View Full Version : The quotes coming out of Austin are . . . indescribable
Texas coach Strong wants 'restart' after Notre Dame blowout
By JIM VERTUNO (AP Sports Writer)
AP - Sports
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- After yet another blowout loss in which the Longhorns looked completely overmatched, Texas coach Charlie Strong said Monday he'd like to ''restart'' the season.
Texas fans thought the restart came 20 months ago when the Longhorns hired him to replace the fired Mack Brown. But one game into the 2015 season and Texas (0-1) is facing the same old questions about the play at quarterback, a lack of scoring and yet another blowout loss on the national stage.
After the 38-3 loss at No. 11 Notre Dame, Strong was facing new ones about whether he plans to shake up his offensive coaching staff, and even if the next few weeks are critical to his own tenure at Texas.
The Longhorns next play Rice (1-0).
''Our goal is to win the (Big 12) championship,'' Strong said. ''We know this week we have to go play well ... millions and millions of people are involved in this program and we have to give them hope. They have to see progress.''
Progress in a positive way, Charlie, not another two steps backwards
There was none to speak of against Notre Dame, a game that looked an awful lot like blowout losses to TCU and Arkansas to end the 2014 season.
Junior quarterback Tyrone Swoopes continued to struggle. An offensive line with two freshmen starters couldn't protect him or open lanes for runners. The Longhorns managed just eight first downs and after the first full weekend of the season, they rank last in the nation in total offense and scoring.
All of this comes after an offseason in which Texas focused on a developing Swoopes and retooling the offense to embrace the spread.
There was little evidence of that against Notre Dame except for a no-huddle element that not only didn't gain many yards, but sent the defense back out on the field even quicker than before.
And made ND look like they deserve that Top 10 ranking
''I was hoping I'd see a big difference myself,'' Strong joked Monday.
Strong insisted offensive coordinator Shawn Watson would still call plays this week but also noted there's an ''evaluation process'' for his staff.
''We can't go through another season with a bad offense,'' Strong said.
Strong said redshirt freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard, a better runner that Swoopes but raw as a passer, will get a chance this week to earn the start against Rice.
Strong insisted Monday there wasn't much difference between Swoopes and Heard in training camp, yet Heard didn't do enough to unseat Swoopes over the previous eight months. Heard got in only a handful of plays against Notre Dame, running twice for minus-12 yards and completing one pass for 10.
''We have to win,'' Strong said. ''The best person has to play.''
Swoopes said he'll keep battling to remain the starter.
''That's up to the coaches. They see something in me they like, whatever it is,'' Swoopes said.
Whatever "it" is apparently has little to do with being able to generate first downs and score points
Texas wasn't expected to beat Notre Dame. It's how Texas lost that upset Longhorns fans. Texas is 72-21-1 all-time against Rice and hasn't lost to the Owls since 1994.
Lose Saturday night and the questions for Strong will only get tougher.
Man, if the owls can pull it off... Yikes.
olevetonahill
9/7/2015, 05:46 PM
I almost feel sorry for the Whorns
I said "ALMOST"
Therealsouthsider
9/7/2015, 06:02 PM
....may they rot in h3ll
ss
Firing Mack Brown was just dumb.
cherokeebrewer
9/7/2015, 06:32 PM
"Swoopes looked like he was about to swarm the beaches of Normandy on an innertube armed with a switch"
"Swoopes looked like he was about to swarm the beaches of Normandy on an innertube armed with a switch"
Yup.
Swoopes sucks. No two ways about it.
Good for us, but it won't mean much when we put the beat down on them.
Eielson
9/7/2015, 07:27 PM
Firing Mack Brown was just dumb.
Serious?
The sports talk here in Austin is pretty ugly. Lots is unhappy folks and I really can't blame them. On one hand I feel bad for my horn friends, but on the other hand it's really really entertaining, lol
Serious?
You think Strong is doing better than he would have?
Unless they were lining up someone like Meyer or Saban it seemed like a pretty big gamble.
OUmillenium
9/7/2015, 09:21 PM
Mack got bigtime players year after year. The Andrew Luck/JFF miss doomed him as their qb play has been terrible in recent years outside of their last 2 games against OU. Firing Brown also meant Greg Robinson was out as Def coordinator as well. Rick Barnes also got more McDs All Americans to come to UTerus than OU coaches during the same time period.
Pat Jones said it today, "Coaching can't fix everything". Gotta get some quality talent + know how to coach the game.
bluedogok
9/7/2015, 10:14 PM
Unless they were lining up someone like Meyer or Saban it seemed like a pretty big gamble.
