After decisively winning their last three games, the Longhorns and their fans had high hopes for the final game of the season against TCU. That hope was quickly taken and stomped on by the Horned Frogs who pummeled Texas 48-10. The score is misleading however. It was not the defenses fault for allowing a season high 48 points, but the play of Tyrone Swoopes, who once again has proved that he is not the answer in Austin.
The stat line shows that it was a horrible night for Swoopes, but watching him play was even worse. He finished the game with 200 passing yards and 51 rushing yards. However that is accompanied by five turnovers and a 19.3 QBR, his second worst QBR of the season. As a coach or a fan, watching him lead this offense was a living hell. He looked completely out of sync. He was making the wrong reads, making horrible throws and decisions, and wasn't showing any leadership. He looked nothing like a quarterback that should be starting a college football game let alone leading this Longhorn team to the promise land. He single handedly let this game get out of hand early by setting up the Horned Frogs in opposing territory. By the end of the game, TCU's average starting field position was the Texas 45 yard line. That is not the recipe for a victory.
”I just told him he has to play. You can’t turn the football over. You can’t get down on yourself. It’s all about his demeanor. I said ‘let me tell you this: The only way we’re going to drive the football, we’re going to score, is you have to make it happen, and you have to play well.’ And he didn’t make it happen tonight, just too many turnovers. Go manage the offense; and if anything if we don’t drive the ball, let’s punt it,” Charlie Strong said on Swoopes.
Tyrone Swoopes has been consistently inconsistent this season, and this final outing should be the one to finally show that he should no longer be the man at the helm. While the coaching staff still endorses him publicly, it is hard to believe that he will be able to beat out the likes of Jerrod Heard and Zach Gentry this summer. He has now had a full season and it does not seem like he has grown in talent or experience after watching the season finale. All the preparation and experience in the world likely won't be enough to make Swoopes the answer for the Longhorns. The sooner the Longhorns find a solution to the problem the quicker 38-point losses and completely inept offensive showings will stop happening.
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