Sark - the honeymoon is officially over

1 blown lead could be a mulligan. Against OU is not good.
2 blown leads is a tendency and a characteristic.
Throw in a blow out, and you need a lot of lipstick.
Now I’ve seen this team quit 3 times—that’s coaching….

Mack Brown went 9-3, from a 4-7 Mackovic team before. That’s making it better. Mack also immediately made UNC better recently.

This guy seems to be turning us into Cal.

If Herman wasn’t fired and was 4-3 right now (and losing this way) he would really be in a boiling caldron of water.
 
Horns sit 4-3 with 5 games left to play this season:

@ Bailor
@ ISU
KU
@WVU
KSU

All of those teams will be jacked up to play UT.
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Somewhat interesting as we have probably the two weakest teams at home and the two toughest on the road. We will beat KU and should beat KSU. ISU and Baylor right now should probably be slightly favored against us on their own field although not by a lot. We are better than West Virginia but going to their place won't be a cinch.

6-6 is possible and would be disastrous. 9-3 possible also but seems a pipe dream right now. 8-4 or 7-5 feel about equally probable at this point. Hard to predict bowls since so much of it is about the matchup you get. Weird thing is we've won 13 of our last 17 bowl games.

Also, against teams ranked in the top 6, dating back to Charlie's last season we're only 4-5 in those games (and all 5 losses were close ones), not all that bad; it's been the "average to good, but not great" teams that we've underperformed against that's been the problem.
 
Sangre Naranjada said:
For those who agree with the premise of the thread title I have a question.

What was Mack Brown's record his first season here?

Remember, Mack inherited a top notch o line in front of a guy named Ricky. Mack had a first year QB. Mack had a weak defense. Mack inherited upper classmen who were SWC champs and Big XII champs before shitting the bed in 1997, so he had guys who knew how to win.

Sark has less to work with than Mack Brown, especially on the offensive line and in terms of a winning culture. And Mack went 8-5 and everybody was ecstatic.

If you were not pissing and moaning midway through 1998 saying Mack's honeymoon is over, why are you saying it about Sark now?

EDIT: Mack went 9-3, not 8-5. I think the overall thesis still stands.
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I'm with you, Sangre
I've been insistent for years that sentiments like the one in this thread title are part of our problem.
 
RainH2burntO said:
I'm with you, Sangre
I've been insistent for years that sentiments like the one in this thread title are part of our problem.
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Knee-jerk reactions of "it's gotta' be the coach" are present within most every fanbase. I think we may have one of the quickest triggers out there though, probably because half our fans think they know more about football than that moron on the sidelines the AD hired last year, and the other half are just so frustrated because we have been on such a long streak of mediocrity that they lash out at the easiest targets too.
 
Sangre Naranjada said:
Knee-jerk reactions of "it's gotta' be the coach" are present within most every fanbase. I think we may have one of the quickest triggers out there though, probably because half our fans think they know more about football than that moron on the sidelines the AD hired last year, and the other half are just so frustrated because we have been on such a long streak of mediocrity that they lash out at the easiest targets too.
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Agreed.
And for the record....the coaches didnt allow 2 sideline hail Mary's to be caught nor an ill advised KO return fumble nor a 66yd QBs sneak for a TD in the ou game nor an 85 yd pick 6 against osu....all plays that made Ls out of probable Ws.
 
One interesting aspect of all this is many media outlets saying things like "if Baylor can somehow beat Texas then they will flip any doubters " and "iowa state has two tough tests coming up over the next few weeks in OSU and Texas" ...and all the love osu is getting after defeating UT...now moving up to #8.
Clearly...though we have painfully lost two winnable games...many still see Texas as a formidable oppponent....
I do not think ou, osu, TCU, or Tech would necessarily or likely disagree.
And I dont think anyone looked at UT after the ou game and said, "Man those guys suck."
We also do not know CTs health for the osu game.
Chill....let the season play out...and next season as well. Support this coach and team and quit acting like petulant children. Let's talk after the '22 season.
 
