By Moses Leos III
Often times, we in the media are quick to use hyperbole to describe a moment in history. The sports world perhaps is the biggest culprit.
“That was the [insert appropriate adjective here] game/play/moment ever,” is the go-to saying.
However, to say Texas’ loss at BYU on Saturday was one of the saddest moments in team history is well justified. In my mind, there is no hyperbole.
Statistically, the 40-27 defeat pales in comparison to other Longhorn losses. It doesn’t match up to the 68-0 loss Texas suffered in 1904 to Chicago; still the biggest loss in team history. Nor does it hold a candle to the infamous “Route 66” home loss to UCLA in 1997.
It was the way Texas lost the game that bothers fans — Texas’ defense was pummeled by BYU and was seemingly unable, or unwilling, to stop it.
A lot of credit has to go to BYU quarterback Traymon Hill. He is a talented runner, and he burned Texas for 259 yards. Time and again, Hill found ways to run circles around Texas’ defense. Each time, defenders kept making the same mistakes, taking the same bad angles, attempting the same awful – and frequently missed – tackles.
What made matters so much worse was that Texas had the same well-chronicled struggles last season. The Longhorn defense was a sieve—it couldn’t stop anyone.
Manny Diaz, now former Texas defensive coordinator, promised change. The 2013 defense was going to step up and finally stop people.
In a three-hour span, Diaz’s defense unraveled. It was a complete and total train wreck. The Longhorns allowed the most rushing yards – 550 – in a single game in team history.
Diaz has earned much of the blame, and deservedly so. His tactics were just not cutting it.
And, yes, players make the plays on the field. They are ultimately responsible for what goes on. However, it’s up to the coaches to lead them.
Diaz never seemed to be able to do that. It showed as he failed to make the proper adjustments. Hill was able to break free, mostly on the same zone-read play. Why Diaz could not figure out how to stop Hill will forever be a mystery. We just know the end result: He didn’t.
In the end, Diaz’s firing was justified. There was no way head coach Mack Brown could have kept him without tremendous scrutiny.
However, firing Diaz will not be the cure that ails the Longhorns. Greg Robinson will be tasked with trying to make a talented but flawed defense better in an instant.
The coach himself is an equally polarizing figure. After his first stint in Austin in 2004, Robinson struggled as head coach at Syracuse. He followed that up with a disastrous stint as Michigan’s defensive coordinator.
Robinson has been out of coaching since 2010. He was hired by Texas over the summer as a consultant. Now he takes over the defense. If that doesn’t scare Texas fans, I’m not sure what will.
So the big question becomes, “what now?”
Where does the defense go from here? Can the offense, which has its own problems, support a wounded group?
It’s safe to say the program is at a crossroad. Brown is too. To many, this move was a panic-induced way for Brown to avoid getting fired as well.
For the first time in a long time, tremendous uncertainty rains upon the Forty Acres.
If Texas cannot figure it out, Gabriel’s horn may blow soon enough.
