The burnt orange Humpty Dumpty needs to be put back together again.
With three games to go in a season that has gone off the rails from a wins and losses standpoint, no matter how much of a moral victory it might sound like, the 2021 Texas Longhorns have to find a way to limit the damage that is being done.
The Kansas game matters. Same with West Virginia. Yup, Kansas State, too.
Although I'm less than 100 words into this week's column, I can feel a number of you rolling your eyes and wanting to hit the eject button. Believe me, I get it. The last thing I want to do is tell you that a game against the 1-8 Jayhawks in the pursuit of getting to .500 is some kind of monumental affair when it's far from the truth.
Yet, it's critical that the Longhorns stop bleeding out as a program.
The last week was a brutal collection of body blows against what Steve Sarkisian is trying to build. Whatever any of us might think about Monkey-Gate, it hasn't been an insignificant issue in the athletic department. Meanwhile, you've got a team that isn't on the same page, as evidenced by the fact that Sarkisian needed to talk to the team about its commitment in the middle of the week, which was followed three days later by a three-touchdown loss on the road.
Winning can't cure everything, but it helps. In the short-term, Texas needs to end this losing streak and more than qualifying for a bowl game, it needs to find a way to create some late-season momentum. Somehow ... some way ... Texas needs to win these final three games and climb its way to a 7-5 record. Then it needs to win a bowl game and climb its way to an 8-5 record.
Recruits are watching and the Longhorns have to find a way to give the elite of the elite a reason to play in Austin. On a weekend when the Longhorns lost their way in Ames, its in-state rival in College Station was operating with a completely different vibe. Meanwhile, those folks in Norman aren't exactly floundering, either.
If the 2023 recruiting class is going to be anything other than an in-state bloodbath, Sarkisian has to find a way to work some late-season magic to create as many favorable optics as possible. It cannot be stressed enough how critical salvaging the rest of this season is for the program. It's going to be incredibly problematic if it doesn't occur.
From a long-term standpoint, Sarkisian needs to become obsessed with improving the roster by any means needed ... starting right now.
This is a roster that will actually look worse when the season ends and Sarkisian has needs that go beyond simply fixing the offensive line. More than winning over elite recruits in 2023, the ability to convince the best talent in the portal to come to Austin might be the thing that ultimately determines whether Sarkisian's program can get off the ground before the pressure surrounding him swallows everyone whole.
That's not hyperbole. That's me acknowledging that next season must represent real improvement or everything that folks were worried about with Herman and recruiting is going to happen to Sarkisian.
It starts with Saturday against Kansas. Before the burnt orange Humpty Dumpty can be pieced together again, he has to stop breaking apart.
Starting immediately, there's a lot of work to do.
No. 2 - About Sark's quarterback problems ...
Let's start with Hudson Card.
As the president of Card's Fan Club, an acknowledgement needs to be made that for the second time this season when trailing on the road, the freshman from Austin has looked more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
He's not ready for prime time. Maybe we've all tried to cheat his learning curve out of need, but all the arm talent he has doesn't make for plus-quarterback play if his brain is in meltdown-mode because it's all a little too fast, too soon for him. To be fair to Card, he likely hasn't received many quality reps in practice with the starters in the last two months, but he's not even flashing as a player.
The smart move at this point probably has Sarkisian playing Casey Thompson as his starter for the next three weeks, even if Sarkisian has seen enough in the last six weeks to believe that he's more like the quarterback he rejected in August than the player he went all-in with during September.
One of the big calls that Sarkisian is going to have to make very soon is whether he truly believes that his starter in 2022 will come from the Thompson/Card combo. Given that Card has been an excellent practice player, but pretty lackluster to say the least when the lights are brightest, I haven't got the slightest clue how Card can rebuild the confidence that Sarkisian has lost in him. Meanwhile, Thompson's consistency issues are such that everyone will need to be careful if he catches heat in the final three games of the season.
It'll be fascinating moving forward to see how Sarkisian juggles both quarterbacks with the reality of needing to hit the portal in hopes of finding an upgrade.
No. 3 - Saying the quiet part out loud ...
Although we didn't see a lot of this in the first full year or the Portal in college football, be prepared for the reality of very good players entering the portal this off-season in the name of exploring opportunities that might lead them to having better opportunities to win.
For programs that struggle to compete among the elite, it's going to be increasingly difficult to hold on to their best players if they feel like spending the rest of their careers with the schools that they signed with is going to be a waste of time from a competing for championships standpoint.
The portal is a pathway for the rich to get richer, but it's going to prove to be an ominous cloud for programs that don't play in the elite programs sandbox.
Texas needs to close this season out with a bang because it needs to protect its most valuable players on the roster.
No. 4 - The Whittington factor ...
The Longhorns really, really, really, really miss Jordan Whittington at wide receiver.
Since injuring his clavicle against Oklahoma in the fourth quarter, the Texas passing game has regressed on a weekly basis.
How bad have things been?
Prior to his injury, Texas quarterbacks had posted a 162.9 quarterback efficiency rating, but in the three games since his injury, Texas quarterbacks have combined for a 129 efficiency rating. To put that in perspective, a 162.9 rating would currently rank third in the Big 12, while a 129 would rank 11th by a full 10 points.
