Four Weeks: The Definition

So its been four. The last four games have been the defining moment of the Horns this season. Everything from a suffering defense, to the resignation of Mack Brown has been circling the rumor mills for the last few weeks. Although I can agree with fact that Manny Diaz’s defensive side of the ball could use some work (a lot of work), Mack Brown has done a lot that needs to be remembered. In that sense, people need to calm down. Back to what matters, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Baylor, have all exposed weaknesses, and room for improvement on all sides of the ball. Over the past few seasons, there has always been a showdown in Stillwater. This season was no exception.  After a wild 35-point first quarter, this game was going to make or break the first half of the season for either team. Texas was looking to stay undefeated, and OSU was looking to continue to be a challenge for the Horns. The defense gave up 275 rushing yards, but did hold the Cowboys on their last trip to the red zone. Joe Bergeron scored the game-winning (yet questionable) rushing touchdown to put Texas over the Cowboys, 41-36. First weakness: defense lacking in focus and in endurance. Next up was the nationally hyped first Big-12 meeting with West Virginia. I’ve never seen DKR that energized ever. The record-setting crowd was the largest since UCLA in 2010. In my opinion, this is where the defense began to redeem itself. However, WVU was well prepared. For most of this game, I felt comfortable with putting the defense on the field. Plus, it was entertaining to see Geno Smith risk his Heisman nomination numbers. What was the most disappointing was a red zone fumble off of a bad snap by the center.  This sealed the game, and quieted all 100,000+ fans in the stands. There are few things that frustrate me more when watching Texas play than the team shooting itself in the foot. Joe Bergeron’s rushing scores, Smith’s first interception on the season, Fera’s missed field goal that would have tied the game at 41, and quick responding WVU offense would end it all at 48-45 in favor of the Mountaineers. Don’t get me started on Oklahoma. The Red River Rivalry is supposed to be one of the biggest games of the year across the country. Getting routed on such a big stage is well below Texas expectations. It was believed that Texas would come out on fire after a let down against WVU, but that ended after only 2 points were scored in the first half off of a blocked OU extra point. Ridiculous. Final 63-21 OU. Texas standards could’ve come into a bigger spotlight than the game against Baylor. On paper, the defenses between the Horns and the Bears was relatively even. When looking at the history between UT and BU, it should never be even. Baylor hung in there drive-for-drive in Austin, though Texas came out on top 50-56. Baylor accounted for more yards in the game, 607-525, but the Horns converted when it counted on 10-13 third downs. Game over. Four weeks ago, it was the story of what Texas would do with the next four games. Worst case scenario, 0-4; expected, 2-2; BCS gold, 4-0. Timing was crucial and UT took the worst of it by falling in the rankings by the end of the four weeks. Next up is Kansas, and there couldn’t be a better opponent to seek stat-worthy redemption. With the focus of the Baylor game, and the energy of the WVU game, KU doesn’t stand a chance. Texas just needs to step on the defensive front, let David Ash do his thing, and brace for the cold. The last four weeks have impacted the Horns on the national scale, but we can take the rest of the season to define ourselves as Texas.