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Sangre Naranjada said:
Knee-jerk reactions of "it's gotta' be the coach" are present within most every fanbase. I think we may have one of the quickest triggers out there though, probably because half our fans think they know more about football than that moron on the sidelines the AD hired last year, and the other half are just so frustrated because we have been on such a long streak of mediocrity that they lash out at the easiest targets too.
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When said coach has maxed out at 8 regular season wins at major programs in 6 years of being a head coach, the concerns are warranted. Maybe an eight win season 6 years down the road excites some here, but not me
 
Sangre Naranjada said:
Knee-jerk reactions of "it's gotta' be the coach" are present within most every fanbase. I think we may have one of the quickest triggers out there though, probably because half our fans think they know more about football than that moron on the sidelines the AD hired last year, and the other half are just so frustrated because we have been on such a long streak of mediocrity that they lash out at the easiest targets too.
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Ahhh, okay, good. Now we're getting somewhere. So, you DO understand how fan boards work.

:coolnana:
 
Chop said:
Wait a minute folks. We're actually really good. We just played the #3 and #8 teams in the country down to the wire. A few plays going the other way, and we could have won both of them.

AP Top 25 Poll
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Just wondering where they'd be ranked if we hadn't choked those big leads.

And where would we be ranked had we not choked the big leads?
 
moondog_LFZ said:
Texas still lands in the top 15 of ESPN’s updated Football Power Index
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Supporting my point above...and I like your sentiment.
Texas looks like a top 15 team to me that has a few kinks to iron out...No one is going to be taking them lightly and they are a team and program worth supporting...not ragging on like they are trash.
People should stick to facts and stop with the hyperbole.
Factually..we lost two games we easily could have and should have won, and our teams have struggled for years now with the confidence, belief, and conviction necessary to "take the next step".
The hole we've dug over the years wont be easy to climb out of.
This is a talented, dangerous, better-coached team than we have had...albeit inconsistent and missing a few key parts.
9-4 or 8-5 or whatever is only disastrous in a new coaches first year if you look like trash doing it and there is no growth. We will look for that growth to continue over the rest of the season.
People forget this program didnt just lose to KU 7 years ago. It barely.. and I mean barely..escaped losing 2 years ago...at home.
 
Rain —Regarding Culture- Yes we are Texas. The fans are very quiet versus most big schools, The players are complacent because they got the glitzy Texas scholarship, The program focuses on money way too much, and it has hurt us. We have been known as a soft team since 1983 and except 05, and 08.....At Texas- you get fired by who you lost to-and not rewarded by who you beat. All this adds up to a ho hum program- like Michigan.

Regarding this year...There has been brighter spots and worse spots than last year. We are not rebuilding Rome here. This team hung 55 on Colorado last year with Thompson. The UTSA coach made the football good immediately. It happens a lot.
Herman wasn't the answer for UT football, but I don't recall blow outs in big games, and blown leads ( especially over only 7 games). I agree we don't know for sure about this Stark guy- he could be worse. He could be the Sumlin guy who kept blowing leads at aTm.
 
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Factually, we lost two games we easily could have and should have won
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True, and we also won a game we easily could have lost.

We definitely were in a position to beat OU and OSU. That said, those losses didn't feel like flukes either. They both won because they were better teams than we were, in the end.
 
Statalyzer said:
True, and we also won a game we easily could have lost.
.
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Im not arguing for the sake of arguing...and I get your general sentiment....But we didn't lose it...We won that game...one we would have lost every other year....at TCU I assume you are speaking of...
 
Sangre Naranjada said:
Knee-jerk reactions of "it's gotta' be the coach" are present within most every fanbase. I think we may have one of the quickest triggers out there though, probably because half our fans think they know more about football than that moron on the sidelines the AD hired last year, and the other half are just so frustrated because we have been on such a long streak of mediocrity that they lash out at the easiest targets too.
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For me the frustration was the play calling in the 2nd half in both games. With a big lead we just went all brakes, no gas. Quit doing the things we did to get the lead. That's the one thing Sark can control is the plays he calls. There was no "wow, great play call" in the 2nd half of either game. I know he's working with flawed players at almost every position besides RB. So be willing to continue to take risks even when ahead. This D just can't be asked to stop a team an entire half. Not going to happen.
 
wadster said:
For me the frustration was the play calling in the 2nd half in both games. With a big lead we just went all brakes, no gas. Quit doing the things we did to get the lead. That's the one thing Sark can control is the plays he calls. There was no "wow, great play call" in the 2nd half of either game. I know he's working with flawed players at almost every position besides RB. So be willing to continue to take risks even when ahead. This D just can't be asked to stop a team an entire half. Not going to happen.
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Been thinking about this quite a bit, and why Sark went conservative late in both games. Just a hunch that he believed he needed to shorten the game to protect his talented but thin defense. Unfortunately, with our weak OL, he couldn’t control the ball and run the clock. This, even with the best RB in country.