Some of the big money alumni thought that would happen....because "We're Texas"
Mack got bigtime players year after year. The Andrew Luck/JFF miss doomed him as their qb play has been terrible in recent years outside of their last 2 games against OU. Firing Brown also meant Greg Robinson was out as Def coordinator as well. Rick Barnes also got more McDs All Americans to come to UTerus than OU coaches during the same time period.
Pat Jones said it today, "Coaching can't fix everything". Gotta get some quality talent + know how to coach the game.
yeah, if he could have followed up Vince Young and Colt McCoy with someone close to that level, he would probably still be there
one of JFF or RGIII probably should have been at Texas.
Curly Bill
9/7/2015, 10:27 PM
Charlie Strong strikes me as having an IQ somewhere south of 80. I wonder how he finds his way home in the evening, and can only assume there's an assistant coach assigned to that.
And Swoopes is a QB from a mediocre 2-A football program who in high school made a living running over 145lb cornerbacks, and who has always displayed poor accuracy. Why anyone thought that would translate to D-1 football is still a mystery to me?
Eielson
9/7/2015, 10:30 PM
You think Strong is doing better than he would have?
No, but that just means the Strong hire was bad. Doesn't mean the Mack Brown firing was bad.
There are an abundance of coaches that can succeed at Texas. They just might have picked the wrong one.
he was the best they had in a long time. i wasn't sad to see him go.
Curly Bill
9/7/2015, 11:06 PM
Letting Mack go was the absolute right thing to do (though Sooner fans would have liked them to keep him).
Texas screwed that up though by hiring Charlie Strong. The question is how long do they let him lead them through mediocrity before admitting they screwed the hire up and try again?
BoulderSooner79
9/7/2015, 11:41 PM
Letting Mack go was the absolute right thing to do (though Sooner fans would have liked them to keep him).
Texas screwed that up though by hiring Charlie Strong. The question is how long do they let him lead them through mediocrity before admitting they screwed the hire up and try again?
The horns have to improve to become mediocre. That could lead to a short tenure for Strong.
OUmillenium
9/7/2015, 11:48 PM
I wonder how Art Briles would be doing with that team?
The Longhorn Network is gold right now. Trying to fill up time allotted to review this game with positive comments and its nearly impossible. 3 dorks sitting around raving about the UTerus back who got 8 offensive touches in the game. Hilarious!
stoopified
9/7/2015, 11:59 PM
Yup.
Swoopes sucks. No two ways about it.
Good for us, but it won't mean much when we put the beat down on them.I agree he sucks BUT he looked like VY against US last year. Just sayin I ain't taking anything for granted.
olevetonahill
9/8/2015, 01:43 AM
Letting Mack go was the absolute right thing to do (though Sooner fans would have liked them to keep him).
Texas screwed that up though by hiring Charlie Strong. The question is how long do they let him lead them through mediocrity before admitting they screwed the hire up and try again?
Strong is saxets Boo Blake!
RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!
9/8/2015, 02:14 AM
Strong is saxets Boo Blake!Dang, it's only Strong's second year, and he had good success at upstart Louisville. Yallerteefs' teams the last few years before he was canned weren't very good either, although Mac's last year he did beat an OU team that had its head up its a*s.
aurorasooner
9/8/2015, 07:00 AM
Dang, it's only Strong's second year, and he had good success at upstart Louisville. Yallerteefs' teams the last few years before he was canned weren't very good either, although Mac's last year he did beat an OU team that had its head up its a*s.
Glad we didn't start out in our 1st game on the road or in a neutral site with a top 20 team like ND. We would've been down by 2 or 3 TDs going into the 2nd qtr. This was a very good year to start out with an average MAC team especially at home.
Although, imo, some of these MAC and directional Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa teams could give anyone outside of Ohio State, and perhaps Wisky/Michigan State in the Big 10 a run for their money, imo.
Now the real season starts when both coaching staffs usually only have 1 week to get their teams ready.
As far as the Cotton Bowl game 2 years ago, that was pitiful, imo. The final score didn't indicate how bad the whorns put a downright whipping on us and last year we were damn lucky to squeak by them. I still can't believe the Mackster will forever have the final scoreboard on Stoops.
BoulderSooner79
9/8/2015, 07:31 AM
Glad we didn't start out in our 1st game on the road or in a neutral site with a top 20 team like ND. We would've been down by 2 or 3 TDs going into the 2nd qtr.
