Mirror, mirror

According to Google, the word ‘reflection’ is a noun meaning, “the throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it.” In plain English that says: what you see in the mirror. Saturday night’s see-saw, 48-45 win for the Texas Longhorns was nothing more than a good look in the mirror.

The first telling reflection of the night came from Texas fans. As evidenced by a stadium that had at most 60,000 people in it with 10 minutes left until kickoff, the burnt orange faithful looked in the mirror and saw a team with an ineffective offense, subpar special teams and a propensity for making mental errors. Texas fans reflected the third quarter against BYU, a blown 4^th quarter lead versus UCLA, and four quarters of offensive futility against Baylor.

Texas fans also saw a weak Iowa State team with a 2-4 record. When the Cyclones took the field, most of the half-full stadium saw a team that lost to I-AA North Dakota State in their opening game.

Luckily for the Longhorns, coaches and players saw a much different reflection when they looked in the mirror. Collectively, they looked in the mirror and saw a team impeded by injuries, suspensions and dismissals that Is extremely limited in experience. New coaches and young players looked in the mirror and saw a team that progressively improved each week as they learned to play together.

The coaching staff has been telling fans all season that the 2-4 team on the field isn’t as good as the team the coaches see practicing. After the BYU loss, Charlie Strong said, “That wasn’t us.”

After being dismantled by the BYU defense, Co-Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson said, “I’m really encouraged by what we can build from this.”

Encouraged? Really?

That’s the crux of the matter, the coaches saw a different reflection in the mirror than the fans. Instead of a team with a 2-4 record, the Texas coaches saw a capable squad with a few key veteran players that is slowly learning how to win ballgames.

The fans at DKR on Saturday night were treated to their first glimpse of the reflection that the coaches see – a team built on a strong defense relied on offensive fireworks and solid special teams play to win a conference game.

Saturday night’s win over Iowa State was a true team effort. That reflection is even more impactful for Texas fans because of how the offense and special teams performed compared to the defense this season.

As for what coaches and players saw reflected from the other sideline, the Cyclones looked like a team led by a quarterback that compares favorably to BYU’s Taysom Hill – a name that carries some weight in the locker room. They likely also saw a determined team, which, much like their own squad, battled through a difficult early season schedule. ISU was 2-4, but that doesn’t mean they are the Cyclone team of 2008.

A third inconsistency in what bounces back off a mirror is the difference between what fans and the team sees when they look at Tyrone Swoopes. The player that fans saw account for more than 400 yards of total offense against Iowa State is the same one that the Texas coaching staff sees in the locker room.

After the game, senior running back Malcolm Brown said, “His [swoopes] performance didn’t come as a surprise to me because I see him practice.”

Courtesy of spending untold hours every week together, it’s easier for the team to discriminate between a reflection and a mirage. Fans tend to base their judgments on a 60-minute window that happens on a Saturday.

Coaches and players build confidence from something closer to 40 hours spent together every week. And in some cases, that confidence is established over even longer periods.

Reflections can be distorted, but Watson knows Charlie Strong isn’t building a House of Mirrors, “I’ve been around Charlie Strong for 34 something years now. That man will get it taught. I’ve been with him in the heat of the action. He’ll get that stuff fixed.”

Google provides another definition for ‘reflection’, “serious thought or consideration.”

Was the Longhorns’ performance against Iowa State a sign that this Texas team turned the corner on Saturday night? Was it the oh-so-close loss to OU in Dallas that served as the springboard this team needed? Are the Horns beyond inconsistencies on offense and special teams?

How you answer those questions depends on what you see when you look in the mirror. Reflect on that.