Glitches mask the truth about Texas: Longhorns are getting better

Dan Wolken | USA TODAY Sports

It’s coming, Texas fans.

You may not see it today, not after absorbing a second consecutive gut punch against Oklahoma State in a game that should have ended no worse than overtime, but the signs are there of a program slowly turning the page from the Mack Brown era.

It looked for all the world like Charlie Strong was about to get his breakthrough victory Saturday against No. 22 Oklahoma State until a bad penalty, a bad possession and a disastrous punt gave the Cowboys a 40-yard field goal with six seconds left to win 30-27.

In the short-term, it couldn’t be worse for Texas, which lost to California last week 45-44 on a missed extra point when it looked like the Longhorns had sent the game to overtime. It’s now a 1-3 record for Texas with No. 2 TCU and No. 14 Oklahoma looming the next two weeks. Barring a massive upset, the worst-case scenario of a 1-5 start is a very real possibility in Strong’s second season.

But beneath the stark won-loss results, Texas is making huge strides.

It has found a quarterback in dynamic redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard, who is certainly not perfect — he still has a tendency to hold onto the ball too long as he tries to extend plays — but has sparked an offense that looked completely inept in Week 1 against Notre Dame.

Its defense, which has not been very good, gave up two early touchdowns but did a lot of growing up Saturday, holding Oklahoma State to 13 points in the second half and twice intercepting quarterback Mason Rudolph, including a pick-six by Holton Hill to give Texas a 27-24 lead.

Texas played with energy, employed creativity — using former starting quarterback Tyrone Swoopes effectively as a Tim Tebow-type changeup on short yardage situations — and had freshmen in on big plays all over the field.

It wasn’t a perfect or clean performance, but it was a step forward for a program that has been listless since Strong arrived. There are going to be more tough days ahead for the Longhorns, but for the first time, you can start to see the makings of a program.

Now Strong needs patience and support. He’ll have it from the Texas administration, which is undergoing a transition in the wake of former athletics director Steve Patterson stepping down under pressure. Will he get it, however, from the fans?

There were a lot of empty seats in Austin on Saturday, and there will probably be more as Texas’ record sinks. But Texas looks like a fun, young team that, despite 16 penalties and some flat bad luck, nearly knocked off a top-25 team.

The reward doesn’t look like it will come this year, but for the first time, Texas fans should have faith that it’s coming eventually.

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