Very true - had we played a team with a good offense that was executing out of the gate, we would have been playing catch-up. Another question is whether we really started clicking late in the 2nd or did a thin Akron squad wear down in the heat? We'll find out soon enough because UT is deep team and won't wear down unless OUr offense manages to stay on the field.
The horns probably are not as bad as they looked given it was a first game. But they definitely have some real issues that won't go away this season.
Breadburner
9/8/2015, 08:05 AM
They stuck with Mack too ****ing long is the problem......
Pat Jones said it today, "Coaching can't fix everything". Gotta get some quality talent + know how to coach the game.
This is true to a point but coaching matters in college football. Mack did Strong no favors at QB and OL and Texas was overmatched against a top ten team. BUT ... Texas still has players on offense and those players showed no fight, the game plan was horrible, and the coaches did nothing to change what was happening. Yes, Notre Dame is a great Team ... but what has folks upset here in Austin is that the Horns were so uncompetitive at all. Two other Texas teams played top ten teams this weekend and were way more overmatched on paper that Texas was and they showed more fight in their games than Texas did. SMU hung with Baylor for a half ... Texas State hung with Florida State for a bit ... and the talent disparity in those games was way larger than it was in South Bend. If the coaches can get the kids at SMU and Texas St to show some competitiveness ... why couldn't Charlie and his staff? There's a coaching problem in Austin on the offensive side of the ball right now
oupride
9/8/2015, 08:17 AM
ND is a good program. They looked prepared. That win probably just put them in a nice bowl game. Expect a 3 loss season from ND. Thank for the post.
BoulderSooner79
9/8/2015, 08:20 AM
Agree the horn players haven't shown a will to win. I don't understand why since those Strong-coached Louisville teams displayed a lot of toughness. Just a culture thing, I guess. But you just know those bastages will bow their necks up and play hard in one game this year and we all know which game that is.
aurorasooner
9/8/2015, 09:24 AM
Very true - had we played a team with a good offense that was executing out of the gate, we would have been playing catch-up. Another question is whether we really started clicking late in the 2nd or did a thin Akron squad wear down in the heat? We'll find out soon enough because UT is deep team and won't wear down unless OUr offense manages to stay on the field.
The horns probably are not as bad as they looked given it was a first game. But they definitely have some real issues that won't go away this season.
Speaking of what MacK left Charlie at QB, what about what Deloss left UT with them starting the season out with ND in South Bend. I don't feel sorry at all for Charlie, because if you look at UCLA and aTm, or even Oregon with that graduate QB transfer, it can be done in the 1st game with a true frosh at QB, but probably not on the road against a top-20 team away from home. I do believe that S Watson is the Whorn's biggest problem same as it appears that Heupel was our main problem (remains to be seen). I still can't believe we didn't put 2 consecutive 63-14 or 65-13 type beat-downs on them the last couple of years (probably should have been something like 55-to 30 something 2 years ago).
As far as Tennessee and OU, I do believe that both played the 1st game or the 1st quarter/1st half ""vanilla in hopes both would be comfortably ahead and each coach wouldn't have to show their hand to the other. If there aren't any major game-changing TOs early in this one (see OU vs USC in the Orange Bowl), I do believe that whichever staff has the best game-plan, adapts the best at HT, whichever team wins in the trenches, and which staff can motivate their players the best will win this game.
I will be disappointed if we lose, but if we look sharp especially on offense and LR doesn't continually try to establish the straight-ahead run game into a brick-wall come hell or high water (ie we have some misdirection running plays and timely screen passes for positive yards to help out our inexperienced OL and move the chains some to rest our D), and our defense plays solid and with intensity, then I won't fault them. Now if we go full coaching-retard like some of the games last year, then that's another story.
BoulderSooner79
9/8/2015, 09:46 AM
Same here - if we play hard and the coaches show ingenuity, I won't be crushed with a loss. This is the only game on our schedule that isn't a must win -- but it is a must compete if you are talking playoffs.
SoonerorLater
9/8/2015, 10:28 AM
Same here - if we play hard and the coaches show ingenuity, I won't be crushed with a loss. This is the only game on our schedule that isn't a must win -- but it is a must compete if you are talking playoffs.
"Playoffs? Don't talk about—playoffs?! You kidding me? Playoffs?"
BoulderSooner79
9/8/2015, 10:33 AM
"Playoffs? Don't talk about—playoffs?! You kidding me? Playoffs?"
Agreed - this year's OU addition doesn't appear to have the makings for playoffs. But you know how fans are after a convincing win over a 2nd tier squad ;)
olevetonahill
9/8/2015, 10:39 AM
"Playoffs? Don't talk about—playoffs?! You kidding me? Playoffs?"
