For Mack Brown and the Texas Longhorns, the beginning of Saturday’s night game against the BYU Cougars probably gave them flashbacks to the nightmare that was their entire 2010 season. They woke up in the second half to find out that they weren’t sitting naked in a classroom taking a Russian literature exam that they hadn’t studied for.
With beleaguered veteran quarterback Garrett Gilbert watching from the sidelines, UT youngsters like QB Case McCoy, WR Jaxson Shipley and CB Quandre Diggs helped rally the ‘Horns to a 17-16 win. In the process, they gave Texas fans some glimmers of hope for what had become an uncertain future.
Truthfully, most of the credit for the win should go to first-year defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and the Texas D, particularly the front seven. With UT’s offense misfiring badly in the first half, the ‘Horns bowed up and twice held the Cougs to field goals in the red zone in the first quarter. BYU never got anything going on the ground, averaging less fewer than 2 yards per carry for the game, and couldn’t stretch the field in the passing game. (Although BYU offensive coordinator Brandon Doman didn’t really make much of an effort until it was too late.)
Yet, it wasn’t until Mack and offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin went with their youth movement on offense that Texas had any real shot at staying competitive, let alone winning. As poorly as Gilbert played to start the game, they really didn’t have much choice. Once Gilbert got benched, Harsin’s unconventional quarterback rotation between freshmen Colt Junior and David Ash kept the BYU D guessing in the second half.
The power running game Harsin was supposed to bring to Austin also got going in the second half. Freshman stud Malcolm Brown pounded between the tackles for nearly 5 yards per carry, while Harsin countered with speedster D.J. Monroe on sweeps and swing passes around end.
The cherry on top of Harsin’s Boise-inspired sundae, however, had to be a sweep pass out of the wildcat formation in which Shipley went in motion, took a handoff from running back Fozzy Whitaker and hit a wide-open Ash for a game-sealing first down in the fourth quarter.
It was the kind of offensive derring-do that had become noticeably absent under Harsin’s predecessor, Greg Davis.
On the other hand, if that bit of inspired play-calling offered hope for where the Longhorns are heading, it also encapsulated the limitations of this team right now. The talent gap – make it a chasm – between the Texas and BYU rosters is wide enough to hold the denizens of Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium. BYU is a solid team, but there were only a handful of Cougars on the field who would have been recruited to wear the Burnt Orange. Vegas had made UT a touchdown favorite.
Yet, the ‘Horns had to get creative on offense to move the ball with any real effectiveness. Sophomores Mike Davis and Darius White, who were thought to be Texas’ strongest options at receiver, combined for 5 yards and a catch. And if the offense runs better with McCoy and/or Ash behind center, why was Gilbert, who may have played his final down at Texas, starting the game?
So, what does it all mean going forward for the ‘Horns? Past UT squads would have made quick work of a team like BYU. Eking out wins against over-matched opponents may feel better than a loss, but that’s not going to get Texas back to the upper stratosphere of college football. Still, it’s a solid start.
