Eight games into the season, it seemed as though the Texas Longhorns were unable to win a game without losing the next two, until they beat Texas Tech on the road.
What followed were two more wins against West Virginia and Oklahoma State, turning a 3-5 season into a 6-5, bowl eligible one. Head coach Charlie Strong received some blowback for his strict disciplinarian style, but now he says it is because of senior leadership that the team is thriving.
"I was upset after that Kansas State game, and I didn't feel like we went out and competed well. I said at some point someone's going to have to take over and develop ownership in this program," Strong said in his weekly news conference Monday. "It's up to the senior class and that group of guys was where it had to come from.
"Then the senior class is the one that you have to get to buy into what you're trying to get accomplished, because they play the most football, which we have done with this group we have."
With the absence of a Big 12 title game, the Longhorns cannot catch Kansas State, Baylor or TCU for the top spot. They have one game left, home against TCU on Thursday, Nov. 27. That is the only game Strong has his team focused on, not a potential bowl game against Texas A&M.
As for the future of the program, Strong said the Longhorns will not suffer another five-loss season.
"The talent was within the program, and I just didn't think we did a really good job of coaching or putting the guys in position where they really needed to be," he said. "I told our coaching staff, we're sitting here at 3-5, and we should not be pleased with where we are. I said at The University of Texas that should never happen. Our record of going out and getting five losses, we're not comfortable with that at all. That will never happen within this program again."
