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Why Texas coach Tom Herman says three-game winning streak validates his vision 

AUSTIN -- Success is relative for Texas on the long road back to national prominence.

Asked how his players were dealing with prosperity after years and years of mediocrity, coach Tom Herman tried to lightly tap the brakes Monday during his news conference.

"We're talking three games," Herman said.

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Except a three-game winning streak is a big deal at Texas, at least in 2018, which says a lot. So is a national ranking and consecutive wins over AP Top 25 teams heading to Kansas State on Saturday. Winning has been an elusive thing this decade, once Mack Brown quit churning out 10-victory seasons.

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While things could come to a screeching halt in Manhattan, Kan. -- where Texas hasn't won in 16 years -- Herman said the current run validates his approach and vision.

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"We talk a lot about pats on the back in our program happen usually five times in your career, after the four bowl victories and when you walk across the stage and graduate," Herman said. "Other than that, we're going to push you. And we're going to push you really hard. Win or lose. And do we know now that the formula works? Are we confident in the formula? Are we confident in the plan? Yeah.

"And that's a really good thing, because I think there's some validity and some testimony now that the plan does not just get us close, right, but the plan can actually put us over the hump."

For now at least, questions remain even as Texas climbed to 18th in the AP Top 25.

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"I told our team they are not going to spot us seven points in Manhattan because we beat TCU," Herman said. "What happened against TCU, what happened against USC, for that matter what happened against Maryland, is inconsequential to how we play and how Kansas State plays against us."

Actually what happened against Maryland might be quite pertinent to the upcoming weekend. Texas' current win streak coincided with three home games. The opening trip to FedEx Field was imminently forgettable, and this Texas group has to prove it can be successful in a road environment.

Texas' offense is seventh in the Big 12 in scoring, yards per game and third-down conversions.

Eleven takeaways by the Texas defense -- Herman said each forced turnover during his time at Texas has equaled 4.1 points, for you stat freaks -- have been a key.

At the very least Texas and Herman have a far different outlook than immediately after the Maryland game. Then Herman related the plot synopsis of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men to linebacker Gary Johnson, suggesting Texas players might be squeezing too hard. Herman didn't have all his facts right -- something he even acknowledged Monday.

Asked if had passed along any other literature recommendations to his players, Herman said "certainly not Twitter or Instagram, that's definitely not on our suggested reading list right now."

In this case, it is probably not for the hate but for the praise.

"I think we're in a good place," Herman said. "I don't think we need a whole lot of that other than continuing to go out and stick to the formula in terms of the way that we prepare."