The train jumped the tracks right out of the station as Daje got sandwiched between a pair of defenders – looking to suffer a concussion in the process – and put the ball on the ground on Texas’ second offensive play.
Things did not get better from there.
The unwelcome news that Kent Perkins was going to miss this one cast a pall over a nascent we’ll-come-out-angry-and-shock-the-world vibe, but his rotating cast of right-side replacements were only part of the reason that Texas’ O couldn’t get out of first gear. They certainly didn’t help – Marcus Hutchins’ absolute lack of interest in the proceedings on a second-quarter Heard rollout out-fought a passel of other contenders for the day’s most embarrassing moment – but Wickline’s bunch were short on everything but confusion for most of the day.