1. Oh boy, where does one even start when you're talking about one of the most dismal performances in the history of the program? Let's just start with the coldest piece of reality possible, which centers on this team not being very good and having a long way to go before it can truly ran among the nation's elite. What happened to Texas tonight wasn't about one player or one position group or one side of the ball because every layer of the program was exposed tonight for not being ready for prime time against a good, but certainly not great SEC West squad. The despair of the night was apparent when a 10-0 mark on the scoreboard might as well have been 40-0 because it was obvious that the offense wasn't going to do much at all and the defense was going to have issues keeping points off the scoreboard. So much improvement needs to be made across the board over the course of the next nine months that your head is going to spin trying to grasp them all. Stop talking about 10 wins for this team in 2015 because you have to wale fore you can run and the Longhorns are still in crawl mode.
2. Charlie Strong is a hell of a football coach, but his team made zero noticeable improvements with a month to prepare and he has to know after a school-record fifth loss by more than 20+ points, the fan base is going to be nervous going into the off-season. The next nine months are the most important nine months of his entire coaching career.
3. I don't know what can be said about Tyrone Swoopes other than he's not a very good starting quarterback at the high-college level right now, and it might be a reality that he never gets there. I don't know what Texas is going to do at the position in 2015, but the definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That's where we are in this discussion, but I don't know which option Texas has that will definitely be better than Swoopes. It's the thing that should temper every 2015 discussion.
4. Tonight might have been the point of no return with Swoopes because I can't imagine that Charlie Strong is going to let his tenure be defined by a guy that he doesn't believe in and didn't recruit.
I wonder if Strong takes a phone call from Kyler Murray tonight? Murray has to know that the path to playing time at Texas is astronomically easier In Austin than College Station. It would be an upset if he weren't a day-one starter, right?
5. Of course, quarterback was hardly the only issue for the Longhorns. If it can be possible, I think the offensive line was worse than Swoopes tonight. That unit must get better in 2015.
I don't know what to say about Shawn Watson right now after his unit flirted with the worst yardage output in school history for almost a full 60 minutes. Yes, he's dealing with some personnel issues, but what did he do to lift this unit up? With a month to prepare for the game, I'm left wondering where all of his preparation went into because it wasn't apparent to the naked eye. Fair or not, he's on the hot seat coming out of this season. He should probably call Greg Davis in the off-season to discuss what the heat is going to feel like.
6. The Texas offense totaled two yards rushing as a team on 18 carries. It's leading receiver had 36 yards on the night and it's second-leading receiver had 13 yards.
7. At one point in the second half, the Texas offense had five consecutive offensive drives that went for -19, -8, -7, -2 and -4 yards.
8. I'm trying to think of a positive on the night and there really aren't any. If you want to stop reading, I understand.
9. On a night when points were at a premium for the Longhorns, Tyrone Swoopes had a wide open Daje Johnson streaking down the field for a touchdown and he threw the ball too far too the sideline, an issue that was compounded by Johnson not being able to keep a foot down in-bounds once he secured the ball along the sideline. As Mike Finger Tweeted during the game, "That is the most Tyrone Swoopes-Daje Johnson play ever."
10. Midway through the third quarter, the Longhorns had a total of 31 yards of offense. Gulp.
11. Where was Armanti Foreman tonight?
12. The Texas offense going three-and-out to start the third quarter was pretty much the opposite of inspiring. The sack-turned-facemask from Naashon Hughes that allowed an Arkansas drive to continue was absolutely deflating. The 2014 Texas Longhorns in a nutshell.
13. The response by the offense at the end of the first half left me searching for answers because I can't quite figure out how an offense can look so catastrophically inept for 25 minutes, only to march down the field with precision and deliver a touchdown. It's like watching Rick Vaughn throw three straight pitches for strikes after he's broken the heads off of 10 straight wooden hitters.
14. With the score suddenly 17-7, the Teas defense desperately needed a stop and instead it let Arkansas go right down the field and turn a 10-point game into a three-score game with less than a minute left on the clock. As bad as the offense was in the first half, the defense wasn't without its own batch of sins.
