Craven: Despite brutal finishes, growth for Texas is undeniable

[caption id="attachment_19110" align="alignright" width="300"]Photo by Pat Carrigan Photo by Pat Carrigan[/caption] The growth for the Longhorn football team is undeniable despite being 1-3 entering this weekend’s game against TCU. In back-to-back losses, Charlie Strong’s team showed life on offense, big-play ability on defense and a level of effort the program hadn’t shown in previous years. Texas doesn’t believe in moral victories, though, and that puts Strong and the Longhorn fan base in a tough position. Mack Brown left the program worse off than when he inherited it back in the late 1990’s. Brown did a lot for the program, including a national championship and a 10-year run that was nearly unmatched in the history of college football. It is hard to argue he didn’t let the program fall behind late in his career and Strong was tasked with putting it all back together in front of a fan base not known for its patience. The Longhorns could easily be 1-5 after the Oklahoma game in Dallas next weekend and even the most patient fan won’t be happy with that record. A closer look into the details should allow for some understanding. Texas missed an extra point against Cal that potentially would’ve sent the game into overtime. The Longhorns’ punter dropped a snap late in the game against Oklahoma State which ended up giving the Cowboys the field position to kick the game-winning field goal. Over the next two weeks, Texas faces two teams still in contention for the College Football Playoff. It isn’t like Texas is losing to lesser competition. The hard truth is Texas isn’t as good as teams like TCU and Oklahoma because of recruiting failures earlier in the decade. For the most part, Texas’ best players are freshmen and sophomores and that recipe doesn’t work at this level. Texas’ quarterback is a redshirt freshman. The best wide receiver and offensive lineman are true freshmen. The best player on the defense is a true freshman linebacker and the cornerback rotation entering the TCU game will include three true freshmen. No fan base enjoys losing and it is much easier to be patient from the outside looking in, but Texas is moving in the right direction and the talk of Strong’s job being in jeopardy this early in his tenure is unfair. The Longhorns are getting better and Strong will turn it around like he’s done everywhere he’s ever coached.