Baylor Football: Bears’ season goes from bad to worse against Texas

3. Texas is still rebuilding

The expectations of each of these two programs could not be more differentiated. Baylor wants a win, any win while the Longhorns are still dreaming on a national title. Yet an errant Baylor pass was the difference between these two teams early. The Bears are probably better than the winless record they brought into this game, but the aren’t on the same level as Texas – at least, they shouldn’t be.

Therein lies the problem in Austin. Charlie Strong was cast as the problem with Texas. When he was let go in favor of Tom Herman the narrative shifted to something like this: “Texas has the talent, and now they have the coaching. They’ll contend for championships, soon.” It’s that the Longhorns might need to reconsider what “soon” really means.

Texas has one of the better defenses in the Big 12. That was on display with the early pick six against Baylor, but it’s been consistently the strongest unit on the field for the Longhorns all season. The defense held Baylor to 249 yards. Another commendable performance.

On the other side, the offense was hot and cold. It didn’t really get going until the game was out of reach in the second half. Baylor had allowed 33 points or more in every conference game this season. Texas scored 38 points, but only four offensive touchdowns. Quarterback Shane Buechele was fine, but still Herman felt it necessary to call two trick plays and let skill players attempt passes, both were incomplete.

There are plenty of pieces in Austin, and they could be a threat down the road. Yet, this is officially a rebuilding team. They aren’t ready to contend this year. Next year is an entirely different story.