I've had my 24 hours of bitter disappointment, but the season goes on, and despite the stumbling loss, there were some positive signs Saturday night, and a promising overall outlook for this squad.
Before we break down the game position by position, though, let me take a moment to clarify a few of my initial reaction comments, which, understandably, elicited myriad responses.
First and foremost, this is not a devastating loss, and not one to be ashamed of. It stings especially because we're not used to it, but I remain as proud a fan of our team and coach as before. You won't hear any irrational Mack Brown bashing here. He's still the best guy for this program. Losses happen. To everyone.
Second, those that don't want to hear me criticize Greg Davis need to explain why my own criticisms are invalid. Specifically, it needs to be explained why Davis called for 32 pass plays, most while the outcome was not yet decided. They also need to explain why, when the running game was as effective as it was, we decided that we'd call pass plays that were equivalent of running plays - screen after screen after screen. They need to explain why we didn't run, run, run, and keep running, and then, when Ohio State (yet to stop this tactic) brought up everyone, took some shots deep. That's a lot better than having your freshman quarterback throwing short- and (barely) medium-range passes. One led to a fumble by the wide receiver. Another led to a Colt interception. If you're going to throw it for 3 yards, why not run it instead? Ohio State showed no ability to stop it. This needs to be explained.
Third, let's not confuse this as a case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. I'm in no way advocating the firing of Greg Davis. Truth be told, he was in a tough position; it probably wasn't easy to decide how to gameplan McCoy's big time debut. Nonetheless, his inability to take advantage of what -was- working last night was a mistake. And we're here at this site to explain what went wrong. That's not irrational or unreasonable. I'm well aware of the lunatic Texas fans that are never satisfied. But if you want to try to lump us in that category, then you're not reading this site with any regularity, or any kind of open mind; I'd suggest that's just a different flavor of the same rotten food - irrational and unreasonable.
We're going to try to figure out what went wrong last night, we're going to talk about what we did well, and we're going to give praise and blame to those who deserve it. If that's not what you want your football site to do, I'm sure you can find something a little more soft and banal. There's no shortage of Texas fan sites.
Lastly, I want to emphasize what an amazing run we've been on. To that end, the very next post on this site will be a tribute to that winning streak, and a note of gratitude to all the players - many of whom are still Longhorns - that gave us that treat.
Hook 'Em!
--PB--