The Longhorns won because they had a stranglehold on Texas recruits. Once SEC boys started successfully poaching Texas players, it was over for Texas. Had nothing to do with coaching.
The Longhorns should win every year because they have more $$$ - but they continually embrace mediocrity at the most important positions. QB - there is no way Arch should be starting even at a middle program like Texas State, he just isn't good enough. You can safely bet on OU wiping the floor with them this weekend if Arch isn't replaced. DD
It's still more competitive than it was back in Mack Brown days. UT had a massive talent advantage over other Big 12 schools back in those days, more than what UT has now.
he won with major applewhite. Texas did have some crazy talent but there is something to be said for having plays that are easy to execute when you are dealing with 19 year olds.
Having Ricky Williams, Jamal Charles, Priest Holmes and Cedric Benson as running backs doesn’t hurt either.
This year reminds me a lot of Colt's sophomore year. His RS Freshman year, he was still playing with a lot of holdovers from the natty the year before. That 2nd year you really saw the limitations of a young QB and new starters. That's not to say that Manning is going to be the next Colt. Only that we saw a huge talent loss in the draft and we're seeing the effects here and now. I'm less surprised with Manning's struggles (mostly bc he was mediocre in most of his appearances last year) but the lack of a running game is just nuts. That's something that has to be more dependable year after year.
This is a totally fair evaluation of the the Horns offense and Manning https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/46511028/arch-manning-texas-longhorns-gone-wrong
I haven't lost hope for Manning but seeing him miss wide open receivers is troubling. I understand missing reads or being slow on reads like Squint, but to not be able to deliver the ball to wide open guys is something I didn't expect. He did a pretty good job delivering the ball last season when he played.
I've seen several commentators point out that his footwork and mechanics have getting out of whack regularly, leading to inaccuracy. That's definitely one thing I had expected him to excel at.
What I find weird is his arm strength, or at least what his deeper throws look like. Even if they were pinpoint accurate, there's nothing that I see on those throws that tells me "this is an NFL quarterback". And I realize that's not relevant for UT - college and NFL quarterbacks need different skillsets - but I've been under the impression NFL scouts viewed him as a top tier pick and future NFL player. I don't remember his throws last year and certainly haven't seen anything of his high school days, but I have to believe something is mechanically wrong (or an injury) that's causing his balls to float. Either that, or NFL scouts have been trading entirely on his name instead of his actual play over these last few years because there's no way anyone should look at those throws and think they could ever work in the NFL.
