Longhorns Update: An Ugly Day At The State Fair

Winning ugly.

It’s true that no matter how you cut it, a win is a win. The score could be 1 – 0 or 50 – 0. Either way, it’s a win.

The Longhorns have somehow managed to find a way to go 6 – 0 this season. Yesterday, they managed to find a way to struggle past the Sooners 16 - 13. Once again, they didn’t arrive to really play until the second half. Maybe they got stuck at the fried butter booth. Or perhaps it was too many pre-game funnel cakes? Or maybe they were just a little awestruck to be in the presence of Big Tex?

Mack Brown and Colt McCoy both made post-game comments to the effect of “we’ve not played our best game yet”. The problem is, one of these days, the ”not-showing-up-until-the-second-half” syndrome is going to bite them in the butt. And then, it won’t matter if they still haven’t played their best game because the season will, for all intents and purposes, be over. Thirty minutes of football isn’t going to get it done, more often than not.

Why would a one loss team be out of the equation, especially with the current season being as unpredictable as it’s been?

Simple – the strength of schedule (or lack thereof). Of the non-conference teams that the Horns scheduled, all of them had 4 – 8 records last year. Wyoming has had a reasonable season thus far, as has UTEP. But if we add that to the inconsistency of our conference rivals, we’re still looking at a pretty lame schedule. Let’s give even greater thanks to OU (he says sarcastically) who once again, in some strange covert manner, could mess with the Longhorns title aspirations simply because they add nothing to our strength of schedule.

Speaking of OU – and the Red River Rivalry - yesterday’s game was simply ugly. In all facets. The offensive play-calling and production was horrid. Colt McCoy was not the asset that he’s been over the years. He looked as though it was his first time against OU, trying to do too much while not doing the simple things well. This game was his opportunity to put a forceful stamp on Heisman voters – and sadly, I think he can now kiss the Heisman goodbye. Besides, when it comes down to voting time, I really think there is just too much Tebow-love out there.

And as for the play calling … I’ve said it before and I will say it again – Greg Davis’ play calling stinks. Alan Trubow of the Austin American-Statesman said on Friday that

“Davis is one of the best in the business. Texas, over the past five years, has the best or second-best offense in the country. THE COUNTRY PEOPLE. THE COUNTRY”.

When you have players like Vince Young (perhaps the best college player ever) improvising, it has an amazing effect – it makes the offensive coordinator look like a rocket scientist. But when it comes to making good methodical decisions, Davis is lacking and will ultimately be the demise of the Longhorn offense. Let’s face it – how can you NOT find a way to gain rushing yards when you have a huge offensive line and stellar runners like Fozzy Whittaker and D.J. Monroe spending most of the first half on the bench? How can you NOT gain yards in the air when you have receivers like Chiles, Williams, Shipley, Goodwin, Buckner, Kirkendoll, etc etc being rotated in and out? And as for the Wild Horn set – I still believe the concept can fly (as it has in many other programs), but you have to commit to it’s proper implementation. And one play isn’t a commitment. No wonder it hasn’t worked.

Thank you to Marquise Goodwin and Fozzy Whittaker, who kept the offense in the game. Another shout-out has to go to the Longhorn defense. They made Oklahoma one dimensional. And sending the fateful blitz on Bradford ultimately forced the Sooners to change their game up a bit, or at least throw it out of sync. The defense kept the Longhorns in the game until the offense finally arrived in the second half.

The rest of college football is staying as wacky as ever. Notre Dame can’t punch in the ball from the USC 4 yard line in the last 10 seconds. Clausen throws a pass at the end that should immediately remove his name from all Heisman discussion. Arkansas is stuffing Florida, then suffers because they were playing against 11 players and the head referee, who made some horrendous pro-Florida calls in the last few minutes. And for those ranting and raving about Alabama – they may have a defense, but much like Texas, that will not score them enough points when they get into a real game. There are not any teams that look dominant (not even in the SEC), and parity has definitely made an appearance. If you have been ranked 4 through 15, chances are you have been stunned in a game already this season. It will be interesting to see how much love the computers give the Longhorns in today’s first BCS rankings.

As for the Horns – it’s now off to Missouri and then to Oklahoma State for a creepy Halloween game. Both are tough games, for sure, but the latter game is the one that concerns me most, and has since the pre-season. It’s an upset waiting to happen, in a locale that always seems to breed bizarre events. It must be the presence of their mascot Pistol Pete, who , strangely enough, bears a striking resemblance to Big Tex. Let’s hope that by November 1, the Horns will be 8 – 0, will have played at least two complete games, and will be tuning up for the run to the Big 12 championship – and beyond.

Photo credit: steevithak