Longhorns Update: The Plot Thickens

Kansas State University has our number these days. The Longhorns have lost to the Wildcats four straight times now after this past weekend’s 17 – 13 thriller. Coach Bill Snyder should be getting a Coach Of The Year award with his AARP benefits program and Family Stadium named after him. Collin Klein has moments when he looks like Tim Tebow revisited, without the fanaticism and Heisman.

Oh, wait. This post isn’t about the Wildcats – it is about the Longhorns. Unfortunately, the news hasn’t changed much around the Forty Acres over the past few weeks. But there are some very intriguing plot lines developing.

If your defense holds a team to 17 points, especially if that team is #16 in the country, then you have done your job. Two weeks in a row now, that has happened. The Longhorns defense has been dominant.

The Longhorns offense, on the other hand, is in neutral.

The running game has gone AWOL with injuries. The quarterback situation is exactly what we should have expected from a true freshman and a sophomore with little to no game experience. The strains of “pull him, Mack” have been heard many times already from the Longhorn Nation, so often in fact that if you close your eyes, you would think that Chris Simms or Garrett Gilbert were on the field.

A 6 – 2 start to the year is now 6 – 4. It really makes you wonder how reflective those 6 wins are of the quality of this team. They beat Rice, BYU, UCLA, Iowa State, Kansas, and Texas Tech. Some of you will point to the ISU win over Oklahoma State, or the Texas Tech win over Oklahoma. Sorry, wins over ISU and TTU are far from “signature”.

Road trips to College Station and Waco await. The Texas A&M game is always a coin toss, especially in the final year of a 118-year-old rivalry. If the Aggies play more than the first half, the Longhorns might be in trouble and glad to see the Aggies heading to the SEC.

As for that little drive up IH-35 to Waco, prepare to meet your match in Robert Griffin III. RGIII is my number one pick for the Heisman Trophy. There is no player in the country that is playing any better, and no player that means more to his team.

A 6 – 6 team is just one win up from last year’s abysmal 5 – 7. Is coach Mack Brown going to the on the hot seat? Tune in on Thanksgiving Day, just make sure you eat beforehand. You may not have much appetite when it is all said and done.

Photo credits: The U.S. Army