I can't go as far as my guy @Anwar Richardson did this morning in declaring the 2022 season for Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns a "success."
I just can't do it.
Oh, I'm not sure that I'm light years away from taking such a step and if the Longhorns complete the season with an impressive bowl win to finish the season 9-4 and inside the top 15, I'm sure I'll be willing to revisit this entire conversation and consider changing my mind based on some nuance related to where things are now versus where they were a year ago.
Yet, at this exact moment, it's hard to see past the fact that the Longhorns finished third in the Big 12 in a year when the league was absolutely dreadful at the quarterback position. The league's No. 2 spot (at a minimum) was there for the taking and the Longhorns failed to take it.
My general rule of thumb for Texas football is that any season that doesn't end with the Longhorns AT LEAST playing for the Big 12 Championship and qualifying for a major bowl game isn't a success.
Period.
No one ever voted for me to be the decider of such things, but this has been the bar of excellence that has existed since I was a student at The University of Texas and a decade-plus of failing to be successful just isn't going to force me into lowering the bar.
Consider the state of the rest of the conference, which featured eight teams with three or more losses in conference play, including the Longhorns. Oklahoma was historically dreadful. Mike Gundy's team finished below .500. Defending champion Baylor finished tied for fifth, also below .500.
Meanwhile, the quarterback play was ... well ... pictures are worth thousands of words, right?
Look at this mess.
Exactly two quarterbacks in the entire conference finished in the top 58 nationally in passing and the Longhorns had to play only one of them.
You simply can't ask for a clearer pathway to a conference title if you've got a good enough team that wants to be viewed as a "success."
Now don't get me wrong, there are plenty of positives from this season. The defense became exactly the kind of outfit that should have allowed for this team to play for a conference title. The offensive line might have been as good as it’s been since Arch Manning was two years old. Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson were the best 1-2 punch since Brennan Huff and Dale Doback created the best NSFW song of the 21st century.
It's just that the only time in my lifetime when 8-4 is viewed as a success is when the previous season's play was so poor that 8-4 looks like a 1999 New Year's Eve celebration by comparison, which is what is occurring at the moment.
This 8-4 season isn't a success when comparing it to Tom Herman's record. It's not a success when comparing it to the prime Mack Brown years. It's not even a success when comparing it to John Mackovic's "successful" teams. Yet, if we're comparing it to Charlie Strong or last season's debut season for Sarkisiain, it looks like one by comparison.
Through 12 games, it's been solid. It certainly isn't a bad season. Hell, it's right on the cusp of being a success, mainly because the Big 12 was so lousy that a three-loss team would have qualified for the title game if Kansas State had stubbed its toe one more time (where was Tulane when it was really needed?).
Perhaps the best news of all is that a win in the bowl game would leave this team standing on a possible platform in 2023 to accomplish the things needed to undeniably call a season a success. The Longhorns are getting closer, but I can't quite say they are there yet.
No. 2 - Let's talk about Quinn ...
Forget about Friday's game against Baylor for a moment. In the grand scheme of things, it's merely a small piece of the puzzle that makes up his first season in Austin.
What matters most through the recently completed 12-game schedule is that Ewers didn't quite play well enough this season that he'll enter the spring with the starting job on lockdown, which I've maintained for two straight seasons that doing so was one of Sarkisian's No. 1 tasks.
Don't take my word for it. Just look at what Sarkisian said about the shape of the most important position on the field six days ago.
“I think competition is healthy for all of us. To anoint anybody for the future, that probably wouldn't be fair to the other guys in that room. Quinn's made some really good strides. I know there's opportunities he probably would love to have back throughout the year. I think Hudson (Card) has really improved. I thought he was really valuable for us early in the season when we needed him. I think Maalik Murphy is another guy who's got a bunch of upside. I have seen development in him. Like every year, we'll go into the offseason and wipe the slate clean and let these guys compete and battle and see what it looks like because that's what makes us better."
You can take it to the bank that this isn't how Lincoln Riley will discuss a position held by Caleb Williams or how Mack Brown will discuss the return Drake Maye going into 2023.
From my vantage point, there are several very important things it would serve everyone well to remember going into the next 10 months until the 2023 season-opener.
1. There's a really talented quarterback inside of Ewers, even if that player wasn't ready to spread his wings and fly in his first season. The arm talent that made him the No. 1 overall prospect in recruiting still exists.
2. It can't be stressed enough that Ewers is a very young quarterback. When many were ready to see him emerge as a Heisman candidate after the Oklahoma game, I stressed over and over again that young players almost always have ups and downs that you can't set your watch to. No one should be shocked that Ewers played like a pretty typical first-year starter.
3. Even though Ewers finished with a 131.4 efficiency rating in the regular season, he still picked up some invaluable experience. He's played and beaten Oklahoma. He's lost and won on the road. He's played and experienced games with high stakes attached to them. None of this is unimportant and when looking ahead to the competition he'll face for the starting job in 2023, he'll be the only player in the equation that can claim that he's been through all of the various fires the starting quarterback will face.
