Hot Seat Gets Hotter for Mack Brown

Good Article by Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News. The list of losses at the end is sobering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The momentum, promise and hope built during a six-game Texas winning streak was erased on one long Saturday afternoon by Oklahoma State.

 

 

 

Mack Brown’s many critics were handed another incriminating piece of evidence to make a case against him returning next season with the Longhorns’ 38-13 loss at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

 

 

 

Brown was ranked 70th on Coacheshotseat.com last week. He’ll be a lot higher this week.

 

 

 

For Brown, the most lopsided home loss of his Texas career had horrible timing. The Longhorns’ eighth straight defeat against a ranked team at home came in front of new athletic director Steve Patterson and a ton of key recruits and fans who want either wins or change.

 

 

 

“They won in about every way you can win,” Brown said.

 

 

 

Maybe Brown had to realistically win out for a Big 12 title to keep his job after the two early losses to BYU and Ole Miss. Maybe he was more secure than that. The lack of a competitive effort against another Big 12 contender may trump everything else. Don’t expect those Nick Saban rumors to go away anytime soon.

 

 

 

Preseason conference favorite Oklahoma State (9-1, 6-1) did its part to set up the Big 12 game of the year next week against Baylor.

 

 

 

Brown and Texas’ players clung to the long-shot possibility of a Big 12 title like a life preserver.

 

 

 

“If there’s nothing to play for, it’s a very difficult thing,” Brown said when asked about bouncing back. “But we’re still in November with a conference championship sticking right in our face.”

 

 

 

A lot of things have to happen for Texas to even tie for the Big 12 title and for Brown to point to real progress. For the moment, Texas (7-3, 6-1) will regroup before a Thanksgiving home game with Texas Tech before closing the season at Baylor.

 

 

 

Those 10 days may not be enough time, especially with running back Johnathan Gray and defensive tackle Chris Whaley gone for the season.

 

 

 

Offensive lineman Trey Hopkins said Texas had the same preparation and was undone by “human errors.”

 

 

 

Senior quarterback Case McCoy, who had either dodged or overcome major mistakes during the six-game win streak, fell back into bad habits with three interceptions.

 

 

 

“If your quarterback goes out and throws three picks, you’re not going to win the ballgame,” McCoy said. “So it’s on me, my team knows it’s on me, and we’re going to get it fixed and go win.”

 

 

 

Texas’ mistakes, limitations and deficiencies were exposed, especially in a decisive 1:15 stretch just before halftime.

 

 

 

“It was awful. It was awful,” Brown said.

 

 

 

Texas senior defensive back Adrian Phillips got both hands on a Clint Chelf pass. Instead of an interception, he deflected it directly to Tracy More for a 12-yard touchdown pass and a 21-10 Oklahoma State lead.

 

 

 

Then with the clock running down, McCoy tried the sort of deep out he isn’t designed to throw. Oklahoma State’s Justin Gilbert, one of the fastest players in the Big 12, anticipated the pass perfectly and returned it 43 yards, high-stepping the ball into the end zone for a 28-10 Cowboys lead.

 

 

 

“Yeah, I was forcing things, no doubt about it,” McCoy said.

 

 

 

There was more, plenty more, before and after that sequence. Daje Johnson’s ill-advised attempt to field a punt inside his 5 eventually gave Oklahoma State a short field for its second touchdown drive. A reverse attempt on a kickoff left the Longhorns’ offense starting its first drive of the second half at its 5.

 

 

 

Texas’ best offensive starting position was its 33-yard line.

 

 

 

McCoy would add two more interceptions in the second half, one that led to another Oklahoma State touchdown.

 

 

 

“I’m disappointed,” Brown said. “I don’t get stunned about anything anymore.”

 

 

 

Dysfunctional home

 

 

 

Texas has lost eight home consecutive games to ranked opponents. The rundown:

 

 

 

Year

 

 

 

Opponent

 

 

 

Score

 

 

 

2013

 

 

 

No 25 Ole Miss

 

 

 

44-23

 

 

 

2013

 

 

 

No. 12 Oklahoma St.

 

 

 

38-13

 

 

 

2012

 

 

 

No. 8 West Virginia

 

 

 

48-45

 

 

 

2011

 

 

 

No. 6 Oklahoma St.

 

 

 

38-26

 

 

 

2011

 

 

 

No. 17 Texas A&M

 

 

 

24-17

 

 

 

2011

 

 

 

No. 16 Kansas State

 

 

 

17-13

 

 

 

2010

 

 

 

No. 25 Baylor

 

 

 

30-22

 

 

 

2010

 

 

 

No. 10 Oklahoma St.

 

 

 

33-16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* based on AP rankings