Horns Discovers Hidden Assets: Coaches Who Coach, QB Who Runs

Coach Mack Brown

The biggest Texas surprise in yet another "upset" win over Nebraska is who stepped up – the coaches? Yup. Mack Brown and company finally shook up the crumbling status quo. I can easily visualize the pregame meeting:

Mack Brown: (Feet up on desk. Waving recently heated Eggo frozen waffle in his right hand.) What the heck are we going to do about this Cornhusker quarterback Taylor Martinez? He's running the ball faster than my grammy drives to the bingo game. And he doesn't get nearly as many speeding tickets. Will? You got a plan? We sure stunk it up against UCLA and Oklahoma. We smelled worse than a rotten possum hiding in a Sunday school closet.

Will Muschamp: (Eyes bulging. Fists pounding together.) Kill! Maim! Dismember! Kill!

MB: (Smiles.) That plans works for me. But they've got a heck of a defense, too. Why they put shellac in cracks you didn't even know your pappy had bought last week at Wal-Mart.

Greg Davis: (Wakes up from nap. Stares into space.) It'd be nice if we had a quarterback who could run the ball like that …

MB: Now I love Vince Young like he was my son …. No, wait just a cotton-picking minute! It might work.

Yes, Texas beat Nebraska by out-coaching them, something that hasn't been common of late. Start with a defense that anticipated Martinez's every move, thus limiting him to 21 yards on 14 carries a week after he'd pounded Kansas State for 241 yards. Nebraska had to read the writing on the barn, and shut the gate (as Mack Brown's Aunt Ethel would say) to bring in an equally ineffective Zac Lee for much of the second half. Add the crazy move to have UT QB Garrett Gilbert keep the ball (not so crazy – he ran the ball a lot at Lake Travis High) and you have pure genius.

The Huskers were expecting a Horn passing attack, and stood there in a stupor as Gilbert raced for 71 yards on the day but completed only four passes for 62 total yards in a 20-13 game that wasn't that close.

Let's not give too much credit to the 4-2 Horns. The then-No. 5 Huskers did themselves in as well with dropped passes, including a sure touchdown or two, and myriad penalties. But Texas was by far the better team on the field, and its one-week exile from the Top 25 is over. What about the rest of the season?

Starting Saturday with Iowa State, the results will pretty much be determined by which Longhorn team shows up each week. Iowa State should be a DKR-Memorial Stadium crowd-pleaser with the Cyclones' equal opportunity defense that does just about as poorly stopping the pass as it does the run. Expect to see Gilbert open up with some glitzy long strikes. Now if the Texas receivers can just actually catch a few balls.

After that, the Horns rebirth will be in full swing as they prance through a field of daisy opponents: Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Florida Atlantic, and then the Aggies. Every game but Kansas State is at home, making the schedule all the more enticing for Texas. The fans will love it. Unless …

The Horns sit at 4-2 for a reason. This is a very talented team that has yet to fully gel. It's an engine with a sputter. Sometimes it roars. Sometimes it rattles. Where this season goes is anyone's guess. Figure either Texas runs the table or lets one game slip away. And don't be surprised if that slip-up is (don't laugh) against Florida Atlantic.

They're coached by Howard Schnellenberger, who won three national titles for Alabama in the Sixties and another at Miami in the Eighties. If last week's Nebraska win proved anything, it's that good coaching decisions matter. Let's hope Texas continues to make them.