit, the Longhorns responded well by taking a 27-7 lead deep into the third quarter. Then they did everything humanly possible to get the Wildcats back into the game. 

"It's easy to look at the result and be excited about the result of the game," Sarkisian said. "Our job as coaches is to go back and peel back the onion on the game and find areas for where each individual player can improve so the team can improve."

Onlookers don't have to peel back the onion too far to see what happned. Kansas State scored to end the third quarter. Murphy responded by throwing an interception that looked like it was intended for left guard Hayden Conner. K-State scored. Jonathon Brooks fumbled. K-State scored. In two-and-a-half minutes of game time, a 20-point Texas lead evaporated into a tie.

But maybe Texas's response (more on that later) is why this team is different than those Texas squads of years past, the memories of which had everyone anticipating a brutal loss.

"There's a lot of teams that would've played this game today that wouldn't have won," Sarkisian said. "We continue to find a way to win. And that's the sign of a champion."

Maalik Murphy elevates in the crunch: Murphy didn't have the performance he wanted on Saturday, completing just 19-of-37 passes with a touchdown and two picks. But the young starter responded to the massive momentum swing of K-State tying the game with a 14-play drive, hitting tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders on a fourth-and-four that chewed clock before a Bert Aurburn field goal.

"We needed a drive," Sarkisian said. "And he made some really critical throws on that drive to get us down there when we kicked the field goal."

In Murphy's defense, Texas was nowhere near full-strength. Right tackle Christian Jones didn't suit up on Saturday. Left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. exited the game midway through. And yet Texas still found a way to beat a top 25 team battling the injury bug and four turnovers. 

"That was Grad A-adversity," safety Michael Taaffe said. "Two years ago, I don't know if we come out on top. That just shows our culture."

With Quinn Ewers' status still a mystery, this game should give Murphy confidence that he doesn't always need to make the home-run play.

Texas has a championship-level front seven: Kansas State entered Saturday as the nation's fifth-ranked rushing offense, going for over 100 yards in 28-consecutive games. That streak ended when they managed a meager 33 yards on 29 attempts. Texas figured out the blueprint for nullifying Kansas State's ground-and-pound attack - recruit a two-deep of 300-pound linemen.

Make no mistake - Texas's defense won them the game. Three of the Wildcats' four touchdowns came off of short fields the Texas offense gifted them. One of Texas's touchdowns came because Ethan Burke forced a fumble on Howard that Jaylan Ford recovered at the five-yard-line. The Longhorns gave running back DJ Giddens and company nowhere to turn, making eight stops in the backfield. 

"We knew they wanted to run the ball, and we kind of made that the emphasis throughout the week," Sorrell said. "We knew they hadn't played us yet, so we were excited to see how they'd respond to our defense and our rush defense." 

Texas's talent-level is head-and-shoulders above every team in the Big 12 minus Oklahoma, who they have a better chance of meeting again in the Big 12 Championship game after Saturday. From now on, it doesn't matter if the Longhorns win ugly, just that they win.