When the Texas Longhorns finished with a thud at 6-7, fans immediately began questioning things. Charlie Strong, Shawn Watson, Joe Wickline, the entire starting 11 on offense…nobody is above the scrutiny.
Especially not Tyrone Swoopes.
After throwing 5 interceptions and only one touchdown combined in the team’s final two games (both losses), Swoopes drew the brunt of the criticism for the lacking performance of the Texas offense. After spending a season questioning play calling, and talking about the band-aid unit along the offensive line, fans switched gears after Thanksgiving night, laying blame squarely on No. 18.
To call the season a roller-coaster performance from Swoopes is a gross understatement. Here’s a game-by-game look at Swoopes’ performances this season, along with a generalized representation of what fans thought after each game:
BYU: 20/31 passing for 176 yards, 1 interception, and 1 TD
– 25 yards rushing
– Sacked 3 times
What fans said: Not bad for his first collegiate start. Texas lost the game on defense, not because of Swoopes.
UCLA: 24/34 passing for 196 yards, 0 interceptions, and 2 touchdowns
– 21 yards rushing
– Sacked 2 times
What fans said: The UCLA defense is pretty athletic. Swoopes had a lead in the 4th quarter – tough to complain about that.
KU: 19/34 passing for 218 yards, 0 interceptions, and 2 touchdowns
– 21 yards rushing, and 1 rushing touchdown
– Sacked twice
What fans said: I expected more from the offense. It wasn’t bad, but they didn’t light it up either.
Baylor: 16/34 passing for 144 yards, 2 interceptions, and 0 touchdowns
– 54 yards rushing
– Sacked once
What fans said: The fumble right before halftime was a momentum killer. Baylor is a good team, but I was disappointed in quarterback play given the performance in the last 2-3 weeks. This was a step back in my eyes.
OU: 27/44 passing for 344 yards, 1 interception, and 2 touchdowns
– 63 yards rushing, and 1 rushing touchdown
– Sacked twice
What fans said: Swoopes took two steps forward this week. If Texas can get this level of performance each week, then the Horns are gonna be tough to beat.
ISU: 24/36 passing for 321 yards, 1 interception, and 1 touchdown
– 100 yards rushing, and 1 rushing touchdown
– Sacked once
What fans said: Where did the defense go? Swoopes and the offense scored more than enough. This game should not have been close.
KSU: 13/25 passing for 106 yards, 0 interceptions, and 0 touchdowns
– 49 yards rushing
– Sacked twice
What fans said: OU and Iowa State were progress, but this was a major step backward. Swoopes and the offense generated nothing. I don’t know whether to blame the offensive line or the quarterback.
Texas Tech: 13/25 passing for 228 yards, 0 interceptions, and 1 touchdown
– 32 yards rushing
– Sacked three times
What fans said: Quarterback play wasn’t spectacular, but it didn’t hurt the team either. When you can run the football successfully, you don’t have to have a quarterback win the game.
West Virginia: 11/29 passing for 124 yards, 1 interception, and 1 touchdown
– 4 yards rushing
– Not sacked
What fans said: This felt like a repeat of the Tech game. I’m concerned that the team isn’t getting more from the passing game.
Oklahoma State: 24/33 passing for 305 yards, 0 interceptions, and 2 touchdowns
– 17 yards rushing
– Sacked 3 times
What fans said: After a couple of stagnant weeks, this felt like progress. Swoopes and the offense are going to be okay. With a normal offensive line, this team would have a different record.
TCU: 20/24 passing for 200 yards, 4 interceptions, and 1 touchdown
– 110 yards rushing
– Sacked 4 times
What fans said: That’s the worst quarterback performance I’ve ever seen from a Longhorn.
Arkansas: 13/25 passing for 57 yards, 1 interception, 0 touchdowns
– 9 yards rushing, and 1 rushing touchdown
– Sacked 3 times
What fans said: Pathetic. With extra bowl practices, Swoopes and the offense were terrible. What did they do for two weeks?
The high point of Swoopes’ season was consecutive games against Oklahoma and Iowa State. In those two contests, Swoopes produced a total of 800 yards of offense, which is the third highest output in school history (for consecutive games). Additionally, his 384 yards of total offense in the Red River Shootout is the highest total in the history of the Texas/OU series.
Conversely, the level of futility fans witnessed against TCU and Arkansas transformed the narrative on Swoopes. After being patient with the young signal caller, and even excusing some poor performances, the burnt orange faithful played the roles of judge and jury.
Currently fans are ready to take on the role of executioner as well. People willing to give Swoopes an opportunity to improve during Spring practice are more rare than Longhorn first downs in the Texas Bowl.
Swoopes built a resume over 10 games that had fans confused. Folks talked about his youth, and inexperience. Others blamed the offense’s Jekyll-Hyde performance on the offensive line, and suggested that the starting skill positions players on offense were not Division I caliber.
That 10-game resume was torn to shreds in the final two games. Now, instead of reviewing Swoopes’ season as a 12 event collection, fans are only remembering the TCU and Arkansas games. According to fans, it’s time for Jerrod Heard to take over the position; to move Swoopes to tight end; or for the Longhorns to add a graduate transfer player at quarterback.
What is the reality of the situation – Are fans looking for an excuse to hype the most popular player in Austin (the backup quarterback)? Is Swoopes the player from the OU game, or the TCU game?
As of mid-January, the only comment from Texas coaches is that there will be open competition at the quarterback position. Despite what fans are saying amongst themselves, that competition will include Tyrone Swoopes.
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