The popular current narrative for Texas’ season goes something like this. The team plays hard for 60 minutes no matter what. This team has led two Top-10 teams in the fourth quarter and is just three or four plays away from being 6-1. If not for the rash of injuries on the offensive line, the offense would be much better.

If Texas loses to Baylor (Texas is favored by seven, but I think it’s a pick ‘em), I think the narrative will change to something like, Texas has a culture of losing, the season is over, Tim Beck has to go, and Tom Herman is getting paid $5.5 million for this? And Texas probably will lose if Herman and Beck don’t find some answers on offense and we witness another performance like the one we saw in the second half against Oklahoma State. My man Paul Wadlington at Inside Texas described it this way: “as frustrating an offensive performance as I’ve ever watched and I have the worst of Fred Akers, David McWilliams, Mack Brown OU, and Charlie Strong under my belt.”  What he said.  More personally, as I watched the Oklahoma State performance, I was eerily reminded of the Texas-Houston game in 1976 that featured 24 yards rushing and 121 total yards of offense for the Horns.

In addition to the offensive woes, I worry that with these close, emotion-sapping losses adding up, the Baylor game could be the one when the team loses its resolve to continue playing hard, come what may.

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I had a conversation this week with Willie Earl reader Mark Adams.  He lamented the fact that Texas doesn’t have a fullback on the roster that they can line up in front of Chris Warren III and plow ahead for two or three yards in short-yardage and goal line situations.  This got me to thinking about the Spread offense and Nick Saban.  You remember Nick, the coach that so many Texas fans and boosters wanted Texas to hire in 2014. I think Tom Herman replaced Saban as Texas’ most coveted hire and was seen as the Nick Saban of the future.  Nick Saban doesn’t run a spread offense and he probably has at least three fullbacks on the roster to line up in front of a tailback in goal line and short-yardage situations.  Food for thought for Tom Herman?

I’m worried about this game.

Hook ‘eM.

W.E.

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