Agreed - this year's OU addition doesn't appear to have the makings for playoffs. But you know how fans are after a convincing win over a 2nd tier squad ;)
I'm talkin Playoffs LOL
I put 200 on OU to win it all at 35 to 1 . Yall pull for my bet if nothing else LOL
BoulderSooner79
9/8/2015, 10:57 AM
I'm talkin Playoffs LOL
I put 200 on OU to win it all at 35 to 1 . Yall pull for my bet if nothing else LOL
I'm pullin' for you Vet and that makes every game a "must win". We're not out of the playoff picture until we are :)
swardboy
9/8/2015, 11:17 AM
And until we are, we aren't!
olevetonahill
9/8/2015, 11:17 AM
"Playoffs? Don't talk about—playoffs?! You kidding me? Playoffs?"
I'm pullin' for you Vet and that makes every game a "must win". We're not out of the playoff picture until we are :)
Party at My shack WHEN we win it all
Pride1Mom
9/8/2015, 11:44 AM
If you want to sit on the orange side of the "Original" Cotton Bowl at the Texas State Fair, I imagine you can get as many tickets as you want!
hawaii 5-0
9/8/2015, 01:38 PM
I'd be more than happy if UTerus lost to pushovers.
Let them stew in their own juices awhile longer.
5-0
as fun as whorn ineptitude is, how long can the big 12 survive if its other big boy program continues mediocrity?
jkm, the stolen pifwafwi
9/8/2015, 01:56 PM
Mack got bigtime players year after year. The Andrew Luck/JFF miss doomed him as their qb play has been terrible in recent years outside of their last 2 games against OU. Firing Brown also meant Greg Robinson was out as Def coordinator as well. Rick Barnes also got more McDs All Americans to come to UTerus than OU coaches during the same time period.
Pat Jones said it today, "Coaching can't fix everything". Gotta get some quality talent + know how to coach the game.
Which was part of his problem. There was a time when the top player in Texas was a sure fire NFL 1st rounder. The last 6 years, you are lucky if ONE of the top 10 gets drafted. Heck we had a year where we got the top 3 players and not a single one was drafted.
jkm, the stolen pifwafwi
9/8/2015, 02:02 PM
Dang, it's only Strong's second year, and he had good success at upstart Louisville. Yallerteefs' teams the last few years before he was canned weren't very good either, although Mac's last year he did beat an OU team that had its head up its a*s.
Texas tends to be a slow burn school where coaches are at their best 5-6 years down the line. I've often wondered what it is like for Auburn fans where their best records are normally in the coach's first 2 years.
After reading of SEC bagmen a few years back, year two might be when booster enthusiasm is highest, and therefore payouts are "all in" so to speak. Subsequent reports of NCAA inquiries, faux marijuana and tree poisoning might have dampened that enthusiasm some.
Texas' problem may be that it has too many people to please... not just boosters, but also HS coaches. How many pillsbury doughboy linemen did Mack have to scholarship in order to be the first coach they'd call when a real five-star came along? Judging by their awful lines in the last decade... all of the scholarships. :mack:
bluedogok
9/8/2015, 06:12 PM
And Swoopes is a QB from a mediocre 2-A football program who in high school made a living running over 145lb cornerbacks, and who has always displayed poor accuracy. Why anyone thought that would translate to D-1 football is still a mystery to me?
Colt McCoy played at 2A Jim Ned High School in Tuscola...
Dang, it's only Strong's second year, and he had good success at upstart Louisville. Yallerteefs' teams the last few years before he was canned weren't very good either, although Mac's last year he did beat an OU team that had its head up its a*s.
I think that Strong is probably a very good mid-major coach but doesn't have the politician in him like Mack to make things work at an overtly political position like UT. Much like Franchione, he was real good at the "underdog mentality" schools but was out of his element at another politics driven institution like A&M. That is why Mack was the perfect fit at UT, his problem was he became lazy when it came to recruiting trying to sign everyone before the season and too tied to the in-state players. People act like Texas is the best job, it may be one of the most difficult because the head coach has too many masters serve.
Curly Bill
9/9/2015, 06:15 PM
Colt McCoy played at 2A Jim Ned High School in Tuscola..
.
I'm well aware of that. But unlike Swoopes his forte wasn't running over midgets, and he did have a high degree of passing accuracy. Other than that they both went to 2-A schools the comparison ends there. Not only that but Jim Ned is a far better program than Whitewright FWIW.
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