UPDATE: Ugly Outlook for Texas Following Red River Rout

Burnt orange clad faithful bailed the Cotton Bowl before halftime with Texas trailing a rolling Oklahoma bunch by five touchdowns. Things got ugly for the Longhorns in a hurry during the Red River Shootout. Despite blocking the returning Oklahoma’s initial PAT attempt for a safety, the ease with which the Sooners gashed the Texas rush defense on the opening drive was an ominous foreshadowing of things to come.

UT was coming off a 48-45 loss to West Virginia in which Mountaineer running back Andrew Buie rushed for over 200 yards. Oklahoma similarly exposed the glaring holes in the Longhorn linebacker corps. Damien Williams exploded 95 yards for a touchdown off a simple draw play. Reserve and short yardage situation Blake Bell racked up four touchdowns before halftime. The questions that arose from the West Virginia contest are especially burning now.

Manny Diaz reinvigorated the UT defense last season following a lackluster 2010, Will Muschamp’s third and final as defensive coordinator. His honeymoon may be short lived with OU guaranteeing a third straight Big 12 game of at least 36 points well before going to the locker room. In a marquee rivalry match-up with national billing, Mack Brown did not need a John Mackovic level catastrophe.

In fact, things looked so bad that first half, I would have only been half-surprised were there a Scooby Doo style reveal with Alex Okafor pulling off “Mack Brown’s” mask to reveal Mackovic, UT head coach during the Longhorns’ infamous Rout 66 against UCLA.

Is the sea of orange flooding out of the Cotton Bowl indicative of a greater exodus off the Longhorn bandwagon?

It didn’t quite reach Rout 66 proportions, but the Longhorns gave up 63 points. That’s a combined 147 points allowed in three Big 12 games. Meanwhile, the 21 the Longhorns scored were largely in garbage time, well after the outcome was sealed and a third straight dominant Sooner win in the books.

Mack Brown had plenty of wiggle room in 2010 when the Horns finished 2010. Last season’s 7-5 regular season finish had some a bit more uneasy, though a rally to send Texas A&M packing from the Big 12 and one-sided Holiday Bowl win painted a brighter picture. Perspective is a whole lot less rosy now, and the past two seasons’ struggles have some pondering if Brown should go.

The culture of the program has also come into question.

How have things gone so wrong, so quickly? The revolving door in the coaching staff hasn’t helped, but Texas has continued to win top shelf talent on the recruiting trail. Though no compensation for the consistency of a regular staff, four and five-star recruits at least ease the transition. The constant is Brown. Just as he gets the credit for conference championships and BCS appearances, he’ll bear the burden of defeat.