1. I’ve covered the Texas football team on a professional level for more than 20 years, which means I was on the sidelines for the 1997 UCLA game and in the stands for the 2000 and 2003 Oklahoma games. Hell, I had a 50-yard line seat for the 1989 Baylor game at DKR. Until today, these are the games that have represented the worst losses I’ve seen while covering the team, but you can make a legit case that what happened in Fort Worth today represents a new low. Say what you want about those games, but all of them were more competitive early on than this one, which had the Longhorns on pace to lose 120-0 after the first 15 minutes of the game. Say what you want about those games, but it did not feel like the opposition was trying to run clock five minutes into the second quarter. Too many times over the last few years, the Longhorns have been beaten into the ground, but today might represent the lowest of the lows, given the proper context of a season that represents the worst start in nearly 60 years and appears to be heading in a direction that could leave Charlie Strong’s program in a bad spot when it comes to building momentum and gaining traction at a time when it’s desperately needed.
2. As far as dumpster fire performances are concerned, all three phases of the game can share equal blame in the destruction that took place. Yes, this is a team comprised of more youth than a daycare center, but the Longhorns weren’t competitive in this game at almost any point, while seemingly lacking energy and a sense of urgency. The most concerning thing might have been the lack of urgency coming from the sidelines, as evidenced by Charlie Strong’s leaving two timeouts on the board heading into halftime, despite trailing by 30 and owning possession of the ball near midfield, suggesting that the Longhorns were just ready to be in the locker room. Their ability to get there might represent the most successful thing they accomplished all day.
3. From a momentum standpoint, Strong’s program might as well be Vincent Gambini’s car stuck in Alabama mud and I don’t know how that changes in a way that impacts 2016 recruiting and beyond. It was beyond critical for this team to accumulate momentum during the season with its play because Strong has been getting by with chicken-wire and duct-tape for the last 12+ months, which means that you simply couldn’t have designed a worse start for the Texas program through five games than what has transpired. I’m not going to bury Strong by any stretch, but I’m at a loss for how he flips the script, both in the short- and long-term.
4. One of Strong’s biggest tasks in the immediate future is making sure he finds a way to keep this team dialed in for the final seven games of the season, especially once all of its goals are out the window. Strong mentioned this week that it would be harder to keep the older players dialed in, but it was one of his top freshmen that was retweeting transfer to A&M tweets at halftime in the locker room. Could anything better reflect the disarray today than Kris Boyd trying to find his phone at halftime in a game his team was trailing 37-0? The situation is so absurd that I don’t even know how to address it.
5. On a day when the offensive line had more freshmen on the field than sophomores, juniors and seniors combined, I’m not sure what kind of optimal success was available on the offensive side of the ball, but Texas plays in such a small box that it was almost impossible to create much forward movement because the passing game was mostly limited to throws attempted within a few yards of the line of scrimmage. Moving forward, the Longhorns have to find a way to stretch their comfort zone with Jerrod Heard as the quarterback in the passing game because their limitations as things currently stand were on full display. In its first two games against Big 12 competition, the starting offense has scored a total of 13 points.
6. Texas just isn’t good on defense. Period. This side of the ball is an unmitigated disaster and it’s hard to envision this group climbing out of the 100-range nationally in total defense at any point this year.
7. Would things have been better if Tyrone Swoopes had started at quarterback? Nah, just forget that I typed that.
8. I think we’re all going to be on the same page when I tell you that the world would be much better off if none of us ever had to watch the Texas special teams. I suggest closing your eyes or going to the bathroom every time a kicker or punter in a Longhorn uniform comes onto the field for the rest of the season for mental health reasons, if nothing else. This game was over the very moment that junior deep-snapper launched the ball over Michael Dickson’s head for a safety, giving TCU a 9-0 lead. After the events of the last two games prior to this one … man … enough is enough.
9. If you’ll forgive me, I’m just not going to talk about special teams the rest of the day. Not missed field goals. Not shanked punts. Not kickoffs going out of bounds. Not poor decisions in the return game. I’m just going to move on.
10. New rule: Duke Thomas is not allowed to talk mess when he's losing 37-0 and getting worked over by the guy he's barking at.
11. D’Onta Foreman was the only bright spot in this game, as he rushed for 112 yards on 18 carries. What was mystifying was the offensive coaches putting Johnathan Gray back on the field and giving him nearly an equal workload, despite the fact Foreman had a hot hand. What on earth is it going to take for the coaches to stop making Gray a featured component of a sketchy offense?
12. Speaking of sketchy, Armanti Foreman had two massive drops, including a potential touchdown from Jerrod Heard. I’m in the group that believes Foreman has a huge upside, but you can’t drop those passes, especially when you have a young quarterback.
