Texas Football Program: Not Up To Par

It's been a tough rebuilding
period at the University of Texas.

The University of Texas has the reputation of being one of the nation's top collegiate athletic programs with many top recruited athletes.  In 2002, Sports Illustrated named Texas number one among "America's Best Sports Colleges", but this is not the same program we have come to know in the past decade.  (Texas Football averaged eleven victories per season and won the 2006 BCS National Championship, two Big 12 conference championships in 2005 and 2009, and three of their four BCS bowl appearances from 2001 to 2009.)  The football program is experiencing one of their worst periods in its storied history and has a 21-16 record since the 2010 BCS National Championship loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide.  That game was the end of a memorable decade of Texas Longhorn football and the beginning of an unexpected rebuilding period.

The Texas Longhorns always have high expectations entering a season because they have been a successful team in the past and are second among NCAA football programs in victories.  Beginning with the 2010 season, Texas entered an unexpected rebuilding period.  Five-star recruit Garrett Gilbert was expected to be the next great Longhorn quarterback, following in the footsteps of Vince Young and Colt McCoy.  He was recognized as the top prospect in the 2009 senior class and had an impressive performance as a true freshman against #1 Alabama in the 2010 BCS National Championship, replacing the injured McCoy.  Unfortunately, he did not pan out and the team suffered its worst season in fourteen years, finishing with a 5-7 record with no bowl eligibility.

The Texas Longhorns needed a starting quarterback when the 2011 season began.  Three quarterbacks were fighting for the starting job, including Sophomore Case McCoy, Freshman David Ash and the 2010 starter Garrett Gilbert.  Each player started a game during the season, but none of the candidates established themselves as leaders for the team.  The team struggled on the gridiron throughout the season and finished the inconsistent 8-5 season with a victory over Cal in the Holiday Bowl.

David Ash's impressive performance in the bowl game separated himself from McCoy and Gilbert in the quarterback battle and was expected to be named the starter in 2012.  The team began the season like 2011 with four consecutive victories, but struggled against conference foes and ranked opponents.  They were inconsistent throughout the season and tonight's 42-24 road loss to #6 Kansas State is a good example.  McCoy started the game in place of the injured Ash and had an impressive first half performance.  He overcame an early interception and finished the half completing 17 of 18 with a touchdown.  His Horns outscored the Wildcats by ten in the second quarter and led 10-7 at halftime, but they could not finish the job.  The teams traded touchdowns and the Longhorns led 17-14 with 7:24 remaining in the third quarter, but Kansas State's twenty-eight unanswered points in the second half trumped Texas.  The Wildcats won their fifth consecutive game against the Longhorns and won their first Big 12 Championship since 2003.  The Longhorns, on the other hand, finished third in the conference after losing their final two regular season games against TCU and Kansas State.

The Longhorns' bowl game will be announced Sunday night, but their main attention and concern should be on their future and resolving their many unnecessary issues, including a quarterback dilemma, coaching uncertainties and an unproductive defense.  This pathetic play cannot continue for the great football program at the University of Texas.