Texas must play with passion

[n.e.husker]

At schools where the standard is perfection, back-to-back losses can drive a coach to say the strangest things.

 

Take Texas' Mack Brown, whose team followed up uninspired play in a 34-12 home loss to UCLA by spotting Oklahoma two early touchdowns en route to a 28-20 loss Saturday.

 

"When you have a close game like this, it comes down to inches and we just didn't get the inches," Brown said.

 

Inches?

 

I know the Sooners dodged a major catastrophe when quarterback Landry Jones was able to bat his late-game fumble deep in OU territory out of bounds. But Saturday's outcome was not one that had the burnt-orange faithful thinking their team is inches from producing a much-needed turnaround.

 

Now unranked by The Associated Press for the first time since October of 2000, and out of the coaches' poll for the first time since November of 1998, Texas needs to win at Nebraska on Oct. 16 to avoid its first three-game slide in 11 years.

 

As much as the Longhorns have owned the Huskers in recent years, if they continue down the path that's left them with a 3-2 record, they're going to need some really special karma to pull through.

On Saturday, Texas didn't run an offensive play in Oklahoma territory until 10 minutes remained in the third quarter. That's against a defense that was 97th in the country. Sophomore running back D.J. Monroe, who recently moved from receiver, did have a 60-yard touchdown run, but then barely played in the second half because of concerns about his pass blocking.

 

And the reason Texas was in pass protection so often? Because a defense Brown had said had the potential to be the best he's had in his 13 years in Austin gave up touchdown drives of 83 and 75 yards at the start of the game -- in large part because it wasn't prepared for the Sooners' no-huddle offense.

 

Monday, Brown said he was proud of the fight his team showed in the second half, though he couldn't have been referring to defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat's unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty that extended an OU touchdown drive.

 

So what message did the coach deliver to his team when it met Sunday?

 

"We've got to play with that heart and passion and desire each week. If we played that way against UCLA, it could've been a different outcome," Brown said. "We're not the type of team this year that can go out there and not play our best and win. We have to play our best."

 

In another breath, Brown said that "overall, the offensive line did a good job" Saturday. If that's the case, then how come 17 of the Longhorns' 19 running plays (not counting three sacks) generated 52 yards?

 

Perhaps a bigger question is how Texas' second-ranked defense got beat nearly 50 percent of the time (9-of-20) on third down?

 

What we do know is that it will be an extremely long open week for the Longhorns.

 

"We go back for these two weeks and grind it out. Work hard as a team, stay up, stay motivated," defensive end Eddie Jones said. "We can go back out and win. We can change things around."

 

Strange as it sounds, the Longhorns have plenty to change.

 

Reach Curt McKeever at cmckeever@journalstar.com or 402-473-7441.

 

http://huskerextra.com/sports/football/article_24d0e55e-d033-11df-8a0a-001cc4c002e0.html