15. Jake Raulerson is going to be a good player for the Longhorns, but you can't stay in the game when you're putting the team in 1st ad 15 situations every third series. Of course, giving up 5 yards in a dead ball situation is better than the yards Camrhon Hughes was giving up in live-ball situations. There couldn't have been a power conference team in 2014 with a worse situation at offensive tackle than the Longhorns. How could it be much worse?
16. John Harris was the MVP of the offense this year, but he's been a guy that will drop some passes and few were killers more than his drop of a perfect Swoopes pass on a third down following a disaster on offense in the previous series. You have to pick up your quarterback there and he didn't.
17. On Arkansas' first touchdown of the game, Naashon Hughes was practically dragged to the turf by the left tackle and no flag hit the turf. Of course, if we're being completely fair, the ACC officials in this game pretty much let everything go in this game. As a payback later in the game, the refs didn't call a holding call on Texas when Swoopes got around the corner and scored.
18. Charlie Strong pretty much lost his mind on Duke Thomas for the cornerback's inability to make a play on the deep ball despite having perfect coverage on the play, but it should be noted that the Arkansas receiver pushed off and probably should have been called for offensive pass interference. Both men seemed to share their beefs with one another, and both guys had valid points. Bottom line? Thomas has to be better at finishing the play.
19. Dylan Haines is a hell of a story, but the reality for the program in 2015 is that he either needs to get a lot better or UT has to receive a personnel upgrade from someone else as a starting safety. The Razorbacks clearly targeted Haines as the guy they wanted to pick on in the passing game and there were several coverage issues for the Longhorns, as Haines struggled to get into position on more than one occasion.
20. What kind of day was it for Texas? Mykkele Thompson had a perfect rip for a forced fumble in the first quarter and the ball bounced to the only Razorback in an area full of burnt orange.
21. Peter Jinkens received early playing time in the 4-3 base scheme, but struggled to make plays and ended up splitting time with Tevin Jackson. The play that stood out to me was on Arkansas' second drive when he went one on one with Alex Collins at the line o scrimmage on 2nd and 9 and totally whiffed, allowing Arkansas to set up third and short, and eventually covert the drive into points.
22. The playing field was an embarrassment. I was concerned throughout the game that players on both teams would wreck their knees.
23. My goodness, the Big 12 was a train-wreck today. Actually, that seems a little fair to trainwrecks.
This post was edited on 12/30 12:01 AM by Ketchum
2. Charlie Strong is a hell of a football coach, but his team made zero noticeable improvements with a month to prepare and he has to know after a school-record fifth loss by more than 20+ points, the fan base is going to be nervous going into the off-season. The next nine months are the most important nine months of his entire coaching career.
3. I don't know what can be said about Tyrone Swoopes other than he's not a very good starting quarterback at the high-college level right now, and it might be a reality that he never gets there. I don't know what Texas is going to do at the position in 2015, but the definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That's where we are in this discussion, but I don't know which option Texas has that will definitely be better than Swoopes. It's the thing that should temper every 2015 discussion.
4. Tonight might have been the point of no return with Swoopes because I can't imagine that Charlie Strong is going to let his tenure be defined by a guy that he doesn't believe in and didn't recruit.
I wonder if Strong takes a phone call from Kyler Murray tonight? Murray has to know that the path to playing time at Texas is astronomically easier In Austin than College Station. It would be an upset if he weren't a day-one starter, right?
5. Of course, quarterback was hardly the only issue for the Longhorns. If it can be possible, I think the offensive line was worse than Swoopes tonight. That unit must get better in 2015.
I don't know what to say about Shawn Watson right now after his unit flirted with the worst yardage output in school history for almost a full 60 minutes. Yes, he's dealing with some personnel issues, but what did he do to lift this unit up? With a month to prepare for the game, I'm left wondering where all of his preparation went into because it wasn't apparent to the naked eye. Fair or not, he's on the hot seat coming out of this season. He should probably call Greg Davis in the off-season to discuss what the heat is going to feel like.
