By Steve Habel, Senior Editor
AUSTIN, Texas — Mistakes, poor execution and big-game pressure are hurdles that can be expected early in the year from a young, inexperienced football team and a coach under fire to keep his job.
The fact that the Texas football team was still having those problems with the basics, and using them as excuses, in its final game of the regular season — a lethargic, 31-9 loss Friday to TCU before an announced crowd of 99,065 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium — is what ultimately doomed the Longhorns and likely spelled the end of the Charlie Strong tenure on the 40 Acres.
Everything was on the line for Texas and its beleaguered [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]coach against TCU: a win would have made the Longhorns eligible for a spot in a bowl game, given the team the extra practices that preparation for an added game allows and perhaps saved Strong his job (although the latter might have been a stretch).
Multiple reports earlier this week said that university officials already had decided to fire Strong, but that he might be able to save his job if the Longhorns were to decisively win against TCU. Instead, the Longhorns laid an egg, dropping Strong’s record to 16-21 in his three seasons at Texas.
Texas ends its tumultuous season at 5-7, marking the first time since 1934-36 that the Longhorns have had three consecutive losing campaigns.
“We never quit on one another this season,” Strong said after the game. “Our record does not speak for how good we are. What we’ve been going through is just too much pressure placed on (the players). From all that has happened this season, it’s only going to make our guys stronger and make our guys better people and a better football team.”
With the win the Horned Frogs (6-5) became bowl-eligible with a Dec. 3 home game remaining against Kansas State. TCU outgained Texas, 487-407, had 25 first downs to the Longhorns’ 19 and won despite converting just one of 11 third-down attempts.
The leading rusher among all FBS teams, UT running back D’Onta Foreman, ran for 165 yards on 31 carries for the Longhorns, racking up his 13th straight 100-yard-plus rushing game and becoming the second runner in school history to rush for more than 2,000 yards (the other being Ricky Williams, who did it in 1998).
Foreman was denied on a fourth-and-1 dive at the goal line by the TCU defense in the second quarter, but said after the game that he felt he had crossed the goal line. “I definitely scored there,” Foreman said. “I don’t know how the officials missed that.”
TCU drove 75 yards in eight plays on its first possession, a drive that was capped by a four-yard touchdown run by quarterback Kenny Hill Jr., who gave the Horned Frogs a 7-0 lead. Hill completed all six of his passes on the march for 65 of the 75 yards.
The Longhorns answered on their ensuing possession when kicker Trent Domingue converted a 21-yard field goal three plays after a 48-yard freshman-to-freshman bomb from quarterback Shane Buechele to wide receiver Devin Duvernay.
Domingue had a chance to cut into the lead again at the 9:09 mark of the second quarter but missed badly to the right on a 38-yard attempt. The kick was the seventh field goal he’s missed this season; he also has had four extra-point kicks blocked, adding up to a subpar season for the senior transfer from LSU.
Safety DeShon Elliott’s interception of Hill late in the second quarter allowed Texas to set up shop at in the TCU red zone, but the Longhorns had to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Mitchell Becker that brought Texas to within 7-6 with 2:25 to play until halftime.
Texas dominated the first-half statistics, outgaining TCU 254-102 (remember: the Horned Frogs had 75 on their opening drive). The Longhorns had a 115-22 advantage in rushing yards, a 139-80 edge in passing yards and a seven-and-a half minute edge in time of possession. But they still were losing on the scoreboard.
TCU added to its lead on the opening drive of the third quarter, moving 79 yards in 13 plays to a 28-yard field goal by Brandon Hatfield. The key play on the march was a 25-yard pass from Hill to Desmond White that send the Horned Frogs to the Texas 12-yard-line.
Texas answered with a 31-yard field goal by Becker three plays after a 44-yard run by Foreman staked the Longhorns into position in the shadow of the TCU goalline. With 9:30 left in third quarter, Texas had 300 yards of offense and still didn’t have a touchdown.
Hill stumped the Longhorns — and left Texas defensive back Dylan Haines grasping for air — with a nifty 41-yard scoring run at the 7:49 mark of the third quarter that pushed the Horned Frogs lead to 17-9.
After a 74-yard punt by Texas’ Michael Dickson forced the Horned Frogs to start an early fourth-quarter drive on their own 3-yard-line, TCU used its reserve quarterback Foster Sawyer and backup running back Tavares Johnson to engineer a 97-yard touchdown drive that salted away the win. Johnson scooted untouched around left end for a five-yard touchdown run one snap after Sawyer hit Daniel Walsh on a 24-yard pass to push the TCU lead to 24-9 with 9:18 to play.
A 70-yard dash through the fatigued Texas defense 1:46 later by TCU’s freshman scatback Darius Anderson finished off the scoring and, ultimately, the Longhorns.
“We didn’t do anything offensively in the first half,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “We needed to run the football and get the quarterback involved and we did both in the second half. That kind of changed the game because we were getting stops on defense.”
Anderson led the Horned Frogs with 106 yards on just three carries while Hill added 78 yards on 13 carries and threw for 150 yards despite battling leg cramps in the second half that eventually forced him from the game.
So the offseason begins a month earlier than expected for the Longhorns, who will miss out on the postseason for the second time in a row. Will Strong be at the helm when Texas begins spring drills? We’ll know sooner than later.
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