Texas not playing up to standard

What happened to the Texas Longhorns?
It seems like only yesterday they had at least a shot at winning the National Championship every season.
They still recruit like they used to, and Mack Brown is still the head coach.
Is the talent on the team just not the same as in previous seasons, or is Texas suffering from a case of our quarterback isn’t very good?
Lest we forget, the Longhorns defeated USC in a stunning come-from-behind victory on the shoulders of Vince Young to win the Rose Bowl for the 2005 national title.
Texas had a few more decent seasons since then, culminating in the loss to Alabama in the 2009 BCS National Championship game.
Ever since Colt McCoy left that game with an injured shoulder, things have been going downhill for the team from Austin.
Texas went 5-7 in 2010, Mac Brown’s worst season ever as the Longhorn head coach.
Texas did slightly better this season, posting an 8-5 season after besting Cal in the Holiday Bowl.
Wait, the Holiday Bowl? What is that, the Texas faithful must be thinking?
Just two years ago this same school was playing for the National Championship.
Speaking of the Holiday Bowl, it wasn’t exactly great football.
Cal came out with an anemic offense that couldn’t produce points, and Texas seemed to struggle on offense except for one home run ball thrown deep by David Ash.
The Longhorns scored one touchdown per quarter in the second, third and fourth.
Cal scored 3 points in the first and one touchdown in the third.
I don’t think this game was a defensive one; it was simply played by two weaker teams, despite the Longhorns being No. 24 coming in.
The Toledo-Air Force match up in the Military Bowl was a much better game.
Both teams had a chance to win late, and a miscue by Air Force on special teams lost them the game.
Go figure that Air Force didn’t win the Military Bowl.

J.R. Tidwell is sports editor for The Franklin County Times. He can be reached at (256) 332-1881, ext. 31.