Receivers on the roster not named Xavier Worthy combined for three catches for 40 yards on Saturday night in Ames and the player responsible for catching two of those passes missed the first quarter as punishment for what happened with his head coach in the middle of the week.
Not good.
No. 5 - Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
... I can't believe that D'Shawn Jamison has 22 combined punt/kickoff returns this season and he hasn't taken one to the house. He's due ... right?
... One of the quietly interesting parts of Saturday was the continued increasing playing time for Jahdae Barron in the Texas secondary. Although he wasn't perfect, I thought he showed some exciting promise in his time on the field.
... Jaylan Ford took a fair share of snaps away from DeMarvion Overshown on Saturday before Overshown's injury, which kind of blew my mind because I'm not sure taking your best defensive player off the field in the name of getting Ford more playing time is what I would have been looking to do.
... I was somewhat flabbergasted that Texas didn't go out of its way to get the ball to Xavier Worthy more than it did on Saturday. Why not run the play that went for a touchdown a couple more times? Sarkisian should be doing everything possible to both get him the ball and get him the ball in space. Not sure that happened at all.
... Don't shoot the messenger, but a case can be made that Baylor's Abran Smith should make the All-Big 12 team at running back ahead of Bijan Robinson. While they are roughly tied in both yards per game and touchdowns, Smith is currently averaging 1.5 more yards per carry than Robinson and is on the better team.
... Cameron Dicker had a pretty good night punting the football in Ames with four of his 11 punts being downed inside the 20-yard line, but his season average dropped two full yards on the night and suddenly he's no longer having the single greatest season any punter at Texas has ever enjoyed. It's close to what Michael Dickson did in his best season at Texas, but before Saturday Dicker was pretty clearly ahead.
... Texas has 15 sacks in nine games. How on earth is this going to be fixed in the off-season?
No. 6 - How rough was this weekend on the 40 Acres? ...
The No. 1-ranked volleyball team lost for the first time all season to a Baylor squad that entered the game with five losses.
It was just one of those weekends ...
\No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) I've not heard any reason to think he's in danger of leaving, but I believe there are other key returning starters on paper that are and will. Perhaps I'm being naive, though. How this season ends will likely matter a lot.
(Sell) I think the number is probably two, but I wouldn't be shocked if the number is higher. I think we'll see a third or even a fourth added for depth (see linebacker this year).
(Buy) Texas can't go into the SEC without momentum.
(Buy) I don't know that either record is more likely than 6-6 or 5-7, but I do believe 7-5 is more likely than 4-8.
(Buy) Of course.
(Buy) Anyone talking Big 12 Championship right now in 2022 needs to be kicked in the privates.
(Sell) lulz. That feels like a banana in the tailpipe.
(Sell) It's way too early to judge Card. He's still a puppy, but I will admit to being nervous.
(Buy) 20 percent is about right. Losing is not good for business.
(Sell) Texas has natural recruiting resources that Nebraska will never have and that alone keeps them from being remotely the same.
(Sell) They'll need a quarterback.
(Buy) Moore is a starting player that was suspended for the first quarter because of what happened. It was news and anyone denying it or refusing to report on it isn't really in the news business.
(Sell) This team is better than any of Charlie's teams, but that's such a low bar.
(Sell) I don't believe that any of those are major issues. It's just excuse-making in my mind.
No. 8 - Scattershooting on the sports weekend ...
... Texas A&M salvaging its season with a back-up quarterback is as bad for the Texas program right now as the four-game losing streak. The Aggies have moved ahead.
... Brock Purdy is just a guy. Iowa State gave Texas every chance to run away in that game with a halfway decent offense.
... Of course Michigan State ate the cheese one week after beating Michigan. You could see that coming from a mile away.
.... I guess Jaxon Smith-Njigba was worth an offer.
.... TCU's Chandler Morris looked pretty freaking good against Baylor as the replacement at starting quarterback. The kid has some moxie
... Kansas State's Skyler Thompson has emerged into a really good college quarterback. He's going to be a problem in a few weeks.
... Really could have done without the Cowboys and Liverpool both playing like crap on Sunday.
... It was kind of weird seeing Caden Sterns, Devin Duvernay and Colt McCoy all play like bad-ass pros after the night in Ames. It was a really good day for former Texas players in the NFL.
... What a weird day in the NFL. Up was down and down was up, all day.
... Jacksonville's Josh Allen >>> Buffalo's Josh Allen.
... Austin FC's season is complete and they weren't the worst team in the MLS. Suck on that, haters!
No. 9 - Top 10 Kevin Costner movies ...
With the return of Yellowstone on Sunday night, I thought it might be a good time to rank my Top 10 Costner movies.
I'm curious to see the responses to this one,
10. Waterworld
9. The Bodyguard
8. Silverado
7. A Perfect World
6. Dances With Wolves
5. Tin Cup
4. The Untouchables
3. Wyatt Earp
2. Field of Dreams
1. Bull Durham
No. 10 - And Finally...
Basketball season starts this week. Thank goodness for Chris Beard.