13. Live by the freshmen, die by the freshmen. There were lots of busted coverages, poor reads, missed tackles and flat out poor play all over the field. If you’re Texas, you’ve got to keep playing the likes of Davante Davis, Holton Hill and Anthony Wheeler in hopes that the light switch eventually flips on.
14. Early in the first quarter with the Longhorns losing 16-0, TCU had 80 yards of offense, while the Longhorns had -20. Woof.
15. Josh Doctson is good.
2. As far as dumpster fire performances are concerned, all three phases of the game can share equal blame in the destruction that took place. Yes, this is a team comprised of more youth than a daycare center, but the Longhorns weren’t competitive in this game at almost any point, while seemingly lacking energy and a sense of urgency. The most concerning thing might have been the lack of urgency coming from the sidelines, as evidenced by Charlie Strong’s leaving two timeouts on the board heading into halftime, despite trailing by 30 and owning possession of the ball near midfield, suggesting that the Longhorns were just ready to be in the locker room. Their ability to get there might represent the most successful thing they accomplished all day.
3. From a momentum standpoint, Strong’s program might as well be Vincent Gambini’s car stuck in Alabama mud and I don’t know how that changes in a way that impacts 2016 recruiting and beyond. It was beyond critical for this team to accumulate momentum during the season with its play because Strong has been getting by with chicken-wire and duct-tape for the last 12+ months, which means that you simply couldn’t have designed a worse start for the Texas program through five games than what has transpired. I’m not going to bury Strong by any stretch, but I’m at a loss for how he flips the script, both in the short- and long-term.
4. One of Strong’s biggest tasks in the immediate future is making sure he finds a way to keep this team dialed in for the final seven games of the season, especially once all of its goals are out the window. Strong mentioned this week that it would be harder to keep the older players dialed in, but it was one of his top freshmen that was retweeting transfer to A&M tweets at halftime in the locker room. Could anything better reflect the disarray today than Kris Boyd trying to find his phone at halftime in a game his team was trailing 37-0? The situation is so absurd that I don’t even know how to address it.
5. On a day when the offensive line had more freshmen on the field than sophomores, juniors and seniors combined, I’m not sure what kind of optimal success was available on the offensive side of the ball, but Texas plays in such a small box that it was almost impossible to create much forward movement because the passing game was mostly limited to throws attempted within a few yards of the line of scrimmage. Moving forward, the Longhorns have to find a way to stretch their comfort zone with Jerrod Heard as the quarterback in the passing game because their limitations as things currently stand were on full display. In its first two games against Big 12 competition, the starting offense has scored a total of 13 points.
6. Texas just isn’t good on defense. Period. This side of the ball is an unmitigated disaster and it’s hard to envision this group climbing out of the 100-range nationally in total defense at any point this year.
7. Would things have been better if Tyrone Swoopes had started at quarterback? Nah, just forget that I typed that.
8. I think we’re all going to be on the same page when I tell you that the world would be much better off if none of us ever had to watch the Texas special teams. I suggest closing your eyes or going to the bathroom every time a kicker or punter in a Longhorn uniform comes onto the field for the rest of the season for mental health reasons, if nothing else. This game was over the very moment that junior deep-snapper launched the ball over Michael Dickson’s head for a safety, giving TCU a 9-0 lead. After the events of the last two games prior to this one … man … enough is enough.
9. If you’ll forgive me, I’m just not going to talk about special teams the rest of the day. Not missed field goals. Not shanked punts. Not kickoffs going out of bounds. Not poor decisions in the return game. I’m just going to move on.
10. New rule: Duke Thomas is not allowed to talk mess when he's losing 37-0 and getting worked over by the guy he's barking at.
11. D’Onta Foreman was the only bright spot in this game, as he rushed for 112 yards on 18 carries. What was mystifying was the offensive coaches putting Johnathan Gray back on the field and giving him nearly an equal workload, despite the fact Foreman had a hot hand. What on earth is it going to take for the coaches to stop making Gray a featured component of a sketchy offense?
12. Speaking of sketchy, Armanti Foreman had two massive drops, including a potential touchdown from Jerrod Heard. I’m in the group that believes Foreman has a huge upside, but you can’t drop those passes, especially when you have a young quarterback.
13. Live by the freshmen, die by the freshmen. There were lots of busted coverages, poor reads, missed tackles and flat out poor play all over the field. If you’re Texas, you’ve got to keep playing the likes of Davante Davis, Holton Hill and Anthony Wheeler in hopes that the light switch eventually flips on.
14. Early in the first quarter with the Longhorns losing 16-0, TCU had 80 yards of offense, while the Longhorns had -20. Woof.
15. Josh Doctson is good.
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