AUSTIN, Texas — So, how bad was the season opening loss to Maryland for Texas?
The loss was disappointing for Longhorn fans for multiple reasons.
First, the narrative during August was that the Longhorns were faster, stronger and a closer team. Secondly, some of the same miscues existed in the 2017 opener vs Maryland. Lastly, Texas lost to Maryland, again -- a team which was picked to finish fifth in their division in the Big 10 Conference.
The Longhorns were absolutely stunned to begin the 2018 season with a loss.
But, it was worse, including the taste of defeat, according to UT senior defensive tackle Chris Nelson.
"The food was nasty, the plane ride was bad," said Nelson. "Bus ride was bad."
Nelson -- who racked up five tackles versus Maryland in the 34-29 loss -- said the Longhorns were anticipating a fun flight back to Austin and added, "with that loss it wasn't like that."
If there's any consolation for the Longhorns, they don't have to worry about any plane flights until the final weekend September. UT will travel to Manhattan, Kansas to face Kansas State on Sept. 29.
Until the next trip, Texas will host three teams in back-to-back weeks: Tulsa on Sept. 8, USC on Sept. 15, and Texas Christian University on Sept. 22.