I thought that the play-calling over the last 20 minutes of both games was suspect, and that he could’ve been more creative without completely opening it up. Misdirection? Jet sweeps? Screens? Wildcat? The plays he chose to run we’re obviously ineffective, So instead of giving his defense a break, he put more pressure on them with the frequent three and outs.

Unfortunately the idea of shortening the game — assuming that was the strategy— through ball control pretty much failed, miserably.
 
dukesteer said:
Been thinking about this quite a bit, and why Sark went conservative late in both games. Just a hunch that he believed he needed to shorten the game to protect his talented but thin defense. Unfortunately, with our weak OL, he couldn’t control the ball and run the clock. This, even with the best RB in country.

I thought that the play-calling over the last 20 minutes of both games was suspect, and that he could’ve been more creative without completely opening it up. Misdirection? Jet sweeps? Screens? Wildcat? The plays he chose to run we’re obviously ineffective, So instead of giving his defense a break, he put more pressure on them with the frequent three and outs.

Unfortunately the idea of shortening the game — assuming that was the strategy— through ball control pretty much failed, miserably.
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I think he and @mb227 have money on the games. I think that's what happened.

:fiestanana:
 
I'm not that sure we went conservative, they just stopped our running plays. We have a home-run hitter at RB, so handing off to him doesn't mean we're going into a shell. It only looks that way when they stuff him at the line. When he runs 40 yards for a TD, it doesn't.
 
On O, the lack of success comes down to the OL execution.

Poor play calling may be somewhat due lack of confidence in OL.
 
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wadster said:
For me the frustration was the play calling in the 2nd half in both games.
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I tend to agree. There seemed to be far less pre-snap motion for one thing. It seemed we tried to go power, ball control football in both 2nd halves to preserve the lead and eat clock. Not a bad strategy in general, but this particular team isn't likely to see sustained success that way.
 
Statalyzer said:
I'm not that sure we went conservative, they just stopped our running plays. We have a home-run hitter at RB, so handing off to him doesn't mean we're going into a shell. It only looks that way when they stuff him at the line. When he runs 40 yards for a TD, it doesn't.
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I think a lot of it comes down to execution.
For some reason in the second half we start seeing false starts, holding, fumbled snaps, etc.
Any game plan goes out the window when you continually have 2nd and 3rd and 10 or13 yards to a first down.
 
horninchicago said:
I think he and @mb227 have money on the games. I think that's what happened.

:fiestanana:
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In the Okie Lite game, though, I would have made money...go back to the prediction thread and you will see where I had admitted that, if in Vegas, I would have likely taken OSU and the points.

Cannot be a fan when it comes to successful sports betting...fans at the window tend to lose money long-term.
 
mb227 said:
In the Okie Lite game, though, I would have made money...go back to the prediction thread and you will see where I had admitted that, if in Vegas, I would have likely taken OSU and the points.

Cannot be a fan when it comes to successful sports betting...fans at the window tend to lose money long-term.
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Moon, I dig your signature line Heisman image of Bijian :hookem:
 
No two ways about it, the OSU loss was terrible.

I said going into the 3 games series of TCU OU OSU it would make or break the season.

3-0 good times and Texas is back.

2-1 - better than He-man, room to improve.

1-2 - same as He-man, why did Texas hire another coach again?

I still think Herman needed to be fired, and that Sark will do a good job at Texas. But not much data to back that up with so far, besides feelings.
 
But could be worse. Is there a more disappointing football program in America than Nebraska?

3-5 overall, with two of those wins coming against hired chumps. 1-4 in conference and in last place. About to fire their hero player now coach, for whom this job has been a nightmare, and in a conference that doesn't care the least about them.

They don't even have a real rival - I mean who do they try to fire up for, and root against these days? Minnesota?
 
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