6. The Texas offense totaled two yards rushing as a team on 18 carries. It's leading receiver had 36 yards on the night and it's second-leading receiver had 13 yards.
7. At one point in the second half, the Texas offense had five consecutive offensive drives that went for -19, -8, -7, -2 and -4 yards.
8. I'm trying to think of a positive on the night and there really aren't any. If you want to stop reading, I understand.
9. On a night when points were at a premium for the Longhorns, Tyrone Swoopes had a wide open Daje Johnson streaking down the field for a touchdown and he threw the ball too far too the sideline, an issue that was compounded by Johnson not being able to keep a foot down in-bounds once he secured the ball along the sideline. As Mike Finger Tweeted during the game, "That is the most Tyrone Swoopes-Daje Johnson play ever."
10. Midway through the third quarter, the Longhorns had a total of 31 yards of offense. Gulp.
11. Where was Armanti Foreman tonight?
12. The Texas offense going three-and-out to start the third quarter was pretty much the opposite of inspiring. The sack-turned-facemask from Naashon Hughes that allowed an Arkansas drive to continue was absolutely deflating. The 2014 Texas Longhorns in a nutshell.
13. The response by the offense at the end of the first half left me searching for answers because I can't quite figure out how an offense can look so catastrophically inept for 25 minutes, only to march down the field with precision and deliver a touchdown. It's like watching Rick Vaughn throw three straight pitches for strikes after he's broken the heads off of 10 straight wooden hitters.
14. With the score suddenly 17-7, the Teas defense desperately needed a stop and instead it let Arkansas go right down the field and turn a 10-point game into a three-score game with less than a minute left on the clock. As bad as the offense was in the first half, the defense wasn't without its own batch of sins.
15. Jake Raulerson is going to be a good player for the Longhorns, but you can't stay in the game when you're putting the team in 1st ad 15 situations every third series. Of course, giving up 5 yards in a dead ball situation is better than the yards Camrhon Hughes was giving up in live-ball situations. There couldn't have been a power conference team in 2014 with a worse situation at offensive tackle than the Longhorns. How could it be much worse?
16. John Harris was the MVP of the offense this year, but he's been a guy that will drop some passes and few were killers more than his drop of a perfect Swoopes pass on a third down following a disaster on offense in the previous series. You have to pick up your quarterback there and he didn't.
17. On Arkansas' first touchdown of the game, Naashon Hughes was practically dragged to the turf by the left tackle and no flag hit the turf. Of course, if we're being completely fair, the ACC officials in this game pretty much let everything go in this game. As a payback later in the game, the refs didn't call a holding call on Texas when Swoopes got around the corner and scored.
18. Charlie Strong pretty much lost his mind on Duke Thomas for the cornerback's inability to make a play on the deep ball despite having perfect coverage on the play, but it should be noted that the Arkansas receiver pushed off and probably should have been called for offensive pass interference. Both men seemed to share their beefs with one another, and both guys had valid points. Bottom line? Thomas has to be better at finishing the play.
19. Dylan Haines is a hell of a story, but the reality for the program in 2015 is that he either needs to get a lot better or UT has to receive a personnel upgrade from someone else as a starting safety. The Razorbacks clearly targeted Haines as the guy they wanted to pick on in the passing game and there were several coverage issues for the Longhorns, as Haines struggled to get into position on more than one occasion.
20. What kind of day was it for Texas? Mykkele Thompson had a perfect rip for a forced fumble in the first quarter and the ball bounced to the only Razorback in an area full of burnt orange.
21. Peter Jinkens received early playing time in the 4-3 base scheme, but struggled to make plays and ended up splitting time with Tevin Jackson. The play that stood out to me was on Arkansas' second drive when he went one on one with Alex Collins at the line o scrimmage on 2nd and 9 and totally whiffed, allowing Arkansas to set up third and short, and eventually covert the drive into points.
22. The playing field was an embarrassment. I was concerned throughout the game that players on both teams would wreck their knees.
23. My goodness, the Big 12 was a train-wreck today. Actually, that seems a little fair to trainwrecks.
This post was edited on 12/30 12:01 AM by Ketchum
