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What the Texas Longhorns' record says about program improvement

On3 imageby:Bobby Burton•11/21/22•

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(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

What are your thoughts about the Texas Longhorns at 7-4?

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I predicted a 7-5 regular season with a bowl victory pushing Texas to 8 wins.

It wasn’t the rosiest of projections, but in the preseason I saw a Texas program in need of establishing a winning identity. To do so, it would have to improve its defense, install a freshman quarterback as starter, and play much smarter football than they did a year ago.

In other words, the questions surrounding the team heading into the season were rather large.

So as we look back on this campaign, a couple of things have come to pass.

First and foremost, the defense is improved. While far from perfect, it is an unquestionably better unit than a year ago. And it appears on the right track for the future.

The quarterback situation, on the other hand, is shakier but not unexpectedly so. Texas is playing with a freshman QB, running a lot of two man routes and has asked too much of him too often. What has happened at QB is pretty much what you can expect from inserting a freshman QB, no matter how talented, into the starting lineup.

Even with the offense and defense and its strengths and struggles, perhaps the single most encouraging aspect of this Longhorns program is the idea that they’re no longer shooting themselves in the foot.

Yes, there have been some key mistakes, from drops to penalties. But the complete bone-headed ones of a year ago, or even under Tom Herman’s regime, seem to be a thing of the past. What’s more, I’ve yet to see a complete lack of cohesiveness or effort that we witnessed so often a year ago.

This season, even though it’s not complete, has seen Texas successfully change its identity. They’ve gone from being a loose affiliation of football players to a team focused on winning.

Maybe that all really started with Roschon Johnson putting the team on his back a year ago this week against Kansas State. Or maybe it started with Bo Davis’ tirade on the bus at Iowa State. Maybe even there was some addition by subtraction on prior personnel.

Whatever the case may be, Texas has improved year over year, and I believe they’ve done it in a sustainable way fit for the long haul.

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