Texas offense sputters to near-historic levels against Arkansas
Texas just missed setting a record against Arkansas on Monday night in the Advocare Texas Bowl. And no, it’s not a bad thing.
The Longhorns accured 59 yards of offense as Arkansas won 31-7. It was just nine yards more than the Texas record for fewest yards of offense, which was set in 1943 when the Longhorns lost 14-7 to Southwestern University.
The record will live on for at least another nine months, but it got a serious scare, especially in the second half. The Longhorns had the ball five times in the final 30 minutes and the first four drives netted -8 -7, -2 and -4 yards respectively. Entering what turned out to be its final possession of the game (and one that ended with an interception) the Longhorns’ offense had 30 yards.
57 of them came through the air, as quarterback Tyrone Swoopes was 13-25 for 57 yards. He had a nice completion to Daje Johnson on the sideline in the second half, but an open Johnson ran too close to the sidelines and was out of bounds as he made the catch. After Texas got a first down on its final drive of the game, Swoopes overthrew a wide-open Jacorey Warrick.
The Longhorns’ two yards of rushing were throttled by Swoopes -32 rushing yards thanks to sacks, especially to a 19-yard sack that ended the first half. Oh, and there was a miscommunication between Swoopes and Jonathan Gray on a handoff near the Longhorns’ own goal-line which resulted in a fumble and a recovery for a touchdown for Arkansas to make the Razorback lead 17-0.
Outside of Texas’ offensive futility, the most interesting thing was Bret Bielema’s left hand. After his hand appeared to be making the “horns down” sign in a handshake with Texas coach Charlie Strong earlier in the week, Bielema was caught by cameras reflexively bringing his middle and ring fingers towards his palm with his hands at his sides.
As is typical, Arkansas, 7-6, ran for more yards than it threw for, amassing 191 on the ground and 160 in the air. Brandon Allen threw for two touchdowns and Jonathan Williams ran for Arkansas’ other offensive score. Plus, with the win, the Razorbacks end the season with its only losses coming to teams ranked in the AP top 25 at the time (Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri, Texas A&M).
Even if Texas’ offense had been playing well, its chances of matching Arkansas’ 31 points weren’t good. The Longhorns, 6-7, passed the 30-point mark four times in 2014 and averaged just 21.4 points per game on the season.
Because of that paltry offense, Monday night’s game was Texas’ fifth loss of 20 or more points in 2014.
And Monday marked the first time since 1977 that Oklahoma and Texas had lost by 20 or more points in the same bowl season, let alone the same day (Oklahoma lost 40-6 to Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl). At the conclusion of the 1977 season, the Longhorns lost 38-10 in the Cotton Bowl to Notre Dame while the Sooners lost 31-6 to Arkansas in the Orange Bowl.
For more Arkansas news, visit HawgSports.com.
For more Texas news, visit Orangebloods.com.
– – – – – – –
Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
