Texas: Questions Remain Following Notre Dame Loss

Year two of the Charlie Strong era at Univeristy of Texas begins with a blowout loss to Notre Dame in South Bend.

As a new season of football began for the University of Texas last night, Charlie Strong and his men had more than a few questions to answer.

“What would be different this year?”

“Can this team truly compete in a Big 12 that has two unconventional favorites in TCU and Baylor?”

“Will the quarterback position resemble anything of quality?”

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Unfortunately for UT fans, all of these questions may have been answered last night…and it’s not good news.
Albeit, on the road in South Bend against a top 15 Notre Dame team is a tough task for your first game of the year.

Nevertheless, what was on display on the field last night from a Texas perspective didn’t leave anyone with a sweet taste in their mouth or with any real reason for optimism.

Shall we start first with the offense?

The biggest question for anyone that has been watching UT over the past several years is what would happen with the quarterback position this year. Jerrod Heard was brought in to provide some competition for the much maligned Tyrone Swoopes.

Would Heard get any playing time?

Would Swoopes improve?

Swoopes, although physically capable, has never blossomed into what UT fans and coaches would have desired. His passing has been limited to short screens and quick routes over the middle. We get the occasional bomb up the sideline that should never be thrown (“a la Case McCoy), but short passes have been a staple of Swoopes career. Part of that is due to the system Texas runs; part of it is due to his lack of maturity at the quarterback position.

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His running, which at first seemed promising in his first few snaps under center two years ago, has been rendered effectively useless as teams don’t fear his passing threat and can load the box even when he drops back to pass. It’s a combination that has frustrated and befuddled UT fans.

If anyone was hoping for a 2.0 version this season, last night’s lackluster performance left more questions than answers. Swoopes came out with the same precision (or lack thereof) that has marked his UT career up to this point.
His closing line was 7 for 22 for a grand total of 93 yards, 0 TDs and 0 INTs. Compare that to Malik Zaire’s 22 passes that went for 313 yards and 3 touchdowns.

See the problem?

Heard got a short chance to provide something different, but went out with an apparent shoulder injury after completing just one pass.

If UT was going to salvage any semblance of an offensive game, the rushing attack had to be explosive.

Unfortunately, the offensive line looked completely unable to handle Notre Dame’s defensive front. The ground game mustered all of 72 yards for the night.

Again, not the output UT needed to answer any questions.

Now, on to the defense.

When you have a terrible offense that can’t stay on the field, there’s a carryover into the defensive side of the ball. Notre Dame’s offense was on the field almost double the amount of time UT’s offense was (39:10 vs 20:50).

Understandably, the defense struggled as a result.

The real issue was that there was no measure of consistency. The defense would come up with a big stop on one play only to give up a wide open touchdown the next.

The other real issue (maybe there were more problems than I originally thought) was that Malik Zaire had an eternity to find his receivers. There’s only so long that a DB can cover his man. After 2 or 3 seconds, routes begin to break down and defenses lose track of their assignments. Consequently, you end up with wide-open receivers that even decent quarterbacks will pick out with ease.

And that’s not the fault of the defensive backs, but rather the defensive line’s fault.

The problems go on and on. This game could end up being a catalyst for change within the Texas locker room. Notre Dame may go on to be a top-4 team and this loss may be written off as a natural consequence of facing an elite team.

Still, the 38-3 scoreline doesn’t sit well with UT folks this morning.

Next: Texas A&M: Aggies Beat Arizona State In Houston

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• Published on 09/06/2015 at 19:01 PM
• Last updated at 09/06/2015 at 16:16 PM