4. Ewers has to improve at the mental challenges of the position. He has to elevate his ability to make more than a single read in his progressions. He has to own the full offense in a way that he didn't in 2022. His brain simply has to become as valuable as his arm at this level.
Although Ewers ended up winning the quarterback battle in August, there were more than a few whispers about his commitment to the playbook and the mental side of the game.
Point-plank ... this side of his game has to improve or he's going to have a hard time holding on to the job.
Yet, if he's able to make the commitment to the position that will be expected of him, there's no reason to doubt that his performance levels in 2023 can be much higher than they were in 2022.
No. 3 - Re-visiting my thought on Ewers from Friday ...
For the life of me, I'm a bit bewildered at the response to the part of my post-game review of the game that focused on Ewers.
Over the last few weeks, I've been about as loud of a vocal supporter for Ewers than just about anyone else in the industry.
* When people cried to the rafters that he should have been benched in Stillwater, I maintained that it was the kind of test he needed to experience and that I wouldn't have pulled him.
* When people said the performance in Stillwater was the worst in recent memory, I dedicated a huge portion of this column pointing out that it was far from the worst quarterback performance any of you have seen.
* When the Longhorns won in Manhattan, I stressed that he had played turnover-free football and gave his team a chance to win a critical road game.
* I've constantly stressed over and over again that Ewers is a young quarterback and experiencing things that most young quarterbacks deal with.
Therefore, I was more than a little surprised to somehow be positioned as some kind of anti-Ewers, click-bait fire-breather because of comments made in my Instant Analysis column.
So, what did I actually say that warranted such heat? Let's inspect it all, paragraph by paragraph.
"It's just that Quinn Ewers played at a level that basically required Sarkisian to take the ball completely out of his hands in the two drives that decided this game following his fumble that allowed the Bears to take a fourth-quarter lead."
With the Longhorns leading by 5 with 13:30 left in the fourth quarter, Ewers lost a fumble that was returned 16 yards for a touchdown that eventually gave Baylor a 27-24 lead. It was the 10th point of the game that Ewers had contributed to the Baylor cause. In the final 8+ minutes of the game, the Longhorns ran 22 straight plays on offense that asked Ewers to do nothing more than hand the ball off.
That feels like less of a piece of speculative commentary and more of a read of what actually happened.
The stats will show that Ewers was pretty good, as he finished with a 176.9 efficiency rating. Yet, sometimes stats can't tell a complete story. On a day when Ewers handed the Bears 10 points on a safety/fumble combo, while also leaving four points off the scoreboard on a high throw in the red zone to Ja'Tavion Sanders, Ewers' feel for the game and what's happening around him left a lot to be desired.
The stats will show that when Ewers threw the football, he had a really nice game from a statistical standpoint. On several throws, Ewers flashed the kind of arm talent that makes the mouth water. Yes, he did give away a safety when he threw the ball into an area where there were no receivers while he was in the end zone. He did hold onto the ball too long and committed the only sin he simply couldn't by fumbling the ball, which allowed Baylor to totally flip the script of the game in the fourth quarter. His situational awareness did leave a lot to be desired.
"A lot."
Yeah, a lot.
"I mean ... Sark just stopped letting him do anything other than hand off and that decision probably won the game."
That's literally what happened.
"The scene was a giant reminder of how far this team still has to go at the quarterback position. When Sark said that the team would go into the spring with an open competition, he better mean it because it's much needed."
Again, where is the hyperbole and rhetoric that caused the outrage that occurred? The Texas quarterback position needs to play better, can't give the other team points through sloppy situational awareness and will be open for competition in a few months.
I just don't get the outrage.
No. 4 - Next year's Senior Class ...
Assuming that Bijan Robinson turns pro and the likes of Jordan Whittington, Junior Angilau and Devin Richardson have played their final snaps as Texas football players as Friday seemed to suggest ...
We're going to be looking at the smallest senior class I've ever seen.
The list?
RB Keilan Robinson
WR Isaiah Neyor
DT T'Vondre Sweat
DE Alfred Collins
LB Jaylan Ford
LB David Gbenda
CB Jahdae Barron
S Jerrin Thompson
S Kitan Crawford
That's nine before any further attrition or before the Portal potentially adds a few to it. A lot of leadership is departing and will need to be replaced.
No. 5 - Scattershooting on the Longhorns ...
... Bijan Robinson is 106 yards short heading into the bowl game of a 2,000-yard all-purpose season. Something to aim for!
... Xavier Worthy finished the regular season with nine touchdown receptions, which is two more than second-place in the Big 12 from Bryce Wheaton-Ford (West Virginia).
... No player in the Big 12 hit double digits in sacks this season, which is kind of wild. Barryn Sorrell finished sixth in the conference with 5.5. The next highest for Texas was DeMarvion Overshown, who placed tied for 18th with 5.
... Jahdae Barron held off late charges by Overshown and Jaylan Ford to finish as the team leader in tackle for loss with 11. That says a lot about how all over the field he's been all season.
