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It was a disappointing day to be a Texas Longhorns fan. The sold-out crowd came to watch their in-state representatives go head-to-head with former Southwestern Conference rivals, the Arkansas Razorbacks of the SEC. Unfortunately, it was the Razorbacks who triumphed with a 31-7 score to lift the Texas Bowl.
Offense was the crucial turning point for this game and many questions surrounded the Longhorns’ quarterback situation even prior to the game. This bowl game did nothing to stir up hope for current starting quarterback Tyrone Swoopes.
Swoopes finished the game with just 13 out of 25 completed passes for an awfully low 58 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.
This is a particularly poor statistic for the Longhorns, who have had exceptional college quarterback talents in recent years with Colt McCoy leading them to a National Championship Game and Vince Young, who lead the team to a National Championship and destroyed opponents with his running and passing talents, rushing for 200 yards and three touchdowns alone to win the championship for the Longhorns in 2006.
Swoopes did score a nine yard rushing touchdown, which shows that he has talents other than his passing, but his accuracy and ability to make crucial passes down the field is the area that he has struggled in the most. Confidence may be seen as the root cause, stemming from the battering the team took against TCU in the final home game of the season.
With Jerrod Heard and Zach Gentry currently on the books for next season, Swoopes will face a relatively small position battle heading into spring practices. Heard has been seen as the next-in-line for the position and has taken a redshirt year to become more familiar with the playbook and give him a better understanding heading into the 2015 season.
Based on size and physicality, Swoopes is considered the more ideal player, but Heard has a natural ability to move around the pocket and make plays happen down the field.
But the quarterback position isn’t all that hasn’t performed overly well this season and particularly in the Texas Bowl. The Longhorns’ running game, lead by Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray, has not performed to the level expected and failed to produce against the Razorbacks’ SEC-hardened defense.
If the Longhorns want to compete with the best in college football then they will need to start putting up points against their opponents. Head Coach Charlie Strong emphasizes defense, but it is the team’s offense that needs the most attention heading into the 2015 season.
A quarterback competition is upon them and whoever wins out will have high expectations set going forward.
James Reeve is an NFL and NCAA Football writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter or “Like” him on Facebook.
