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Saturday, the Texas Longhorns will face one of its oldest rivals—Baylor—in a matchup that has all the makings of a do-or-die game for the Longhorn season.
Last season, The University of Texas lost a back-and-forth game to Baylor 24-10 in Waco. This year will mark the 60th time the two programs face off against each other in the capital city, with Longhorns fans hoping that this season's home field advantage might play a role in a Texas victory.
Baylor, losers of their last conference game against West Virginia on Oct. 3, come to Austin in hopes of moving up the Big 12 standing and competing for a conference title at the end of the year.
The Longhorns, and their fans, are still trying to get over the overtime loss to Oklahoma two weeks ago, which not only knocked Texas out of AP's Top 25 ranking but also put them at 1-2 in conference play. Add into the mix the debate over "The Eyes of Texas" still burning bright on Longhorn message boards, with the Longhorn band reported not to be traveling due to resistance to play the song. Even the school mascot Bevo isn't safe from controversy after being sued by a photographer it charged at the Sugar Bowl in 2019.
Dear Baylor Bears: you’d better strap-down your helmets, the Longhorns are our for revenge. Seriously, you’ll get… https://t.co/YebyNj45Vs— Ed (@Ed) 1603152081.0
One of the only bright spots has been senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger. Ehlinger threw for 200 yards and rushed for 79 more against the Baylor defense last year. This season, Ehlinger has continued being dangerous with both his arm and his legs, leading the conference in passing yards (1,211) and touchdowns (16). Combined with his five rushing touchdowns, Ehlinger is the proven dual-threat quarterback in the conference. But even with Ehlinger and the offensive successes, the Texas defense still ranks near the bottom of the conference in defensive efficiency.
The defense shouldn't be a problem this weekend however for the Longhorns. Baylor has struggled putting points on the board against good Big 12 competition, scoring only 21 points in two overtimes against West Virginia.
Longhorns fans of course are always nervous when senior quarterback Charlie Brewer comes to town. Brewer threw for a touchdown and rushed for one last season in the match up in Waco, but was forced to leave against West Virginia two weeks ago due to a shoulder injury.
After the Bears had to move their game last week against Oklahoma State back due to COVID concerns, Brewer has had two weeks of rest and should be ready to go for Saturday's game. The Baylor quarterback's arm is still something for Texas fans to keep an eye on as the game progresses on Saturday.
A Sam Ehlinger led football team has never beaten a Charlie Brewer led football team: 2015 - lost 35-14 2016 - inj… https://t.co/dT1f3JIIW9— Kyle Umlang (@Kyle Umlang) 1603242485.0
The match between the Bears and Longhorns will be ugly. These are two of the most penalized teams in the conferences, and something UT will have to cut down on if they want to win against Baylor. The Longhorns beat themselves on many drives against the Sooners by jumping offsides and committing penalties that took big plays off the board.
To beat Baylor it will come down to three key questions.
- Can the Texas offensive line allow Sam Ehlinger and red shirt sophomore receiver Joshua Moore enough time to move the ball down field and keep Baylor linebacker Terrel Bernard out of the picture?
- Can the Texas defense contain Brewer?
- Can Texas cut out all the different distractions that have been circling this team all season?
The Longhorns are 12-4 coming off a loss in the Tom Herman era. The Longhorns season may be on the line as they try to protect home field against the Baylor Bears at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.
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(Bob Daemmrich)
Hours following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that guaranteed a constitutional right to an abortion, on Friday, about 1,000 people gathered in Republic Square with signs calling for change.
The rally, organized by the group Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights Texas, started at the federal courthouse on Republic Square on Friday at 5 p.m. before the crowd marched to the Texas Capitol. More protests are expected to ensue over the weekend.
People showed up with all types of signs like Mindy Moffa holding up, "Keep your filthy laws off my silky drawers."
Austin joined cities across the country that saw protests for a women's right to an abortion after the ruling.
According to a recent UT poll, 78% of Texas voters support abortion access in most cases.
Sabrina Talghade and Sofia Pellegrini held up signs directed at Texas laws. A Texas trigger law will ban all abortions from the moment of fertilization, starting 30 days after the ruling. When state legislators passed the trigger law last summer, it also passed laws for more protection of firearms, including the right to open carry without a permit.
Lili Enthal of Austin yells as around 1,000 Texans marched to the Texas Capitol.
From the Texas Capitol, Zoe Webb lets her voice be heard against the Supreme Court ruling.
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(Paxton Smith/Instagram)
Paxton Smith’s 2021 valedictory speech at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas wasn’t the same speech she had previously shared with school administrators. She dropped the approved speech and made a case for women’s reproductive rights after lawmakers passed the Texas "Heartbeat Bill.”
Her advocacy made news on NPR, YouTubeTV and in The Guardian. Just over a year later, the “war on (women’s) rights” she forewarned has come to a head as the U.S. Supreme Court voted Friday morning to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending constitutional protection for abortion access.
“It is up to the people to show up and show the courts and the politicians that we won’t sit back and let this happen,” Smith told Austonia Friday morning. “We will show up, we will fight back. Before, we were scared of them, now they should be scared of us.”
Now a University of Texas sophomore and abortion rights activist, 19-year-old Smith said she wanted to give the same speech in the “the most public way possible” to reach “as many people as possible who don't agree that I deserve this right.”
However, she says the response was “actually overwhelmingly positive” and supportive of her cause. According to a recent UT poll, 78% of Texas voters support abortion access in most cases.
The speech opened up further opportunities for activism: she advocated for reproductive rights at the International Forum on Human Rights in Geneva, interviewed with Variety magazine and spoke to tens of thousands at Austin’s Bans Off Our Bodies protest at the Texas Capitol in May.
Smith also serves on the board of directors for the Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project, a national nonprofit organization that helps fund abortions or medication abortion—like Plan C pills—in all 50 states. Most recently, Smith has been attending protests in Washington, D.C. leading up to the ruling.
“This is land of the free. This is where you get to choose how you live your life,” Smith said. “Overturning Roe v. Wade violates everything that we have come to believe about what it means to live in this country. I think a lot of people aren't willing to accept that this is a human right that is most likely just going to be gone for over half of the country within the next couple of weeks.”
Bracing for the next steps, Smith gave some tips for supporters:
- Find a protest to attend.
- “I would say invite somebody to go to those protests with you, invite a couple of friends, invite people into the movement,” Smith said.
- Talk about the issue on social media—use the platform you have.
- “Have these kinds of conversations where people can just talk about their fears and then find ways to go and advocate for yourself,” Smith said.
- Volunteer at a nonprofit near you.
“I feel like a lot of the reason things have gotten as bad as they have within the abortion rights world is that people are not making a scene, not protesting, not putting the effort into ensuring that the government doesn't take away this right,” Smith said. “I want to emphasize that if you're not doing anything, don't expect the best scenario, expect the worst because that's the direction that we're going in.”
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