Texas football: 3 overreactions from upset loss to TCU in Week 9
By John Scimeca
Texas football suffered its third loss of the 2019 season against TCU in Week 9. Here are three overreactions to the 37-27 Longhorn defeat.
TCU freshman quarterback Max Duggan ran for an 11-yard touchdown scamper in the final minutes to seal a Horned Frogs win over Texas on Saturday. With the win, TCU moved to 4-3 overall, 2-2 in the Big 12.
Texas, on the other hand, faces a series of difficult questions. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger threw four interceptions in the loss, halting any chance of a Longhorns comeback, and the defense was gashed for 435 yards against a sub-par offense (by Big 12 standards).
The loss dropped Texas out of the national rankings and out of serious contention for a Big 12 championship game return.
Here are three overreactions to the Longhorns’ loss.
3. Tom Herman should update his résumé
Sam Ehlinger is a fine college quarterback, but the wheels are falling off the Longhorns’ bandwagon in Tom Herman’s third season with the team.
Herman took over a reeling program from Charlie Strong, who admittedly only had three seasons in charge to fix a mess that was most likely out of his hands, as well. The optimism from last year’s 10-win season and a regular-season win over OU has largely dissipated. Since then, the Longhorns have lost to the Sooners twice.
Texas’ passing defense is the worst in the Big 12 and fifth-worst in the nation, surrendering more than 305 yards through the air in each game. They nearly lost to Kansas in Week 8, needing a last-minute field goal to win it, and couldn’t get the stops they needed against TCU last weekend.
Would it be premature to part ways with Herman at this point? Sure. But his predecessor didn’t get very long to get things right in Austin, and UT fans grew accustomed under Mack Brown to seeing their team compete for conference and national championships. The facilities, the resources, and the recruiting for Texas is rivaled by few, if any college football programs.