No. 6 - A Portal profile to keep an eye on ...
On one hand, Kentucky wide receiver Barion Brown was saying all of the right things to the public following Kentucky's win over Louisville.
On the other hand, Brown's name has been making the rounds behind the scenes as a player that could absolutely end up in the Portal and I would suggest is a player to keep an eye on after catching 45 passes for 604 yards and four touchdowns.
That includes a monster 10 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown against Georgia two weeks ago.
The Portal is about to be bubbling over with talent and this is exactly the kind of player that would improve the Longhorns.
No. 7 – BUY or SELL …
(Buy) Yeah, I think Sark will most likely run it back with the same group of coaches.
(Sell) I just don't see Sark going out for anyone that will get in the way of his young talent.
(Sell) I'm not 100-percent certain that we should count on Neyor being an automatic starter coming off of a major injury. That being said, it's possible we'll see a couple of starters in the top 4, along with Johntay Cook, when it's all said and done.
(Buy) Don't shoot the messenger, but I am expecting it at this point.
(Sell) Maybe I'm naive, but that doesn't sound like Bijan.
(Sell) From a statistical standpoint, it's basically a wash going into next season.
(Sell) Hell no. 15 points?
(Sell) I don't think 8-4 does a whole lot for a majority of the board that watched Tom Herman put up similar seasons. I'm not sure that I would say that the board is overwhelmingly negative, but I would say it is overwhelmingly unsatisfied. Frankly, they have a right to be.
(Sell) It's possible that both things are true and not mutually exclusive. Caleb Williams showed us last year what a 5-star quarterback talent truly looks like and I'm having a hard time putting Ewers in the same sentence with him at the moment, even if some of these growing pains are to be expected.
(Sell) Possibly, but I'm going to go with one or two fewer. Let's call it 8.
(Buy) I expect transfers in the Portal to be very turned on by the Texas NIL situation.
(Sell) Receivers love Sark's offense, his history of producing star players and the fact that Arch Manning lingers in the distance.
(Sell) I wouldn't just completely forget about it at all, but it was a step in the right direction.
(Buy) He's that important.
(Sell) Joe Burrow had arguably the best season of any quarterback in NCAA history. Let's walk before we sprint like Ben Johnson on steroids.
(Buy) We're going into year three with way more questions than answers.
No. 8 - Scattershooting on anything and everything ...
... If I had a vote that mattered ...
1. Georgia
2 Michigan
3. USC
4. TCU
5. Ohio State
6. Alabama
7. Doesn't matter
8. Doesn't matter
9. Doesn't matter
10. Matters even less
... Heisman Ballot: 1. QB Caleb Williams (USC), 2. QB CJ Stroud (Ohio State), 3. RB Bijan Robinson (Texas), 4. QB Max Duggan (TCU) and 5. QB Bryce Young (Alabama)
... I couldn't be any more impressed with Michigan after they went into Columbus and shoved it in Ohio State's face. Jim Harbaugh has the team he's always dreamed of having. Do not sleep on them in the playoff.
... Caleb Williams is in a class by himself right now ... and he's back next season.
... Give Jimbo Fisher another 5 years on that contract after Saturday night.
... I know LSU fans are smarting after that ass-kicking. They were so sure of themselves on Thanksgiving Day. Level 1 confirmed.
... Much respect to TCU. I didn't think they had a 12-0 in them.
... Kansas was never going to beat the Wildcats in Manhattan. I felt bad for all of those with hope on Saturday night.
... Joey McGuire beat Texas and Oklahoma in the same season. Respect.
... Attaboy, Ja'Quinden. Glad to see the talent is still flowing strong.
... It didn't end well for David Shaw and I'm not sure if we'll ever see him coach again, but he had a hell of a run at Stanford and is the postcard picture of doing things the "right way".
... All the USMNT needs to do to advance in the World Cup is beat Iran on Tuesday. Why does that feel like a tall task?
... From a neutral perspective, I'd love to see Messi and Mbappe have a showdown late in this tournament for the ages.
... Never fear UT basketball. You're about to be the center of attention for the next few months outside of recruiting and events from the Portal.
No. 9 - The List: Top 10 Steven Spielberg Movies ...
I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts over the weekend (The Big Picture) and a discussion of Steven Spielberg's best movies was at the heart of a discussion centering around the release of his new movie "The Fabelmans," which is expected to compete for Best Picture at this year's Oscars.
I found myself completely disagreeing with a lot of the list that was created and thought I would take it on in this week's column.
10. Lincoln
9. Munich
8. Minority Report
7. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
6. Schindler's List
5. Raiders of the Lost Arc
4. Saving Private Ryan
4. Jurassic Park
2. E.T.
1. Jaws
No. 10 - And Finally ...
Arch Manning is done playing high school sports after his team lost this weekend in the state quarterfinals.
The five-star early enrollee turned the ball over three times, including his first two interceptions of the season. It just wasn't his night.
Now he heads to Texas.
Buckle up, it should be a sight to behold.
