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Where we do not know if he can help this team, though, is in the second half of these games Texas has blown for three consecutive weeks. Sarkisian never gave Card the opportunity to prove himself there — the leash was too short.
For some reason, the head coach has been a lot more generous with Thompson. Maybe because from a numbers perspective, it has not been awful. Sarkisian pointed out Thompson threw five touchdowns against Oklahoma despite the loss during one of his press conferences.
The famous old eye test has shown otherwise.
Thompson has shown us how he plays in the second half. Especially on the final drive of the game when a touchdown is required. 0/5 with an interception combined vs Oklahoma State and Baylor.
Twice now has Thompson had the opportunity to wash away poor performances with a late score to keep Texas in the ball game. Twice he has done, quite literally, absolutely nothing.
Bigger picture, looking at just the second half, Texas is scoring 9.0 points when you factor out Texas Tech. The killer mentality needed to put Sarkisian’s ‘All gas, no brakes’ mantra on display has been lacking for a month now.
With all the problems with this team, a quarterback who can win despite the issues is needed. Card may not be the answer, but the opportunity is at least deserved. If it was not, Sarkisian would have never originally named him the starting quarterback.
What we do know is Thompson is a solid quarterback during the first half of games. Once he comes out of the locker room, attempting to maintain the lead he helped build, something magically switches. The killer mentality is clearly not there.
Even in his three wins against Rice, Texas Tech, and TCU — Thompson’s performances have not elevated Texas to victories. Lesser opponents and Bijan Robinson did. Never have you ever been able to say he’s single-handedly lifted the team to a win.
The time is now."
https://longhornswire.usatoday.com/2021/10/31/texas-longhorns-football-opinion-hudson-card-starting-quarterback-steve-sarkisian-casey-thompson/
