Before Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger celebrated with his teammates following the Longhorns’ 48-45 win over then-No. 6 Oklahoma on Oct. 6, the sophomore quarterback looked for Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray.
Once they found each other, the interaction didn’t go as planned. Ehlinger shook Murray’s hand and tapped him on the top of the helmet. It is unclear what was said between the two, but whatever it was, Murray was visibly displeased.
The two shared words before Ehlinger quickly lipped a profanity as he left the field with a towel over his head. During the postgame press conference, both players were asked about the interaction.
“I have no comment on that,” Kyler said.
“I went to congratulate him after the game,” Ehlinger said. “Tempers were high just because of the situation in the game for the both of us. I was just going to say good game and pay my respects. He’s a tremendous player.”
Both players went their separate ways and haven’t looked back all season.
Murray added to his Heisman campaign in the Sooners’ 59-56 win over then-No. 13 West Virginia while Ehlinger led the Longhorns to three straight wins to finish off the season.
Now, the Longhorns and Sooners are on a collision course for this Saturday. And with it comes the Ehlinger-Murray feud, which sparked yet again on Monday when Murray was simply asked: Do you respect Sam Ehlinger’s game?
“I have no comment on that,” Kyler said.
Later that day, Sam Ehlinger sent out a tweet that read, “Ok. Cool Hook Em!”
Ehlinger said he knows he shouldn’t be on Twitter but that the tweet wasn’t toward anybody. As for a response in regard to Kyler’s comment, Sam answered without hesitation during a Tuesday media availability.
“I’d absolutely love to comment on that,” Ehlinger said. “I absolutely respect his game.”
While Sam’s response didn’t extend the feud, senior defensive end Charles Omenihu didn’t hold back in voicing his reaction to the Oklahoma quarterback’s comment, or lack thereof.
“His comment yesterday? I’m not surprised that he said that. If you know him or if you’ve heard how he is, it’s not surprising,” Omenihu said. “To be honest with you, I really don’t care. It’s funny to me actually. I saw it and started laughing. It’s very, very funny. It’s just funny. I’m probably going to go laugh after this. I’m going to go look at it and laugh some more.”
There will be no lack of drama, or pettiness, once the Big 12 Championship kicks off at AT&T Stadium this Saturday. However, there is a new twist to this Texas versus Oklahoma matchup: The Big 12 will not allow the Sooners to throw the ‘Horns Down’ gesture without being penalized in Saturday’s game.
As for the Longhorns’ bowl fate following the Big 12 title game, all signs are pointing toward an appearance in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day, win or lose. The Sooners are essentially in a win-and-in situation for the College Football Playoff.
The Texas-OU matchup will mark the first time since 1903 that both schools will meet twice in the same season. This time, it’ll be for a conference championship.
