Both Texas A&M and Texas struggled in their week five games. A banged up A&M team traveled to South Carolina and played without the future top overall NFL draft pick, two of its three top receivers, and its starting right tackle. The Aggies gave up a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage, but the defense settled in after that giving up only six more points the rest of the game. Trevor Knight, Jeremy Tabuyo, Trayveon Williams, and the rest of the offense did just enough for A&M to earn an ugly win. The Aggies are now undefeated and next week features a matchup between two top 10 teams at Kyle Field when the Tennessee Volunteers visit College Station. The Texas Longhorns had a bye week to prepare for their trip up to Stillwater to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Longhorns' offense played well, particularly the running game, but their defense could not contain Oklahoma State's explosive passing attack. The loss drops Texas to a 2-2 record and places Charlie Strong squarely on the hot seat. Both the Aggies and the Longhorns play games in week 6 that could impact the programs for not only this season, but for years to come.
Let's start with the Longhorns. First of all, I greatly admire what Charlie Strong has done to clean up the program by kicking out many talented players with who faced various legal issues off the field. The dismissals hurt his team's depth and put them at a disadvantage talent-wise in his first year, but Charlie Strong did the right thing. That is rare in college football these days, especially considering what we've seen from the Baylor and Penn State leadership. Unfortunately for Strong, despite years of recruiting success bringing an influx of talent to Austin, the problems that have plagued the Longhorns throughout his tenure as head coach have yet to be solved. In Strong's first and second seasons, an inept offense and at times unwatchable offense hid the struggles of the defense. Before this season, Texas hired Tulsa offensive coordinator Sterling Gilbert to install an up-tempo, spread offense, and he has been largely successful. True freshman Shane Buechele has proven himself to be a more than capable field general, while talented running backs Chris Warren and D'Onta Foreman have been excellent. However, the defense is as bad as ever, which is especially troubling since Strong earned the head coaching job at Texas partially due to his reputation as a defensive mastermind. After being exposed by Davis Webb and the California passing game, Strong and defensive coordinator Vance Bedford were expected to use their week 4 bye to devise a plan to fix that side of the ball. Despite the extra week of preparation, the Longhorn defense struggled to tackle, cover wide receivers, and generally looked as incompetent as ever. Now Strong has demoted Bedford and decided to take over the defense himself, Texas' success rests squarely on his shoulders. If the Longhorns don't show improvement against Oklahoma in addition to upsetting Baylor or TCU, Strong is probably a dead man walking.
Texas A&M is 5-0 and thanks to a stifling, star-studded defense and balanced offense looks to be one of the best teams in the SEC. The 8th ranked Aggies can answer any remaining questions with a home win over 9th ranked Tennessee in week 6. It's the first time in history that two undefeated top-ten teams have met at Kyle Field in October. Few expected A&M to have this much success after all of the controversy over the offseason. Both A&M and Tennessee struggle early in games have offenses that feature quarterbacks who are dynamic runners but struggle at times to throw the ball and have athletic defenses led by star pass rushers. It is going to be a beautiful Saturday for over 100,000 fans to yell their hearts out for a couple hours. If Texas A&M wins, that gives the Aggies a bye week to prepare for a "game of the year" type of contest against Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Win that one, however, difficult that would be, and the Aggies are suddenly SEC title favorites and competing for a playoff spot.
How do each of these games affect the landscape of football in Texas? First, if Strong is fired, Tom Herman is likely Texas' first choice as his replacement. The former Ohio State offensive coordinator and current Houston head coach is at the top of the list for coaching vacancies at USC and LSU, but you have to figure that Texas can rally its boosters and offer Herman the biggest contract. Herman is a great coach and even better recruiter, so the idea that he can inherit Strong's talented roster and add a few of his own recruits should frighten anyone that has to play Texas or compete with him for recruits. The same idea applies if he ends up at LSU since the Tigers have had success pulling a few of the top prospects out of the Lone Star State the past few years. Secondly, the fact that Texas A&M has started the past few seasons hot before collapsing down the stretch and Aggies inability to win big home games, and rumors about Sumlin's job stability have allowed opposing coaches to negatively recruit against Texas A&M very effectively. Any of those doubts about the A&M program can be effectively answered with a win on Saturday, and recruits are starting to take notice. It is going to take an outstanding season to convince top prospects in Texas like linebacker Anthony Hines and defensive tackle Marvin Wilson to commit to Texas A&M, and the Aggies can take a step in the right direction by taking care of business against the Volunteers.
