AUSTIN, Texas — Inverting the iconic “Hook ‘Em Horns” gesture (going horns down) was popularized by old rivals Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
When West Virginia’s senior leaders flashed it Saturday, things backfired. And flags flew.
Receiver David Sills was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after going horns down following his 60-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. Quarterback Will Grier was flagged for the same gesture following his go-ahead 2-point conversion with 16 seconds left.
“We didn’t know the ‘horns down’ thing was a penalty,” Grier said. “I don’t have a lot to say about that. We get excited and do stuff. I think it’s part of the game and playing with passion. But next time, we won’t do that. It hurts the team.”
Dana Holgorsen, having coached against Texas for 17 seasons as an assistant and a head coach, claimed there has never been a steadfast rule against teams using the hand gesture, though it has been discussed at league meetings. He said the staff checked with officials about whether it was a penalty.
“There’s a hand signal that looks like the state of West Virginia that we could be flashing left and right out there,” Holgorsen quipped in reference to the Northern Panhandle. “Here is what I’m disappointed about. We communicated with the refs if that thing was going to get called. I guess there was miscommunication.”
Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger tweeted after the loss that opposing players who disrespect the University of Texas by flashing horns-down “will not be forgotten.” The tweet generated significant backlash and Ehlinger eventually deleted it.
Running wild
Martrell Pettaway turned nine carries into 121 yards, Kennedy McKoy piled up 94 on 17 carries, and West Virginia ran for 232 yards overall — 100 more than its season average.
Texas coach Tom Herman thought their mixture of inside- and outside-zone runs made the difference.
“It sounds counterintuitive when you’re lining up against Will Grier and those guys, but we’ve got to stop the run, or you’re going to bleed a slow death.”
Holgorsen won’t defend Cajuste
While officials probably overreacted to left tackle Yodny Cajuste’s so-called punch in the first quarter, Holgorsen didn’t quibble with the ejection.
“If you throw a punch, they’re going to throw you out. Bottom line,” he said. “We know that. He knows that. He told me it was retaliation. I said, ‘That’s what you get.’ The second guy always gets caught.”
Holgorsen hadn’t seen replays showing Cajuste shoving the Texas player as opposed to throwing a punch. Still, the coach didn’t excuse the senior lineman’s reaction.
“I’ll look at it. There’s going to be video on it,” Holgorsen said. “He should’ve learned his lesson at Texas Tech. Quite frankly, they should have thrown him out against Texas Tech when they were doing their squaring up, boxing match. It’s stupid. No room for that in football.”
Fox Sports rules analyst Dean Blandino, the former NFL director of officiating, was a little more forgiving to Cajuste on the game broadcast.
“To disqualify a player, you want to see a punch,” Blandino said. “This looked like an open-hand shot afte rthe play. You want to penalize a player, that’s fine. But to throw him out of the game, that just seems like too much.”
— Allan Taylor contributed to this story