Hey, remember last week when very misguided people were questioning Charlie Strong, if not outright calling for his dismissal as Texas head coach?
Good stuff. For those folks, Strong’s 24-17 defeat of No. 10 Oklahoma is for you. Yes, YOU.
There's Charlie Strong's boss on the right, in case you're wondering about his job security. pic.twitter.com/egLaN8efDN
— Max Olson (@max_olson) October 10, 2015
Forget a tea-drinking Kermit, a grinning Charlie Strong in the Golden Hat is the most meme-worthy image for totally owning erroneous opinions.
Texas faced a six-game gauntlet unlike any other in college football. Oklahoma was its third opponent ranked in the Top 10, joining Notre Dame and TCU. The Sooners were also the fifth opponent the Longhorns have seen through the season’s first half ranked in the current Top 20.
It’s rather jarring to think Texas is a couple of special teams gaffes away from being 4-2 with wins over three Top 25 teams.
Such close losses, as Texas suffered to Cal and Oklahoma State, are part of the territory with teams as reliant on youth as the Longhorns.
The same struggles that had Charlie Strong on some bloviators’ hot seats excelled the maturation process for his young roster. As a result, Texas is now a potential spoiler in the Big 12 — and arguably not even just “potential” after Saturday’s result.
Beyond 2015, as I note in my recap for Sports On Earth, the corps of underclassmen Jerrod Heard, D’Onta Freeman, Poona Ford, Malik Jefferson and others give Texas a bright future. Saturday’s Red River Rivalry win shows the first measurable progress in a rebuild process that could well restore the Longhorns to greatness.
So the next time Texas loses to a more mature Big 12 opponent — and it will happen — shoot off those knee-jerk reactionary calls for the head coach’s job. Texas is indeed moving in the right direction.
But that’s none of Charlie Strong’s business.
